Emotional fit with culture: a predictor of individual differences in relational well-being.

Publisher: American Psychological Association Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101125678 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1931-1516 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 15283542 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Emotion Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, c2001-

Culture* ; Emotions* ; Individuality* ; Interpersonal Relations* ; Personal Satisfaction*; Adolescent ; Adult ; Belgium ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; United States ; Young Adult

There is increasing evidence for emotional fit in couples and groups, but also within cultures. In the current research, we investigated the consequences of emotional fit at the cultural level. Given that emotions reflect people's view on the world, and that shared views are associated with good social relationships, we expected that an individual's fit to the average cultural patterns of emotion would be associated with relational well-being. Using an implicit measure of cultural fit of emotions, we found across 3 different cultural contexts (United States, Belgium, and Korea) that (1) individuals' emotional fit is associated with their level of relational well-being, and that (2) the link between emotional fit and relational well-being is particularly strong when emotional fit is measured for situations pertaining to relationships (rather than for situations that are self-focused). Together, the current studies suggest that people may benefit from emotionally "fitting in" to their culture.

Date Created: 20131225 Date Completed: 20140730 Latest Revision: 20181202

20221213

10.1037/a0035296

24364853