Cultural Similarities and Differences in Social Discounting: The Mediating Role of Harmony-Seeking

Abstract

One’s generosity to others declines as a function of social distance, which is known as social discounting. We examined cultural similarities and differences in social discounting and the mediating roles of the two aspects of interdependence (self-expression and distinctiveness of the self) as well as the two aspects of independence (harmony-seeking and rejection avoidance). Using the same procedure that previous researchers used to test North Americans, Study 1 showed that compared to North Americans, Japanese discount more steeply a partner’s outcomes compared to their own future outcomes, whereas the decrease in the subjective value of the partner’s outcomes accelerates less as a function of social distance. To examine the cultural similarities and differences in social discounting in more detail, Study 2 tested Japanese and Germans and found that the hyperbolic with exponent model fitted the participants’ discounting behaviors better than the other models, except for the loss condition in Germans where the utility of the q-exponential model was indicated. Moreover, although the social discounting rate was higher in Japanese than in Germans, the cultural difference was limited to the gain frame. However, the decline in a person’s generosity accelerated less as a function of social distance in Japanese than in Germans. Furthermore, the cultural difference in the social discounting in gains was mediated by the level of harmony-seeking, which was higher in Germans than in Japanese. Implications for individuals’ generosity against the backdrop of cultural characteristics are discussed.

Quantitative Cross-Cultural Similarities and Differences in Social Discounting for Gains and Losses

“…Discounting rates were lower for both the Japanese and US samples under the relative condition than the stranger condition. However, contrary to their hypothesis, Japanese participants were found to discount more steeply (e.g., choose to share less often) than US participants, similar to Ishii and Eisen (5).…”

“…However, the q -exponential equation best fit German participants' loss data. Thus, in both the Takahashi (3) and Ishii and Eisen (5) studies, there was a difference in which model best fit social discounting for losses. Unlike the results of Takahashi, Japanese participants showed the sign effect whereby participants were less likely to discount losses ( k = 0.09) than gains ( k = 0.45) as social distance increased.…”

“…Ishii and Eisen (5) also fit the three quantitative social discounting models described above to participants' gain and loss data and tested a more general hyperbolic equation which included a power function parameter to account for potential sensitivity differences between discounted and undiscounted reward values (6). The hyperbolic social discounting equation with a power function is as follows:…”

“…As shown in the Ishii and Eisen (5) study, researchers have also begun to explore cross-cultural social discounting differences in addition to which equation best fits the obtained data. However, unlike Takahashi (3) and Ishii and Eisen (5), these cross-cultural comparisons have typically given participants the option of either keeping the reward entirely for themselves or the option of equally rewarding another individual [e.g., both receive $75; (1)]. This procedure is more consistent with the notion of sharing, where steep social discounting indicates selfishness, or less sharing.…”

Research on Tibetan Folk’s Contemporary Tibetan Cultural Adaptive Differences and Its Influencing Factors—Taking ShigatseCity, Tibet, China as an Example

“…All of CT associated with Traditional cultural observance increase Tibetans' cultural adaptable differences, because Tibetans classifies themselves according to common values, norms, cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors. They are more likely to contact people with similar cultural backgrounds [7], which promotes Tibetan people's harmony-seeking and avoidance of uncertainty [90], in order to improve the positive effects of social connections [44,67]. Meanwhile, Tibetan people's adaptability to traditional local culture has path dependence and convergence and emphasizes the importance of Tibetan traditional culture.…”