The purpose of this research was to determine if Chinese- English bicultural individuals
show discomfort when conflicting behavioural norms are simultaneously activated. I first
identified behaviours that differentiated Canadian and Chinese along a cultural value
dimension. Participants then rated four muted video clips of female actors engaged in the
behaviours that were either consistent with Chinese or Canadian behavioural norms
identified earlier. Within the set four video clips, the language spoken (English versus
Chinese) and the topic (representing Canadian values or Chinese values) were crossed,
such that each video contained a unique combination of the language and topic. As
predicted, when actors spoke Chinese, they were rated more positively for the Chinese
value topic than for the Canadian value topic. Additionally, within the Canadian topic, a
comparison of the language spoken revealed that actors were rated significantly more
positively when they spoke English than when they spoke Chinese. Contrary to
predictions, however, European-Canadians in the control condition were better than
chance at guessing the language actors spoke. European-Canadians in the experimental
condition and Chinese participants in either condition did not perform better than chance
levels in the language guessing task. One major weakness of the study was that none of
the behaviours thought to reflect Chinese culture were rated significantly differently by
Chinese and European-Canadians. For that reason, the results did not completely support
the predicted outcomes. Furthermore, European-Canadians’ familiarity with body
language associated with speaking English may have accounted for the results of the
language guessing task. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2009-04-24 15:17:20.623
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OKQ.1974/5527 |
| Date | 13 April 2010 |
| Creators | Lam, Quan |
| Contributors | Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). Theses (Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.)) |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner. |
| Relation | Canadian theses |
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