Temporal self-appraisal in a Chinese context: Distancing autobiographical memory following self-uncertainty salience

• Qing Yang

  Faculty of Education, Qufu Normal University and School of Psychology, Southwest University

• Oscar Ybarra

  University of Michigan

• Kees van den Bos

  Utrecht University

• Yufang Zhao

  Southwest University

• Lili Guan

  Northeast Normal University

• Xiting Huang

  Southwest University

On the premise that individuals are inclined to self-enhance, in temporal self-appraisal (TSA) theory it is suggested that people can motivationally reconstruct subjective distances from their past self to serve that goal. However, given the mixed evidence found in an East Asian cultural context (i.e., Japan), it is important to test the cultural applicability of TSA in a different East Asian culture. Thus we tested the TSA of a Chinese sample, focusing on past-self distance reconstruction. The results supported the prediction suggested in TSA theory, in that participants tended to feel farther away from negative (vs. positive) past experiences. Further, this effect was greater when people were primed with a self-threat (i.e., self-uncertainty salience). These patterns were found independently of whether the past experience was recent (3 months ago) or in the distant past (3 years ago). Implications for cross-cultural applicability of TSA theory are discussed.

1. Oscar Ybarra, University of Michigan
   Department of Psychology
2. Kees van den Bos, Utrecht University
   Department of Social and Organizational Psychology
3. Yufang Zhao, Southwest University
   School of Psychology
4. Lili Guan, Northeast Normal University
   School of Psychology
5. Xiting Huang, Southwest University
   School of Psychology

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