Value change in response to cultural priming: The role of cultural identity and the impact on subjective well-being

Cross-cultural experiences are increasingly common in people's daily lives. To better understand the process of acculturation, this study examined how people with different cultural identities changed their personal values under different culturally primed contexts and the impact on their subjective well-being. A sample of Hong Kong university students (n = 179) who varied in their bicultural selves were randomly assigned to one of two culture priming conditions (i.e., Chinese and Western), before and after which their personal values and subjective well-being were assessed. Results showed that the values of Biculturals assimilated to both Chinese and Western culture primes, whereas the values of monoculturals became more in line with their own cultural identities by either assimilating to the primed culture that they identified with or contrasting against the primed culture that they did not. Consistent with our hypotheses, the value changes based on cultural identities were significantly related to the changes in subjective well-being. The implications of the findings for research on personal values and cross-cultural psychology are discussed.