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The influence of honor threats on goal delay and goal derailment: A comparison of Turkey, Southern US, and Northern US

Günsoy, Ceren, Joo, Minjoo, Cross, Susan E., Uskul, Ayse K., Gul, Pelin, Wasti, S. Arzu, Salter, Phia, Haugen, Andrea, Erdaş, K. Duygu, Yegin, Afşar and others. (2020) The influence of honor threats on goal delay and goal derailment: A comparison of Turkey, Southern US, and Northern US. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 88 . ISSN 0022-1031. (doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2020.103974) (KAR id:80773)

Abstract

Honor means having a good reputation (e.g., being known as an honest person) and self-respect (e.g., being proud of one's own competence). In honor cultures (e.g., Turkey, Southern U.S.), people are more sensitive to threats to their moral reputation (e.g., being called a liar) than in dignity cultures (e.g., Northern U.S.), and they respond more strongly to these threats to restore their damaged reputation. Taking a goal conflict approach, we propose that among members of honor cultures, restoration of honor in response to a morality threat can become a superordinate goal, and can result in the neglect or derailment of other goals. In two experiments (n = 941), participants from Turkey (a non-Western honor culture), the U.S. South (a Western honor culture), and the U.S. North (a dignity culture) received a morality threat (accusation of dishonesty), a competence threat (accusation of poor writing ability), or neutral feedback. As predicted, participants from honor cultures, but not the dignity culture, were more likely to delay their subsequent goals after receiving a threat to their moral reputation (vs. competence threat or neutral conditions; Study 1). Moreover, Turkish participants were more likely to display goal derailment after receiving a morality threat compared to a competence threat, but there was no difference in responses to the two types of threat among the U.S. Northerners or Southerners (Study 2). This research is the first to examine honor using a goal conflict framework and to conduct laboratory experiments in two honor cultures.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.jesp.2020.103974
Uncontrolled keywords: Culture of honor, Goal conflict, Reputation, Morality
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Ayse Uskul
Date Deposited: 07 Apr 2020 11:23 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 16:12 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/80773 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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