Embarrassability and self-construal: A theoretical integration

This study investigates embarrassability and its association to three individual difference variables: 1. (1) social anxiety,2. (2) a personʹs interdependent self-construal (i.e. interconnectedness), and3. (3) independent self-construal (i.e. bounded, separateness). Previous theories of embarrassment are integrated in relating these individual differences to the process of embarrassment and individual level embarrassability. It is suggested that embarrassment can be traced to three factors: 1. (1) the strength of oneʹs idealized role-identity (as bounded and separate) going into the interaction,2. (2) the sensitivity to othersʹ evaluations as the interaction unfolds, and3. (3) the degree to which oneʹs identity is entwined with and dependent on others. Three-hundred and seventy-one students, representing diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, composed the sample. Even after accounting for the effects of social anxiety, the strength of a personʹs independent self-construal is negatively associated with embarrassability. Beyond those effects, the strength of the interdependent self-construal is positively related to embarrassability. These findings support the hypothesized model and contribute to the criticism that the previous western conceptualization of embarrassability is ethnocentric and restricts the construct. Implications and directions for future research are provided.