Relational Interdependent Self-Construal, Imagined Interactions, and Conversational Constraints among Vietnamese Americans

This study investigates the relative influence of the Relational Interdependent SelfConstrual (RISC) on the mental processing of conversations, known as Imagined Interactions (II), and conversational constraints among Vietnamese Americans. Two hypotheses are proposed regarding the influence of the RISC on IIs and the relational dimension of conversation constraints. One research question is formulated testing the influence of the RISC and the task dimensions of conversational constraints. Data were collected from 94 Vietnamese-American college students living in a Vietnamese enclave in the southern region of the United States. Simple regressions were used to test the two hypotheses and research question. The results indicate the perceived influence of the RISC on the valence, activity, specificity, retroactivity, variety, and proactivity characteristics of IIs. However, the RISC is not perceived to be a significant predictor of the discrepancy and self-dominance characteristics of IIs. Results also reveal the perceived influence of the RISC on the relational concerns for not hurting the other’s feelings and avoiding negative evaluation by the hearer, but not on the concern for minimizing imposition on the other. Finally, results reveal the perceived role of the RISC on concern for clarity and effectiveness in conversations. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed. Current theoretical and empirical research suggests that members of the Asian culture share similar worldviews and values (Kim, Atkinson, & Yang, 1999). Specifically, Asians and Asian Americans are often characterized as relational, interdependent, or collectivistic (Bresnahan, Levine, Shearman, Lee, Park, & Kiyomiya, 2005; Gudykunst & Lee, 2002; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1989). This characterization points to the role of social relationships and cultural groups in defining selfhood (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). While much of the research focuses on Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans as representative groups of the Asian culture, Vietnamese, and Vietnamese Americans in particular, have received little to no representation in empirical studies. Further, like other Asian groups living in the United States, Vietnamese Americans have experienced the traumatic effects of displacement and the pressures and challenges of assimilation into the American society (Chung, Bemak, & Okazaki, 1997; Nguyen, 1982; Zhou & Bankston, 1998). Still, the lack of research documenting Asian co-cultural groups living in the United States reflects their invisibility in the broader American society (Sun, 2007; Sun & Starosta, 2006). Hence, the purpose of this study is to extend research on the question of Asian American invisibility by focusing on the newest generation of Asian-American immigrants and their cultural and communicative dimensions of self. This study can enlighten us to the challenges that older Asian Americans have faced in negotiating self in American society. The Vietnamese American experience exemplified by the second generation born in the United States (Zhou & Bankston, 1998) raises an important theoretical and contextual issue