Date of Award

7-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Richard L. Griffith

Second Advisor

Jessica L. Wildman

Third Advisor

Lisa A. Steelman

Fourth Advisor

Charles E. Bryant

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of cultural tightness-looseness on optimal distinctiveness motives and group identification, examining the moderating roles of self-construal, global orientation, and tightness/looseness match. Participants (N=465) from the United States and China were randomly assigned to tight or loose conditions and numerically majority or minority group conditions. Experimental manipulation of tightness-looseness did not significantly affect optimal distinctiveness needs. Cultural match, operationalized as alignment of tightness/looseness between participants' own culture and experimental condition, significantly moderated the relationship between culture conditions and need to belong. Individuals with high cultural match showed higher need to belong in tight conditions, while those with low match exhibited higher need to belong in loose conditions. These findings contribute to our understanding of optimal distinctiveness as a culturally flexible universal and highlight the importance of cultural match in shaping psychological needs. The study's limitations, including ineffective culture priming and measurement issues, are discussed, along with implications for future cross-cultural research and practical applications in diverse settings.

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