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

此前的研究表明，与美国人和韩国人相比，日本人对陌生人的态度不那么积极，与他们互动的频率也更低。本研究探讨了日本人和美国人/韩国人在社会网络结构上的差异是否可以解释这种与陌生人关系的文化差异。在日本、美国和韩国进行的比较在线调查显示，1)日本人的总体信任度和与陌生人的互动都低于美国人和韩国人，2)这些文化差异部分是由网络规模和网络边界密度的差异(即日本人较小的网络和较低的边界密度可以解释较低的信任和较少的互动)，3)与美国人相比，日本人的低边界密度可以部分解释为他们不愿意联系属于不同群体的朋友，因为他们担心自己在不同群体中的不同面孔向朋友展示的不同面孔。

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.