Date of Graduation

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Eidelman, Scott

Committee Member/Reader

Brown, Mitch

Committee Member/Second Reader

Fukushima, Tatsuya

Committee Member/Third Reader

Clay, Matt

Abstract

Japan has long been cited as the prime example of a collectivistic nation with many instances of ingroup bias, and is also known for its respect for things that are old. This research examined a proposed link between longevity bias, or the belief that things that are older are inherently better, and ingroup bias in a Japanese population by replicating the “art” domain in Eidelman et. al’s (2010) longevity bias study. Participants, undergraduates at a Japanese university, completed questionnaires that evaluated their aesthetic enjoyment of a painting, while also manipulating the participants’ knowledge of the artists’ nationality and the artwork’s time in existence. The artist’s nationality was either Japanese or American (the participants’ ingroup or outgroup) and the painting was said to be either relatively young or old (9 vs. 90 years old). We hypothesized that participants would rate the painting higher when it was both from their ingroup and perceived to be older. Our results showed marginal significance for main effect interactions so that 1. participants found the difference in perceived time in existence to be more drastic in the Japanese condition than the American condition and 2. participants preferred the newer painting to the older painting, which was directly contrary to our hypothesis. Additional research and replication of this study in more representative populations is needed, especially in regards to equal gender representation, but results may also suggest a review of the literature into Japan’s insofar undisputed status as collectivistic.

Keywords

Longevity Bias; Ingroup Bias; Japan; Culture

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