Undergraduate Research Journal of Psychology at UCLA

Cultural psychology researchers have long been interested in understanding how loneliness is experienced across different cultures, with a focus on identifying which cultures report higher levels of loneliness. This literature proposes a novel approach to conceptualize loneliness by introducing the idea of norm deviation and how deviating from normative standards leads to loneliness. Additionally, we explore the roles of social support and self-determination theory in moderating the relationship between norm deviation and loneliness experience. The discussion section highlights the importance of qualitative study methods in loneliness studies to gain deeper understanding about the cultural and social factors in individual experiences.