Cultural differences in emotion regulation during self-reflection on negative personal experiences.
Reflecting on negative personal experiences has implications for mood that may vary as a function of specific domains (e.g., achievement vs. interpersonal) and cultural orientation (e.g., interdependence vs. independence). This study investigated cultural differences in the social-cognitive and affective processes undertaken as Easterners and Westerners reflected on negative interpersonal and performance experiences. One hundred Asian Americans and 92 European-American college students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: interpersonal rejection, achievement failure, or a control condition. Results revealed that Asian Americans experienced greater distress than European Americans after self-reflecting over a failed interpersonal experience, suggesting cultural sensitivity in the relational domain. Consistent with theoretical predictions, analysis of the social cognitive and affective processes that participants engaged in during self-reflection provided some evidence that self-enhancement may buffer distress for European Americans, while emotion suppression may be adaptive for Asian Americans.
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. willtsai@ucla.edu
William
W
Tsai
Anna S
AS
Lau
D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012647:Self-Assessment; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*