The present research examined cultural differences in the type and frequency of support provided as well as the motivations underlying these behaviors. Study 1, an open-ended survey, asked participants about their social interactions in the past 24 hours and found that European Americans reported providing emotion-focused support more frequently than problem-focused support, whereas Japanese exhibited the opposite pattern. Study 2, a closed-ended questionnaire study, found that, in response to the close other's big stressor, European Americans provided more emotion-focused support whereas Japanese provided equivalent amounts of emotion-focused and problem-focused support. In addition, Study 2 examined motivational explanations for these differences. Social support provision was motivated by the goal of closeness and increasing recipient self-esteem among European Americans, but only associated with the motive for closeness among Japanese. These studies illustrate the importance of considering cultural context and its role in determining the meaning and function of various support behaviors.

Building on gene-environment interaction (G × E) research, this study examines how the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene interacts with a situational prime of religion to influence prosocial behavior. Some DRD4 variants tend to be more susceptible to environmental influences, whereas other variants are less susceptible. Thus, certain life environments may be associated with acts of prosociality for some DRD4 variants but not others. Given that religion can act as an environmental influence that increases prosocial behavior, environmental input in the form of religion priming may have G × E effects. Results showed that participants with DRD4 susceptibility variants were more prosocial when implicitly primed with religion than not primed with religion, whereas participants without DRD4 susceptibility variants were not impacted by priming. This research has implications for understanding why different people may behave prosocially for different reasons and also integrates G × E research with experimental psychology.

Previous research has found cultural differences in the frequency of support seeking. Asians and Asian Americans report seeking support from their close others to deal with their stress less often compared to European Americans. Similarly, other research on professional help seeking has shown that Asians and Asian Americans are less likely than European Americans to seek professional psychological help. Previous studies link this difference to multitude of factors, such as cultural stigma and reliance on informal social networks. The present research examined another explanation for cultural differences in professional help seeking. We predicted that the observed cultural difference in professional help seeking is an extension of culture-specific interpersonal relationship patterns. In the present research, undergraduate students in Japan and the United States completed the Inventory of Attitudes toward Seeking Mental Health Services, which measures professional help seeking propensity, psychological openness to acknowledging psychological problems, and indifference to the stigma of seeking professional help. The results showed that Japanese reported greater reluctance to seek professional help compared to Americans. Moreover, the relationship between culture and professional help seeking attitudes was partially mediated by use of social support seeking among close others. The implications of cultural differences in professional help seeking and the relationship between support seeking and professional help seeking are discussed.

Previous research suggests that the benefits of different types of social support depend on cultural background. However, cultural variations in the underlying motivations for seeking social support and the emotional implications of receiving support have not yet been clearly explored. We hypothesized and found that European Americans emphasized the motivation for self-esteem as a factor in deciding to seek explicit social support (e.g., advice, emotional comfort), whereas Japanese emphasized relational concerns as a factor in deciding to seek implicit social support (e.g., the emotional comfort experienced without disclosing one’s problems). Furthermore, European Americans anticipated experiencing strong feelings of self-esteem and pride regarding receiving support, whereas Japanese anticipated experiencing strong feelings of shame and guilt. Additionally, influence goals mediated cultural differences in the motivation for self-esteem and the experience of self-esteem and pride, whereas adjustment goals mediated cultural differences in relational concerns and the experience of shame and guilt.

Research has shown that Asians/Asian Americans are less likely to seek social support to deal with stressful situations than European Americans. Two studies examined the effectiveness of two types of social support: support that is sought directly (solicited support) and support received without prompting from the recipient (unsolicited support). It was theorized that receiving unsolicited support may reinforce social belonging and relational ties, whereas soliciting support may pose relational threats for Asian Americans. In contrast, European Americans may be less affected by type of support received. The first study examined culture (European American vs. Asian American) and type of social support (solicited vs. unsolicited) on stress responses to a task in a lab setting. The second study used vignettes of possible stressors with unsolicited or solicited coping techniques. Results supported our hypothesis, with Asian Americans reporting better outcomes from unsolicited support and European Americans showing little difference between support types.

The present study examined cultural differences in interpersonal stress experiences in Japan and the United States. Japanese and U.S. students completed a questionnaire that included measures of interpersonal stressors, the behavior inhibition system (BIS), and psychological distress. As hypothesized, frequency of interpersonal friction was higher in Japan than in the United States, whereas frequency of interpersonal conflict did not differ across cultures. BIS partially mediated relationships between culture and frequency of interpersonal friction.

Research has demonstrated that certain genotypes are expressed phenotypically in different forms depending on the social environment. To examine sensitivity to cultural norms regarding emotion regulation, we explored the expression of the oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) rs53576, a gene previously related to socioemotional sensitivity, in conjunction with cultural norms. Emotional suppression is normative in East Asian cultures but not in American culture. Consequently, we predicted an interaction of Culture and OXTR in emotional suppression. Korean and American participants completed assessments of emotion regulation and were genotyped for OXTR. We found the predicted interaction: Among Americans, those with the GG genotype reported using emotional suppression less than those with the AA genotype, whereas Koreans showed the opposite pattern. These findings suggest that OXTR rs53576 is sensitive to input from cultural norms regarding emotion regulation. These findings also indicate that culture is a moderator that shapes behavioral outcomes associated with OXTR genotypes.

Using a genetic moderation approach, this study examines how an experimental prime of religion impacts self-control in a social context, and whether this effect differs depending on the genotype of an oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) polymorphism (rs53576). People with different genotypes of OXTR seem to have different genetic orientations toward sociality, which may have consequences for the way they respond to religious cues in the environment. In order to determine whether the influence of religion priming on self-control is socially motivated, we examine whether this effect is stronger for people who have OXTR genotypes that should be linked to greater rather than less social sensitivity (i.e., GG vs. AA/AG genotypes). The results showed that experimentally priming religion increased self-control behaviors for people with GG genotypes more so than people with AA/AG genotypes. Furthermore, this Gene × Religion interaction emerged in a social context, when people were interacting face to face with another person. This research integrates genetic moderation and social psychological approaches to address a novel question about religion's influence on self-control behavior, which has implications for coping with distress and psychopathology. These findings also highlight the importance of the social context for understanding genetic moderation of psychological effects.