Lay conceptions of modesty in China: A prototype approach
Lay conceptions of modesty in China: A prototype approach
We investigated lay conceptions of modesty in China (谦虚) using a prototype approach. First, a sample of Chinese participants spontaneously listed the characteristics of modest persons. Independent coders then edited these into 112 exemplars, and further grouped them into 34 categories (Study 1). Categories that subsumed more frequently occurring items were deemed more prototypical. Second, another sample of Chinese participants directly rated these categories for how well they corresponded with the concept of modesty (Study 2). Thereafter, frequencies and ratings were algorithmically integrated, permitting categories to be ranked into three broad divisions: central, peripheral, and marginal. Finally, the ordinal validity of divisions was confirmed by having a third sample of Chinese participants rate the modesty of individuals exhibiting traits from within each division (Study 3). Lay conceptions of modesty in China only partly corresponded to those in previous Western samples. Among those categories that were shared, some were central in both China and the West (FRIENDLY, NOT CONCEITED), others only in China (LOW-KEY, POLITE, EASYGOING, AUTHENTIC). Furthermore, several central categories were unique to China (TAKES-CRITICISM, STEADY, CAUTIOUS, ASPIRING). Our findings inform ongoing conceptualizations of modesty in a cross-cultural context.
modesty, Chinese culture, exemplars, prototype, self
155-177
Shi, Yuanyuan
757f4572-20b0-41f2-99f0-28efd3db5412
Gregg, Aiden
1b03bb58-b3a5-4852-a177-29e4f633b063
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Cai, Huajian
8fb40f07-ba8e-466f-82e1-06d35c5dbaac
1 February 2021
Shi, Yuanyuan
757f4572-20b0-41f2-99f0-28efd3db5412
Gregg, Aiden
1b03bb58-b3a5-4852-a177-29e4f633b063
Sedikides, Constantine
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Cai, Huajian
8fb40f07-ba8e-466f-82e1-06d35c5dbaac
Shi, Yuanyuan, Gregg, Aiden, Sedikides, Constantine and Cai, Huajian
(2021)
Lay conceptions of modesty in China: A prototype approach.
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 52 (2), .
(doi:10.1177/0022022120985318).
Abstract
We investigated lay conceptions of modesty in China (谦虚) using a prototype approach. First, a sample of Chinese participants spontaneously listed the characteristics of modest persons. Independent coders then edited these into 112 exemplars, and further grouped them into 34 categories (Study 1). Categories that subsumed more frequently occurring items were deemed more prototypical. Second, another sample of Chinese participants directly rated these categories for how well they corresponded with the concept of modesty (Study 2). Thereafter, frequencies and ratings were algorithmically integrated, permitting categories to be ranked into three broad divisions: central, peripheral, and marginal. Finally, the ordinal validity of divisions was confirmed by having a third sample of Chinese participants rate the modesty of individuals exhibiting traits from within each division (Study 3). Lay conceptions of modesty in China only partly corresponded to those in previous Western samples. Among those categories that were shared, some were central in both China and the West (FRIENDLY, NOT CONCEITED), others only in China (LOW-KEY, POLITE, EASYGOING, AUTHENTIC). Furthermore, several central categories were unique to China (TAKES-CRITICISM, STEADY, CAUTIOUS, ASPIRING). Our findings inform ongoing conceptualizations of modesty in a cross-cultural context.
Text
Shi et al., 2020, JCCP
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 28 November 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 31 December 2020
Published date: 1 February 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The work was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China (17ZDA324) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71901072).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
Keywords:
modesty, Chinese culture, exemplars, prototype, self
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Local EPrints ID: 449086
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/449086
ISSN: 0022-0221
PURE UUID: fc62a8ee-675e-4d3a-ae81-dd384688d6f6
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Date deposited: 17 May 2021 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:49
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Author:
Yuanyuan Shi
Author:
Huajian Cai
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