UC Santa Barbara

Perceived responsiveness – defined as the perception that one is understood, validated, and cared for by close others, or the overall belief that one’s needs are sensitively met – is a core component of close relationships and an important predictor of health and psychological well-being. However, past research and theoretical models have been based primarily on individualistic cultures and lacked consideration of cultural fit, or how different cultural goals and values would affect what is perceived as responsive and its consequences. The current studies aimed to explore (a) what are the specific behaviors each culture perceives to be responsive, and (b) how do these specific behaviors and culture affect individual well-being? In addition, because much of this research has been conducted in the social support area, the current studies will also explore whether the answers to these questions depend on whether one seeks support for stressors or good news, as well as the role of general perceived responsiveness in these processes. Study 1 used a mixed-methods approach (qualitative and quantitative) to explore what behaviors 108 European-Americans (from individualistic cultures) and 95 Asian (from collectivistic cultures) participants (N = 203) perceived as responsive when disclosing stressors and good news. Study 2 was a two-week diary study in which 101 European-American and 77 Asian participants (N = 178) tracked their daily social interactions (specifically negative and positive events and responsive behaviors) and daily psychological well-being. While both studies found that there were largely no cultural differences in the perceived responsiveness of support behaviors, there were some differences in how culture and perceived responsiveness impacted mental health. In Study 1 and contrary to what I predicted, European-American participants’ psychological well-being was positively associated with perceiving implicit support as responsive while sharing stressors. In Study 2, only Asian participants’ psychological well-being was positively associated from perceiving emotional and instrumental support as responsive when sharing good news. Exploratory analyses on general perceived responsiveness did find that European-American participants’ psychological well-being increased as general perceived responsiveness of their disclosees increased. In Study 2 though, Asian participants’ well-being also increased when perceiving their interaction partner as more responsive, but only when sharing good news. This line of research hopes to illuminate how perceived responsiveness changes, as well as stays the same, depending on cultural fit to gain a better understanding of how perceived responsiveness functions and benefits individuals via their close relationships.