Contextual effect of wealth on independence: an examination through regional differences in China

Takemura, K.; Hamamura, T.; Guan, Y.; Suzuki, S.

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00384

Contextual effect of wealth on independence: an examination through regional differences in China

Takemura, K.; Hamamura, T.; Guan, Y.; Suzuki, S.

Authors

K. Takemura

T. Hamamura

Professor Yanjun Guan yanjun.guan@durham.ac.uk
Professor

S. Suzuki

Abstract

The current study disentangled two different effects of wealth on psychological tendency toward independence: one is an effect exerted at the individual level (i.e., being rich) and the other one is a contextual effect (i.e., being surrounded by rich individuals). Past research has found a stronger tendency toward independence among people in economically developed societies. This association has often been explained as a result of a greater amount of choices, and thus more opportunities to express individuality that wealth affords individuals. In addition to this individual-level process, theories in cultural psychology imply that the wealth-independence link also reflects social processes—living in a rich society, regardless of one’s own wealth, promotes independence (contextual effect of wealth on independence). Through a large-scale survey in China, using multilevel analyses, we found that wealth had both the individual-level effect and contextual effect on independence as well as related psychological tendencies (influence orientation and generalized trust), suggesting that individuals are more likely to be independent with greater personal wealth and when surrounded by wealthy others. Possible processes through which independence is promoted by liing in a wealthy area are discussed.

Citation

Takemura, K., Hamamura, T., Guan, Y., & Suzuki, S. (2016). Contextual effect of wealth on independence: an examination through regional differences in China. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00384

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Mar 3, 2016
Online Publication Date	Mar 17, 2016
Publication Date	Mar 17, 2016
Deposit Date	May 19, 2016
Publicly Available Date	May 19, 2016
Journal	Frontiers in Psychology
Print ISSN	1664-1078
Publisher	Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	7
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00384
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1384172

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Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2016 Takemura, Hamamura, Guan and Suzuki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.