Relational Mobility, Part II: How Easily Does Your Culture Form New Relationships…And Abandon Existing Ones?

How do you build relationships?

Do they last?

Last week, we discussed relational mobility – an aspect of the social environment that reflects how easily people of different cultures form new relationships and leave existing ones. 

The authors of six comprehensive studies encompassing both correlational and experimental designs unveiled significant findings regarding relational mobility in culture.

Let’s take a look at what they’ve found.

The Research

The research hypothesis of these collective studies centered on the notion that individuals residing in cultures characterized by diminished relational mobility would exhibit a heightened propensity for holistic thinking, emphasizing a broader focus on the surrounding social and physical context. 

Conversely, those in cultures marked by greater relational mobility would display more analytic thinking. 

To substantiate this proposition, the authors explored the disparities in relational mobility across culturally diverse regions, including the United States, Spain, Israel, Nigeria, and Morocco. 

Their findings revealed that variances in relational mobility predicted patterns of dispositional bias and the prevalence of holistic or analytic cognitive orientations.

Findings

Some of the greatest findings across these six studies are as follows:

• Firstly, individuals in cultures characterized by higher relational mobility exhibited narrower attention spans towards their surrounding context and displayed increased dispositional biases. This was in stark contrast to individuals in cultures with lower relational mobility.
• Secondly, the authors identified that relational mobility acted as a mediator, explaining the differences observed between these cultural groups in terms of cognitive tendencies.
• Thirdly, the role of locus of control was explored as a mechanism underlying these within-culture effects. It was evident that individuals in high relational mobility environments tended to perceive greater control over their surroundings, particularly within the social realm.
• Lastly, relational mobility exhibited a unique predictive power in elucidating why certain cultures leaned towards analytic or holistic cognitive orientations compared to other cultural constructs.

Relational Mobility Shapes Cognitive Behaviors

The degree of relational mobility in an environment, shaped by various factors like subsistence styles, historical threats, or sociopolitical systems, influences individuals’ proximal incentives and shapes their cognitive behaviors. 

In contexts with lower relational mobility, interdependence and adherence to social norms tend to dominate, driving individuals toward holistic thinking. 

Conversely, higher relational mobility settings foster independence and cultural looseness, encouraging analytic cognitive tendencies.

This research sheds light on how the degree of relational mobility in a society can profoundly impact the way people think, highlighting the interchange between socioecological factors and cognitive tendencies across diverse cultures.