1. Culture
Beth Lee
November, 18, 2003

2. Culture and the Self (Markus & Kitayama, 1991)
In Western cultures, the self is viewed as an independent, autonomous, separated being defined by a s unique repertoire of attributes, abilities, thoughts, and feelings
In Eastern Cultures, the self is viewed as interdependent with others and is experienced as part of a social web

3. Culture and the Self - cont. (Markus & Kitayama, 1991)
Independent Self
Mother
Father
x x x
x x
X Self x
x x x
Sibling
x x
x x x
Friend
x x x
Co-worker

4. Culture and the Self - cont. (Markus & Kitayama, 1991)
Interdependent Self
Mother
Father
x Self
x x x x x
Sibling
x x x
x x
Friend
Co-worker

5. Culture and Attribution (Morris & Peng, 1994)
American articles
Personality traits (e.g., “ very bad temper”)
Attitudes (e.g., “personal belief that guns were an important means to redress grievances”)
Psychological problems (e.g. “darkly disturbed man who drove himself to success and destruction”)

6. Culture and Attribution - cont. (Morris & Peng, 1994)
Chinese articles
Relationships(e.g., “did not get along with his advisor”)
Pressures in Chinese society(e.g., “a victim of the ‘Top Student’s Education Policy”)

7. Culture and Motivation (Heine, Takata, & Lehman, 2000)
Self-enhancement
Canadians resisted the notion that they had been outperformed by their peers when given such feedback
Canadians slowed down, needed more information and were less confident when receiving more negative (critical) feedback

8. Culture and Motivation- cont. (Heine,Takata, & Lehman, 2000)
Self-criticism
Japanese resisted the notion that they had outperformed their Japanese peers
Japanese needed more information, became more hesitant, and less confident when given positive (enhancing) feedback

9. Culture and Persuasion Han & Shavitt (1994)
Individualistic appeals focused on independence, individual benefits, preference, and personal success (e.g., “the art of being unique,” “make your way through the crowd”)
Collectivistic appeals focused on in-group benefits, harmony, and family integrity(e.g., “we have a way of bring people closer together,” “our family agrees with the selection of home-furnishings”)

10. Han & Shavitt (1994)-cont. Individualistic appeals
American ads > Korean ads
Collectivistic appeals
Korean ads > American ads

11. Culture and Persuasion Lee, Fong & Zanna (2002)
Content analysis of Korean and North American magazine ads with respect to regulatory focus theory
Coding scheme covered the different aspects of promotion and prevention focus (needs, goals, emotions, decision making strategies, and self-construals)

12. Regulatory Focus Theory
Hedonic principle : people wish to approach pleasure and to avoid pain
Promotion focus : pursuit of gains and aspiration toward ideals Independent self
Prevention focus : the avoidance of losses and the fulfillment of obligations  interdependent self

15. Percentage of Ads Using Promotion Focus Themes

16. Percentage of Ads Using Prevention Focus Themes

17. Proportion of Regulatory Focus in Ads as a Function of Culture
Interaction F (1, 451) = , p < .001

18. Summary
It was Korean ads that employed more promotion appeals than North American ads
This surprising pattern of the results was the same regardless of magazine category (e.g. news, women’s) and product category (e.g. personal, technology)

19. Two Opposing Predictions
Are promotion focus themes REALLY more persuasive to Koreans than to North Americans?
Koreans would like promotion focus themes more than North Americans
vs.
Koreans would like prevention focus themes more than North Americans, whereas North Americans would like promotion focus themes more than Koreans

20. Evaluation by Culture by Country of Ad
Koreans
Canadians
Interaction F ( 1, 48) = 27.32, p < .01

21. Evaluation by Culture by Regulatory Focus
Koreans
Canadians
Interaction F ( 1, 48) = 3.89, p = .05

22. Conclusions
Individuals from Asian cultures, who are likely to emphasize interdependence, are also more likely to resonate to ads with a prevention focus than individuals from North America, who are likely to emphasize independence