University of Hawai'i University Relations Media & Publications Honolulu, HI 96822	(808) 956-8856 Telephone (808) 956-3441 Facsimile ur@hawaii.edu E-Mail
For Immediate Release:	October 29, 1998
Contact: David Beasley, Center for Chinese Studies 956-2691

Center for Chinese Studies offers free seminar on Effects of Psychological Distance Nancy Wong, assistant professor in the Department of Marketing, UH College of Business Administration, will present a free lecture, "The Effect of Psychological Distance on Emotion in China and the US," Wednesday, Nov. 4, noon-1:30, in the Tokioka Room (Moore 319) at UH Manoa. The public is welcome to attend the free seminar, a presentation of the Center for Chinese Studies in the UH School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies. Nancy Wong's research specialty is cross-cultural psychology and consumer behavior. In this seminar, she reports on her investigations of psychological "distance" in two cultures, American and Chinese. Cultures differ in the extent to which cooperation, competition, or individualism is emphasized. In general, Chinese people maintain deep relationships with a narrow group of people whereas Americans favor less intense interactions with a wider group of people. Past studies suggest that Chinese are likely to maintain a sharper distinction between the in-groups and out-groups than Americans. This is likely to lead to relatively greater psychological distance between the self and members of out-groups for Chinese, as well as greater psychological closeness between the self and members of the in-groups. Wong's study examines emotional responses from multiple perspectives representing different psychological distances in two cultures, Chinese and American, and tests for differences in emotional intensities across perspectives.

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