Cultural Practices Emphasize Influence in the United States and Adjustment in Japan

TLDR

People can both influence and adjust to their environment, but the United States prioritizes influence while Japan prioritizes adjustment, leading to distinct psychological traits. Americans better recall influence situations and report stronger efficacy, whereas Japanese better recall adjustment situations and report stronger relatedness, with U.S.

Abstract

People have the capacity both to influence their environment and to adjust to it, but the United States and Japan are said to emphasize these processes differently. The authors suggest that Americans and Japanese develop distinct psychological characteristics, which are attuned to social practices that emphasize influence (in the United States) and adjustment (in Japan). American participants could remember more, and more recent, situations that involve influence, and Japanese respondents could remember more, and more recent, situations that involve adjustment. Second, American-made influence situations evoked stronger feelings of efficacy, whereas Japanese-made adjustment situations evoked stronger feelings of relatedness. Third, Americans reported more efficacy than Japanese, especially when responding to influence situations. Japanese felt more interpersonally close than Americans, especially when responding to adjustment situations. Surprisingly, U.S. influence situations also made people feel close to others, perhaps because they involved influencing other people.