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Unpacking Cultural Variations in Peak-Experiences: Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Early Childhood Recollection Between Hong Kong and Brazil

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Abstract

In this cross-cultural study, 115 Hong Kong Chinese and 117 Brazilian college students described a childhood peak-experience (occurring before the age of 14) and provided a self-rating on its enduring impact. Among various categories of peak-experiences, both Hong Kong Chinese and Brazilians reported interpersonal joy most frequently; the second most frequently reported category was external achievement for the Hong Kong sample and developmental landmark for the Brazilian sample. Compared with Brazilians’ narratives, those of Hong Kong Chinese were more social-focused, involving greater number of other people, but less specific. These characteristics of autobiographical memory, i.e., memory focus (self vs. social), memory specificity (specific vs. general), and the number of other people involved, significantly mediated the relation between culture and interpersonal joy. The present findings have extended research on peak-experiences to cross-cultural contexts and incorporated measures of autobiographical memory to unpack cultural variations in these two collectivist societies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T, Hong Kong

    Man Yee Ho

  2. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Sylvia Xiaohua Chen

  3. Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA

    Edward Hoffman

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  1. Man Yee Ho
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  2. Sylvia Xiaohua Chen
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  3. Edward Hoffman
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Correspondence to Man Yee Ho.

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Ho, M.Y., Chen, S.X. & Hoffman, E. Unpacking Cultural Variations in Peak-Experiences: Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Early Childhood Recollection Between Hong Kong and Brazil. J Happiness Stud 13, 247–260 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9261-y

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