Au Evelyn W M, Savani Krishna
Department of Psychology, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore.
Culture Science Institute, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
Front Psychol. 2019 Nov 8;10:2354. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02354. eCollection 2019.
Is cultural knowledge unique to a culture and inaccessible to other cultures, or is it a tool that can be recruited by individuals outside of that culture when the situation renders it relevant? As one test of this idea, we explored whether the applicability and benefits of a lay belief that originated from Chinese collective wisdom extends beyond cultural boundaries: . Negotiating with fate postulates that fate imposes boundaries within which people can shape their outcomes through their actions. This belief contrasts fatalism, which has been traditionally interpreted as believing that fate dictates people's life outcomes and renders their actions largely irrelevant. We found that the belief in negotiating with fate (but not fatalism) was strengthened when individuals recalled instances in which they were constrained, compared to when individuals recalled instances in which they were free to choose (Experiments 1 and 2). Subsequent studies found that after recalling a constraining event, exposure to the belief in negotiating with fate (but not exposure to fatalism) decreased repetitive thoughts (Experiment 3), increased the conviction that personal actions contributed to the event (Experiment 4), increased acceptance and positive reinterpretation of the event (Experiment 5), and increased how meaningful the event was (Experiment 6). Thus, when faced with constraints, acknowledging fate does not necessarily lead people to believe that their actions are irrelevant. Instead, when individuals face constraining circumstances in which potential courses of actions are clearly limited, they are more likely to believe that they are able to negotiate with fate, and this belief can help them move forward from negative outcomes. We found that the belief in negotiating with fate, although originating from Chinese folk culture, is spontaneously activated when people experience constraints even in a non-Chinese culture, and helps people cope with those constraints.
文化知识是特定文化所独有的，其他文化无法获取，还是在情况相关时，它可以被该文化之外的个体所利用的一种工具呢？作为对这一观点的一项检验，我们探究了一种源自中国集体智慧的民间信念的适用性和益处是否能超越文化界限：与命运协商假定命运设定了界限，在这个界限内人们可以通过自身行动塑造结果。这种信念与宿命论形成对比，宿命论传统上被解释为相信命运决定人们的生活结果，使他们的行动基本上无关紧要。我们发现，与回忆自己可以自由选择的事例相比，当个体回忆起自己受到约束的事例时，与命运协商的信念（而非宿命论）会得到强化（实验1和实验2）。后续研究发现，在回忆起一个约束性事件后，接触与命运协商的信念（而非接触宿命论）会减少反复思考（实验3），增强个人行动对该事件有贡献的信念（实验4），增加对该事件的接受度和积极重新诠释（实验5），并增加该事件的意义感（实验6）。因此，当面对约束时，承认命运不一定会导致人们认为自己的行动无关紧要。相反，当个体面临潜在行动方案明显受限的约束性情况时，他们更有可能相信自己能够与命运协商，而这种信念可以帮助他们从负面结果中走出来。我们发现，与命运协商的信念虽然源自中国民间文化，但当人们即使在非中国文化中经历约束时也会自发被激活，并帮助人们应对这些约束。
