Cross‐national examination of the perpetrator–victim account estimation bias as a function of different types of accounts

Abstract

In two cross-national studies, we investigated the existence of a perpetrator-victim account estimation bias and how this bias can be reduced or eliminated when estimating the perpetrator's use of a mixed account; that is, an account in which the perpetrator not only apologizes but also explains mitigating and justifiable circumstances. Japanese and American participants took either the perspective of the perpetrator or the victim and estimated the likelihood of the perpetrator's use of each account. The results supported our hypothesis in both national samples. The implications of the bias and the role of the mixed account in reducing it are discussed.

Culture, Memory, and Narrative Self-Making

“…In line with previous studies (Baumeister et al, 1990;Baumeister & Leary, 1995;Mikula et al, 1998;Takaku et al, 2010), we expected European Americans to exhibit self-serving biases in the construction of interpersonal transgression memories. We also expected Asians to exhibit such biases for the enhancement of positive self-views in interpersonal contexts, as well as to show relationship-serving biases to promote interpersonal affiliation and belongingness.…”

“…People’s interpretation and memory for social interactions, particularly interpersonal transgressions, can greatly influence their relationship satisfaction (e.g., Karney & Coombs, 2000), evaluations of themselves and others (e.g., Takaku, Green, & Ohbuchi, 2010), and subjective well-being (Kitayama, Markus, & Masaru, 2000). Among the many factors that influence memory for interpersonal transgressions, self-serving motivation has been shown to play a particularly important role (e.g., Baumeister, Stillwell, & Wotman, 1990).…”

“…We also expected Asians to exhibit such biases for the enhancement of positive self-views in interpersonal contexts, as well as to show relationship-serving biases to promote interpersonal affiliation and belongingness. Furthermore, given that the construction of interpersonal transgression memories has direct implications for one’s self and well-being (Kitayama et al., 2000; Takaku et al., 2010), we examined the relation of the memory biases to individuals’ self-acceptance. We hypothesized that for Asians, self-acceptance would be positively associated with harm minimization and negatively associated with harm maximization in both types of memories.…”

When promises are broken in a recruitment context: The role of dissonance attributions and constraints in repairing behavioural integrity

“…Consistent excuses, for example, may lose any effectiveness (Schlenker, Pontari, & Christopher, ). Furthermore, prior research on social accounts has found important differences across cultures (Takaku, ; Takaku, Green, & Ohbuchi, ; Takaku, Weiner, & Ohbuchi, ). Future work should examine the extent to which our findings apply in other cultures.…”

Rhetorical Tactics to Influence Responsibility Judgments: Account Giving in Banks Presidents’ Letters During the Financial Market Crisis

“…Scott and Lyman (1968) define an account as “a linguistic device employed whenever an action is subjected to valuative inquiry” (p. 46); other scholars conceptualize “verbal account” (Elsbach, 1994, p. 58) or “social account” (Bies, 1987, p. 289). Most conceptualizations include any kind of verbal explanation (e.g., Giacalone & Pollard, 1990; Takaku, Green, & Ohbuchi, 2010), which refers to deviant behavior or negative events (e.g., Bennett, 1980; Scott & Lyman, 1968; Sonenshein, Herzenstein, & Dholakia, 2011). Moreover, accounts can focus on the past or the future; Goffman (1972) labeled the latter “requests.” To sum up, we define accounts as verbal explanations of social actors toward another social actor about past and/or future events.…”