Sharing Joy but Not Sorrow: Self-(Non)Disclosure Across Cultures

Open communication and self-disclosure are considered essential in many independent Western cultures to maintain relationships and receive social support (Pearce & Sharp, 1973), whereas nondisclosure is commonly assumed to be dysfunctional (Greene et al., 2006). However, this understanding of nondisclosure does not necessarily apply to non-Western cultures where individuals tend to be more interdependent and carry more relational considerations, especially those from self-effacing interdependent cultures. The current project aims to examine self-disclosure across cultures with various targets, including parents, peers, strangers, and AI, to understand the cultural nuances behind people’s decisions to self-disclose or not. Please contact nicechair@psichi.org if you are interested in becoming a contributor on this project.