Cultural Differences in Perception of Family
Obligation and Request Compliance in China and the US
Mary Bresnahan
Wuyu Liu
Michigan State University
Abstract
Early theorists claimed that perception of
obligation as aversive is a pancultural universal. This study investigates
whether obligation is seen as aversive or benevolent by participants in China
(n = 205) and the U.S. (n = 164) with these results. Compared to Chinese,
Americans showed greater perception of obligation as benevolent in the high
obligation condition. Americans showed less perception of aversive obligation
compared to Chinese. Gratitude, perceived reciprocity and threat of face loss
were positively related to perception of obligation as benevolent and
negatively related to perception of obligation as aversive. Chinese showed more
compliance with the uncle’s request only in the moderate obligation condition
compared to Americans. Both Americans and Chinese complied with the uncle’s request
in the high obligation condition. Participants who perceived obligation as
aversive showed less compliance whereas those who saw obligation as benevolent
showed more compliance. These results suggest that obligation is not seen as
universally and exclusively aversive. More testing of perception of obligation
across cultures needs to be conducted to see whether the results of this study
find replication and support.
Keywords: aversive
obligation, benevolent obligation, gratitude, face loss, compliance
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