Prosocial behavior is affected by the beliefs people have about others. The maintenance of these beliefs is biased: people are vicariously optimistic when updating beliefs about the future of others they care about. This vicarious optimism influences prosocial behavior and might be shaped by the culture people live in. We investigated this question by measuring learning from good and bad news for oneself, friends, and strangers in a pre-registered study of Chinese and American participants (N = 963). American participants showed a stronger bias for better-than-expected “good news” over worse-than-expected “bad news” when learning about themselves (optimism bias) and others (vicarious optimism) compared to Chinese participants. Chinese participants showed vicarious optimism only when learning about a friend, while American participants showed the most vicarious optimism when learning about an identifiable stranger. Our results provide evidence that culture might shape social behavior by biasing learning about the future of others.
AllikJ.RealoA. (2004). Individualism-collectivism and social capital. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(1), 29–49.
2.
AppsM. A.RushworthM. F.ChangS. W. (2016). The anterior cingulate gyrus and social cognition: Tracking the motivation of others. Neuron, 90(4), 692–707.
3.
BehrensT. E. J.HuntL. T.RushworthM. F. S. (2009). The computation of social behavior. Science, 324(5931), 1160–1164. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1169694
4.
BonaccioS.DalalR. S. (2006). Advice taking and decision-making: An integrative literature review, and implications for the organizational sciences. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 101(2), 127–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.07.001
5.
BooysenF.GuvuriroS.CampherC. (2021). Horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism and preferences for altruism: A social discounting study. Personality and Individual Differences, 178, 110856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110856
ChangE. C.AsakawaK. (2003). Cultural variations on optimistic and pessimistic bias for self versus a sibling: Is there evidence for self-enhancement in the West and for self-criticism in the East when the referent group is specified?Journal of personality and social psychology, 84(3), 569.
9.
ChowdhuryR.SharotT.WolfeT.DüzelE.DolanR. J. (2014). Optimistic update bias increases in older age. Psychological Medicine, 44(09), 2003–2012.
10.
CukurC.De GuzmanM. R.CarloG. (2005). Religiosity, values, and horizontal and vertical individualism—Collectivism: A study of Turkey, the United States, and the Philippines. The Journal of Social Psychology, 144, 613–634. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.144.6.613-634
11.
Davis-KeanP. E. (2005). The influence of parent education and family income on child achievement: The indirect role of parental expectations and the home environment. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 294–304.
12.
DufnerM.GebauerJ. E.SedikidesC.DenissenJ. J. A. (2019). Self-enhancement and psychological adjustment: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 23(1), 48–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868318756467
13.
FischerR.ChalmersA. (2008). Is optimism universal? A meta-analytical investigation of optimism levels across 22 nations. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(5), 378–382.
14.
FlemingS. M.PuttenE. J.DawN. D. (2018). Neural mediators of changes of mind about perceptual decisions. Nature Neuroscience, 21, 617–624.
15.
GallagherM. W.LopezS. J.PressmanS. D. (2013). Optimism is universal: Exploring the presence and benefits of optimism in a representative sample of the world. Journal of Personality, 81(5), 429–440. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12026
GarrettN.SharotT. (2016). Optimistic update for positive life events? An unbiased test (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. ID 2788731). Social Science Research Network. http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2788731
18.
GarrettN.SharotT. (2017). Optimistic update bias holds firm: Three tests of robustness following Shah et al.Consciousness and Cognition, 50(Suppl. C), 12–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2016.10.013
19.
SharotT.GarrettN. (2022). A guideline and cautionary note: How to use the belief update task correctly. Methods in Psychology, 6, 100091.
20.
GarrettN.SharotT.FaulknerP.KornC. W.RoiserJ. P.DolanR. J. (2014). Losing the rose tinted glasses: Neural substrates of unbiased belief updating in depression. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, Article 639. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4147849/
21.
GinoF.MooreD. A. (2007). Effects of task difficulty on use of advice. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 20(1), 21–35.
22.
GrossmannI.NaJ. (2014). Research in culture and psychology: Past lessons and future challenges. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 5(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1267
23.
HayesA. F. (2012). PROCESS: A versatile computational tool for observed variable mediation, moderation, and conditional process modeling. University of Kansas.
24.
HeineS. J.LehmanD. R. (1995). Cultural variation in unrealistic optimism: Does the West feel more vulnerable than the East?Journal of personality and social psychology, 68(4), 595.
25.
HeineS. J.HamamuraT. (2007). In search of East Asian self-enhancement. Personality and Social Psychology Review: An Official Journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 11(1), 4–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868306294587
26.
HeineS. J.LehmanD. R.MarkusH. R.KitayamaS. (1999). Is there a universal need for positive self-regard?Psychological Review, 106(4), 766.
HofstedeG. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. Sage.
29.
HütterM.FiedlerK. (2019). Advice taking under uncertainty: The impact of genuine advice versus arbitrary anchors on judgment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 85, 103829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103829
30.
Janoff-BulmanR.LeggattH. K. (2002). Culture and social obligation: When “shoulds” are perceived as “wants.”Journal of Research in Personality, 36(3), 260–270. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.2001.2345
31.
JenniK.LoewensteinG. (1997). Explaining the identifiable victim effect. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 14(3), 235–257. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007740225484
32.
KappesA.FaberN. S.KahaneG.SavulescuJ.CrockettM. J. (2018). Concern for others leads to vicarious optimism. Psychological Science, 29, 379–389.
33.
KappesA.SharotT. (2019). The automatic nature of motivated belief updating. Behavioural Public Policy, 3, 87–103.
34.
KemmelmeierM.JamborE. E.LetnerJ. (2006). Individualism and good works: Cultural variation in giving and volunteering across the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37(3), 327–344. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022106286927
35.
KogutT.RitovI. (2005). The “identified victim” effect: An identified group, or just a single individual?Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 18(3), 157–167.
36.
KogutT.SlovicP.VästfjällD. (2015). Scope insensitivity in helping decisions: Is it a matter of culture and values?Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144, 1042–1052. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039708
37.
KornC. W.FanY.ZhangK.WangC.HanS.HeekerenH. R. (2014). Cultural influences on social feedback processing of character traits. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, Article 192. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00192
38.
KornC. W.SharotT.WalterH.HeekerenH. R.DolanR. J. (2014). Depression is related to an absence of optimistically biased belief updating about future life events. Psychological Medicine, 44(3), 579–592. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291713001074
39.
KruegerJ. I. (2003). Return of the ego–Self-referent information as a filter for social prediction: Comment on Karniol (2003). Psychological Review, 110(3), 585–590.
40.
KuzmanovicB.JeffersonA.VogeleyK. (2015). Self-specific optimism bias in belief updating is associated with high trait optimism. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 28(3), 281–293. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.1849
41.
LeongY. C.ZakiJ. (2018). Unrealistic optimism in advice taking: A computational account. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147(2), 170–189.
LiuJ.DerringtonE.BénistantJ.CorgnetB.Van der HenstJ.-B.TangZ.QuC.DreherJ.-C. (2023). Cross-cultural study of kinship premium and social discounting of generosity. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1087979. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1087979
44.
MaY.LiS.WangC.LiuY.LiW.YanX.ChenQ.HanS. (2016). Distinct oxytocin effects on belief updating in response to desirable and undesirable feedback. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(33), 9256–9261.
45.
MarkusH. R.KitayamaS. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224–253.
46.
MorrisM. W.PengK. (1994). Culture and cause: American and Chinese attributions for social and physical events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 949–971. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.949
47.
MoutsianaC.GarrettN.ClarkeR. C.LottoR. B.BlakemoreS.-J.SharotT. (2013). Human development of the ability to learn from bad news. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(41), 16396–16401.
SantosH. C.VarnumM. E.GrossmannI. (2017). Global increases in individualism. Psychological Science, 28(9), 1228–1239.
50.
SchwartzS. H. (1990). Individualism-collectivism: Critique and proposed refinements. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21(2), 139–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022190212001
51.
SchwarzK. A.PfisterR.BüchelC. (2016). Rethinking explicit expectations: Connecting placebos, social cognition, and contextual perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(6), 469–480.
52.
SchwarzK. A.PfisterR.KlugeM.WellerL.KundeW. (2018). Do we see it or not? Sensory attenuation in the visual domain. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147(3), 418–430. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000353
53.
SedikidesC.GaertnerL.ToguchiY. (2003). Pancultural self-enhancement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 60–79.
54.
SeeK. E.MorrisonE. W.RothmanN. B.SollJ. B. (2011). The detrimental effects of power on confidence, advice taking, and accuracy. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 116(2), 272–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.07.006
55.
SharotT. (2011). The optimism bias. Current Biology, 21(23), R941–R945.
SharotT.Guitart-MasipM.KornC. W.ChowdhuryR.DolanR. J. (2012). How dopamine enhances an optimism bias in humans. Current Biology, 22(16), 1477–1481.
58.
SharotT.KanaiR.MarstonD.KornC. W.ReesG.DolanR. J. (2012). Selectively altering belief formation in the human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(42), 17058–17062.
59.
SharotT.KornC. W.DolanR. J. (2011). How unrealistic optimism is maintained in the face of reality. Nature Neuroscience, 14(11), 1475–1479.
60.
ShavittS.TorelliC. J.RiemerH. (2010). Horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Advances in Culture and Psychology, 1, 309–350.
61.
ShepperdJ. A.WatersE. A.WeinsteinN. D.KleinW. M. P. (2015). A primer on unrealistic optimism. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(3), 232–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414568341
62.
SingelisT. M. (1994). The measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20(5), 580–591. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167294205014
63.
SulS.ToblerP. N.HeinG.LeibergS.JungD.FehrE.KimH. (2015). Spatial gradient in value representation along the medial prefrontal cortex reflects individual differences in prosociality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(25), 7851–7856. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1423895112
TalhelmT.ZhangX.OishiS.ShiminC.DuanD.LanX.KitayamaS. (2014). Large-scale psychological differences within China explained by rice versus wheat agriculture. Science, 344(6184), 603–608.
66.
TaylorS. E.KemenyM. E.ReedG. M.BowerJ. E.GruenewaldT. L. (2000). Psychological resources, positive illusions, and health. American Psychologist, 55(1), 99–109.
67.
TenenbaumH. R.RuckM. D. (2007). Are teachers’ expectations different for racial minority than for European American students? A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(2), 253–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.99.2.253
68.
TiokhinL.HackmanJ.MuniraS.JesminK.HruschkaD. (2019). Generalizability is not optional: Insights from a cross-cultural study of social discounting. Royal Society Open Science, 6(2), 181386. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.181386
69.
TriandisH. C. (2018). Individualism and collectivism. Routledge.
70.
TriandisH. C.CarnevaleP.GelfandM.RobertC.WastiS. A.ProbstT.KashimaE. S.DragonasT.ChanD.ChenX. P.KimU.De DreuC.Van De VliertE.IwaoS.OhbuchiK.-I.SchmitzP. (2001). Culture and deception in business negotiations: A multilevel analysis. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 1(1), 73–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/147059580111008
71.
TriandisH. C.GelfandM. J. (1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 118–128.
72.
TriandisH. C.LeungK.VillarealM. J.ClackF. I. (1985). Allocentric versus idiocentric tendencies: Convergent and discriminant validation. Journal of Research in Personality, 19(4), 395–415.
73.
UchidaY.KitayamaS.AkutsuS.ParkJ.ColeS. W. (2018). Optimism and the conserved transcriptional response to adversity. Health Psychology: Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 37(11), 1077–1080. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000675
74.
VandelloJ. A.CohenD. (1999). Patterns of individualism and collectivism across the United States. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(2), 279–292.
75.
WellsG. L.WindschitlP. D. (1999). Stimulus sampling and social psychological experimentation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25(9), 1115–1125. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672992512005
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
