But, Words Can Never Hurt Me If … : Cultural Relativity in Evaluating Appraisals, Attributions, and Consequences of Hurtful Messages

Abstract

The study explored the influence of self-construals, a well-investigated and important dimension of culture, on the process of feeling and responding to hurt. Participants responded to a survey measuring self-construals, overall hurt feelings, mood, attributions, and relational consequences. The findings revealed that interdependence was positively associated with hurt feelings, but found no support for the relationship between independence and hurt. Independence was associated with positive moods subsequent to receipt of a hurtful message, whereas greater negative moods were related to higher degrees of interdependence. Independence was related to greater potential for using assertive responses. Finally, higher degrees of interdependence were related to the perception of greater strain on the relationship. The results, taken as a whole, demonstrate that the way in which people experience hurtful messages is influenced, in part, by specific cultural values. As such, the way self is construed in relation to the environment must be taken into consideration in future theorizing on hurt in interpersonal relationships.

Keywords:

• Hurt
• Self-Construals
• Culture
• Appraisals
• Attributions
• Relational Strain