IS A FRIEND IN NEED ALWAYS A FRIEND INDEED? ATTITUDE TOWARDS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT IN FRIENDSHIP: A CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY

• Authors: Wisniewska Zuzanna
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The present study investigates similarities and differences in perception of emotional support in friendship. Ecuadorians (N = 87) and Poles (N = 60) completed a questionnaire constructed in two cultural versions. The questionnaire consisted of five conversation vignettes between two women. Participants evaluated women's behaviours varied by: level of intimacy; reason for self-disclosure and type of emotional support. Burleson's (1994) typology of emotional support was a theoretical framework for the study. The findings indicated that comforting messages low in person centeredness were evaluated lower by Poles in comparison to Ecuadorians. Additionally, low person centeredness of a supporting actor had a significant effect on the evaluations of the person who was seeking for a support. There were no differences between Poles and Ecuadorians in their perception of high person centered emotional support. The results indicated that intimate conversations between close friends were evaluated higher in a Polish sample in comparison to the daily conversations. The opposite result was observed in an Ecuadorian group.

Keywords

EN

CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY; EMOTIONAL SUPPORT; FRIENDSHIP

Discipline

• PSYCHOLOGY: PSYCHOLOGY

• Publisher: Committee on Psychological Sciences PAS, Warsaw School of Social Psychology
• Journal: Psychological Studies
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 46
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 5-18
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Wisniewska Zuzanna

• Zuzanna Wisniewska, Szkola Wyzsza Psychologii Spolecznej, ul. Chodakowska 19/31, 03-815 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA06881