Interdependent Cultures Research Articles

Trust and online information-sharing in close relationships: a cross-cultural perspective

Culture has an essential influence on online trust building in close relationships. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of culture on interpersonal trust and online information-sharing in close relationships. A social dilemma game experiment was conducted by inviting close friend dyads from interdependent (that is, Chinese) or independent cultures (that is, German). Their trust and information-sharing performance in either online text chatting or face-to-face communication were examined. The results showed that in close relationships, Chinese participants had higher interpersonal trust and objective-sharing performance than German participants; Chinese trust and self-evaluated performance were not influenced by communication media; in comparison, German participants’ trust and self-evaluated performance significantly dropped online. The results confirmed that interdependent people are more relation-oriented in building their trust than independent people. Implications for online information-sharing management and the interface design were provided.

Fitting in or Sticking Together

In this research, we compare two forms of interdependent agency. Whereas all interdependent cultures emphasize interpersonal connectedness, we suggest that the nature of this connection may differ between face and honor cultures. In a large survey, with 163 Japanese and 172 Turkish students, we tested the idea that, consistent with the concern for face, Japanese interdependence emphasizes conformity; that is, fitting in, whereas, consistent with the concern for honor, Turkish interdependence stresses relatedness; that is, sticking together. The results confirmed these hypotheses: Japanese described their agency more in terms of conformity than Turks, whereas Turks described their agency more in terms of relatedness. Moreover, relational well-being was predicted by conformity in the Japanese group and by relatedness in the Turkish group. Autonomy was also important for both samples, and it predicted personal well-being. Results suggest that a multi-dimensional approach to interdependent agency is needed to distinguish meaningfully between different interdependent cultures.

Identifying differences in the experience of (in)authenticity: a latent class analysis approach.

Generally, psychologists consider state authenticity – that is, the subjective sense of being one’s true self – to be a unitary and unidimensional construct, such that (a) the phenomenological experience of authenticity is thought to be similar no matter its trigger, and (b) inauthenticity is thought to be simply the opposing pole (on the same underlying construct) of authenticity. Using latent class analysis, we put this conceptualization to a test. In order to avoid over-reliance on a Western conceptualization of authenticity, we used a cross-cultural sample (N = 543), comprising participants from Western, South-Asian, East-Asian, and South-East Asian cultures. Participants provided either a narrative in which the described when they felt most like being themselves or one in which they described when they felt least like being themselves. The analysis identified six distinct classes of experiences: two authenticity classes (“everyday” and “extraordinary”), three inauthenticity classes (“self-conscious,” “deflated,” and “extraordinary”), and a class representing convergence between authenticity and inauthenticity. The classes were phenomenologically distinct, especially with respect to negative affect, private and public self-consciousness, and self-esteem. Furthermore, relatively more interdependent cultures were less likely to report experiences of extraordinary (in)authenticity than relatively more independent cultures. Understanding the many facets of (in)authenticity may enable researchers to connect different findings and explain why the attainment of authenticity can be difficult.

Consumer Adoption of New Products: Independent versus Interdependent Self-Perspectives

In five studies, the authors examine the impact of an independent (vs. interdependent) mindset on consumer adoption of new products. Study 1 demonstrates that consumers in a predominantly independent (vs. interdependent) culture are more willing to adopt really new products, whereas consumers in a predominantly interdependent (vs. independent) culture are more willing to adopt incrementally new products. Studies 2 and 3 conceptually replicate these findings using situationally activated mindsets and demonstrate that this effect is driven by the perceived fit between the product's newness level and the optimal level of distinctiveness consumers want. Finally, Studies 4a and 4b show that the presence of distinctiveness-dampening cues (i.e., popularity cues) and distinctiveness-enhancing cues (i.e., scarcity cues) can reverse the effect of self-perspective such that the independent self becomes less willing to adopt really new products and more willing to adopt incrementally new products than does the interdependent self. These findings offer practical implications for managing innovation adoption in both domestic and international marketplaces.

Interpersonal self‐support and attentional bias on negative and positive interpersonal information

Interpersonal self-support is an indigenous Chinese personality concept. It represents the idealized notion of the kind of personality traits that help individuals deal with interpersonal problems and develop and maintain the harmonic and appropriate social relationships required in China's collectivistic and interdependent culture. It also was assumed to be a protective personality factor with regard to mental health and was found to be negatively related to psychosomatic symptoms. In the current study, cognitive processing of interpersonal information is assumed to be an underlying mechanism that connects interpersonal self-support with interpersonal relationships and mental health. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two experiments to investigate whether attentional bias on positive and negative interpersonal information was related to high and low interpersonal self-support. A spatial cueing task and the emotional Stroop task were administered to two samples of high and low interpersonal self-support Chinese undergraduate students to measure attentional bias. The results from both experiments suggested that high interpersonal self-support students had an attentional bias toward positive interpersonal information, while low interpersonal self-support students preferentially attended to negative interpersonal information. Study 1 indicated that attentional bias toward positive interpersonal information was easily engaged in the high interpersonal self-support group, while attentional bias toward negative interpersonal information was both easy to engage and difficult to disengage in the low interpersonal self-support students. These results support our hypotheses that high interpersonal self-support people engage in positive processing of interpersonal information, whereas low interpersonal self-support people engage in negative processing of interpersonal information. The differential balance between positive and negative processing on interpersonal information may explain why interpersonal self-support predicts both mental health and interpersonal relationships. In addition, the relational schema may explain why interpersonal self-support is associated with an attentional bias toward interpersonal information.

Neural Evidence for Individual and Cultural Variability in the Social Comparison Effect

Although several studies have investigated the neural mechanism of social comparison, it remains unclear whether and how cultural membership, particularly independent versus interdependent cultures, may differentially shape the neural processes underlying social comparison. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we examined the behaviors and neural response patterns of Korean (i.e., interdependent culture) and American (i.e., independent culture) participants while performing a financial gambling task simultaneously and independently with a partner. Upon seeing the partner's income, greater modulation of the activity in the ventral striatum (VS) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) by relative gain was observed in Korean than American participants, suggesting greater sensitivity of Koreans toward social comparison. The strength of functional connectivity between the VS and the vmPFC predicted individual variability in the degree to which participants' decisions were affected by relative incomes. Additional model-based fMRI analysis further confirmed the primary role of the vmPFC in biasing decisions based on relative incomes. In summary, the present study provides the first neural evidence for decision biases due to social comparison and their individual and cultural variations.

Suppression and interpersonal harmony: A cross-cultural comparison between Chinese and European Americans.

Based on Markus and Kitayama's (1991) theory, this study was conducted to examine whether the association between emotional suppression and interpersonal harmony would be moderated by cultural group (i.e., Chinese and European Americans) and an Asian cultural value (i.e., emotional self-control). A total of 451 college students (205 Chinese and 246 European Americans) participated in this study. As expected, results indicated that the association between emotional suppression and interpersonal harmony was significantly positive for Chinese but not significant for European Americans. Similarly, when emotional self-control was examined as a moderator, the results still confirmed our hypotheses. That is, the association between emotional suppression and interpersonal harmony was significantly positive for those with stronger endorsement of emotional self-control but not for those with weaker endorsement of emotional self-control. Furthermore, we examined whether the above results could be replicated when forbearance (a construct similar to suppression) and distress disclosure (a construct opposite to suppression) were examined. The results showed the same pattern for forbearance and distress disclosure when cultural group or emotional self-control served as the moderator. The convergence of findings increased the robustness of our results. Finally, our data suggest that individuals from Eastern, interdependent cultures (e.g., Chinese) tend to value emotional suppression to preserve interpersonal harmony; individuals from Western, independent cultures may or may not necessarily suppress their emotions for this purpose. A comprehensive understanding of the different meanings of a specific strategy (i.e., emotional suppression) in different cultural contexts is important to promote effective cross-cultural counseling.

National Identity in China – Contribution from the Beijing Olympic Games? A Survey among Residents of Beijing

This article is dealing with the consequences of Beijing 2000 Olympic Games for the host city population and focuses primarily on three areas of expectations and impact: (1) On China’s international reputation; (2) On enhancing national pride, social and national identity, and (3) On the impact on the “individual self” and how BOG may give personal benefits. To separate the consequences in this way, between the impact on “international”, “national,” and “personal” matters, is particularly interesting in a collectivistic or interdependent culture such as traditional China. Nearly 1000 residents of Beijing have filled in a questionnaire or been interviewed. The sampling technique was a combination of quota and random sampling. The results showed that the international influence is expected to be significantly greater than the national governmental influence, and greater than the influence on the common people as a group. Older residents of Beijing focused significantly more than the younger residents on the international and national consequences, whereas the younger generation focused more on individual consequences and personal benefits. The great majority of the respondents expect the Beijing Olympics to enhance China’s reputation internationally and improve international relations. The support and expectations from the Chinese people for utilizing the Beijing Olympics as an instrument to reach such goals and to promote international cooperation are stronger than in other host cities and countries.

‘Just Talking About It Opens Your Heart’: meaning-making among Black African migrants and refugees living with HIV

Meaning-making has emerged as a core construct in addressing trauma, loss or crisis. This paper considers how diasporic Black Africans living with HIV, who come from interdependent collectivist cultures where the norm is one of implicit support, extend their meaning-making strategies when faced with a diagnosis of HIV. In this qualitative study, 13 Black African migrants and refugees living with HIV in New Zealand were interviewed and the transcripts analysed. After their diagnosis, participants began a journey of reconceptualising situational and global meaning. They extended their meaning-making strategies to include a community of like others to gain explicit support. Caregivers in host countries must understand the meaning-making processes of HIV-positive Black African migrants in order to provide competent services that lead to good social and health outcomes. All healthcare and social services workers should regularly assess Black African migrants and refugees living with HIV for positive social connectedness as well as medication adherence and more specific health concerns.

Aging, Culture, and Memory for Socially Meaningful Item-Context Associations: An East-West Cross-Cultural Comparison Study

Research suggests that people in Eastern interdependent cultures process information more holistically and attend more to contextual information than do people in Western independent cultures. The current study examined the effects of culture and age on memory for socially meaningful item-context associations in 71 Canadians of Western European descent (35 young and 36 older) and 72 native Chinese citizens (36 young and 36 older). All participants completed two blocks of context memory tasks. During encoding, participants rated pictures of familiar objects. In one block, objects were rated either for their meaningfulness in the independent living context or their typicality in daily life. In the other block, objects were rated for their meaningfulness in the context of fostering relationships with others or for their typicality in daily life. The encoding in each block was followed by a recognition test in which participants identified pictures and their associated contexts. The results showed that Chinese outperformed Canadians in context memory, though both culture groups showed similar age-related deficits in item and context memory. The results suggest that Chinese are at an advantage in memory for socially meaningful item-context associations, an advantage that continues from young adulthood into old age.

Structuring Mental Health Within Senior Services: A Case Study of an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic Serving Latinos

The article presents a case study of an outpatient mental health clinic serving Latino older adults. The study explored staff perceptions on the clinic development and the context within an immigrant multicultural community. The study used in-depth, semistructured interviews with support staff, clinical social workers, and administrators. Interviews were analyzed using a thematic content analysis. The mental health clinic formation was perceived by staff as an ecological process stemming from the needs of the Latino immigrant senior clients. A close knit and interdependent culture allowed the clinic to adjust to diversity and changing cultural contexts.

Correlates of parental control and autonomy support in an interdependent culture: A look at Ghana

It is unclear whether, similar to research findings in Western societies, autonomy support is associated with positive child outcomes, and forceful control with negative outcomes in collectivist societies. A two-part study (N = 190 Ghanaian sixth graders) examined the relations of parental structure, control, and autonomy support in Ghana with child outcomes, and whether autonomy support was at odds with Ghanaian children’s values of interdependence and respect for elders. Results showed that structure was related to cognitive perceived competence, parental control was related to controlled regulation around school work and decreased academic engagement, and autonomy support was negatively related to depression and positively related to autonomous forms of motivation, engagement in school, and interestingly, children’s endorsement of collectivist cultural values. The importance of distinguishing between parental control and provision of structure, and the implication of the findings for understanding the role of parental autonomy support in diverse cultures, are discussed.

Culture modulates brain activity during empathy with anger

Interdependent cultures (such as the Chinese) and independent cultures (such as the German) differ in their attitude towards harmony that is more valued in interdependent cultures. Interdependent and independent cultures also differ in their appreciation of anger--an emotion that implies the disruption of harmony. The present study investigated if interdependent and independent cultures foster distinct brain activity associated with empathic processing of familiar angry, familiar neutral, and unfamiliar neutral faces. Using functional MRI, we scanned Chinese and German healthy subjects during an intentional empathy task, a control task (the evaluation of skin color), and a baseline condition. The subject groups were matched with regard to age, gender, and education. Behaviorally, Chinese subjects described themselves as significantly more interdependent compared to German subjects. The contrast 'intentional empathy for familiar angry'>'baseline' revealed several regions, including the left inferior frontal cortex, the left supplementary motor area, and the left insula, that showed comparable hemodynamic responses in both groups. However, the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex had stronger hemodynamic responses in Chinese subjects in the contrast 'intentional empathy for familiar angry'>'baseline'. Germans, in contrast, showed stronger hemodynamic responses in the right temporo-parietal junction, right inferior and superior temporal gyrus, and left middle insula for the same contrast. Hemodynamic responses in the latter three brain regions correlated with interdependences scores over all subjects. Our results suggest that enhanced emotion regulation during empathy with anger in the interdependent lifestyle is mediated by the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Increased tolerance towards the expression of anger in the independent lifestyle, in contrast, is associated with increased activity of the right inferior and superior temporal gyrus and the left middle insula.

Emotion and support perceptions in everyday social interaction: Testing the “less is more” hypothesis in two cultures

The study examined emotional experience and perceived social support during naturally occurring social interactions in Greece and Britain. Multilevel analyses found that people in Greece (a more interdependent culture) perceived less support and experienced less positive and more negative affect in social interactions than those in the UK (a more independent culture). Positive relationships between positive affect and perceptions of support were stronger in Greece than in the UK. Global perceptions of social support did not differ between the two samples, and global perceptions were weakly related to perceived support in interaction. The results support the “less is more” hypothesis ( Oishi, S., Diener, E., Choi, D. W., Kim-Prieto, C., & Choi, I. (2007 ). The dynamics of daily events and well-being across cultures: When less is more. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 685-698) concerning cultural differences in social support and distal and proximal antecedents of interaction-level relational processes.

Putting Assumed Emotion in Fashion Brand Literacy: Understanding Brand-Identity Relationship in the Interdependent Asian Context

Over the past decade, consumer researchers have been interested in understanding symbolic relationship between consumers and brands, especially on identity construction (Elliott & Wattanasuwan, 1998; Escalas & Bettman, 2005; Kirmani, 2009) and its implications on brand management (Arvidsson, 2005; Holt, 2002; 2004). Following a cultural-psychological view to study how culture shapes brand-identity relationship, Eckhardt (2000) addresses that little attention have been paid to understand consumer behavior within interdependent cultures when compare with the prolific account of western literatures that reported the consumption behavior with an independent self-construal. This paper strives to address this absence through researching how a group of Chinese youngsters internalize their cultural values with a sense of assumed emotion and developed local specific brand literacy towards fashion brands’ perception and consumption. Following Bengtsson and Firat (2006)’s concept of brand literacy, this interpretative research aims to extend our current understanding of symbolic brand consumption and brand-identity relationship in particular to the interdependent Asian context. The literature review discusses previous studies on brand symbolism in formulating brand-identity relationship and how social psychological understanding of interdependent construal of self can be applied to consumer researches. The cultural characteristics of Chinese consumers are also discussed with reference to previous indigenous consumer researches on symbolic brand consumption. As part of a greater project on fashion and brand consumption experience among young Chinese in Guangzhou, 18 Chinese volunteers aged around 20 are recruited from local universities and colleges and become the main research informants. The fieldwork is conducted in Guangzhou. In-depth interviews and participant observations are the main data collection method. Triangulation analysis technique has been adopted to review and cross-check data collected. Our findings and discussions demonstrate different dimensions of assumed emotion (Hu, 1949) among the Chinese youngsters in structuring their brand literacy. We discuss how cultural concern towards their social identities, including as students, sons/daughters, friends, and changing identities expected in the future, may significantly impact the youngsters’ fashion and brand value, perception and consumption. Through symbolic consumption, the Chinese youngsters depict a sense of culturally specific fashion and brand knowledge as demonstrated in their fashion choice, taste and consumption, in a way that is culturally appropriate in fitting themselves in a complex social network. Guided by this sense of assumed emotion, Chinese youngsters adopt the signs and meanings embedded in brand names and its associated symbols to engage in the different social situations within their cultural setting. This has resulted in a different construct of brand literacy within the interdependent cultural context. An emergent theme is also found as there is a major difference in fashion brands perceptions and choices between the urbanities (i.e. Guangzhou localities) and peripheries (i.e. outsiders) because of a cultural difference in constructing their cosmopolitan identities (Thompson & Tambyah, 1999). To conclude, this study has contributed to our understanding of brand-identity relationship in the interdependent Asian context. Consumers in the eastern cultures tend to be subjected to integrate a larger socio-cultural context than maintaining individualistic pleasures as in western cultures. A greater concern of understanding the assumed emotion and how consumers asserted their social identities with symbolic fashion and brand consumption would be a key to understand the consumption cultures with interdependent self-construal.

Who's afraid of the boss: cultural differences in social hierarchies modulate self-face recognition in Chinese and Americans.

Human adults typically respond faster to their own face than to the faces of others. However, in Chinese participants, this self-face advantage is lost in the presence of one's supervisor, and they respond faster to their supervisor's face than to their own. While this “boss effect” suggests a strong modulation of self-processing in the presence of influential social superiors, the current study examined whether this effect was true across cultures. Given the wealth of literature on cultural differences between collectivist, interdependent versus individualistic, independent self-construals, we hypothesized that the boss effect might be weaker in independent than interdependent cultures. Twenty European American college students were asked to identify orientations of their own face or their supervisors' face. We found that European Americans, unlike Chinese participants, did not show a “boss effect” and maintained the self-face advantage even in the presence of their supervisor's face. Interestingly, however, their self-face advantage decreased as their ratings of their boss's perceived social status increased, suggesting that self-processing in Americans is influenced more by one's social status than by one's hierarchical position as a social superior. In addition, when their boss's face was presented with a labmate's face, American participants responded faster to the boss's face, indicating that the boss may represent general social dominance rather than a direct negative threat to oneself, in more independent cultures. Altogether, these results demonstrate a strong cultural modulation of self-processing in social contexts and suggest that the very concept of social positions, such as a boss, may hold markedly different meanings to the self across Western and East Asian cultures.

Early words that work: When and how virtual linguistic mimicry facilitates negotiation outcomes

We hypothesized that in online, virtual formats, negotiators receive better outcomes when mimicking their counterpart's language; furthermore, we predicted that this strategy would be more effective when occurring early in the negotiation rather than at the end, and should also be effective across both independent and interdependent cultures. Results from two experiments supported these hypotheses. Experiment 1 was conducted in Thailand and demonstrated that negotiators who actively mimicked their counterpart's language in the first 10 min of the negotiation obtained higher individual gain compared to those mimicking during the last 10 min, as well as compared to control participants. Experiment 2 replicated this effect in the United States (with Dutch and American negotiators) and also showed that trust mediated the effect of virtual linguistic mimicry on individual negotiation outcomes. Implications for virtual communication, strategic mimicry, and negotiations are discussed.

The Impact of Culture on Adaptive Versus Maladaptive Self-Reflection

Although recent findings indicate that people can reflect either adaptively or maladaptively over negative experiences, extant research has not examined how culture influences this process. We compared the self-reflective practices of Russians (members of an interdependent culture characterized by a tendency to brood) and Americans (members of an independent culture in which self-reflection has been studied extensively). We predicted that self-reflection would be associated with less-detrimental outcomes among Russians because they self-distance more when analyzing their feelings than Americans do. Findings from two studies supported these predictions. In Study 1, self-reflection was associated with fewer depressive symptoms among Russians than among Americans. In Study 2, Russians displayed less distress and a more adaptive pattern of construals than Americans after reflecting over a recent negative event. In addition, they self-distanced more than Americans while analyzing their feelings, and self-distancing mediated the cultural differences in self-reflection. These findings demonstrate how culture shapes the way people reflect over negative experiences.

Cultural Differences in Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: Implications for Asylum Decisions

Current knowledge about cultural differences in the trauma autobiographical memory is limited. Such a limitation reduces the body of empirical evidence that can be drawn upon to inform decisions about asylum. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of cultural differences in self-construal on the specificity of autobiographical memories. Research participants from independent and interdependent cultures were asked to provide autobiographical memories of everyday events, trauma events and self-defining memories. Those from independent cultures consistently provided more specific autobiographical memories than those from interdependent cultures. The findings indicate that specificity has an essential role in enhancing the dominant self-focus and needs to be considered when deeming a memory as credible.

Impact of Cultural Differences in Self on Cognitive Appraisals in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Accumulating research indicates posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a universal phenomenon. However, it remains substantially unknown as to whether the processes implicated in the aetiology and maintenance of PTSD are culturally similar. This study investigated the impact of cultural differences in self on negative cognitive appraisals in those with and without PTSD. Trauma survivors with PTSD and without PTSD from independent and interdependent cultures (N = 106) provided trauma narratives. Narratives were coded for negative cognitive appraisals (mental defeat, control strategies, alienation and permanent change) as in Ehlers and colleagues' previous work. Replicating Ehlers and colleagues' work, trauma survivors with PTSD from independent cultures reported more mental defeat, alienation, permanent change and less control strategies than non-PTSD trauma survivors from independent cultures. In contrast, for those from interdependent cultures, only alienation appraisals differentiated between trauma survivors with and without PTSD. Those with PTSD had more alienation appraisals than those without PTSD. The findings suggest cultural differences in self impact on the relationship between appraisals and posttraumatic psychological adjustment. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.