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Article
Cultural Construction of Success and Epistemic Motives Moderate American-Chinese Differences in Reward Allocation Biases
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
  • Angela K. Y. LEUNG, Singapore Management University
  • Young-Hoon KIM, University of Pennsylvania
  • Zhi-Xue ZHANG, Peking University
  • Kim-Pong TAM, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  • Chi-Yue CHIU, Nanyang Technological University
Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
1-2012
Abstract

When the relative contribution of the self and the group to a group success is unclear, Americans tend to exhibit a self-serving bias (rewarding the self more than what the self deserves), whereas the Chinese tend to exhibit an other-serving bias (rewarding the group more than the group deserves). In a study comparing the reward allocation biases of Americans and Chinese in different group outcome conditions, the authors showed that the abovementioned cultural difference is found (a) only for culturally congruent success experience (attaining approach goals for Americans and avoidance goals for Chinese) and (b) among individuals who are motivated by the need for cognitive closure to exhibit culturally typical responses. This finding has important implications for understanding the dynamic nature of cultural influences on social behaviors.

Keywords
  • self-serving bias,
  • other-serving bias,
  • culture,
  • success,
  • need for cognitive closure
Identifier
10.1177/0022022111405660
Publisher
SAGE
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022111405660
Citation Information
Angela K. Y. LEUNG, Young-Hoon KIM, Zhi-Xue ZHANG, Kim-Pong TAM, et al.. "Cultural Construction of Success and Epistemic Motives Moderate American-Chinese Differences in Reward Allocation Biases" Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology Vol. 43 Iss. 1 (2012) p. 46 - 52 ISSN: 0022-0221
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kayeeangela_leung/53/