Taiyang Zhao, Yan Lu, Wei Song, Yingxin Yao, Liying Zhou
{"title":"Mask On, Barriers Off: How Face Masks Enhance Social Connection and Responsibility in Different Cultural Context","authors":"Taiyang Zhao, Yan Lu, Wei Song, Yingxin Yao, Liying Zhou","doi":"10.1177/00220221241242442","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a mask not only serves a functional purpose in reducing the spread of the virus but also carries a symbolic value of social responsibility. There may be cultural differences in people’s understanding of such symbolic value. Results from three experimental studies have shown that wearing a medical mask increases other people’s willingness to have interpersonal contact with the mask-wearer. This is because people believe that the mask-wearer has a stronger sense of social responsibility (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2). However, such effect is moderated by cultural values of individualism/collectivism, and this moderating effect exhibits different patterns at the individual level and the group level of cultural values. Specifically, individuals with interdependent self-construal value the trait of social responsibility more in interpersonal communication than individuals with independent self-construal (Experiment 2), while groups with collectivistic values were further more able to recognize the social responsibility symbol value of wearing masks than those with individualistic values (Experiment 3). The research reveals how cultural values shape the mask’s symbolic value in group level and moderate people’s response in individual level.","PeriodicalId":48354,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology","volume":"116 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221241242442","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a mask not only serves a functional purpose in reducing the spread of the virus but also carries a symbolic value of social responsibility. There may be cultural differences in people’s understanding of such symbolic value. Results from three experimental studies have shown that wearing a medical mask increases other people’s willingness to have interpersonal contact with the mask-wearer. This is because people believe that the mask-wearer has a stronger sense of social responsibility (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2). However, such effect is moderated by cultural values of individualism/collectivism, and this moderating effect exhibits different patterns at the individual level and the group level of cultural values. Specifically, individuals with interdependent self-construal value the trait of social responsibility more in interpersonal communication than individuals with independent self-construal (Experiment 2), while groups with collectivistic values were further more able to recognize the social responsibility symbol value of wearing masks than those with individualistic values (Experiment 3). The research reveals how cultural values shape the mask’s symbolic value in group level and moderate people’s response in individual level.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology publishes papers that focus on the interrelationships between culture and psychological processes. Submitted manuscripts may report results from either cross-cultural comparative research or results from other types of research concerning the ways in which culture (and related concepts such as ethnicity) affect the thinking and behavior of individuals as well as how individual thought and behavior define and reflect aspects of culture. Review papers and innovative reformulations of cross-cultural theory will also be considered. Studies reporting data from within a single nation should focus on cross-cultural perspective. Empirical studies must be described in sufficient detail to be potentially replicable.