Communication goals: Individual differences between Korean and American speakers

This paper is a cross-cultural investigation of the relationship between individual-difference variables and the perceived importance of interactive constraints. It was hypothesized that ‘need for social approval’ would correlate positively with the importance of three ‘prosocial’ interactive constraints (i.e. concern for otherʹs feelings, concern for avoiding negative evaluation by the hearer, and concern for minimizing imposition), and that ‘need for dominance’ would correlate positively with concern for clarity and concern for effectiveness. The participants consisted of 595 undergraduates, 296 of them studying in Korea, and 299 in the U.S.A. After being presented with one of six request situations, participants rated the perceived importance of each constraint. Then they completed scales measuring need for approval and need for dominance. The results indicate that the different personality characteristics (the need for approval and need for dominance) systematically affect the perceived importance of interactive constraints in both cultures. The implications of the findings are discussed.