Culture and teasing: the relational benefits of reduced desire for positive self-differentiation.
The authors hypothesized that teasing, a social interaction that benefits relational bonds at the expense of the self, should be viewed as more affiliative, and experienced as more pleasurable, by members of cultures that deemphasize positive self-differentiation. In four multimethod studies, Asian Americans attributed more affiliative intent to teasers and reported more positive target experience than did European Americans. Teaser behavior, attribution biases, and personality did not account for culture-related differences in teasing experience. Rather, childhood teasing may better prepare Asian American children to overlook a tease's affront to the self in favor of its relational rewards. Implications of deemphasizing positive self-differentiation in social interaction are discussed.
Campos
Belinda
B
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA. campos@psych.ucla.edu
Keltner
Dacher
D
Beck
Jennifer M
JM
Gonzaga
Gian C
GC
John
Oliver P
OP
D000339:Affect; D001213:Asian; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D033262:Narration; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D012928:Social Desirability; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People