Cultural values exert influence through the belief of others' virtues: Evidence from an implicit association test

Cultural values are defined as shared patterns held by individuals within a cultural group, functioning as common principles that shape the social order of that society. Traditional Confucian values represent the core cultural values of the Han ethnic group; however, how these values function at the individual psychological level remains unclear. This study employs the SC-IAT to examine how traditional Confucian values operate among typical members of the Han cultural group. Results from Experiment 1 showed that traditional Confucian values were more strongly associated with "others" than with the "self," suggesting that typical Han individuals tend to perceive these values as characteristics of others rather than as part of their self-concept. Experiment 2 further revealed that typical Han individuals held positive implicit attitudes toward these values. These findings indicate that among typical Han individuals, traditional Confucian values exert their influence primarily through being regarded as a shared group consensus, which implies endorsement by the majority of group members.