Together with Dr. Ben C-P Lam and others, Cross has begun to examine close relationships in Chinese cultural contexts from the perspective of specifically Chinese concepts, beliefs, and ways of thinking. In our initial studies, we examined the role of the Chinese notion of filial piety (obedience and care for one’s parents) in close relationships. Our research found that Taiwanese young people are more likely than American young people to prioritize their mother over their spouse in emergency and every-day situations (Wu, Cross, et al., 2916). Lam, Cross and our colleagues have also begun to examine the implications of Chinese patterns of dialectical thinking on close relationships. Dialectical thinking involves three primary components: a) viewing the world holistically, b) acceptance and tolerance of contradiction, and c) a view that the world is constantly changing (Peng & Nisbett, 1995). Applying this framework to close relationships, we have found that Chinese people feel more ambivalently about their romantic partners than do Americans, and we suggest that this is because Chinese people acknowledge and accept that their partners have both positive and negative qualities (consistent with an acceptance of contradiction; Cross & Lam, in press a). We are investigating other ways that dialecticism influences relationship behavior, such as willingness to change and adapt in relationships and the extent to which individuals organize information about their partners cognitively.
Selected Culture and Close Relationships Publications
Joo, M., Cross, S. E., & Park, S. W. (2023). Who Do We Turn to and What Do We Get? Cultural Differences in Attachment Structure and Function Among East Asian and Western Individuals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 0(0).PDF
Lam, B.C.P., Cross, S. E., Chen, S. X., Au, A. K. Y, Ng, J., Zheng, L-J, Zhang, J-L. (2022). Dialecticism in romantic relationships: An examination in Chinese and American cultural contexts. Personal Relationships, 29, 699-726. PDF
Joo, M. J., Lam, B. C. P., Cross, S. E., Chen, S. X., Lau, V. C. Y., Ng, H. K. Y., & Gunsoy, C. (2022). Cross-cultural perspectives on self-change in close relationships: Evidence from Hong Kong Chinese and European Americans. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 48 (7), 1118-1133.PDF
Joo, M., Terzino, K. A., Cross, S.E., Yamaguchi, N., & Ohbuchi, K. (2019). How does culture shape conceptions of forgiveness? Evidence from Japan and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 50, 676-702.PDF
Cross, S. E. & Lam, B. C-P. (2018). Dialecticism in close relationships and marriage. In J. Spencer-Rodgers and K. P. Peng, Psychological and Cultural Foundations of Dialectical Thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lam, B.C-P, Cross, S. E., Wu, T-F., Yeh, K-H., Wang, Y-C., & Su, J. C.(2016). Prototypes of ideal relationships in the US and Taiwan. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 703-722.PDF
Wu, T., Cross, S. E., Wu, C., Cho, W., & Tey, S. (2016). Choosing your mother or your spouse: Close relationship dilemmas in Taiwan and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 47, 558-580.PDF