Jiro Takai

Face and facework in conflict: a cross-cultural comparison of China, Germany, Japan, and the United States

The purpose of the current study was to investigate face and facework during conflicts across four national cultures: China, Germany, Japan, and the United States. A questionnaire was administered to 768 participants in the 4 national cultures, in their respective languages, to measure 3 face concerns and 11 facework behaviors. The major findings of the current study are as follows: (a) self-construals had the strongest effects on face concerns and facework with independence positively associated with self-face and dominating facework and interdependence positively associated with other- and mutual-face and integrating and avoiding facework; (b) power distance had small, positive effects on all three face concerns and avoiding and dominating facework; (c) individualistic, small-power distance cultures had less other-face concern and avoiding facework, and more dominating facework than collectivistic, large-power distance cultures; (d) Germans had more self- and mutual-face concerns and used defending more than U.S. Americans; (e) Chinese had more self-face concern and involved a third party more than Japanese; and (f) relational closeness and status only had small effects on face concerns and facework behavior.

Gender differences in social network development via mobile phone text messages: A longitudinal study

We examined the development of face-to-face (FTF) social networks and mobile/cell phone text message (MPTM)-mediated social networks, and gender differences in the social network structure of 64 male and 68 female first-year undergraduate students. Social network analysis showed that MPTM social networks consisted of dyadic relationships, and its growth was slower than FTF social networks. The intimacy of friends who communicate via both FTF and MPTM was rated higher than those who communicate only via FTF. The structure of MPTM social networks coincided with known gender differences in network characteristics. Females tended to expand their MPTM social networks more than males. These findings suggest that patterns of interpersonal relationships for MPTM social networks corresponded to Matsuda’s (2000) selective interpersonal relationship theory.

No mobile, no life

A survey was conducted to investigate how self-perception of text-message dependency leads to psychological/behavioral symptoms in relation to personality factors. Japanese high school students completed a self-report questionnaire measuring frequency of text-messages, self-perception of text-message dependency, psychological/behavioral symptoms, extroversion and neuroticism. Self-perception of text-message dependency was composed of three factors: perception of excessive use, emotional reaction, and relationship maintenance. Although message frequency was significantly related to psychological/behavioral symptoms, this effect was qualified by self-perception and personality factors. In particular, self-perception of text-message dependency strongly affected psychological/behavioral symptoms. Importance of distinction between extroverted and neurotic text-message dependency through the process of self-perception of maladaptive behavior is discussed.

A typology of facework behaviors in conflicts with best friends and relative strangers

The purpose of the current study was to create a typology of facework behaviors in interpersonal conflicts between best friends and relative strangers for Japanese and U.S. participants. In phase I, 286 participants responded to open‐ended questions about the manner in which they negotiated face during a conflict with either a best friend or a relative stranger. The responses of a sample of these respondents ‐16 Japanese, 16 members of ethnic minority groups in the U.S., and 20 European Americans — were categorized using a Q‐sort technique. Fourteen categories of facework behaviors were derived. Validation procedures for the typology were carried out via a cluster analysis resulting in 13 unique clusters: (a) aggression, (b) apologize, (c) avoid, (d) compromise, (e) consider the other, (f) defend self (g) express feelings, (h) give in, (i) involve a third party, (j) pretend, (k) private discussion, (l) remain calm, and (m) talk about the problem. In phase II, 95 Japanese and 61 U.S. Americans rated the appropriateness and effectiveness of behaviors from each of the categories. The findings illustrate that the typology captures a wide range of appropriateness and effectiveness rating which further demonstrates the validity of the typology.

Training effects on the divergent thinking attitudes of Japanese managers

Abstract A field experiment made a preliminary investigation of the effects of training Japanese managers in creative problem solving. Two attitudes associated with divergent thinking practice (an important aspect of creative problem solving) were measured before and after training. This research establishes the Japanese translations of the two attitudinal measures. It also indicates that the applicability and receptivity of the paradigms and methods of the training provided may be at least as strong in Japanese business and industry as found in previous North American research. The experimental group (n = 60) showed significant gains on both measures versus two control groups. Compared to North American managers from similar studies, the Japanese managers appear to make at least equal gains after training. Future directions for research include extending the training effect investigation beyond attitude changes to include behavior changes and longer term persistence and portability to the job.

Effects of social networks on cross‐cultural adjustment

A total of 221 responses were obtained from a survey of international students in Japan, regarding the facilitative effects of social network formation on their adjustment. Regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationships among four types of adjustment revealed in a preceding study (“general adjustment,”“self-control,”“affiliative” and “dependent”), network size, demographic variables, expected social support, etc. For each adjustment type, predictive variables were identified. Two of the variables that showed network effects on adjustment were Japanese language proficiency and race (Asians vs. Westerners). From these results, it would appear that social network formation does facilitate adjustment, and insight into the effect of adjustment type and demographic variables on network functions was obtained. Furthermore, the actual conditions regarding network formation of international students in Japan were revealed.

Teacher Immediacy Scales: Testing for Validity Across Cultures

Cross-cultural validity of teacher immediacy scales is a constant concern in instructional communication research. The present study examines the validity of two existing teacher immediacy scales: the Revised Nonverbal Immediacy Measure (RNIM) and the Chinese Teacher Immediacy Scale (CTIS) in U.S., Chinese, German, and Japanese cultures. Results of confirmatory factor analysis and Pearson correlation provide evidence for the validity of both the RNIM and the CTIS. Overall, both scales are found to have adequate factorial, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity pan-culturally and within culture, despite some slight variations across cultures. Implications and future directions are also addressed.

A cross-cultural analysis of age identity in Japan and the United States

Age identity (Garstka et al., 1997) was examined with regard to its structure in Japan and the United States. Factor analysis confirmed the validity of a one-factor structure in both countries. Cluster analysis suggested a three-cluster solution in both Japan (ingroup identification and significance, sense of similarity, ingroup positive evaluation) and the USA (ingroup orientation, age centrality, ingroup positivity). In Japan, age-group pride and positive experiences clustered with age-group identifications and awareness. This points to the importance of a sense of group membership in Japanese young people’s positive feelings about their age group. In the USA, the two items clustered with likeability, value and importance, and were distinct from ingroup identification. This suggests that American individuals gain a sense of pride and positive experience when they like, value and give importance to being young. Finally, our Japanese respondents ranked age-group positivity and attachment lower than the Americans did, suggesting that positive feeling associated with being young may be less common in Japan. Future studies of intergenerational communication using age identity were suggested.

Attitudes toward African-American Vernacular English: A US Export to Japan?.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine attitudes towards African–American vernacular English (AAVE) in a setting outside of the USA. Because foreign attitudes toward AAVE can serve as an indirect assessment of a societys racial prejudice, we decided to explore these attitudes in Japan: a country with an intriguing mix of ties that are both close (i.e. politically and economically) and distant (i.e. culturally) vis-à-vis the USA. Considering the ostensible similarities in racial beliefs widely held in both countries, we hypothesised that evaluations of AAVE in Japan would be comparable to those in the USA. We found that the evaluations expressed by a sample of Japanese college students were virtually indistinguishable from the overall pattern of AAVE evaluations made by US Americans and recommend additional research in order to better understand the nature of contemporary Japanese attitudes towards different varieties of English.

A further test of immediacy-learning models: A cross-cultural investigation

The present study was designed to test and compare the four existing immediacy-learning models, namely the learning model, the motivation model, the affective learning model, and the integrating model, in US, Chinese, German, and Japanese college classrooms. Altogether 695 college students from the four cultures completed the questionnaire, and the results from structural equation modeling indicate that the integrating model produces the best fit to the four-cultural data. Teacher immediacy has both a direct path and indirect paths mediated through affective learning and motivation to cognitive learning. The findings are consistent with both the relevant theories pertinent to immediacy, cognition, and behavior, and previous empirical findings regarding the immediacy-learning relationship.