Date Thesis Awarded

12-2023

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only

Degree Name

Bachelors of Science (BS)

Department

Psychology

Advisor

Joanna Schug

Committee Members

Michael Cronin

Xiaowen Xu

Abstract

As globalization introduces new opportunities for cross-cultural interactions, research into acculturation, i.e., how people change after contact with another culture, expands to examine more modalities and factors that can indicate or influence shifts in psychological tendencies. Remote acculturation (RA) is a novel line of research investigating non-continuous and indirect contact with a different culture, e.g., exposure through mass media products of another culture. Notable contributors to RA research include Ferguson and colleagues, who demonstrated psychological changes in non-Jamaican individuals exposed to Jamaican Reggae music. Building on their work, this paper explores RA in the context of Japanese mass media products (i.e., anime and manga) and their American fans. The study aims to explore whether RA occurs in this fandom by comparing them with non-fans and fans and American comic books. Data were collected from undergraduate students in introductory psychology classes through online surveys, which were 241 students (Mage = 19 years, SDage = 1.02). Our results reveal that fans of Japanese anime and manga exhibit lower internal attribution styles than non-fans, resembling patterns found in Japanese culture. As external attribution seems to lack significant implications, this study provides preliminary support for RA in American fans of Japanese anime and manga. Future implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Download

Share Feedback

On-Campus Access Only

Share

COinS