Cross-cultural comparison of social network and its effect on relationship with strangers

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Previous research has shown that Japanese have less positive attitudes toward strangers and interact with them less frequently than Americans and Koreans. This study investigates whether such cultural differences in relationship with strangers can be explained by the differences in social network structure between Japanese and Americans/Koreans. Comparative online survey in Japan, the United States, and Korea revealed that 1) Japanese had lower general trust and fewer interactions with strangers than both of Americans and Koreans, 2) these cultural differences were partially mediated by the difference in network size and network boundary density (i.e. Japanese lower trust and fewer interaction can be explained by their smaller network and lower boundary density), 3) low boundary density among Japanese compared to Americans can be partially explained by their unwillingness to connect their friends who belong to different groups, because of their concerns about their different faces they show to their friends depending on their roles and relationships in each groups.