Cultural Variation in Affect Valuation

The authors propose that how people want to feel ("ideal affect") differs from how they actually feel ("actual affect") and that cultural factors influence ideal more than actual affect. In 2 studies, controlling for actual affect, the authors found that European American (EA) an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 2006-02, Vol.90 (2), p.288-307
Main Authors: Tsai, Jeanne L, Knutson, Brian, Fung, Helene H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acculturation
Adolescent
Adult
Affect
Affectivity
Affectivity. Emotion
Arousal
Asian Americans - psychology
Asian Continental Ancestry Group - psychology
Asians
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
China
Comparative analysis
Cross Cultural Differences
Cross-cultural analysis
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Cultural values
Depression - psychology
Emotional States
Emotions
Ethnic Values
European Continental Ancestry Group - psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hong Kong
Human
Humans
Imagination
Male
Mental depression
Mental health
Personality. Affectivity
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Set (Psychology)
Social Identification
Social psychology
Social Values
Sociocultural Factors
Temperament
U.S.A
United States
Valuation
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Summary:The authors propose that how people want to feel ("ideal affect") differs from how they actually feel ("actual affect") and that cultural factors influence ideal more than actual affect. In 2 studies, controlling for actual affect, the authors found that European American (EA) and Asian American (AA) individuals value high-arousal positive affect (e.g., excitement) more than do Hong Kong Chinese (CH). On the other hand, CH and AA individuals value low-arousal positive affect (e.g., calm) more than do EA individuals. For all groups, the discrepancy between ideal and actual affect correlates with depression. These findings illustrate the distinctiveness of ideal and actual affect, show that culture influences ideal affect more than actual affect, and indicate that both play a role in mental health.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.90.2.288