Date of Award

May 2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Tae-Seop Lim

Committee Members

Sange-Yeon Kim, Nancy Burrell

Keywords

Cultural Dimensions, Health Communication, Holism, Intercultural Communication, Regulatory Self-focus, Self-construal

Abstract

This study investigated the role of established cultural constructs of self-identification in predicting specific motivations for participating in six physical exercise activities. Composite scores were calculated for each participant (n = 223) for each theoretical construct: holism (organic holism, relational holism, and whole-part attention), collective constructionist self-construal (independent vs. interdependent), and regulatory self-focus orientations (promotive vs. preventive). Hierarchical multiple regressions were performed to determine suitability of these constructs in explaining exercise behaviors. Results suggest that the constructs have some influence over individual health choices, but that this influence may be less pronounced than other phenomena in the sample. Other results show significant relationships between the cultural constructs, themselves, confirming previous assumptions regarding the existing theories. Implications for intercultural communication and healthcare are discussed.

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