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Culture and Teasing: The Relational Benefits of Reduced Desire for Positive Self-Differentiation

University of California, Los Angeles

Dacher Keltner

University of California, Berkeley

Jennifer M. Beck

Eval Arts, Austin, Texas

Gian C. Gonzaga

University of California, Los Angeles

Oliver P. John

University of California, Berkeley

The authors hypothesized that teasing, a social interaction that benefits relational bonds at the expense of the self, should be viewed as more affiliative, and experienced as more pleasurable, by members of cultures that deemphasize positive self-differentiation. In four multimethod studies, Asian Americans attributed more affiliative intent to teasers and reported more positive target experience than did European Americans. Teaser behavior, attribution biases, and personality did not account for culture-related differences in teasing experience. Rather, childhood teasing may better prepare Asian American children to overlook a tease's affront to the self in favor of its relational rewards. Implications of deemphasizing positive selfdifferentiation in social interaction are discussed.

Key Words: culture • teasing • self • positive emotion

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