Which Cultural Dimensions Predict Variations in Emotional Conformity? An Extension of Vishkin et al. (2023) Across 28 Nations

Peter B. SMITH; Alexander KIRCHNER-HÄUSLER; Lusine GRIGORYAN; Vivian Miu-Chi LUN; Olga LOPUKHOVA; Lorena Perez FLORIANO; Paola Eunice Diaz RIVERA; Ammar ABBAS; Antonia PAPASTYLIANOU; Doriana TRIPODI; Ceren GUNSOY; Anna HAKOBJANYAN; Claudio TORRES; Ani GRIGORYAN; Ömer Erdem KOÇAK; Maria Luisa Mendes TEXEIRA; Heyla A. SELIM; Taciano L. MILFONT; Alin GAVRELIUC; Dana GAVRELIUC; Michal BILEWICZ; Catherine T. KWANTES; Joel ANDERSON; Matthew J. EASTERBROOK; Yasin KOC; Gisela Isabel DELFINO; Phattanakit CHOBTHAMKIT; Ping HU; Maria EFREMOVA; Mary Angeline DAGANZO; Byron ADAMS; Natsuki OGUSU; Chee-Seng TAN; Mary Ruth Guevara MALDONADO; Siugmin LAY; Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA; Vanessa A. CASTILLO

doi:10.1177/00220221251376543

Which Cultural Dimensions Predict Variations in Emotional Conformity? An Extension of Vishkin et al. (2023) Across 28 Nations

Peter B. SMITH
, Alexander KIRCHNER-HÄUSLER
, Lusine GRIGORYAN
, Vivian Miu-Chi LUN
, Olga LOPUKHOVA
, Lorena Perez FLORIANO
, Paola Eunice Diaz RIVERA
, Ammar ABBAS
, Antonia PAPASTYLIANOU
, Doriana TRIPODI
, Ceren GUNSOY
, Anna HAKOBJANYAN
, Claudio TORRES
, Ani GRIGORYAN
, Ömer Erdem KOÇAK
, Maria Luisa Mendes TEXEIRA
, Heyla A. SELIM
, Taciano L. MILFONT
, Alin GAVRELIUC
, Dana GAVRELIUC

Michal BILEWICZ, Catherine T. KWANTES, Joel ANDERSON, Matthew J. EASTERBROOK, Yasin KOC, Gisela Isabel DELFINO, Phattanakit CHOBTHAMKIT, Ping HU, Maria EFREMOVA, Mary Angeline DAGANZO, Byron ADAMS, Natsuki OGUSU, Chee-Seng TAN, Mary Ruth Guevara MALDONADO, Siugmin LAY, Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA, Vanessa A. CASTILLO

Lingnan University

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

Abstract

Despite being a classic social psychology topic, cultural variability in conformity has only been examined systematically in the last few decades. Vishkin et al. reported evidence that conformity of experienced emotions and of valued emotions is stronger in individualistic cultures. We tested the replicability of this finding using data from 28 nations (N = 6,168), incorporating two further relevant cultural predictors of cultural differences: flexibility-monumentalism and tightness-looseness. Contrasting effects regarding valence were found for conformity of experienced emotions and of valued emotions. Conformity of experienced positive emotions and of valued negative emotions was predicted by individualism, monumentalism, and looseness. The results are discussed in terms of the distinction between injunctive and descriptive norms and cultural variations in the salience of positive and negative emotions. Using additional indicators of cultural difference yields a fuller understanding of these effects than that provided by the contrast between individualism and collectivism. The use of deviation scores provides a useful operationalization of variations in conformity.

Original language	English
Article number	00220221251376543
Pages (from-to)	911-928
Number of pages	18
Journal	Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Volume	56
Issue number	8
Early online date	8 Oct 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221251376543
Publication status	Published - Dec 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The work of Maria Efremova was supported by the framework of the Basic Research Program at HSE University. The work of Chee-Seng Tan was supported by the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman CAP RC Excellent Award (6401/0018). The work of Vivian Miu-Chi Lun was supported by Lingnan University Direct Grant (DR22B7). The work of Heyla A. Selim was supported by ORF-2025-1204, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The work of Anna Hakobjanyan and Ani Grigoryan was supported by the framework of the Basic Research Program at Yerevan State University.

Keywords

conformity
emotion
flexibility-monumentalism
individualism-collectivism
tightness-looseness

Access to Document

10.1177/00220221251376543Licence: CC BY

Cite this

SMITH, P. B., KIRCHNER-HÄUSLER, A., GRIGORYAN, L., LUN, V. M.-C., LOPUKHOVA, O., FLORIANO, L. P., RIVERA, P. E. D., ABBAS, A., PAPASTYLIANOU, A., TRIPODI, D., GUNSOY, C., HAKOBJANYAN, A., TORRES, C., GRIGORYAN, A., KOÇAK, Ö. E., TEXEIRA, M. L. M., SELIM, H. A., MILFONT, T. L., GAVRELIUC, A., ... CASTILLO, V. A. (2025). Which Cultural Dimensions Predict Variations in Emotional Conformity? An Extension of Vishkin et al. (2023) Across 28 Nations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 56(8), 911-928. Article 00220221251376543. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221251376543

@article{b27ad83f69e14047be937f2e69602333,

title = "Which Cultural Dimensions Predict Variations in Emotional Conformity? An Extension of Vishkin et al. (2023) Across 28 Nations",

abstract = "Despite being a classic social psychology topic, cultural variability in conformity has only been examined systematically in the last few decades. Vishkin et al. reported evidence that conformity of experienced emotions and of valued emotions is stronger in individualistic cultures. We tested the replicability of this finding using data from 28 nations (N = 6,168), incorporating two further relevant cultural predictors of cultural differences: flexibility-monumentalism and tightness-looseness. Contrasting effects regarding valence were found for conformity of experienced emotions and of valued emotions. Conformity of experienced positive emotions and of valued negative emotions was predicted by individualism, monumentalism, and looseness. The results are discussed in terms of the distinction between injunctive and descriptive norms and cultural variations in the salience of positive and negative emotions. Using additional indicators of cultural difference yields a fuller understanding of these effects than that provided by the contrast between individualism and collectivism. The use of deviation scores provides a useful operationalization of variations in conformity.",

keywords = "conformity, emotion, flexibility-monumentalism, individualism-collectivism, tightness-looseness",

author = "SMITH, \{Peter B.\} and Alexander KIRCHNER-H{\"A}USLER and Lusine GRIGORYAN and LUN, \{Vivian Miu-Chi\} and Olga LOPUKHOVA and FLORIANO, \{Lorena Perez\} and RIVERA, \{Paola Eunice Diaz\} and Ammar ABBAS and Antonia PAPASTYLIANOU and Doriana TRIPODI and Ceren GUNSOY and Anna HAKOBJANYAN and Claudio TORRES and Ani GRIGORYAN and KO{\c C}AK, \{{\"O}mer Erdem\} and TEXEIRA, \{Maria Luisa Mendes\} and SELIM, \{Heyla A.\} and MILFONT, \{Taciano L.\} and Alin GAVRELIUC and Dana GAVRELIUC and Michal BILEWICZ and KWANTES, \{Catherine T.\} and Joel ANDERSON and EASTERBROOK, \{Matthew J.\} and Yasin KOC and DELFINO, \{Gisela Isabel\} and Phattanakit CHOBTHAMKIT and Ping HU and Maria EFREMOVA and DAGANZO, \{Mary Angeline\} and Byron ADAMS and Natsuki OGUSU and Chee-Seng TAN and MALDONADO, \{Mary Ruth Guevara\} and Siugmin LAY and Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA and CASTILLO, \{Vanessa A.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).",

year = "2025",

month = dec,

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language = "English",

volume = "56",

pages = "911--928",

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issn = "0022-0221",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",

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SMITH, PB, KIRCHNER-HÄUSLER, A, GRIGORYAN, L, LUN, VM-C, LOPUKHOVA, O, FLORIANO, LP, RIVERA, PED, ABBAS, A, PAPASTYLIANOU, A, TRIPODI, D, GUNSOY, C, HAKOBJANYAN, A, TORRES, C, GRIGORYAN, A, KOÇAK, ÖE, TEXEIRA, MLM, SELIM, HA, MILFONT, TL, GAVRELIUC, A, GAVRELIUC, D, BILEWICZ, M, KWANTES, CT, ANDERSON, J, EASTERBROOK, MJ, KOC, Y, DELFINO, GI, CHOBTHAMKIT, P, HU, P, EFREMOVA, M, DAGANZO, MA, ADAMS, B, OGUSU, N, TAN, C-S, MALDONADO, MRG, LAY, S, GAMSAKHURDIA, V & CASTILLO, VA 2025, 'Which Cultural Dimensions Predict Variations in Emotional Conformity? An Extension of Vishkin et al. (2023) Across 28 Nations', Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol. 56, no. 8, 00220221251376543, pp. 911-928. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221251376543

Which Cultural Dimensions Predict Variations in Emotional Conformity? An Extension of Vishkin et al. (2023) Across 28 Nations. / SMITH, Peter B.; KIRCHNER-HÄUSLER, Alexander; GRIGORYAN, Lusine et al.
In: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 56, No. 8, 00220221251376543, 12.2025, p. 911-928.

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

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AU - SMITH, Peter B.

AU - KIRCHNER-HÄUSLER, Alexander

AU - GRIGORYAN, Lusine

AU - LUN, Vivian Miu-Chi

AU - LOPUKHOVA, Olga

AU - FLORIANO, Lorena Perez

AU - RIVERA, Paola Eunice Diaz

AU - ABBAS, Ammar

AU - PAPASTYLIANOU, Antonia

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AU - GUNSOY, Ceren

AU - HAKOBJANYAN, Anna

AU - TORRES, Claudio

AU - GRIGORYAN, Ani

AU - KOÇAK, Ömer Erdem

AU - TEXEIRA, Maria Luisa Mendes

AU - SELIM, Heyla A.

AU - MILFONT, Taciano L.

AU - GAVRELIUC, Alin

AU - GAVRELIUC, Dana

AU - BILEWICZ, Michal

AU - KWANTES, Catherine T.

AU - ANDERSON, Joel

AU - EASTERBROOK, Matthew J.

AU - KOC, Yasin

AU - DELFINO, Gisela Isabel

AU - CHOBTHAMKIT, Phattanakit

AU - HU, Ping

AU - EFREMOVA, Maria

AU - DAGANZO, Mary Angeline

AU - ADAMS, Byron

AU - OGUSU, Natsuki

AU - TAN, Chee-Seng

AU - MALDONADO, Mary Ruth Guevara

AU - LAY, Siugmin

AU - GAMSAKHURDIA, Vladimer

AU - CASTILLO, Vanessa A.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - Despite being a classic social psychology topic, cultural variability in conformity has only been examined systematically in the last few decades. Vishkin et al. reported evidence that conformity of experienced emotions and of valued emotions is stronger in individualistic cultures. We tested the replicability of this finding using data from 28 nations (N = 6,168), incorporating two further relevant cultural predictors of cultural differences: flexibility-monumentalism and tightness-looseness. Contrasting effects regarding valence were found for conformity of experienced emotions and of valued emotions. Conformity of experienced positive emotions and of valued negative emotions was predicted by individualism, monumentalism, and looseness. The results are discussed in terms of the distinction between injunctive and descriptive norms and cultural variations in the salience of positive and negative emotions. Using additional indicators of cultural difference yields a fuller understanding of these effects than that provided by the contrast between individualism and collectivism. The use of deviation scores provides a useful operationalization of variations in conformity.

AB - Despite being a classic social psychology topic, cultural variability in conformity has only been examined systematically in the last few decades. Vishkin et al. reported evidence that conformity of experienced emotions and of valued emotions is stronger in individualistic cultures. We tested the replicability of this finding using data from 28 nations (N = 6,168), incorporating two further relevant cultural predictors of cultural differences: flexibility-monumentalism and tightness-looseness. Contrasting effects regarding valence were found for conformity of experienced emotions and of valued emotions. Conformity of experienced positive emotions and of valued negative emotions was predicted by individualism, monumentalism, and looseness. The results are discussed in terms of the distinction between injunctive and descriptive norms and cultural variations in the salience of positive and negative emotions. Using additional indicators of cultural difference yields a fuller understanding of these effects than that provided by the contrast between individualism and collectivism. The use of deviation scores provides a useful operationalization of variations in conformity.

KW - conformity

KW - emotion

KW - flexibility-monumentalism

KW - individualism-collectivism

KW - tightness-looseness

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DO - 10.1177/00220221251376543

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

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M1 - 00220221251376543

ER -

Which Cultural Dimensions Predict Variations in Emotional Conformity? An Extension of Vishkin et al. (2023) Across 28 Nations

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

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The effects of social relations on the changes of individual well-being

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Which Cultural Dimensions Predict Variations in Emotional Conformity? An Extension of Vishkin et al. (2023) Across 28 Nations

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

The effects of social relations on the changes of individual well-being

Cite this