Attachment dimensions and contingencies of self-worth: The moderating role of culture

Testing the Compatibility of Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance with Cultural Self-Construals

Insecure attachment has been associated with relatively more negative outcomes in mainstream attachment literature, yet several empirical studies show almost half of the populations globally are insecurely attached. Moreover, although attachment security is the universal norm, attachment anxiety and avoidance exhibit significant cultural variation. To explore how this variation can offer certain advantages to people with insecure attachment tendencies, we tested the novel idea that different insecure attachment behaviors can be differentially compatible with varying cultural senses of self (i.e. independent vs. interdependent self-construal) in an experimental setting. We manipulated cultural self-construal by exposing the participants (N = 164) to either an independence or an interdependence prime and asked them to evaluate vignettes depicting typical anxious and avoidant behaviors. The results showed that insecure attachment behaviors were evaluated as more favorable when they were compatible with one's own attachment tendency. Importantly, this trend was moderated by the cultural self-construal: Participants evaluated even those insecure attachment behaviors that were inconsistent with their own tendencies more favorably when these behaviors were compatible with the cultural self-construal that was experimentally induced. The findings are discussed in light of cultural implications.

Attachment Orientations Guide the Transfer of Leadership Judgments: Culture Matters

Two experiments tested the role of global and relationship-specific attachment orientations in leader transference, a social-cognitive process in which mental representations of past leaders are associated with the evaluations of new, similar leaders. Individuals scoring higher on anxious attachment were more likely to hold high just treatment expectations of new leaders who were similar to their previous leaders. Conversely, avoidant individuals evaluated new similar leaders low on just treatment expectations and perceived them as less effective. Relationship-specific attachment orientations predicted transfer of behavioral judgments of just treatment, while global attachment orientations predicted transfer of perceived leader effectiveness. These effects were moderated by culture. In two collectivistic cultures (Greece and India), avoidant individuals demonstrated low just treatment expectations of their new similar leader. In an individualistic culture (United States), avoidant participants showed high behavioral expectations of their new, similar, leader. The results inform emerging views on relational social-cognitive processes in leader-follower interactions.

Values congruence, organization-based self-esteem, and employee responses: Evidence from Sri Lanka

Expatriate managers are often advised to adapt their leadership styles and organizational cultures to the culture of the country in which they operate. This advice appears to be reasonable, but it has rarely been empirically tested. In this study, we examine the degree to which congruence of organization and individual cultural values affect employees. We collected data from business managers and executives in Sri Lanka, a country that has not been well studied by international management scholars. We hypothesized that personally embraced values that are consistent with broader cultural values would have relationships with self-esteem. Further, because people are also motivated to verify and enhance their levels of self-esteem in culturally consistent ways, we hypothesized that self-esteem at work would mediate relationships of values with prosocial motivation and intent to maintain membership in the organization. We found that culturally consistent, self-transcendence personal values did relate uniquely to organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). In addition, OBSE mediated the relationships between self-transcendence values, and work-based prosocial motivation and intent to stay. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that strong values fit weakened the mediating effect of OBSE on self-transcendence—outcomes and conservation—outcome relationships, contrary to our hypotheses. It appears that the advice to modify organizational culture to fit local culture should be qualified by also recommending that such changes are not conflict with the organization’s existing, successful culture. Our study also sheds some light on the cultural values of Sri Lanka. This is the first study to explicitly examine these relationships within a work context as well as one of few studies to examine personal values in Sri Lanka.

Recalling an Attachment Event Moderates Distress after Ostracism

Ostracism is known to cause psychological distress. Studies have indicated that immediate distress is resistant to individual differences and situational factors, but delayed reactions are more sensitive to moderation. Because attachment orientation is inextricably tied to rejection and inclusion, we hypothesized that attachment orientation would moderate both immediate and delayed ostracism effects and that recalling an attachment event compatible with a person's attachment internal working model would moderate the distress of a laboratory ostracism experience. In two experiments, 158 individualistic (secular Jewish) and 190 collectivistic (ultra–Orthodox Jewish) participants played Cyberball with two other ostensible in–group players. Distress was measured immediately after the game and 30 minutes later. The results show that less anxious and more avoidant individualistic but not collectivistic participants were less distressed by ostracism. After the delay, recall of an attachment event compatible with the participants‘ internal working model eliminated distress in both individualistic and collectivistic ostracized participants as measured on the needs satisfaction scale. Among individualistic participants, avoidants, who are known to avoid meaningful attachments, were less distressed by ostracism; anxious participants, who seek proximity, were more distressed. Recalling a compatible attachment event may be a mechanism that reduces individuals‘ perceptions of threats to their fundamental needs. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

Ostracism and attachment orientation: Avoidants are less affected in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures

Ostracism--being excluded and ignored--is painful and threatens needs for belonging, self-esteem, control and meaningful existence. Many studies have shown that immediate responses to ostracism tend to be resistant to moderation. Once ostracized individuals are able to reflect on the experience, however, personality and situational factors moderate recovery speed and behavioural responses. Because attachment orientation is grounded in perceptions of belonging, we hypothesized that attachment orientation would moderate both immediate and delayed reactions to laboratory-induced ostracism. Participants from individualistic or collectivistic cultures were either included or ostracized in a game of Cyberball, a virtual ball-toss game. In both cultures, we found that compared to more securely attached individuals, more avoidant participants were less distressed by ostracism, but more distressed by inclusion. It is suggested that over and beyond differences in culture, individuals who avoid meaningful attachment may be less affected by ostracism.