Protecting Autonomy, Protecting Relatedness: Appraisal Patterns of Daily Anger and Shame in the United States and Japan

Abstract

The present study tested the idea that U.S. and Japanese participants appraise anger and shame situations in line with the American concern for autonomy and the Japanese concern for relatedness, respectively. Sixty-five U.S. and 72 Japanese students participated in a 7-day diary study of anger and shame. Each day, participants reported their most important anger and shame incident and indicated whether they themselves or others were to be blamed (anger appraisals), and whether they focused on themselves or the opinion of others (shame appraisals). They also indicated whether they had experienced anger toward someone close or distant and whether their shame was publicly seen or privately felt. In line with the Japanese concern for protecting relatedness, Japanese compared to U.S. participants blamed themselves relatively more than others during anger situations with close others and focused on others rather than themselves during shame episodes that were publicly seen. Underlining the U.S. concern for protecting autonomy, Americans blamed others more than themselves during anger situations and focused more on themselves than others during shame situations.