Cross-Situational Consistency of Affective Experiences across Cultures

• Main Authors: OISHI, Shigehiro, DIENER, Ed, SCOLLON, Christie N., Biswas-DIENER, Robert
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2004
• Subjects: affective experiences; interindividual consistency; Japan; cultural differences; Multicultural Psychology; Personality and Social Contexts; Social Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/926; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/1925/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This study examined cross-situational consistency of affective experiences using an experience-sampling method in Japan, India, and the United States. Participants recorded their moods and situations when signaled at random moments for 7 days. The authors examined relative (interindividual) consistency and absolute (within-person) consistency. They found stable interindividual differences of affective experiences across various situations (mean r = .52 for positive affect .51 for negative affect) and cultural invariance of the cross-situational consistency of affective experiences. Simultaneously, the authors found a considerable degree of within-person cross-situational variation in affective experiences, and cultural differences in within-person cross-situational consistency. Thus, global affective traits exist among non-Western samples, but the degree to which situations exert an influence on the absolute level of affective experience varies across cultures.