Jeanne L. Tsai

All Publications

• Cultural variation in neural responses to social but not monetary reward outcomes. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience Blevins, E., Ko, M., Park, B., Qu, Y., Knutson, B., Tsai, J. L. 2023

  Abstract

  European Americans view high intensity, open-mouthed "excited" smiles more positively than Chinese because they value excitement and other high arousal positive states more (Tsai et al. 2018). This difference is supported by reward-related neural activity, with European Americans showing greater Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) activity to excited (vs. calm) smiles than Chinese (Park et al., 2018). But do these cultural differences generalize to all rewards, and are they related to real-world social behavior? European American (N = 26) and Chinese (N = 27) participants completed social and monetary incentive delay tasks that distinguished between the anticipation and receipt (outcome) of social and monetary rewards while undergoing Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI). The groups did not differ in NAcc activity when anticipating social or monetary rewards. However, as predicted, European Americans showed greater NAcc activity than Chinese when viewing excited smiles during outcome (the receipt of social reward). No cultural differences emerged when participants received monetary outcomes. Individuals who showed increased NAcc activity to excited smiles during outcome had friends with more intense smiles on social media. These findings suggest that culture plays a specific role in modulating reward-related neural responses to excited smiles during outcome, which are associated with real-world relationships.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/scan/nsad068

  View details for PubMedID 37952225

• The OECD's 'Well-being 2030' agenda: how PISA's affective turn gets lost in translation COMPARATIVE EDUCATION Rappleye, J., Komatsu, H., Uchida, Y., Tsai, J., Markus, H. 2023

  View details for DOI 10.1080/03050068.2023.2273640

  View details for Web of Science ID 001097705500001

• Valuing High Arousal Negative States Increases Negative Responses Toward Outgroups Across Cultures EMOTION Clobert, M., Sasaki, J., Hwang, K., Tsai, J. L. 2022

  Abstract

  Previous research demonstrates that the more people experience anger, fear, and other high arousal negative states (HAN) on average, the more prejudice and harm they express toward outgroups. Here we demonstrate that valuing HAN-above and beyond actually experiencing HAN-increases people's likelihood of engaging in harm toward cultural outgroups in everyday life. In Study 1, U.S. European Americans (N = 227) read hypothetical scenarios in which a member of another cultural group at school, work, or home made them uncomfortable. As predicted, the more participants ideally wanted to feel HAN, the more negatively they responded to the outgroup member in these scenarios (i.e., the more HAN they felt, the more they viewed harmful actions as appropriate, and the more likely they were to engage in these actions). To assess generalizability, in Study 2, we provide evidence from Canada (n = 162) and Taiwan (n = 170) that despite cultural differences in the valuation of specific types of HAN, wanting to feel HAN still predicted negative responses toward cultural outgroups in both cultures. These findings raise the intriguing possibility that reducing people's valuation of HAN might play an important role in increasing tolerance of cultural diversity in multicultural societies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0001101

  View details for Web of Science ID 000793444000001

  View details for PubMedID 35549366

• Social media users produce more affect that supports cultural values, but are more influenced by affect that violates cultural values. Journal of personality and social psychology Hsu, T. W., Niiya, Y., Thelwall, M., Ko, M., Knutson, B., Tsai, J. L. 2021

  Abstract

  Although social media plays an increasingly important role in communication around the world, social media research has primarily focused on Western users. Thus, little is known about how cultural values shape social media behavior. To examine how cultural affective values might influence social media use, we developed a new sentiment analysis tool that allowed us to compare the affective content of Twitter posts in the United States (55,867 tweets, 1,888 users) and Japan (63,863 tweets, 1,825 users). Consistent with their respective cultural affective values, U.S. users primarily produced positive (vs. negative) posts, whereas Japanese users primarily produced low (vs. high) arousal posts. Contrary to cultural affective values, however, U.S. users were more influenced by changes in others' high arousal negative (e.g., angry) posts, whereas Japanese were more influenced by changes in others' high arousal positive (e.g., excited) posts. These patterns held after controlling for differences in baseline exposure to affective content, and across different topics. Together, these results suggest that across cultures, while social media users primarily produce content that supports their affective values, they are more influenced by content that violates those values. These findings have implications for theories about which affective content spreads on social media, and for applications related to the optimal design and use of social media platforms around the world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/pspa0000282

  View details for PubMedID 34491077

• The rise of affectivism. Nature human behaviour Dukes, D., Abrams, K., Adolphs, R., Ahmed, M. E., Beatty, A., Berridge, K. C., Broomhall, S., Brosch, T., Campos, J. J., Clay, Z., Clement, F., Cunningham, W. A., Damasio, A., Damasio, H., D'Arms, J., Davidson, J. W., de Gelder, B., Deonna, J., de Sousa, R., Ekman, P., Ellsworth, P. C., Fehr, E., Fischer, A., Foolen, A., Frevert, U., Grandjean, D., Gratch, J., Greenberg, L., Greenspan, P., Gross, J. J., Halperin, E., Kappas, A., Keltner, D., Knutson, B., Konstan, D., Kret, M. E., LeDoux, J. E., Lerner, J. S., Levenson, R. W., Loewenstein, G., Manstead, A. S., Maroney, T. A., Moors, A., Niedenthal, P., Parkinson, B., Pavlidis, I., Pelachaud, C., Pollak, S. D., Pourtois, G., Roettger-Roessler, B., Russell, J. A., Sauter, D., Scarantino, A., Scherer, K. R., Stearns, P., Stets, J. E., Tappolet, C., Teroni, F., Tsai, J., Turner, J., Reekum, C. V., Vuilleumier, P., Wharton, T., Sander, D. 2021

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41562-021-01130-8

  View details for PubMedID 34112980

• Why does passion matter more in individualistic cultures? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Tsai, J. L. 2021; 118 (14)

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2102055118

  View details for PubMedID 33727340

• Association between age and intellectual curiosity: the mediating roles of future time perspective and importance of curiosity. European journal of ageing Chu, L., Tsai, J. L., Fung, H. H. 2021; 18 (1): 45-53

  Abstract

  This study aimed to examine the underlying mechanism behind the association of age and intellectual curiosity. Previous studies generally showed a negative association between age and intellectual curiosity. To shed light on this association, we hypothesize that older adults become more selective in where they invest their curiosity compared with younger adults. The present study (N = 857) first examined the association between age and intellectual curiosity and then the mediation roles of future time perspective and perceived importance of curiosity in the association. The moderation effect of culture was also included to test the generalizability of this model across European Americans, Chinese Americans, and Hong Kong Chinese. The findings suggested that there was a significant negative association between age and intellectual curiosity, even after controlling for sex, culture, and education level. The moderated serial multiple mediation model demonstrated that the indirect effect of age on curiosity through future time perspective and importance of curiosity was significant across all three cultural groups while age did not have a direct effect on intellectual curiosity. This finding suggested that, as future time becomes more limited with age, curiosity is less valued; hence, curiosity is negatively associated with the advance of age. This study illustrates the importance of future time and perceived importance of curiosity in explaining age-related differences in curiosity and sheds light on the situations in which older adults may be as intellectually curious as younger adults.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10433-020-00567-6

  View details for PubMedID 33746680

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7925741

• Association between age and intellectual curiosity: the mediating roles of future time perspective and importance of curiosity EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF AGEING Chu, L., Tsai, J. L., Fung, H. H. 2020

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10433-020-00567-6

  View details for Web of Science ID 000528973000001

• Compassion meditation increases optimism towards a transgressor. Cognition & emotion Koopmann-Holm, B., Sze, J., Jinpa, T., Tsai, J. L. 2019: 1–8

  Abstract

  Past research reveals important connections between meditative practices and compassion. Most studies, however, focus on the effects of one type of meditation (vs. a no-intervention control) on a single expression of compassion (e.g. offering a seat) towards a relatable target (e.g. a person on crutches), without exploring possible mechanisms. Hence, few studies include different types of meditation, active controls, multiple ways to express compassion, unrelatable targets, and potential mediators. To this end, the present study compared the effects of mindfulness meditation with those of compassion meditation on different expressions of compassion towards a convicted murderer. Seventy-four participants were randomly assigned to a mindfulness meditation, compassion meditation, or active control class, or a no-class control. After an 8-week programme, we assessed compassion by giving participants the option of fulfilling a murderer's request that they write him and then coding those letters for empathy, sympathy, forgiveness, and optimism. Participants in the compassion meditation class wrote more optimistic letters compared to participants in the other three conditions, in part because they valued positivity more. No statistically significant differences emerged for the other expressions of compassion. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of how meditation increases compassion towards unrelatable targets.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2019.1703648

  View details for PubMedID 31852385

• Culturally valued facial expressions enhance loan request success. Emotion (Washington, D.C.) Park, B., Genevsky, A., Knutson, B., Tsai, J. 2019

  Abstract

  Why do people share resources with some strangers, but not others? This question becomes increasingly relevant as online platforms that promote lending world-wide proliferate (e.g., www.kiva.org). We predicted that lenders from nations that value excitement and other high-arousal positive states (HAP; e.g., United States) would loan more to borrowers who show excitement in their profile photos because the lenders perceive them to be more affiliative (e.g., trustworthy). As predicted, using naturally occurring Kiva data, lenders from the United States and Canada were more likely to lend money to borrowers (N = 13,500) who showed greater positive arousal (e.g., excitement) than were lenders from East Asian nations (e.g., Taiwan), above and beyond loan features (amount, repayment term; Study 1). In a randomly selected sample of Kiva lenders from 11 nations (N = 658), lenders from nations that valued HAP more were more likely to lend money to borrowers who showed open "excited" versus closed "calm" smiles, above and beyond other socioeconomic and cultural factors (Study 2). Finally, we examined whether cultural differences in lending were related to judgments of affiliation in an experimental study (Study 3, N = 103). Compared with Koreans, European Americans lent more to excited borrowers because they viewed them as more affiliative, regardless of borrowers' race (White, Asian) or sex (male, female). These findings suggest that people use their culture's affective values to decide with whom to share resources, and lend less to borrowers whose emotional expressions do not match those values, regardless of their race or sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000642

  View details for PubMedID 31380663

• Cultural Variation in Social Judgments of Smiles: The Role of Ideal Affect JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Tsai, J. L., Blevins, E., Bencharit, L., Chim, L., Fung, H. H., Yeung, D. Y. 2019; 116 (6): 966–88

  Abstract

  While significant research has demonstrated that people's beliefs about a group shape how they judge members of that group, few studies have examined whether people's beliefs and values regarding emotion (their "ideal affect") shape how they socially judge people's emotional facial expressions. We predicted that the more people valued and ideally wanted to feel excitement and other high arousal positive states (HAP), the more affiliative (extraverted, agreeable) they would judge excited (vs. calm) faces. Moreover, because European Americans typically value HAP more than Hong Kong Chinese do, we predicted that European Americans would rate excited (vs. calm) targets as more affiliative than would Hong Kong Chinese. We found consistent support for these hypotheses in four studies. In Studies 1a and 1b, these effects held regardless of target race (White, Asian) and target sex (male, female); emerged for human as well as computer-generated faces; and did not consistently emerge for nonaffiliative social judgments (i.e., dominance, competence). In Studies 2 and 3, we replicated these findings in more realistic contexts. In Study 2, culture and ideal affect predicted participants' extraversion judgments of excited Facebook profiles. In Study 3, culture and ideal affect predicted participants' extraversion and agreeableness judgments of an excited job applicant, which increased their likelihood of hiring that applicant. Together, these findings suggest that people's culture and ideal affect shape how affiliative they judge excited (vs. calm) smiles. We discuss the role these processes may play in perpetuating biases in multicultural settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/pspp0000192

  View details for Web of Science ID 000467409600005

  View details for PubMedID 29902026

• Should Job Applicants Be Excited or Calm? The Role of Culture and Ideal Affect in Employment Settings EMOTION Bencharit, L., Ho, Y., Fung, H. H., Yeung, D. Y., Stephens, N. M., Romero-Canyas, R., Tsai, J. L. 2019; 19 (3): 377–401

  Abstract

  Do cultural differences in emotion play a role in employment settings? We predicted that cultural differences in ideal affect-the states that people value and ideally want to feel-are reflected in: (a) how individuals present themselves when applying for a job, and (b) what individuals look for when hiring someone for a job. In Studies 1-2 (NS1 = 236, NS2 = 174), European Americans wanted to convey high arousal positive states (HAP; excitement) more and low arousal positive states (LAP; calm) less than did Hong Kong Chinese when applying for a job. European Americans also used more HAP words in their applications and showed more "high intensity" smiles in their video introductions than did Hong Kong Chinese. In Study 3 (N = 185), European American working adults rated their ideal job applicant as being more HAP and less LAP than did Hong Kong Chinese, and in Study 4a (N = 125), European American Masters of Business Administration (MBAs) were more likely to hire an excited (vs. calm) applicant for a hypothetical internship than were Hong Kong Chinese MBAs. Finally, in Study 4b (N = 300), employees in a U.S. company were more likely to hire an excited (vs. calm) applicant for a hypothetical internship. In Studies 1-4a, observed differences were partly related to European Americans valuing HAP more than Hong Kong Chinese. These findings support our predictions that culture and ideal affect shape behavior in employment settings, and have important implications for promoting cultural diversity in the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000444

  View details for Web of Science ID 000461887900001

  View details for PubMedID 29975076

• Valuing excitement makes people look forward to old age less and dread it more. Psychology and aging Tsai, J. L., Sims, T., Qu, Y., Thomas, E., Jiang, D., Fung, H. H. 2018

  Abstract

  Previous research has shown that American culture places a premium on excitement, enthusiasm, and other high-arousal positive states (HAP) compared with various East Asian cultures. In two studies, we tested the prediction that valuing HAP would be associated with less positive personal views of old age (i.e., fewer things people looked forward to and more things they dreaded about old age) in samples of European American, Chinese American, and Hong Kong Chinese younger, middle-aged, and older adults. In Study 1 (N = 849), participants rated how much they ideally wanted to feel HAP during a typical week and described their personal views of old age. As predicted, European American middle and older adults valued HAP more than did their Chinese American and Hong Kong Chinese peers, and these differences in ideal HAP were related to less positive personal views of old age. In Study 2 (N = 164), we experimentally manipulated how much individuals valued HAP and then assessed their personal views of old age: Across cultures, participants in the "value HAP" condition had less positive personal views of old age than did those in the control condition. These effects did not emerge for societal views of old age (i.e., what people associated with "someone" old vs. young). Together, these findings suggest that people's personal views of their own old age are due, in part, to how much excitement they ideally want to feel. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/pag0000295

  View details for PubMedID 30299154

• Valuing Calm Enhances Enjoyment of Calming (vs. Exciting) Amusement Park Rides and Exercise EMOTION Chim, L., Hogan, C. L., Fung, H. H., Tsai, J. L. 2018; 18 (6): 805–18

  Abstract

  Do people derive more enjoyment from activities that match how they ideally want to feel (their "ideal affect")? Affect valuation theory (AVT) predicts that they do; however, no study has directly examined whether this is the case. Therefore, the authors conducted 4 studies that examined whether valuing calm and other low arousal positive states (LAP) increased enjoyment of calming (vs. exciting) activities. In Study 1, the more participants valued LAP, the more enjoyment they recalled during calming (vs. exciting) episodes from their lives. In Studies 2-3, the more participants valued LAP, the more enjoyment they experienced during calming (vs. exciting) amusement park rides, both in the United States and Hong Kong. To assess causality, in Study 4, participants were randomly assigned to either a "value LAP" or control condition and then engaged in either low or high intensity exercise. Participants in the value LAP condition who engaged in low intensity exercise reported greater enjoyment than those who engaged in high intensity exercise; these differences did not emerge in the control condition. People's trait levels of experienced LAP ("actual LAP") were not related to their enjoyment of calming (vs. exciting) activities. Together, these findings provide evidence that people derive more enjoyment from activities that match their ideal affect. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for AVT as well as interventions aimed at enhancing well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for PubMedID 28650189

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5743767

• Asian Americans Respond Less Favorably to Excitement (vs. Calm)-Focused Physicians Compared to European Americans CULTURAL DIVERSITY & ETHNIC MINORITY PSYCHOLOGY Sims, T., Young, H. R., Fung, H., Koopmann-Holm, B., Jiang, D., Tsai, J. L. 2018; 24 (1): 1–14

  Abstract

  Despite being considered a "model minority," Asian Americans report worse health care encounters than do European Americans. This may be due to affective mismatches between Asian American patients and their European American physicians. We predicted that because Asian Americans value excitement (vs. calm) less than European Americans, they will respond less favorably to excitement-focused (vs. calm) physicians.In Study 1, 198 European American, Chinese American, and Hong Kong Chinese community adults read a medical scenario and indicated their preference for an excitement-focused versus calm-focused physician. In Study 2, 81 European American and Asian American community college students listened to recommendations made by an excitement-focused or calm-focused physician in a video, and later attempted to recall the recommendations. In Study 3, 101 European American and Asian American middle-aged and older adults had multiple online encounters with an excitement-focused or calm-focused physician and then evaluated their physicians' trustworthiness, competence, and knowledge.As predicted, Hong Kong Chinese preferred excitement-focused physicians less than European Americans, with Chinese Americans falling in the middle (Study 1). Similarly, Asian Americans remembered health information delivered by an excitement-focused physician less well than did European Americans (Study 2). Finally, Asian Americans evaluated an excitement-focused physician less positively than did European Americans (Study 3).These findings suggest that while physicians who promote and emphasize excitement states may be effective with European Americans, they may be less so with Asian Americans and other ethnic minorities who value different affective states. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for PubMedID 28714709

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5771974

• Ideal affect in daily life: implications for affective experience, health, and social behavior CURRENT OPINION IN PSYCHOLOGY Tsai, J. L. 2017; 17: 118–28

  Abstract

  Over the last decade, researchers have increasingly demonstrated that ideal affect-the affective states that people value and ideally want to feel-shapes different aspects of daily life. Here I briefly review Affect Valuation Theory (AVT), which integrates ideal affect into existing models of affect and emotion by identifying the causes and consequences of variation in ideal affect. I then describe recent research that applies AVT to the valuation of negative states as well as more complex states, examines how ideal affect shapes momentary affective experience, suggests that ideal affect has both direct and indirect effects on health, and illustrates that people's ideal affect shapes how they judge and respond to others. Finally, I discuss the implications of cultural and individual differences in ideal affect for clinical, educational, work, and leisure settings.

  View details for PubMedID 28950957

• Neurocultural Evidence That Ideal Affect Match Promotes Giving. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience Park, B., Blevins, E., Knutson, B., Tsai, J. L. 2017

  Abstract

  Why do people give to strangers? We propose that people trust and give more to those whose emotional expressions match how they ideally want to feel ("ideal affect match"). European Americans and Koreans played multiple trials of the Dictator Game with recipients who varied in emotional expression (excited, calm), race (White, Asian), and sex (male, female). Consistent with their culture's valued affect, European Americans trusted and gave more to excited than calm recipients, whereas Koreans trusted and gave more to calm than excited recipients. These findings held regardless of recipient race and sex. We then used fMRI to probe potential affective and mentalizing mechanisms. Increased activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc; associated with reward anticipation) predicted giving, as did decreased activity in the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ; associated with reduced belief prediction error). Ideal affect match decreased rTPJ activity, suggesting that people may trust and give more to strangers whom they perceive to share their affective values.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/scan/nsx047

  View details for PubMedID 28379542

• Leaders' Smiles Reflect Cultural Differences in Ideal Affect EMOTION Tsai, J. L., Ang, J. Y., Blevins, E., Goernandt, J., Elliott, J., Uchida, Y., Zhang, X., Fung, H. H., Jiang, D., Koelzer, A., Lee, Y., Lin, Y., Govindama, Y., Haddouk, L. 2016; 16 (2): 183-195

  Abstract

  Cultures differ in the emotions they teach their members to value ("ideal affect"). We conducted 3 studies to examine whether leaders' smiles reflect these cultural differences in ideal affect. In Study 1, we compared the smiles of top-ranked American and Chinese government leaders, chief executive officers, and university presidents in their official photos. Consistent with findings that Americans value excitement and other high-arousal positive states more than Chinese, American top-ranked leaders (N = 98) showed more excited smiles than Chinese top-ranked leaders (N = 91) across occupations. In Study 2, we compared the smiles of winning versus losing political candidates and higher versus lower ranking chief executive officers and university presidents in the United States and Taiwan/China. American leaders (N = 223) showed more excited smiles than Taiwanese/Chinese leaders (N = 266), regardless of election outcome or ranking. In Study 3, we administered self-report measures of ideal affect in college student samples from 10 different nations (N = 1,267) and then 8 years later, coded the smiles that legislators from those nations showed in their official photos (N = 3,372). The more nations valued excitement and other high arousal positive states, the more their leaders showed excited smiles; similarly, the more nations valued calm and other low-arousal positive states, the more their leaders showed calm smiles. These results held after controlling for national differences in democratization, human development, and gross domestic product per capita. Together, these findings suggest that leaders' smiles reflect the affective states valued by their cultures.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000133

  View details for Web of Science ID 000370971400006

  View details for PubMedID 26751631

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4760873

• Limited time perspective increases the value of calm. Emotion Jiang, D., Fung, H. H., Sims, T., Tsai, J. L., Zhang, F. 2016; 16 (1): 52-62

  Abstract

  Previous findings indirectly suggest that the more people perceive their time in life as limited, the more they value calm. No study, however, has directly tested this hypothesis. To this end, using a combination of survey, experience sampling, and experimental methods, we examined the relationship between future time perspective and the affective states that people ideally want to feel (i.e., their "ideal affect"). In Study 1, the more people reported a limited time perspective, the more they wanted to feel calm and experience other low-arousal positive states. In Study 2, participants were randomly assigned to a limited time or an expanded time condition. Participants in the limited time condition reported valuing calm and other low arousal positive states more than those in the expanded time condition. We discuss the implications of these findings for broadening our understanding of the factors that shape how people ideally want to feel, and their consequences for decision making.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000094

  View details for PubMedID 26214569

• Neural evidence for cultural differences in the valuation of positive facial expressions. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience Park, B., Tsai, J. L., Chim, L., Blevins, E., Knutson, B. 2016; 11 (2): 243-252

  Abstract

  European Americans value excitement more and calm less than Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans value excited and calm states similarly, whereas Chinese value calm more than excited states. To examine how these cultural differences influence people's immediate responses to excited vs calm facial expressions, we combined a facial rating task with functional magnetic resonance imaging. During scanning, European American (n = 19) and Chinese (n = 19) females viewed and rated faces that varied by expression (excited, calm), ethnicity (White, Asian) and gender (male, female). As predicted, European Americans showed greater activity in circuits associated with affect and reward (bilateral ventral striatum, left caudate) while viewing excited vs calm expressions than did Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans responded to excited vs calm expressions similarly, whereas Chinese showed greater activity in these circuits in response to calm vs excited expressions regardless of targets' ethnicity or gender. Across cultural groups, greater ventral striatal activity while viewing excited vs. calm expressions predicted greater preference for excited vs calm expressions months later. These findings provide neural evidence that people find viewing the specific positive facial expressions valued by their cultures to be rewarding and relevant.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/scan/nsv113

  View details for PubMedID 26342220

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4733341

• Wanting to Maximize the Positive and Minimize the Negative: Implications for Mixed Affective Experience in American and Chinese Contexts JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Sims, T., Tsai, J. L., Jiang, D., Wang, Y., Fung, H. H., Zhang, X. 2015; 109 (2): 292-315

  Abstract

  Previous studies have demonstrated that European Americans have fewer mixed affective experiences (i.e., are less likely to experience the bad with the good) compared with Chinese. In this article, we argue that these cultural differences are due to "ideal affect," or how people ideally want to feel. Specifically, we predict that people from individualistic cultures want to maximize positive and minimize negative affect more than people from collectivistic cultures, and as a result, they are less likely to actually experience mixed emotions (reflected by a more negative within-person correlation between actual positive and negative affect). We find support for this prediction in 2 experience sampling studies conducted in the United States and China (Studies 1 and 2). In addition, we demonstrate that ideal affect is a distinct construct from dialectical view of the self, which has also been related to mixed affective experience (Study 3). Finally, in Study 4, we demonstrate that experimentally manipulating the desire to maximize the positive and minimize the negative alters participants' actual experience of mixed emotions during a pleasant (but not unpleasant or combined pleasant and unpleasant) TV clip in the United States and Hong Kong. Together, these findings suggest that across cultures, how people want to feel shapes how they actually feel, particularly people's experiences of mixed affect. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0039276

  View details for Web of Science ID 000360443600007

  View details for PubMedID 26121525

• Patients Respond More Positively to Physicians Who Focus on Their Ideal Affect EMOTION Sims, T., Tsai, J. L. 2015; 15 (3): 303-318

  Abstract

  Previous findings suggest that patients choose physicians whose affective focus matches how they ideally want to feel (Sims et al., 2014). For instance, the more people wanted to feel excitement, the more likely they were to hypothetically choose a new physician who promoted excitement. What remains unknown is whether this match shapes how patients actually respond to physicians after being assigned to them (i.e., whether they adhere to physicians' recommendations more and evaluate physicians more positively). To this end, community adults reported their global ideal affect and actual affect (how they ideally want to feel and actually feel during a typical week, respectively), and were randomly assigned to receive health recommendations from either a physician who expressed and promoted high arousal positive states (HAP) (e.g., excitement), or one who expressed and promoted low arousal positive states (LAP) (e.g., calm). For the next 5 days, participants reported their daily adherence to the recommendations and their daily ideal and actual affect. At the end of the week, participants evaluated their physician. As predicted, the more participants wanted to feel HAP, the more they adhered to the "HAP-focused" physician's recommendations, and the more participants wanted to feel LAP, the more they adhered to the "LAP-focused" physician's recommendations. Participants also evaluated their physician more positively when his affective focus matched their ideal affect. Neither global nor daily actual affect systematically predicted how patients responded to their physicians. These findings suggest that patients respond better to physicians whose affective focus matches their ideal affect.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000026

  View details for Web of Science ID 000354544600006

  View details for PubMedID 25313670

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4395515

• Focusing on the negative: Cultural differences in expressions of sympathy. Journal of personality and social psychology Koopmann-Holm, B., Tsai, J. L. 2014; 107 (6): 1092-1115

  Abstract

  Feeling concern about the suffering of others is considered a basic human response, and yet we know surprisingly little about the cultural factors that shape how people respond to the suffering of another person. To this end, we conducted 4 studies that tested the hypothesis that American expressions of sympathy focus on the negative less and positive more than German expressions of sympathy, in part because Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 1, we demonstrate that American sympathy cards contain less negative and more positive content than German sympathy cards. In Study 2, we show that European Americans want to avoid negative states more than Germans do. In Study 3, we demonstrate that these cultural differences in "avoided negative affect" mediate cultural differences in how comfortable Americans and Germans feel focusing on the negative (vs. positive) when expressing sympathy for the hypothetical death of an acquaintance's father. To examine whether greater avoided negative affect results in lesser focus on the negative and greater focus on the positive when responding to another person's suffering, in Study 4, American and German participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) to "push negative images away" (i.e., increasing desire to avoid negative affect) from or (b) to "pull negative images closer" (i.e., decreasing desire to avoid negative affect) to themselves. Participants were then asked to pick a card to send to an acquaintance whose father had hypothetically just died. Across cultures, participants in the "push negative away" condition were less likely to choose sympathy cards with negative (vs. positive) content than were those in the "pull negative closer" condition. Together, these studies suggest that cultures differ in their desire to avoid negative affect and that these differences influence the degree to which expressions of sympathy focus on the negative (vs. positive). We discuss the implications of these findings for current models of sympathy, compassion, and helping.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0037684

  View details for PubMedID 25243416

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4340666

• Choosing a physician depends on how you want to feel: The role of ideal affect in health-related decision making. Emotion Sims, T., Tsai, J. L., Koopmann-Holm, B., Thomas, E. A., Goldstein, M. K. 2014; 14 (1): 187-192

  Abstract

  When given a choice, how do people decide which physician to select? Although significant research has demonstrated that how people actually feel (their "actual affect") influences their health care preferences, how people ideally want to feel (their "ideal affect") may play an even greater role. Specifically, we predicted that people trust physicians whose affective characteristics match their ideal affect, which leads people to prefer those physicians more. Consistent with this prediction, the more participants wanted to feel high arousal positive states on average (ideal HAP; e.g., excited), the more likely they were to select a HAP-focused physician. Similarly, the more people wanted to feel low arousal positive states on average (ideal LAP; e.g., calm), the more likely they were to select a LAP-focused physician. Also as predicted, these links were mediated by perceived physician trustworthiness. Notably, while participants' ideal affect predicted physician preference, actual affect (how much people actually felt HAP and LAP on average) did not. These findings suggest that people base serious decisions on how they want to feel, and highlight the importance of considering ideal affect in models of decision making preferences.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0034372

  View details for PubMedID 24188062

• Buddhist-inspired meditation increases the value of calm. Emotion Koopmann-Holm, B., Sze, J., Ochs, C., Tsai, J. L. 2013; 13 (3): 497-505

  Abstract

  Most studies of meditation have focused on "actual affect" (how people actually feel). We predict that meditation may even more significantly alter "ideal affect" (how people ideally want to feel). As predicted, meditators ideally wanted to feel calm more and excited less than nonmeditators, but the groups did not differ in their actual experience of calm or excited states (Study 1). We ruled out self-selection and nonspecific effects by randomly assigning participants to meditation classes, an improvisational theater class, or a no class control (Study 2). After eight weeks, meditators valued calm more but did not differ in their actual experience of calm compared with the other groups. There were no differences in ideal or actual excitement, suggesting that meditation selectively increases the value placed on calm. These findings were not due to expectancy effects (Study 3). We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding how meditation alters affective life.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0031070

  View details for PubMedID 23356567

• Striving to Feel Good: Ideal Affect, Actual Affect, and Their Correspondence Across Adulthood PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING Scheibe, S., English, T., Tsai, J. L., Carstensen, L. L. 2013; 28 (1): 160-171

  Abstract

  The experience of positive affect is essential for healthy functioning and quality of life. Although there is a great deal of research on ways in which people regulate negative states, little is known about the regulation of positive states. In the present study we examined age differences in the types of positive states people strive to experience and the correspondence between their desired and actual experiences. Adults aged 18-93 years of age described their ideal positive affect states. Then, using experience-sampling over a 7-day period, they reported their actual positive affect experiences. Two types of positive affect were assessed: low-arousal (calm, peaceful, relaxed) and high-arousal (excited, proud). Young participants valued both types of positive affect equally. Older participants, however, showed increasingly clear preferences for low-arousal over high-arousal positive affect. Older adults reached both types of positive affective goals more often than younger adults (indicated by a smaller discrepancy between actual and ideal affect). Moreover, meeting ideal levels of positive low-arousal affect (though not positive high-arousal affect) was associated with individuals' physical health, over and above levels of actual affect. Findings underscore the importance of considering age differences in emotion-regulatory goals related to positive experience.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0030561

  View details for Web of Science ID 000316591500017

  View details for PubMedID 23106153

• Dynamics of ideal affect Conference on Changing Emotions Tsai, J. L. PSYCHOLOGY PRESS. 2013: 120–126

  View details for Web of Science ID 000315701500017

• Dynamics of ideal affect Changing emotions Tsai, J. L. edited by Hermans, D., Rime, B. Psychology Press. 2013: 120–126
• The religious shaping of emotion: Implications of Affect Valuation Theory Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Tsai, J. L., Koopmann-Holm, B., Ochs, C., Miyaki, M. edited by Paloutzian, R., Park, C. New York: Guilford Press. 2013; 2nd: 274–291
• Values moderate age differences in relationship orientation PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Fung, H. H., Ho, Y. W., Tam, K., Tsai, J., Zhang, X. 2011; 50 (7): 994-999

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2011.01.009

  View details for Web of Science ID 000289500100014

• Value moderates age differences in personality: The example of relationship orientation Personality and Individual Differences Fung, H. H., Ho, Y. W., Tam, K., Tsai, J., Zhang, X. 2011
• Further Evidence for the Cultural Norm Hypothesis: Positive Emotion in Depressed and Control European American and Asian American Women CULTURAL DIVERSITY & ETHNIC MINORITY PSYCHOLOGY Chentsova-Dutton, Y. E., Tsai, J. L., Gotlib, I. H. 2010; 16 (2): 284-295

  Abstract

  How does culture shape the effects of depression on emotion? A previous study showed that depression dampened negative emotional responses in European Americans, but increased these responses in Asian Americans (Chentsova-Dutton et al., 2007). These findings support the cultural norm hypothesis, which predicts that depression reduces individuals' abilities to react in culturally ideal ways (i.e., disrupting European Americans' abilities to express emotions openly and Asian Americans' abilities to moderate emotions). In the present study, we examined the generalizability of this hypothesis to positive emotion. We measured the emotional reactivity of 35 European Americans (17 depressed) and 31 Asian Americans (15 depressed) to an amusing film. Consistent with the cultural norm hypothesis, European Americans who were depressed showed dampened emotional reactivity (i.e., fewer smiles, less intense reports of positive emotion, lower cardiac activation) compared to control European Americans, whereas Asian Americans who were depressed showed similar (for smiles and reports of positive emotion), and even greater (for higher cardiac activation) emotional reactivity compared to control Asian Americans. These findings suggest that the cultural norm hypothesis generalizes to positive emotion.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0017562

  View details for Web of Science ID 000277174200021

  View details for PubMedID 20438167

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2864927

• Self-Focused Attention and Emotional Reactivity: The Role of Culture JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Chentsova-Dutton, Y. E., Tsai, J. L. 2010; 98 (3): 507-519

  Abstract

  Research conducted with European Americans suggests that attention to the individual self intensifies emotional reactivity. We propose, however, that cultural models of the self determine which aspect of the self (individual vs. relational), when attended to, intensifies emotional reactivity. In 3 studies, we predicted and observed that attention to individual aspects of the self was associated with levels of emotional reactivity that were greater in individuals from European American contexts (which promote an independent model of the self) than in individuals from Asian American contexts (which promote an interdependent model of the self). In contrast, attention to relational aspects of the self was associated with levels of emotional reactivity that were similar or greater in individuals from Asian American than in individuals from European American contexts. These findings highlight the importance of considering cultural and situational factors when examining links between the self and emotion.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0018534

  View details for Web of Science ID 000274588600011

  View details for PubMedID 20175627

• Replicating the Positivity Effect in Picture Memory in Koreans: Evidence for Cross-Cultural Generalizability PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING Kwon, Y., Scheibe, S., Samanez-Larkin, G. R., Tsai, J. L., Carstensen, L. L. 2009; 24 (3): 748-754

  Abstract

  Older adults' relatively better memory for positive over negative material (positivity effect) has been widely observed in Western samples. This study examined whether a relative preference for positive over negative material is also observed in older Koreans. Younger and older Korean participants viewed images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), were tested for recall and recognition of the images, and rated the images for valence. Cultural differences in the valence ratings of images emerged. Once considered, the relative preference for positive over negative material in memory observed in older Koreans was indistinguishable from that observed previously in older Americans.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0016054

  View details for Web of Science ID 000269933600024

  View details for PubMedID 19739932

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2775417

• Culture and depression International Encyclopedia of Depression Chentsova-Dutton, Y. E., Tsai, J. edited by Ingram, R. E. New York: Springer Publishing. 2009
• Understanding depression across cultures Handbook of depression Chentsova-Dutton, Y., Tsai, J. edited by Gotlib, I., Hammen, C. New York: Guilford Press. 2009; 2nd: 363–385
• Depression and emotional reactivity: Variation among Asian Americans of east Asian descent and European Americans JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Chentsova-Dutton, Y. E., Chu, J. P., Tsai, J. L., Rottenberg, J., Gross, J. J., Gotlib, I. H. 2007; 116 (4): 776-785

  Abstract

  Studies of Western samples (e.g., European Americans [EAs]) suggest that depressed individuals tend to show diminished emotional reactivity (J. G. Gehricke & A. J. Fridlund, 2002; G. E. Schwartz, P. L. Fair, P. Salt, M. R. Mandel, & G. L. Klerman, 1976a, 1976b). Do these findings generalize to individuals oriented to other cultures (e.g., East Asian cultures)? The authors compared the emotional reactions (i.e., reports of emotional experience, facial behavior, and physiological reactivity) of depressed and nondepressed EAs and Asian Americans of East Asian descent (AAs) to sad and amusing films. Their results were consistent with previous findings: Depressed EAs showed a pattern of diminished reactivity to the sad film (less crying, less intense reports of sadness) compared with nondepressed participants. In contrast, depressed AAs showed a pattern of heightened emotional reactivity (greater crying) compared with nondepressed participants. Across cultural groups, depressed and nondepressed participants did not differ in their reports of amusement or facial behavior during the amusing film. Physiological reactivity to the film clips did not differ between depressed and control participants for either cultural group. Thus, although depression may influence particular aspects of emotional reactivity across cultures (e.g., crying), the specific direction of this influence may depend on prevailing cultural norms regarding emotional expression.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0021-843X.116.4.776

  View details for Web of Science ID 000250937700010

  View details for PubMedID 18020723

• Ideal Affect Cultural Causes and Behavioral Consequences PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Tsai, J. L. 2007; 2 (3): 242-259

  Abstract

  Most research focuses on actual affect, or the affective states that people actually feel. In this article, I demonstrate the importance and utility of studying ideal affect, or the affective states that people ideally want to feel. First, I define ideal affect and describe the cultural causes and behavioral consequences of ideal affect. To illustrate these points, I compare American and East Asian cultures, which differ in their valuation of high-arousal positive affective states (e.g., excitement, enthusiasm) and low-arousal positive affective states (e.g., calm, peace-fulness). I then introduce affect valuation theory, which integrates ideal affect with current models of affect and emotion and, in doing so, provides a new framework for understanding how cultural and temperamental factors may shape affect and behavior.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00043.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000207450500002

• Ideal Affect: Cultural Causes and Behavioral Consequences. Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science Tsai, J. L. 2007; 2 (3): 242-59

  Abstract

  Most research focuses on actual affect, or the affective states that people actually feel. In this article, I demonstrate the importance and utility of studying ideal affect, or the affective states that people ideally want to feel. First, I define ideal affect and describe the cultural causes and behavioral consequences of ideal affect. To illustrate these points, I compare American and East Asian cultures, which differ in their valuation of high-arousal positive affective states (e.g., excitement, enthusiasm) and low-arousal positive affective states (e.g., calm, peace-fulness). I then introduce affect valuation theory, which integrates ideal affect with current models of affect and emotion and, in doing so, provides a new framework for understanding how cultural and temperamental factors may shape affect and behavior.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00043.x

  View details for PubMedID 26151968

• Attachment, sense of coherence, and mental health among Chinese American college students: Variation by migration status INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS Ying, Y., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L. 2007; 31 (5): 531-544

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2007.01.001

  View details for Web of Science ID 000249798000001

• Influence and adjustment goals: Sources of cultural differences in ideal affect JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Tsai, J. L., Miao, F. F., Seppala, E., Fung, H. H., Yeung, D. Y. 2007; 92 (6): 1102-1117

  Abstract

  Previous studies have found that in American culture high-arousal positive states (HAP) such as excitement are valued more and low-arousal positive states (LAP) such as calm are valued less than they are in Chinese culture. What specific factors account for these differences? The authors predicted that when people and cultures aimed to influence others (i.e., assert personal needs and change others' behaviors to meet those needs), they would value HAP more and LAP less than when they aimed to adjust to others (i.e., suppress personal needs and change their own behaviors to meet others' needs). They test these predictions in 1 survey and 3 experimental studies. The findings suggest that within and across American and Chinese contexts, differences in ideal affect are due to specific interpersonal goals.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1102

  View details for Web of Science ID 000246991100010

  View details for PubMedID 17547491

• Predictors of depressive symptoms in Chinese American college students: Parent and peer attachment, college challenges and sense of coherence AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY Ying, Y., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L. 2007; 77 (2): 316-323

  Abstract

  Based on Antonovsky's salutogenic model, the authors hypothesized that sense of coherence would mediate the effects of parent and peer attachment and college challenges on depressive symptoms as well as moderate the relationship between college challenges and depressive symptoms in Chinese Americans. To test our hypotheses, 353 Chinese American college students completed paper-pencil measures. Supporting our hypotheses, sense of coherence fully mediated the effects of parent and peer attachment on depressive symptom level and served as a partial mediator and moderator of the effect of college challenges on depressive symptoms. Implications of the study findings for promoting the mental health of Chinese American students are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0002-9432.77.2.316

  View details for Web of Science ID 000246857700016

  View details for PubMedID 17535129

• Good feelings in Christianity and Buddhism: Religious differences in ideal affect PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Tsai, J. L., Miao, F. F., Seppala, E. 2007; 33 (3): 409-421

  Abstract

  Affect valuation theory (AVT) predicts cultural variation in the affective states that people ideally want to feel (i.e., "ideal affect"). National and ethnic comparisons support this prediction: For instance, European Americans (EA) value high arousal positive (HAP) states (e.g., excitement) more and low arousal positive (LAP) states (e.g., calm) less than Hong Kong Chinese. In this article, the authors examine whether religions differ in the ideal affective states they endorse. The authors predicted that Christianity values HAP more and LAP less than Buddhism. In Study 1, they compared Christian and Buddhist practitioners' ideal affect. In Studies 2 and 3, they compared the endorsement of HAP and LAP in Christian and Buddhist classical texts (e.g., Gospels, Lotus Sutra) and contemporary self-help books (e.g., Your Best Life Now, Art of Happiness). Findings supported predictions, suggesting that AVT applies to religious and to national and ethnic cultures.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0146167206296107

  View details for Web of Science ID 000244646000009

  View details for PubMedID 17312321

• Learning what feelings to desire: Socialization of ideal affect through children's storybooks PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Tsai, J. L., Louie, J. Y., Chen, E. E., Uchida, Y. 2007; 33 (1): 17-30

  Abstract

  Previous findings suggest that cultural factors influence ideal affect (i.e., the affective states that people ideally want to feel). Three studies tested the hypothesis that cultural differences in ideal affect emerge early in life and are acquired through exposure to storybooks. In Study 1, the authors established that consistent with previous findings, European American preschoolers preferred excited (vs. calm) states more (indexed by activity and smile preferences) and perceived excited (vs. calm) states as happier than Taiwanese Chinese preschoolers. In Study 2, it was observed that similar differences were reflected in the pictures (activities, expressions, and smiles) of best-selling storybooks in the United States and Taiwan. Study 3 found that across cultures, exposure to exciting (vs. calm) storybooks altered children's preferences for excited (vs. calm) activities and their perceptions of happiness. These findings suggest that cultural differences in ideal affect may be due partly to differential exposure to calm and exciting storybooks.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0146167206292749

  View details for Web of Science ID 000243347100002

  View details for PubMedID 17178927

• Cultural models of shame and guilt Handbook of Self-Conscious Emotions Wong, Y., Tsai, J. L. edited by Tracy, J., Robin, R., Tangney, J. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 2007: 210–223
• Cultural factors influence the expression of psychopathology The Great Ideas of Clinical Science: The 18 Concepts That Every Mental Health Practitioner and Researcher Should Understand Chentsova-Dutton, Y., Tsai, J. L. edited by O'Donohue, W., Lilienfeld, S. New York, NY: Brunner-Taylor. 2007: 375–396
• Emotion elicitation using dyadic interaction tasks Handbook of Emotion Elicitation Roberts, N. A., Tsai, J. L., Coan, J. edited by Allen, J., Coan, J. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2007: 106–123
• Gender differences in emotional response among European Americans and Hmong Americans COGNITION & EMOTION Chentsova-Dutton, Y. E., Tsai, J. L. 2007; 21 (1): 162-181

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699930600911333

  View details for Web of Science ID 000243881300009

• Cultural and temperamental variation in emotional response EMOTION Tsai, J. L., Levenson, R. W., McCoy, K. 2006; 6 (3): 484-497

  Abstract

  To examine the relative influence of cultural and temperamental factors on emotional response, we compared the emotional behavior, reports of emotional experience, and autonomic responses of 50 European American (EA) and 48 Chinese American (CA) college-age dating couples during conversations about conflicts in their relationships. EA couples showed more positive and less negative emotional behavior than did CA couples, despite similarities in reports of emotional experience and autonomic reactivity. Group differences in emotional behavior were mediated by cultural (values and practices) but not temperamental factors (neuroticism and extraversion). Collapsing across groups, cultural factors accounted for greater variance in emotional behavior but lesser variance in reports of emotional experience compared with temperamental factors. Together, these findings suggest that the relative influence of cultural and temperamental factors on emotion varies by response component.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.6.3.484

  View details for Web of Science ID 000240290800013

  View details for PubMedID 16938089

• Cultural variation in affect valuation JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Tsai, J. L., Knutson, B., Fung, H. H. 2006; 90 (2): 288-307

  Abstract

  The authors propose that how people want to feel ("ideal affect") differs from how they actually feel ("actual affect") and that cultural factors influence ideal more than actual affect. In 2 studies, controlling for actual affect, the authors found that European American (EA) and Asian American (AA) individuals value high-arousal positive affect (e.g., excitement) more than do Hong Kong Chinese (CH). On the other hand, CH and AA individuals value low-arousal positive affect (e.g., calm) more than do EA individuals. For all groups, the discrepancy between ideal and actual affect correlates with depression. These findings illustrate the distinctiveness of ideal and actual affect, show that culture influences ideal affect more than actual affect, and indicate that both play a role in mental health.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.90.2.288

  View details for Web of Science ID 000236445600007

  View details for PubMedID 16536652

• The experience of college challenges: Variation among Chinese American students Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies Ying, Y., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L. 2006; 4: 79-97
• The Experience of College Challenges Among Chinese Americans: Variation by Migration Status JOURNAL OF IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE STUDIES Ying, Y., Lee, P., Tsai, J. L. 2006; 4 (1): 79–97

  View details for DOI 10.1300/J500v04n01_06

  View details for Web of Science ID 000212252100006

• Ethnic identity Handbook of Asian American Psychology Cheryan, S., Tsai, J. L. edited by Leong, F., Inman, A., Ebreo, A., Yang, L., Kinoshita, L., Fu, F. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 2006
• Cross-cultural applications of the MMPI-2 A practitioner’s guide Butcher, J. N., Mosch, S. C., Tsai, J. L., Nezami, E. edited by Butcher, J. Washington, DC, USA: American Psychological Association. 2006: 503–537
• Inventory of college challenges for ethnic minority students: psychometric properties of a new instrument in Chinese Americans. Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology Ying, Y., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L. 2004; 10 (4): 351-364

  Abstract

  The Inventory of College Challenges for Ethnic Minority Students (ICCEMS) is a newly developed instrument that assesses challenges faced by ethnic minority college students across a range of cultural, academic, social, and practical domains. The present study tested the ICCEMS among Chinese American students in an attempt to identify its factor structure and assess its psychometric properties. A total of 13 factor domains emerged. The Cronbach's alpha and 1-month test-retest reliability of the subscales and the overall scale supported their reliability. Both criterion and construct validities were also demonstrated. Chinese American college students faced the greatest challenges in terms of unclear career direction and academic demands.

  View details for PubMedID 15554798

• Somatic and social: Chinese Americans talk about emotion PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Tsai, J. L., Simeonova, D. I., Watanabe, J. T. 2004; 30 (9): 1226-1238

  Abstract

  Empirical findings suggest that Chinese and Americans differ in the ways that they describe emotional experience, with Chinese using more somatic and social words than Americans. No one, however, has investigated whether this variation is related to differences between Chinese and American conceptions of emotion or to linguistic differences between the English and Chinese languages. Therefore, in two studies, the authors compared the word use of individuals who varied in their orientation to Chinese and American cultures (European Americans [EA], more acculturated Chinese Americans [CA], and less acculturated CA) when they were speaking English during emotional events. Across both studies, less acculturated CA used more somatic (e.g., dizzy) and more social (e.g., friend) words than EA. These findings suggest that even when controlling for language spoken, cultural conceptions of emotion may shape how people talk about emotion.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0146167204264014

  View details for Web of Science ID 000223215500011

  View details for PubMedID 15359024

• The emotional integration of childhood experience: Physiological, facial expressive, and self-reported emotional response during the adult attachment interview 41st Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research Roisman, G. I., Tsai, J. L., Chiang, K. H. AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC. 2004: 776–89

  Abstract

  Attachment researchers claim that individual differences in how adults talk about their early memories reflect qualitatively distinct organizations of emotion regarding childhood experiences with caregivers. Testing this assumption, the present study examined the relationship between attachment dimensions and physiological, facial expressive, as well as self-reported emotional responses during the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Consistent with theoretical predictions, more prototypically secure adults behaviorally expressed and reported experiencing emotion consistent with the valence of the childhood events they described. Insecure adults also showed distinctive and theoretically anticipated forms of emotional response: Dismissing participants evidenced increased electrodermal activity during the interview, a sign of emotional suppression, whereas preoccupied adults showed reliable discrepancies between the valence of their inferred childhood experiences and their facial expressive as well as reported emotion during the AAI. Results substantiate a case that the AAI reflects individual differences in emotion regulation that conceptually parallel observations of attachment relationships in infancy.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000223483300010

  View details for PubMedID 15355165

• Psychometric properties of the intergenerational congruence in immigrant families: Child scale in Chinese Americans JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE FAMILY STUDIES Ying, Y. W., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L. 2004; 35 (1): 91-?

  View details for Web of Science ID 000187062900006

• Variation among European Americans in emotional facial expression JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY Tsai, J. L., Chentsova-Dutton, Y. 2003; 34 (6): 650-657

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0022022103256846

  View details for Web of Science ID 000186128600004

• The effects of depression on the emotional responses of Spanish-speaking Latinas. Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology Tsai, J. L., Pole, N., Levenson, R. W., Muñoz, R. F. 2003; 9 (1): 49-63

  Abstract

  Emotional responses (physiology, self-report, and facial expression) of 12 depressed and 10 nondepressed Spanish-speaking Latinas during sad and amusing film clips of human and animal content were compared. Depressed Latinas demonstrated less electrodermal reactivity across all the film clips and displayed fewer social smiles during the amusing-human film clip than nondepressed Latinas. No differences emerged for cardiovascular measures, reports of emotion, or facial expressions of happiness and negative emotion. Observed differences in electrodermal reactivity are similar to results from previous studies of Anglo Americans, suggesting that reduced electrodermal activity may be linked to depression across cultures. The findings also suggest that, for Latinas, depression may selectively alter expressions that serve interpersonal functions.

  View details for PubMedID 12647325

• Emotional Expression and Physiology in European Americans and Hmong Americans EMOTION Tsai, J. L., Chentsova-Dutton, Y., Freire-Bebeau, L., Przymus, D. E. 2002; 2 (4): 380-397

  Abstract

  Ethnographic and clinical observations suggest that Asians are less expressive than European Americans. To examine whether this difference emerged in online emotional responding, 50 Hmong Americans (HAs) and 48 European Americans (EAs) were asked to relive past episodes of intense happiness, pride, love, anger, disgust, and sadness. Facial behavior and physiological reactivity were measured. For most emotions, more cultural similarities than differences were found. There were some exceptions: During happiness, fewer HAs than EAs showed non-Duchenne smiles (i.e., "social" smiles), despite similarities in reported emotional experience and physiological reactivity. Within-group differences between "less Hmong" and "more Hmong" HAs were also found. Implications of these findings for our understanding of culture-emotion relations are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1037//1528-3542.2.4.380

  View details for Web of Science ID 000208224800004

  View details for PubMedID 12899371

• What does "being American" mean? A comparison of Asian American and European American young adults. Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology Tsai, J. L., Mortensen, H., Wong, Y., Hess, D. 2002; 8 (3): 257-273

  Abstract

  Two studies found that the meaning of "being American" differs for Asian Americans and European Americans. In Study 1, Hmong and European American undergraduates described what "being American" meant to them. In Study 2, Chinese American and European American undergraduates described what "American culture" meant to them. Responses were coded for references to cultural exposure, customs/traditional behavior, ethnic diversity, political ideology, and patriotism. Across both studies, Asian Americans referred to American customs and traditional behavior more than European Americans. European Americans referred to patriotism more than Hmong (in Study 1) and to ethnic diversity more than Chinese Americans (in Study 2). The authors suggest that these differences reflect the distinct statuses, concerns, and experiences of Asian Americans and European Americans.

  View details for PubMedID 12143103

• Psychophysiological studies of emotion and psychopathology Clinical Personality Assessment King, S. K., Tsai, J. L., Chentsova-Dutton, Y. edited by Butcher, J. N. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2002: 56–74
• Why and how we should study ethnic identity, acculturation, and cultural orientation Asian American psychology: The science of lives in context Tsai, J. L., Chentsova-Dutton, Y., Wong, Y. edited by Hall, G., Okazaki, S. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. 2002: 41–65
• What does “Being American” mean?: Differences between Asian American and European American young adults Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology Tsai, J. L., Morstensen, H., Wong, Y., Hess, D. 2002; 8: 257-273
• Different models of cultural orientation in American and overseas-born Asian Americans Asian American Mental Health: Assessment Theories and Methods Tsai, J. L., Chentsova-Dutton, Y. . edited by Kurasaki, K., Okazaki, S., Sue, S. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.. 2002: 95–106
• Towards an understanding of Asian American interracial dating and marriage Inside the American Couple Tsai, J. L., Przymus, D. E., Best, J. L., Carstensen, L. edited by Yalom, M. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 2002: 189–210
• Understanding depression across cultures Handbook of Depression Tsai, J. L., Chentsova-Dutton, Y. edited by Gotlib, I., Hammen, C. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 2002: 467–491
• Cultural predictors of self-esteem: a study of Chinese American female and male young adults. Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology Tsai, J. L., Ying, Y. W., Lee, P. A. 2001; 7 (3): 284-297

  Abstract

  This study examined how specific domains of cultural orientation (language, social affiliation, and cultural pride) related to self-esteem for a sample of 174 Chinese American male and 179 Chinese American female college students. Participants completed measures of cultural orientation (General Ethnicity Questionnaire; J.L. Tsai, Y.W. Ying, & P.A. Lee, 2000) and self-esteem (M. Rosenberg, 1965). Cultural orientation significantly predicted self-esteem, above and beyond the contribution of age, gender, grade point average, and socioeconomic status. Specifically, proficiency in English and Chinese languages and pride in Chinese culture were positively correlated with self-esteem, whereas affiliation with Chinese people was negatively correlated with selfesteem. The cultural predictors of self-esteem differed for Chinese American men and women. Whereas self-esteem was mainly related to pride in Chinese culture for Chinese American women, self-esteem was mainly related to English and Chinese language proficiency for Chinese American men. Implications of these findings for understanding Asian Americans are discussed.

  View details for PubMedID 11506074

• Relationship of young adult Chinese Americans with their parents: Variation by migratory status and cultural orientation AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY Ying, Y. W., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L., Lee, Y. J., Tsang, M. 2001; 71 (3): 342-349

  Abstract

  To examine whether Chinese and American cultural orientations mediate the association between migratory status and parent relationship, 122 American-born, 121 early-immigrant, and 110 late-immigrant Chinese young adults were measured on cultural orientation and parent relationship. The poorest relationships were found in the early-immigrant group. Cultural orientation mediated the difference in parent relationship between early and late immigrant groups, but not between early-immigrant and American-born groups. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000170174200009

  View details for PubMedID 11495336

• Asian American college students as model minorities: an examination of their overall competence. Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology Ying, Y. W., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L., Hung, Y., Lin, M., Wan, C. T. 2001; 7 (1): 59-74

  Abstract

  Educational success among Asian Americans has led to their being labeled the "model minority." At the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Asian American students have higher grade point averages (GPAs) than Hispanic and African American but not White students, supporting the notion that Asian Americans are more successful compared with other racial minorities. However, success in the classroom does not implicate effective functioning in life, and nonacademic criteria ought to be considered in assessing the validity of the model minority image. Given the increasing diversification of the United States, cross-racial engagement may be an additional contributor to overall competence. This was empirically tested in a group of 642 undergraduates at UCB, including 291 Asian, 197 White, 20 African American, 67 Hispanic, and 56 multiracial students. Overall competence was operationalized by sense of coherence, that is, the extent to which the world is experienced as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful (A. Antonovsky, 1979, 1987). As predicted, Asian Americans had significantly fewer numbers of cross-racial groups represented in their friendship network than did students of all other races. Lower cross-racial engagement and being Asian (as compared with White) were related to a lower sense of coherence, whereas lower GPA was not. Within the Asian American subsample, cross-racial engagement was again significantly associated with greater coherence, whereas GPA again was not. Thus, extending the definition of success to overall competence, these findings raise questions about the applicability of the model minority label to Asian Americans, despite their academic achievement. Future studies need to assess the reasons for their limited cross-racial engagement and lower sense of coherence and to examine means to assist the development of these strengths.

  View details for PubMedID 11244904

• Culture, ethnicity, and psychopathology The Comprehensive Handbook of Psychopathology Tsai, J. L., Butcher, J. N., Vitousek, K., Munoz, R. edited by Adams, H. E., Sutker, P. B. New York, NY: Plenum Press. 2001: 105–127
• Cultural orientation of Hmong young adults Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment Tsai, J. L. 2001; 3-4: 99-114
• Network composition, social integration, and sense of coherence in Chinese American young adults Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment Ying, Y., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L., Lee, Y. J., Tsang, M. 2001; 3-4: 83-98
• Cultural orientation and racial discrimination: Predictors of coherence in Chinese American young adults JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY Ying, Y. W., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L. 2000; 28 (4): 427-441

  View details for Web of Science ID 000087671100005

• The meaning of "being Chinese" and "being American" - Variation among Chinese American young adults JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY Tsai, J. L., Ying, Y. W., Lee, P. A. 2000; 31 (3): 302-332

  View details for Web of Science ID 000086854200002

• The concept of depression in Chinese American college students Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology Ying, Y., Lee, P. A., Tsai, J. L., Yeh, Y., Huang, J. 2000; 6: 183-195
• Autonomic, expressive, and subjective responses to emotional films in older and younger Chinese American and European American adults Psychology and Aging Tsai, J. L., Levenson, R. W., Carstensen, L. L. 2000; 15: 684-693
• Culture Encyclopedia of Human Emotion Tsai, J. L. edited by Levison, D., Ponzetti, J., Jorgensen, P. New York, NY: Macmillan Press. 1999: 159–166
• Emotion and aging Encyclopedia of Mental Health Pasupathi, M., Carstensen, L. L., Turk-Charles, S., Tsai, J. L. edited by Friedman, H. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. 1998: 91–101
• Emotion and aging: Experience, expression, and control PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING Gross, J. J., Carstensen, L. L., Pasupathi, M., Tsai, J., Skorpen, C. G., Hsu, A. Y. 1997; 12 (4): 590-599

  Abstract

  Age differences in emotional experience, expression, and control were investigated in 4 studies. A community sample of 127 African Americans and European Americans (ages 19-96 years) was used in Study 1; a community sample of 82 Chinese Americans and European Americans (ages 20-85 years) was used in Study 2; a community sample of 49 Norwegians drawn from 2 age groups (ages 20-35 years and 70+ years) was used in Study 3; and a sample of 1,080 American nuns (ages 24-101 years) was used in Study 4. Across studies, a consistent pattern of age differences emerged. Compared with younger participants, older participants reported fewer negative emotional experiences and greater emotional control. Findings regarding emotional expressivity were less consistent, but when there were age differences, older participants reported lesser expressivity. Results are interpreted in terms of increasingly competent emotion regulation across the life span.

  View details for Web of Science ID A1997YK91800005

  View details for PubMedID 9416628

• Cultural influences on emotional responding - Chinese American and European American dating couples during interpersonal conflict JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY Tsai, J. L., Levenson, R. W. 1997; 28 (5): 600-625

  View details for Web of Science ID A1997YE00300006

• Clinical intervention with ethnic minority elders The Practical Handbook of Clinical Gerontology Tsai, J. L., Carstensen, L. L. edited by Carstensen, L. L., Edelstein, B. A., Dornbrand, L. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publishers. 1996: 76–106
• Ageism in interpersonal settings The Social Psychology of Interpersonal Discrimination Pasupathi, M., Carstensen, L. L., Tsai, J. L. edited by Lott, B., Maluso, D. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 1994