A comparative analysis between Finns and Chinese : how communication traits affect self-disclosure in intercultural friendships?

Abstract

Self-disclosure, or the process revealing personal information about oneself to another, plays a vital role in friendship formation and maintenance, and cultured self-disclosure has been proven to be a powerful factor influencing intercultural friendships. Substantial cross-cultural research has shown self-disclosure differs among different cultural groups, but little research has examined what factors facilitate or impede self-disclosure in intercultural friendships. This research answers this call from a communication traits perspective. The focus of this research is to compare similarities and differences between Finns and Chinese in dimensions of self-disclosure in intercultural friendships, and to examine how self-perceived communication competence (SPCC) and willingness to communicate (WTC) affect the five dimensions of self-disclosure. This study was conducted in a quantitative research method, and all the data was collected among Finns and Chinese through questionnaires. Results revealed there are no significant differences in the amount, positive-negative, and honesty-accuracy of self-disclosure among Finnish and Chinese respondents in intercultural friendships. WTC is positively correlated with SPCC among both samples. Additionally, WTC and SPCC are positively correlated with amount of self-disclosure among Finnish respondents; while among their Chinese counterparts, WTC is found to be positively correlated with all three dimensions of self-disclosure, and SPCC is positively correlated only with the amount of self-disclosure.