This chapter presents summaries of research about happiness, a central emotion in well-being research, from a cross-cultural perspective. Studies show that across cultures, people use hedonic flexibility—choosing mood-enhancing activities when sad and goal-oriented ones when happy. Core psychological needs—autonomy, relatedness, and competence—are universally linked to happiness, though cultural contexts shape how these needs are fulfilled. For example, acts of kindness in Japan satisfy all three needs, while in the US, they mainly enhance relatedness. Cultural beliefs also influence happiness: collectivist societies emphasize “interdependent happiness,” where personal joy is tied to others’ well-being. Beliefs in supernatural forces or zero-sum thinking can reduce life satisfaction, though their impact varies by culture. A top-down framework suggests that happiness is shaped by cognitive patterns and cultural values, not just experiences. Mindsets formed early in life guide emotional responses, highlighting the need to understand cultural influences on happiness to foster well-being across diverse societies. Disclaimer: The summaries in this chapter were generated from Springer Nature publications using generative AI. The content was curated by the editor to meet Springer Nature publication standards. As the constituted sentences are machine-created, they may not fully reflect the body of the work, so we strongly advise that the original content is read and cited.