Avoiding Rejection or Seeking Harmony: The Underlying Motivation to Social Tune for Collectivists

Jeanine L.M. Skorinko, Stacey Sinclair, Satia Marotta, Melissa Paris, Xing Dai, Melissa Sue John, Aidan Doyle, Jessica Greenleaf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The current work examined why collectivists engage in more chronic social tuning: to seek harmony or to avoid rejection. In Study 1, 159 Asian participants self-reported being more motivated to avoid rejection in a situation involving social tuning. In Study 2, 190 Asian participants engaged in social tuning to a classmate’s perceived views more when primed to avoid rejection than seek harmony. While study 3 found that 192 American participants reported avoiding rejection in social tuning situations, Study 4, showed that 206 American participants did not engage in social tuning when primed to avoid rejection. Collectivists will social tune and reduce prejudice when motivated to avoid rejection. This warrants future attention to cultural variation in other social tuning domains.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)295-313
Number of pages19
JournalBasic and Applied Social Psychology
Volume46
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Social Psychology
  • Applied Psychology

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