The influence of adults' amae on the self, others, and relationships

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23730588
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Social psychology
• Research Institution: Hosei University
• Principal Investigator: NIIYA Yu 法政大学, グローバル教養学部, 准教授 (20511281)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 甘え / 対人関係 / 親しさ / 援助 / 社会的スキル / 適応

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Although amae among adults has often been criticized as indicating immaturity and dependence, this research showed that the Japanese often use amae as a strategy to promote relationships. People perceived that a requester of amae has more control over the situation and more ability to perform the task than a person who asks for help. Thus, when people perceive that a person is making an amae request, they feel they have more freedom to decide whether or not to grant the request and consider the closeness of relationship, feelings, and available resources to make their decision. The requester of amae relied on the same information to estimate the likelihood of acceptance. Moreover, the frequency of engaging in amae correlated positively with their social skills and predicted better adjustment to a new environment, even after controlling for the effect of social skills. These results suggest that when used strategically, amae can promote better relationships and well-being.

Free Research Field

社会心理学