J a p a n e s e    C u l t u r e

渡部さま・ご出席者各位、取り下げご希望でありましたら一筆ください。

 As demonstrated by Hamamura and Heine (2008;Hamamura, Meijer, Heine, Kamaya & Hori, 2009), the Japanese have a prevention, as opposed to promotion, regulatory focus (Higgins and Spiegel, 2004), or motivation style. This means that the Japanese hare happy when nothing goes wrong, or if all goes smoothly (todokoorinaku　滞りなく) and they don't care if things are especially "wow". Westerners are more inclined to want the "wow"-- something raw and unique -- and they are less concerned if there are a few mishaps along the way.

These differences in what motivates the Japanese and Westerners are especially visible in hospitality preferences, so tourism providers should take note. To Japanese, Western hospitality can seem hapzard, scruffy, or poorly planned. To Westerners, Japanese hospitality can seem clinical, hermetically sealed, mass-produced. Japanese weddings parties are a prime example of flawless, raw-less hospitality of Japan.

This particular wedding party had a spontaenity and uniqueness that I had not experienced before. It should be remembered that the Japanese hold an after-party (ni-ji-kai), and a after-after-party (sanjikai) where there is much more spontaneous "wow". Thank you for inviting me. I had a great time.

Bibliography

Briley, D. A., & Wyer, R. S. (2002). The Effects of Group Membership on the Avoidance of Negative Outcomes: Implications for Social and Consumer Decisions. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(3), 400–415. Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/briley/3
Hamamura, T. (2008). Approach and avoidance motivations across cultures. In A. J. Elliot (Ed.), Handbook of Approach and Avoidance Motivation (pp. 557–570). Mahwah,  NJ,  US: Erlbaum. Retrieved from http://www.psych.ubc.ca/%7Eheine/docs/avoidancehandbook.rtf
Hamamura, T., & Heine, S. J. (2006). Self-Regulation Across Cultures: New Perspective on Culture and Cognition Research. International Conference of the Cognitive Science, Vancouver, BC.
Hamamura, T., Meijer, Z., Heine, S. J., Kamaya, K., & Hori, I. (2009). Approach—Avoidance Motivation and Information Processing: A Cross-Cultural Analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(4), 454–462. Retrieved from http://www.psych.ubc.ca/%7Eheine/docs/2009approach.pdf
Higgins, E. T., & Spiegel, S. (2004). Promotion and prevention strategies for self-regulation: A motivated cognition perspective. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2004-00163-008

Labels: japan, japanese culture, nihonbunka, 日本文化