RESOURCES
RESOURCES: PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS
Author : | Rui Jin Hoare, Ken Butcher & Danny O'Brien |
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School/Work Place : | Griffith University, Australia |
Contact : | thoa5261@bigpond.net.au |
Year : | 2009 |
Furthermore, social identity theory suggests that people are attracted to others who are familiar to themselves because their similarity reinforces their self-image (Tajfel, 1982), and that people from collectivist culture tend to favour in-group members and discriminate against out-group members (Gomez, Kirkman & Shapiro, 2000). Individuals used different categories to define in-group/out-group membership in various situations (Fischer, Gainer & Bristor, 1997). In the current study, in-group members are identified as people who are perceived as coming from the same race and sharing the same culture. In investigating trustworthiness and membership category, research results indicate that individuals tend to perceive out-group members as less trustworthy and less honest (Brewer & Silver, 1978), and tend to be attracted to those whose race and attitudes are similar to them (Stockdale & Crosby, 2004). In a cross-cultural context, Armstrong and Yee (2001) found that dialect fluency, and perceived cultural similarity contributed to perceptions of trustworthiness between ethnic Chinese buyers and sellers in Malaysia. While it is suggested that similarities in race and culture positively influence trustworthiness impression ( Koojaroenpaisan, 1996; McAllister, 1995), no research has explored if and/or how group membership difference affect Chinese people's perception of trustworthiness when they tour overseas. Hence, the second research question is identified as: How does in-group/out-group membership affect Chinese people's perception of trustworthiness in the overseas dining context?