Contemporary theories of emotion emphasize the dual role of emotions as both personal experiences and communicative signals during social interactions. However, the impact of macro-level societal structures on emotional expression remains underexplored. This study investigates the expression-experience discrepancy for self-reported emotions across nations, focusing on how societal development relates to this discrepancy, which captures expressivity. Using meta-analysis and multilevel modeling with a multinational sample ( N sample = 12,549, k nation = 48; Study 1), we assessed the directions and variabilities in the frequency of expression of both positive and negative emotions, relative to the frequency of experiencing them. Negative emotions were more likely to be under-expressed. Further analyses revealed that societal trust, system quality and fairness, and the human development index significantly predicted the size of these discrepancies. Surprisingly, these effects were not associated with traditional cultural dimensions such as individualism versus collectivism, providing new insights into the social functionality of emotions from a macro perspective. These findings were replicated in an extended multinational sample ( N sample = 19,690, k nation = 65; Study 2). Our findings highlight the importance of considering structural and societal factors in emotion research and provide a foundation for future explorations into the relations between cultural contexts and the expression of emotions.
This scoping review examined mental health help-seeking preferences and factors influencing formal help-seeking among Indian immigrants. Conducted using the PRISMA-ScR framework, searches were undertaken in PubMed, PsychINFO, Ovid’s Embase and CINAHL using combinations of keywords relating to mental health, help-seeking, and Indian immigrants. Studies were eligible if they focused on Indian immigrants’ mental health help-seeking, were conducted in the United States, Canada, Australia or the United Kingdom and were published in English from 2000 onwards. Peer-reviewed journal articles and dissertations were included, while other non-peer-reviewed sources were excluded. The review synthesised 21 studies involving adults aged 18 to 84 years. Most samples included more females than males, were predominantly first-generation immigrants and were largely Hindu, Sikh or Jain. Studies were mainly conducted in the United States, involved qualitative designs, and were from dissertations. Two key patterns were identified. Firstly, Indian immigrants preferred informal, semi-informal, and self-help strategies for managing mental health concerns, with low utilisation of formal services. Secondly, decisions to access formal sources were shaped by various cultural and attitudinal factors. These findings highlight the role of sociocultural beliefs in Indian immigrants’ help-seeking and the need for culturally sensitive mental health promotion initiatives to improve help-seeking outcomes in this population.
While previous studies have extensively examined the relationship between religion and subjective well-being (SWB), findings remain mixed, and ongoing debates persist regarding the nature and strength of this association. Moreover, less is known about specific dimensions of religiosity, such as the importance of God in individuals’ lives and its relationship with SWB. Building on the person-country fit literature, this study analyzes the implications of (a) the fit between personal importance of God and country-level religiosity norms for SWB, and (b) the fit between personal importance of God and societal freedom of religion for SWB. Utilizing data from 78 countries and regions ( N = 114,441), the findings reveal that cultural fit—specifically, alignment between individual-level and country-level importance of God—is significantly associated with higher SWB, with this association being particularly strong among older adults. These results provide valuable empirical and theoretical insights, offering important implications for research on religion, person-country fit in religiosity, and SWB.
How individuals explain their partner's behavior is a key cognitive process in romantic relationships. These "relationship attributions" have been consistently linked with relationship quality, but most evidence comes from Western, individualistic contexts. The cultural psychology literature suggests that attributional processes are shaped by broader cognitive and social norms, raising questions about their universality in close relationships. In a pre-registered, cross-cultural design, individuals in romantic relationships from Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States (N = 2,347) reported on causal and responsibility attributions and relationship satisfaction. We tested country-level differences in levels of attributions and whether the association between attributions and satisfaction was moderated by country. Mean levels of causal and responsibility attributions differed significantly: Taiwanese participants reported the highest levels, followed by Turkey, the U.S., and Spain. Higher levels of causal and responsibility attributions were associated with lower satisfaction in all countries, but the strength of this association varied: it was strongest in Turkey and the U.S., moderate in Spain, and weakest in Taiwan. Relationship attributions are thus culturally patterned in both degree and function. These findings underscore the importance of integrating cultural context into theories of relationship cognition and caution against assuming the universality of attribution-satisfaction links.
This research comprehensively examined regional variations in individualism and collectivism within China and the explanatory power of 20 potential factors derived from the existing cultural psychological theories, including socioecological (e.g., climates, subsistence activities, and modernization) and population (e.g., ethnicity, genetic and linguistic features) ones. Three large-scale studies were conducted. In Study 1 ( N = 18,606), we assessed 11 markers of individualism-collectivism. In Studies 2 and 3, we evaluated whether the main findings of Study 1 could be replicated in two large community samples ( N = 8,167 and 20,590, respectively) when perceived cultures of individualism and collectivism were considered and when the pandemic of COVID-19 was going on, respectively. Three studies consistently showed that (1) systematic East-West differences in individualism and collectivism existed, with higher individualism and lower collectivism in Eastern China than in Western China; meanwhile, there was some suggestive evidence of North-South differences, with higher individualism and lower collectivism in Southern China than in Northern China; (2) among the predictive socioecological (e.g., pathogen prevalence, modernization) and population factors (e.g., ethnicity, genetic and linguistic relatedness), modernization was the most potent and robust predictor of individualism and collectivism; (3) regional cultural variations often arose from the combined influences of multiple factors; and (4) the evidence supported most existing theories about the sources of cultural variation, with a few exceptions (e.g., the rice theory). These findings provide novel insights into regional cultural variations and the applicability of many relevant theories within China, and also shed light on cross-cultural psychology in general.
Global migration has increased ethnic and cultural diversification at the local community level, creating novel, culturally diverse everyday contexts and reshaping understandings of groups with different cultural backgrounds. This study investigates the perceptions that young people from various cultural backgrounds have of each other. We employed a structural approach to social representations utilizing the word associations method. Participants included 42 adolescents ages 13 to 19 from the Savo region in Finland of Finnish, Middle Eastern, or Ukrainian backgrounds. The data consisted of 577 word associations related to these three cultural groups. Qualitative content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to examine the contents, evaluations, structures, and potential dynamics of social representations of these groups. Five structural elements were identified—cultural stereotypes, appearance of people, characteristics of people, characteristics of culture, and social connections—which were divided into four structural zones of social representations. While the structures of “Finnish” and “Ukrainian” indicated potential transformation in social representations, the structure of “Middle Eastern” showed stability. Ingroup favoritism was found in all three participant groups based on the evaluations of associations. The findings are discussed in relation to the sociopolitical context of Finnish society.
Emotion socialization goals (ESGs) refer to parental expectations and aspirations for their children's emotional development. This research aims to explore what ESGs are held by contemporary Chinese parents, and how different ESGs relate to parental emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) and child outcomes in China. Three empirical studies were conducted. In Study 1, parents' (n = 150, 78% females, 36-57 years old) written responses to an open-ended question about their emotion socialization goals were analyzed using a hybrid inductive-deductive coding approach, with the aim of identifying emergent themes and confirming the theorized dimensions of ESGs. In Study 2, a survey-based study involving parents (n = 1,417; 57.66% females, M age = 41.94 years old, SD = 4.52) was conducted to examine the basic psychometric properties of the newly developed scale using factor analyses and test its criterion-related validity. Factor analyses revealed three factors: extreme self-oriented, balanced, and extreme other-oriented ESGs. The results showed that parents with balanced ESGs tended to exhibit more supportive ERSBs and experienced less emotional dysfunction, while parents with extreme ESGs tended to display more nonsupportive ERSBs and have more emotional dysfunction. Even after controlling parental socialization goals or parents' own emotional dysfunction, the three kinds of ESGs explained additional variances in predicting parental ERSBs. Based on parent-child dyads (n = 483; for children: M age = 14.01 years old, SD = 0.93, 41.03% females; for parents: M age = 42.05 years old, SD = 4.60, 49.90% females), Study 3 explored how ESGs relate to children's psychosocial problems. The results showed that balanced ESGs were linked negatively with children's psychosocial problems. Extreme self-oriented ESGs but not extreme other-oriented ones had significant positive associations with children's psychosocial problems. Moreover, ERSBs significantly accounted for the relations between ESGs and children's psychosocial problems. The findings suggest that ESGs of Chinese parents are multi-dimensional and have close relevance to parental ERSBs and child outcomes.
Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) proposes that moral judgements arise from distinct yet universal psychological systems, shaped by multiple factors such as social learning. Personality traits also shape (and are shaped by) moral priorities. Prior research linking socially aversive traits to moral foundations has yielded heterogeneous and often contradictory results, likely due to trait-specific approaches and culturally limited samples. The present study addresses these limitations by examining the Dark Factor of Personality (D), the common core underlying all aversive traits, as a broad dispositional predictor of moral foundations across cultures. Using data from 101,433 participants across 32 countries, we tested whether D systematically undermines endorsement of moral foundations and whether these associations vary by cultural environment. D showed robust negative associations to the individualizing foundations (care/harm, fairness/reciprocity), reflecting reduced concern for others’ welfare and justice. Smaller and more variable negative associations emerged for the binding foundations (ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity), with positive relations in some countries, suggesting that endorsement of these concerns may serve instrumental purposes for high-D individuals in certain contexts. Moderator analyses further revealed that the association between D and moral foundations was qualified by various cultural characteristics. Overall, the findings clarify the relationship between aversive personality and morality and underscore the importance of integrating personality and cultural frameworks to better understand the moral psychology of aversive traits and how it interacts with cultural aspects.
Amid accelerating globalization and growing uncertainty, employees’ innovative work behavior is now essential to enhancing organizational competitiveness, particularly in culturally diverse higher education institutions (HEIs) where innovation is key to sustainable performance. However, empirical research on how cultural intelligence (CQ) fosters employees’ innovative work behavior remains limited. The current study endeavors to elucidate the underlying processes and contextual conditions that shape CQ’s influence on innovative work behavior, examining the mediating roles of employee voice and work engagement, as well as the moderating effect of the innovation climate. Using data from 541 employees and 170 immediate leaders across 156 HEIs in China, the results show that: (1) CQ positively correlates with innovative work behavior; (2) employee voice and work engagement mediate the nexus between CQ and innovative work behavior; and (3) When the innovation climate is highly supportive, the indirect impact of CQ on innovative work behavior via these mediators is amplified. The results yield valuable theoretical and practical insights for managing cultural diversity and fostering employee innovation in organizational settings.
This study examines associations among cyberbullying victimization, internalized homophobia, and hopelessness among South Korean LGB emerging and young adults. In doing so, the study focuses on the roles of individualistic and collectivistic self-esteem as crucial cultural-psychological processes that link these constructs. Cross-sectional data were collected via an online survey from late August 2023 to mid-January 2024. The study used 254 responses from Korean LGB emerging and young adults, the majority of whom were aged 19-29 years (65.4%). The analytical results showed that cyberbullying victimization was significantly associated with hopelessness, with collectivistic self-esteem and internalized homophobia each accounting for part of this association. Specifically, greater cyberbullying victimization was positively associated with higher levels of hopelessness, with this association operating indirectly through lower collectivistic self-esteem and higher internalized homophobia. By contrast, individualistic self-esteem was not significantly associated with any of the key variables. Based on the findings, the study suggests the importance of collectivistic cultural values in this specific population. It additionally stresses the roles of collectivistic self-esteem and internalized homophobia in understanding the psychological well-being consequences of cyberbullying victimization among this population.
This study revisits person-environment (PE) fit by examining the portability and contextual evolution of a Chinese cultural model of fit in contemporary mainland China. Building on Chuang et al.'s five-dimensional model developed in Taiwan, we conducted qualitative interviews with 60 mainland Chinese employees to assess the model's portability and to identify contextual extensions within contemporary urban China. While participants affirmed dimensions such as competence, harmony, cultivation, and realization, they also articulated additional emphases that extend the original model. In particular, fit was frequently constructed in instrumental terms, defined by performance, utility, and functional alignment and less by emotional attachment or value congruence. Participants also described psychological detachment, strong work-life separation, and fit as a socially situated performance of appropriateness guided by role expectations and relational norms. These findings illustrate how a culturally grounded model of PE fit retains coherence while shifting in salience over time and setting within a shared Confucian tradition. By documenting both continuity and contextual evolution, the study contributes to a more context-sensitive understanding of fit and informs broader theoretical debates about how PE fit is constructed, enacted, and reweighted across organizational and career contexts.
How do perceived and objective cultural distance compare in predicting immigrants' acculturation experiences? Using data from a diverse sample of immigrants residing in the United States (N = 939), we examined perceived cultural distance alongside objective cultural distance measured by the Cultural Fixation Index (CFST ), a novel and flexible metric derived from World Values Survey data that captures between-group variation in cultural values. Our findings reveal that perceived cultural distance, assessed using the Brief Perceived Cultural Distance Scale, was more often associated with psychological outcomes, including higher homesickness (β = .08) and lower psychological adaptation (β = -.08). In contrast, objective cultural distance was negatively associated with physical health (β = -.16), and stronger orientations toward host culture (β = .08). The two measures were moderately correlated (r = .34), and both predicted greater culture shock and stronger heritage culture orientation. Neither objective nor perceived cultural distance significantly predicted depressive symptoms or anxiety. These findings highlight the importance of assessing both subjective perceptions and objective measures of cultural differences when studying acculturation and considering their respective trade-offs.
While online polarization has garnered significant global attention, the role of societal culture in shaping polarized discourse remains underexplored. This research examines how cultural tightness-looseness-the extent to which social norms are strongly enforced and deviance is sanctioned-influences the polarity of online discourse, conceptualized as divergence in expressed evaluations across users rather than individual extremity. Building on compensatory behavior theory, the authors propose that chronic normative constraint in tight cultures motivates compensatory expression in digital environments where monitoring and sanctions are weaker, producing greater dispersion in expressed evaluations. Across three large-scale field studies, tight (vs. loose) cultures exhibit systematically different levels of discourse polarity across Booking.com reviews, Twitter microblogs, and The New York Times comment forums, at both national and U.S. state levels. Critically, this compensatory dynamic is context-dependent: cultural tightness amplifies discourse polarity in low-normative-salience domains (e.g., product and service evaluations) but constrains polarized expression in high-normative-salience domains (e.g., political discourse). These findings advance tightness-looseness theory by revealing its context-sensitive effects on expression, extend compensatory behavior theory to aggregate online discourse, and position societal norm strength as a macro-level driver of polarization in digital environments.
This study aims to examine the temporal trends of independent and interdependent self-construals among Chinese adolescents and explore the predictive role of macro-level socioecological factors in shaping these changes. Based on 67 independent samples (totaling 28,505 participants) collected between 2006 and 2022, we conducted a cross-temporal meta-analysis across secondary school and university student populations. The results revealed a significant increase in independent self-construals over time, especially pronounced among university students, with a marked acceleration around 2013. In contrast, interdependent self-construals continued to dominate and remained relatively stable in both groups. Further regression analyses indicated that socioecological factors (such as urbanization rate, per capita GDP, and higher education enrollment) significantly predicted changes in independent self-construals among university students, but had minimal effects on secondary school students. In conclusion, independent self-construals among Chinese adolescents have significantly increased over time, particularly in university students, with socioecological factors playing an important role in this change, while the changes among secondary school students remain slow and stable.
This study investigates how self-construals (autonomy, relatedness, and autonomous-relatedness) and conflict resolution styles predict marital satisfaction and adjustment in a Turkish sample using structural equation modeling (SEM). A total of 1,037 married individuals (68.8% women) participated in the study. Results revealed that self-construals significantly associated with conflict resolution styles, which in turn were associated with marital outcomes. Specifically, autonomous-related self-construal was associated with increased use of constructive conflict strategies and decreased use of destructive or passive strategies (e.g., withdrawal, submission). These patterns were consistent across gender, though effect sizes varied. Notably, passive strategies such as withdrawal (in men) and submission (in women) were significantly negatively associated with marital adjustment and satisfaction. Conversely, constructive conflict resolution styles and autonomous-related self-construal have been found to be positively associated with marital quality. The model accounted for 75.9% of the variance in marital satisfaction for women and 73.2% for men. The findings support the notion that culturally grounded self-construals shape interpersonal behavior in intimate relationships and highlight the adaptive value of autonomous-relatedness in collectivistic-modernizing societies. These results have practical implications for culturally sensitive couple interventions. Future research should explore these dynamics using dyadic and longitudinal data to clarify causal pathways.
Children's emotional dependency is often perceived as a barrier to their psychosocial adjustment. This study aimed to explore the moderating roles of culture and maternal attitudes in the relation between young children's emotional dependency and psychosocial adjustment. The study invited mothers of 130 young children, comprising 63 from the United Kingdom (Mean age [M] = 61.56 months, SD = 4.56 months) and 67 from China (M = 60.04 months, SD = 5.44 months). The results revealed significant cross-cultural differences in the correlation between children's emotional dependency on mothers and psychosocial adjustment; the correlation was negative for British children but not statistically significant for Chinese children. Additionally, Chinese mothers exhibited more positive and fewer negative attitudes toward their children's emotional dependency compared to their British counterparts. Furthermore, both Chinese and British mothers' positive attitudes played a moderating role in the relation between children's emotional dependency and social skills, particularly in terms of engagement and empathy. When mothers displayed more positive attitudes, emotional dependency was positively associated with empathy and engagement skills. Conversely, when mothers exhibited fewer positive attitudes, these relations were negative. This study's findings underscored the importance of two intertwined contextual factors-culture and maternal attitudes-in understanding the adaptive significance of a child's emotional dependency.
Cultural psychology is studying how human culture and psyche interact and mutually constitute each other. Diverse cultural models have been developed to describe cultural features or dimensions to explain differences and similarities between people's behaviours, emotions, values and interactions across cultures. The present study takes an in-depth and outsider approach, by investigating migrants' perspectives on German culture. Using go-along, semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis we investigate how migrants' perceptions of elements of German culture interact with their sense of belonging. Five themes describe this experience (1) relying on German rigidity, (2) discovering authenticity in the reservedness of social minimalism, (3) living out freedom in a limited social space, (4) navigating subcultural collectivism within a culture of neoliberalism and (5) living between assimilative expectations and the integration of multiculturalism. Together, these themes show that migrants' belonging is shaped not only by interpersonal dynamics but also by structural practices, implicit cultural scripts, and perceived contradictions within national identity discourse. The findings refine cultural-psychological theories by demonstrating how cultural meaning-making unfolds in migration contexts and point to practical implications, such as educating people on the importance of minimal bonding acts, supporting sub-cultures, and reflecting on implicit assimilation attitudes in policy messaging for fostering belonging in migrants in Germany.
This 1-year longitudinal study investigated the moderating role of classroom sociable norm on the relations between self- and group-oriented cultural values and adjustment among Chinese adolescents. Participants included 2,671 students (47.8% boys, M age = 12.90 years old) in seventh grade from 58 classrooms in China. Data on self- and group-orientations, sociability, and school and psychosocial adjustment were collected from multiple sources including self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and school records. Self-orientation was found to negatively predict later prosociality and positively predict later behavioral problems in classrooms with a low classroom sociable norm. In classrooms with a high sociable norm, self-orientation positively predicted later academic performance and social status. The results highlighted the importance of classroom context in shaping adjustment outcomes of adolescents with different cultural orientations.
Amid China's rapidly aging population, understanding determinants of long-term care preferences is increasingly critical. Drawing on data from the 2016 to 2023 waves of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), this study investigates how early-life adversity indicators shape older adults' preferences for family-based care. Results indicate that individuals exposed to early-life adversity are more likely to favor family-centered care arrangements in later life. Mediation analyses reveal that this relationship is partially explained by diminished perceived social role and poorer health outcomes. Dimension-specific analyses further show that childhood experiences of nutritional deprivation and parental loss significantly increase the preference for family-based care, whereas limited medical accessibility exerts a negative association. Psychological analyses demonstrate that early-life adversity indicators strengthen older adults' recognition of children's caregiving responsibilities, indirectly reinforcing reliance on family support. Moderation tests indicate that the effect of early-life adversity on care preferences is amplified in regions with stronger Confucian cultural influence. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the association is particularly pronounced among urban residents, those with higher educational attainment, and women. By integrating early-life experiences with psychological and cultural mechanisms, this study elucidates the social and cognitive foundations of long-term care decisions and offers empirical insights for designing differentiated eldercare policies.
Cha-xu sharing refers to the differentiated resource-sharing behaviors of individuals based on their social distance to different target others. Existing research has not adequately investigated the internal mechanisms that produce such differential behaviors from the perspective of "egoistic altruism," nor has it examined whether culturally rooted Cha-xu Geju (differential mode of association) can be externally modulated. Study 1 employed three ecologically valid scenarios to provide basic evidence that individuals' resource allocations follow a cha-xu sharing pattern. Study 2 further demonstrated that perceived role responsibility, self-interest, and reciprocity jointly mediate the effect of social distance on sharing, and proposed a responsibility-benefit dual-drive model to account for cha-xu sharing. Study 3 manipulated pro-sharing social norms and found that, although they increased overall sharing levels, in certain respects they also strengthened the cha-xu pattern. These findings advance our understanding of differentiated decision-making in Confucian-influenced cultural contexts and offer a basis for designing managerial strategies to balance fairness with cultural fit.
