Cultural differences in preference for entertainment messages that induce mixed responses of joy and sorrow

Abstract

Two cross-cultural studies were conducted to explore how affective states from viewing favorite entertainment messages vary as a function of culture. Koreans were more likely than U.S. Americans to prefer entertainment messages that induce conflicting responses (e.g., feeling positive and negative, laughing and crying). Furthermore, this cultural difference was larger for positively valenced (i.e., comedy) than for negatively valenced message (i.e., sad films). Naïve dialecticism held by East Asians that treats these contradictory responses as balance, harmony, and moderation was introduced as a plausible explanatory mechanism. © 2014 International Communication Association.