Article:
The Pace of Life in 31 Countries By Robert V. Levine and Ara Norenzayan
Erin Reilly (student) AU ID 2449152 Pscy 290 Journal Article Critique 2 Shelley Sikora (tutor)

The Pace of Life in 31 Countries 1. Research Question or Problem: Yes. The question is clearly stated. The purpose of the study was to, using Hoch’s (1976) theory as a starting point in designing their problem, research variations in the pace of life in different cities and countries, find what characteristics best predict the differences, and finally what are the consequences on the populations of fast or slow paces of life. Further, they diverted from contemporary research on the topic and decided to use a broad …show more content…

Tables were used to provide easy viewing of the correlation data collected and the multiple regression analysis also was presented in a table format. Correlations provided useful information on the personality or characteristic of the cities and countries researched. Countries were treated as single subjects. Individualism, colder climates and healthier economies witnessed faster paces of life. Faster paces of life witness higher death rates due to smoking and coronary heart disease. Multiple regression analysis was also used to check whether the predictors of pace of life were valid. The results were economic well being was negatively correlated with climate, and positively correlated with individualism, further; individualism was negatively correlated with climate. Generally, the results followed the hypotheses presented earlier. 5. Discussions/Conclusions: Interestingly, population was not the best indicator of the pace of life in different cities and countries as noted in the article “it may be that there is a critical point beyond which population size does not relate to the pace of life” (Levine & Norenzayan, 1999, p. 199) and “hotter cities were slower than colder one, places with a more vital economy were faster, and individualistic cultures were than those emphasizing collectivism” (Levine & Norenzayan, 1999, p. 199). CHD and smoking along with citizen’s subjective feeling of contentment or well being were related in the right direction with