Lay Conceptions of Modesty in China: A Prototype Approach

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.

On Cultural Differences of Heroes: Evidence From Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures

“…The feature generation task (Study 1) is concerned with implicit measurement, which primarily reflects the ease with which exemplars of heroes spontaneously come to mind ( Shi et al, 2021 ). Next, we examined the importance of these features, which focus on more deliberative, propositional, or reflective aspects of feature identification ( Strack & Deutsch, 2004 ).…”

“…In addition, although China is a typical collectivistic society, replication of our findings in other Eastern or collectivistic countries would help capture a broader picture of the perception of heroes. Second, following previous studies (e.g., Joo et al, 2019 ; Shi et al, 2021 ), we used the first two steps in the prototype approach to generate features of heroes and assess the centrality of these features. It may be possible for future research to include additional measures of prototypicality (e.g., reaction times).…”

A comparative study of self-praise on English and Chinese social media: strategies, themes, and motivations

“…This sub-strategy can also diminish the threat to face by distancing oneself from self-praise and avoiding arrogance (Ren and Guo, 2020;Xia and Jiang, 2022). Hence, Weibo users' proclivity for these sub-strategies reflects their adherence to politeness theories and Chinese traditional culture that value modesty and humility (Ren and Guo, 2021;Shi et al, 2021;Lin and Chen, 2022). In contrast, Twitter users' frequent use of comparison between oneself and others is a sub-strategy that entails accentuating one's achievements or qualities in relation to others.…”

Nostalgia across cultures

“…Hepper et al (2014) asked whether the abovementioned findings are applicable cross-culturally. Do the prototypical UK/US conceptions of nostalgia generalize to various cultures across five continents (Shi et al, 2021)? They re-sampled the UK and USA, but also sampled another 16 cultures: Australia, Cameron, Chile, China, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Turkey, and Uganda.…”