Department of English, Hokusei Gakuen University, Sapporo 004-0042, Japan.
Department of Behavioral Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan;
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Jul 17;115(29):7521-7526. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1713191115. Epub 2018 Jun 29.
Biologists and social scientists have long tried to understand why some societies have more fluid and open interpersonal relationships and how those differences influence culture. This study measures relational mobility, a socioecological variable quantifying voluntary (high relational mobility) vs. fixed (low relational mobility) interpersonal relationships. We measure relational mobility in 39 societies and test whether it predicts social behavior. People in societies with higher relational mobility report more proactive interpersonal behaviors (e.g., self-disclosure and social support) and psychological tendencies that help them build and retain relationships (e.g., general trust, intimacy, self-esteem). Finally, we explore ecological factors that could explain relational mobility differences across societies. Relational mobility was lower in societies that practiced settled, interdependent subsistence styles, such as rice farming, and in societies that had stronger ecological and historical threats.
生物学家和社会科学家长期以来一直试图理解为什么有些社会具有更具流动性和开放性的人际关系，以及这些差异如何影响文化。本研究衡量了关系流动性，这是一个社会生态学变量，用于量化自愿的（高关系流动性）与固定的（低关系流动性）人际关系。我们在 39 个社会中衡量了关系流动性，并测试了它是否可以预测社会行为。关系流动性较高的社会中的人们报告了更多积极主动的人际关系行为（例如自我表露和社会支持），以及有助于他们建立和维持关系的心理倾向（例如普遍信任、亲密感和自尊心）。最后，我们探讨了可能解释社会间关系流动性差异的生态因素。在实行定居、相互依存的生存方式（如水稻种植）的社会以及生态和历史威胁较大的社会中，关系流动性较低。
