title: I am against us? Unpacking cultural differences in ingroup favoritism via dialecticism.
abstract: The authors proposed a novel explanation for cultural differences in ingroup favoritism (dialecticism) and tested this hypothesis across cultures/ethnicities, domains, and levels of analysis (explicit vs. implicit, cognitive vs. affective). Dialecticism refers to the cognitive tendency to tolerate contradiction and is more frequently found among East Asian than North American cultures. In Study 1, Chinese were significantly less positive, compared to European Americans, in their explicit judgments of family members. Study 2 investigated ingroup attitudes among Chinese, Latinos, and European Americans. Only Chinese participants showed significant in-group derogation, relative to the other groups, and dialecticism (Dialectical Self Scale) was associated with participants' in group attitudes. Study 3 manipulated dialectical versus linear lay beliefs; participants primed with dialecticism showed more negative, explicit ingroup attitudes. Although ingroup disfavoring tendencies were more prevalent among Chinese across studies, they may be a reflection of one's culturally based lay beliefs rather than deep-rooted negative feelings toward one's ingroup.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of California-Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. ma@psych.ucsb.edu
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma-Kellams
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spencer-Rodgers
authors.forename: Kaiping
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D003071:Cognition; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D011287:Prejudice; D012649:Self Concept; D013240:Stereotyping; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult