Is Belief in Free Will Related to Higher Life Satisfaction for Everyone

Previous research revealed a positive relation between belief in free will and life satisfaction. We examined this relation in a Western country other than the U.S (the Netherlands). The relation between belief in free will and life satisfaction was obtained, but qualified by questionnaire order. People seemed to indicate stronger free will beliefs when being satisfied. As hypothesized, the relation between belief in free will and life satisfaction was positive for people with high self-esteem, but somewhat negative for people with low self-esteem (Study 1). When manipulating self-esteem, mood dropped more for participants with stronger free will beliefs in the low self-esteem condition (Study 2). We did not replicate this finding in Study 3. In the U.S., no moderation by questionnaire order or self-esteem was found (Study 4). The relation between free will beliefs and life satisfaction may depend on people’s self-esteem and the (cultural) salience of free will beliefs.