In line with the prediction that Northeast Asian would have more difficulties in dating then Westerners (RQ1), I compared Taiwanese, Japanese and French young adults on a variety of measures. The analyses of participants’ current and past relationships, their dating pyramids, and their dating difficulties, suggest that the cultural samples used in the study differ in their propensity to date. First, the French participants have more current and prior dating experience than Northeast Asian participants. Second, the dating pyramids revealed a similar progress of French and Taiwanese singles until the step of meeting prospects. However, French and Taiwanese single women appear to differ in their ability to choose a partner, as Taiwanese women perceive more difficulties with the time needed to find a partner (vs. the French), and Taiwanese women have more difficulties to find “Mister Right” (vs. the French). Eventually Taiwanese date less and have fewer past partners than the French. Third, the Japanese participants’ current dating status, their number of past partners, and their dating pyramids differ much from that of the French. Japanese women in particular date less, have fewer partners, and are less active in the dating steps compared to French women, but also to Japanese men. In addition, Japanese women perceive more time barrier in dating (vs. French women and vs. Japanese men). The samples analyzed here are not representative of each country’s population, they are nevertheless indicative of the possible issues in each country and for each gender.
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CHAPTER SIX: THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL NORMS AND PRAGMATISM ON DATING
The main research question this study attempts to answer is: “Are social networks encouraging a criteria-based selection of intimate partners, which in turn hampers relationship formation in Japan and Taiwan?”
The objective of the current chapter is thus to demonstrate how and for whom social networks may hamper relationship formation. To examine the question, I made several hypotheses related to social networks (in the attitudinal version “social norms”) and pragma love (in the attitudinal version “pragmatism”). First, I predicted that pragmatism provides a detrimental indirect pathway between social norms and the dating outcome of Taiwanese and Japanese, but not among the French singles (H1). I also predicted that the same pathway, via pragmatism, increases dating difficulties among the Taiwanese and Japanese, but not among the French participants (H2). Finally, I predicted that difficulties stemming from pragmatism would affect the dating steps of Taiwanese and Japanese, but not the French participants (H3). I first provide a descriptive analysis of social norms, pragmatism, and the various control variables, before testing the three hypotheses.
6.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS
6.1.1 SOCIAL NORMS AND PRAGMATISM
Social norms (Table 6.1). Social norms is an attitudinal measure, and thus hold a positive or negative valence. The attitude about social networks (or social norms) was positive among Taiwanese (M = 1.28, SD = 3.83) and negative for French (M = -1.16, SD = 3.05), indicating that Taiwanese tend to hold a positive attitude toward their social network when it comes to dating, while the French tend to reject the influence of their social networks on dating. Social norms was rather neutral among Japanese participants, however (M = -0.36, SD = 3.04), F(2, 1205) = 48.36, p < .001, η2 = .07. There also was a gender difference among Taiwanese participants, as women had more positive social norms than men, t(302) = 2.30, p = .02, d = 0.27 (ps > .10 for French and Japanese). The country and gender comparisons yielded similar results for singles.
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Note: Cronbach σ values are for original instruments. Social norms is the optimized (invariant) construct.
Pragmatism (Table 6.2). Taiwanese participants endorsed more pragmatism (M = 4.78, SD = 2.76) than the French (M = 3.03, SD = 2.84), but French participants endorsed more pragmatism than the Japanese (M = 2.37, SD = 2.77), F(2, 1125) = 69.05, p < .001, η2 = .11. A gender difference was also observed among Taiwanese participants, as women endorsed more pragmatism than men, t(302) = 4.35, p < .001, d = 0.50 (ps > .62 for French and Japanese). The country and gender comparisons yielded similar results for singles.
Table 6.2
Note: Cronbach σ values are for original instruments. Pragmatism is the Optimized (invariant) construct adapted from the Pragma Love style (Hendrick & Hendrick (1986).
The descriptive analysis, therefore, especially evidences a large mean differences on social norms and pragmatism between Taiwanese and French. In particular, Taiwanese women had more positive social norms and endrosed more pragmatism compared to Taiwanese men.
Finally, Japanese participants had neutral social norms and endorsed pragmatism less compared to the French.
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Several control variables (or covariates) are used in the regression tests. The current section provides a description of these control variables (see Table A.3 in Appendix, for a description by country and by gender).
Age (Table A.3 in Appendix): Although participants were recruited in universities and were approximately 20 years old, Taiwanese participants were on average older (M = 21.0, SD = 2.1) than French (M = 20.0, SD = 1.9), who were older than Japanese (M = 19.6, SD = 1.4), F(2, 1205) = 62.00, p < .001, η2 = .09. In each country sample, men were significantly younger than women (|d|s > .26). Results were similar for singles: Taiwanese were older than French and Japanese singles, and men were younger than women in each country.
Education (Table A.3 in Appendix). The participants were recruited in universities and had a similar level of education (mode = bachelor’s student in each country). Small, yet significant country differences were observed as more French (38%) reported being master’s students compared to Japanese (26%) and Taiwanese (13%), F(6, 1205) = 139.19, p < .001, V = .24. In addition, men reported higher education than women in France and in Taiwan (ps < .02; p = .09 for Japanese). Results were similar for singles.
Socioeconomic status (Table A.3 in Appendix). In each country’s sample, most participants rated themselves as average on socioeconomic status. More French, however, rated themselves as rich or very rich (27%), compared to Taiwanese (2%) and Japanese (7%), F(8, 1205) = 163.27, p < .001, V = .26. In addition, women reported being wealthier than men in France (p
= .005; ps > .35 for Taiwanese and Japanese). Results were similar for singles.
Self-rated attractiveness (Table A.3 in Appendix). Most participants rated themselves as average on physical attractiveness. However, more Japanese rated themselves as rather not attractive or not attractive (44%), compared to Taiwanese and French (11% in both countries), F(8, 1205) = 251.48, p < .001, V = .32. In addition, Japanese men reported being physically more attractive than women (p = .046; ps > .17 for French and Taiwanese). Results were similar for singles.
Avoidant attachment styles (Table A.3 in Appendix). The Japanese scored lower on measure of avoidant attachment style (M = 2.91, SD = 1.34), than Taiwanese and French (M = 3.25, SD
= 1.29, and M = 3.26, SD = 1.25 respectively), F(2, 1111) = 9.61, p < .001, η2 = .02. Also
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Japanese men were more avoidant than Japanese women, t(527) = -3.00, p = .003, d = -.23 (ps
> .34 for French and Taiwanese). Among singles, the avoidant attachment styles was also lower for Japanese compared to Taiwanese and French (η2 = .03), but there were no gender differences (ps > .36).
Anxious attachment styles (Table A.3 in Appendix). Japanese and French participants had a similar level of anxious attachment (M = 3.29, SD = 1.32, and M = 3.14, SD = 1.27 respectively), but Taiwanese were less anxiously attached (M = 2.96, SD = 1.26), F(2, 1099) = 5.64, p = .004, η2 = .01. There also was also a gender difference on anxious attachment among Taiwanese, as men endorsed the anxious attachment style more than women, t(291) = -2.74, p = .007, d = -.32, (ps > .23 for French and Japanese). Among singles, anxious attachment was lower for Taiwanese compared to Japanese and French. In addition, Taiwanese and French single men were had an anxious attachment style more than single women of their respective countries (ps
< .03).
6.1.3 NOTE ON SKEWED AND LEPTOKURTIC VARIABLES
Several variables appeared highly skewed and leptokurtic and were truncated to reach acceptable levels (skweness < 3, kurtosis < 8; Kline, 2005), before running the regression equations. The number of past partners above ten were recoded as “ten or more” (23 participants or 2% of the total), to reduce skweness (5.3 to 1.6) and kurtosis (46.7 to 2.4) to acceptable levels. Among the dating steps, responses for the monthly frequency of meeting new people above ten were recoded as “ten or more” (11 participants or 2%) to reduce skweness (10.5 to 1.8) and kurtosis (134.8 to 2.7). Responses on the monthly frequency of meeting prospects above 5 were recoded as “5 or more” (13 participants or 2%) to reduce skweness (7.9 to 1.4) and kurtosis (77.5 to 1.0) to acceptable levels.
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