A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Perceptions of Cuteness and Kawaii Between American and Japanese College Students

Berque, Dave; Chiba, Hiroko; Hashizume, Ayako; Kurosu, Masaaki

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-22646-6_27

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Nevertheless, at least we can say that cute feelings are also prevalent and appreciated positively in the United States and Israel. Consistent with this finding, Berque et al (2019) reported that American college students found various photographs to be cute more often than Japanese students, with less gender difference, although only 47 students were sampled.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Cute and Related Concepts in Japan, the United States, and Israel

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An online survey was conducted to clarify the connotative meanings of the cute and the attitudes toward cuteness in three countries: Japan ( n = 1,000), the United States ( n = 718), and Israel ( n = 437). The results show a remarkable resemblance in respondents’ conceptions of the cute ( kawaii in Japanese and hamud in Hebrew) across countries. Except for slight cultural differences, the following common tendencies were found: (a) Cuteness is highly appreciated and believed to induce positive affective responses, (b) women tend to find things cute more frequently and strongly than men do, (c) animal babies are thought to be cuter than human babies, and (d) infants are found to be cuter when people get older, while older people generally show less positive attitudes toward cuteness. This study provides some evidence that the concept of cuteness and the feelings connected to its perception are universal.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Cute and Related Concepts in Japan, the United States, and Israel

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although the English "cute" once had a negative connotation (Dale et al, 2017;Oxford University Press, 2020c), this aspect seems to have faded out in the present day. Consistent with this finding, Berque et al (2019) reported that American college students found various photographs to be cute more often than Japanese students, with less gender difference, although only 47 students were sampled.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Cute and Related Concepts in Japan, the United States, and Israel

Nittono¹,

Milo²,

Dale³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An online survey was conducted to clarify the semantic image of the cute and attitudes toward cuteness in three countries: Japan, the United States, and Israel (total N = 2,155). The results show a remarkable resemblance in respondents’ conceptions of the cute (kawaii in Japanese and hamud in Hebrew) across countries. Several common tendencies were found: (1) Cuteness is highly appreciated and believed to induce positive affective responses, (2) women tend to find things cute more frequently and strongly than men do, (3) animal babies are thought to be cuter than human babies, and (4) infants are found to be cuter when people get older, while older people generally show less positive attitudes toward cuteness. This study demonstrates that the concept of cuteness and the feelings connected to its perception are universal.

show abstract

“…In recent years, as a result of globalization, the kawaii term and design has become a well-known concept in other countries as well. For example, in a survey conducted with 25 college students in the United States, Berque et al (2019) showed that 70% of the participants were familiar with the concept of kawaii . In another study on Israelis, Lieber-Milo and Nittono (2019a) showed that out of 445 survey participants, more than 80% were familiar with the term and were able to describe it in their own words.…”

Section: The Appeal Of the Cutementioning

confidence: 99%

Pink purchasing: Interrogating the soft power of Japan’s kawaii consumption

Lieber-Milo

2021

Journal of Consumer Culture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Japan, high value and appreciation is ascribed to anything that features the physical characteristics considered to be kawaii (roughly translated as cute in English), particularly infants. As such, kawaii plays a significant role in Japanese popular consumption culture, especially for female consumers. This article applies mixed methods, including review of literature, questionnaires conducted among 692 Japanese women of varying ages and social status, and interviews with 12 Japanese company female employees to investigate perceived positive affective aspects associated with kawaii products, including their impact on emotional states and behavior. The cross-sectional study results reveal the importance of kawaii among Japanese women and positive aspects in consuming kawaii items; for working women, it was found that kawaii products help in dealing with stress and serve as a momentary gateway from the harsh world of everyday life to a romanticized world of one’s childhood and for younger women serve as a fashion statement.

show abstract

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Perceptions of Cuteness and Kawaii Between American and Japanese College Students

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Cute and Related Concepts in Japan, the United States, and Israel

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Cute and Related Concepts in Japan, the United States, and Israel

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Cute and Related Concepts in Japan, the United States, and Israel

Pink purchasing: Interrogating the soft power of Japan’s kawaii consumption

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About