Trait desirability and cultural difference in the better‐than‐average effect

The present study examined whether cultural differences in the better‐than‐average effect (the tendency to view oneself as better than average) would vary with trait desirability and used Koreans and Americans as representatives of East Asian and Western cultures, respectively. In Study 1, the author found that the magnitude of cultural difference in the better‐than‐average effect varied between Americans and Koreans. Specifically, Korean participants failed to exhibit the better‐than‐average effect for any negative trait. In contrast, Americans tended to display the better‐than‐average effect more than Koreans, and cultural difference was greater for negative traits than for positive traits. In Study 2 as a conceptual replication of Study 1, it was also found that the magnitude of cultural difference in the better‐than‐average effect was significantly and negatively correlated with trait desirability. In Study 3 to pin down the underlying mechanism that gives rise to cultural differences, it was found that while the self‐effacing orientation of the modesty norm mediates the cross‐cultural difference, the other‐enhancing orientation moderates it.