The effect of cultural adaptation on perceived trustworthiness

Abstract

A 2 × 4 laboratory experiment investigates the effect of degree of cultural adaptation on perceived trustworthiness when Americans adapt to Japanese and Thais. As hypothesized, for both Thai and Japanese subjects, high adaptation by Americans results in higher disconfirmation of stereotypic expectations and is perceived to be more situationally caused than is no adaptation. High adaptation also induces higher trustworthiness than does no adaptation; however, this contradicts the results in earlier studies (e.g., Francis, 1989). The cultural dimension of collectivism is proposed to explain why high adaptation is perceived to be more trustworthy when Americans adapt to Japanese and Thais.