Finding Value for the Self Versus Close Others: Implications for Culturally Tailored Utility-Value Interventions

• In Event: 58.072 - Developments in Expectancy Value Intervention Research

Abstract

We explored cultural differences in response to a utility-value intervention. Students either wrote essays about the value of course material for the self, for society, or letters to close others about the value for the recipient. We varied the number of letters students wrote in a college biology course (N = 1,040) and predicted that Asian American students, who tend to construe themselves interdependently, would benefit most from the letter-writing intervention. We found that Asian American students who wrote more letters were more interested and perceived more value in the course, whereas interest and value among Caucasian students were unrelated to letter writing. Additionally, students who were more interdependent benefitted from writing letters, regardless of cultural background.

Authors

• Cameron Hecht, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• JeongJin Issac Kim, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Yoi Tibbetts, University of Virginia

• Judith Harackiewicz, University of Wisconsin