Intergroup conflicts: When interdependent individuals feel less dialectical than independent individuals

•During intergroup conflicts, Chinese feel less complex emotions than Americans.•Interdependent self-construal decreases emotional complexity in group conflicts.•Interdependent individuals perceive stronger self-relevance to intergroup events.

This research examined the role of interdependent self-construal in affecting emotional complexity (concurrence of positive and negative emotions) under intergroup contexts. We hypothesized that individuals with interdependent self-construal, who tend to define themselves based on their connection with different groups, would be more emotionally affected by group-related events and thus experience less complex group-based emotions. Study 1 found that when facing an intergroup insulting event, Chinese participants reported less complex group-based emotions compared to American participants, and the cultural difference was mediated by interdependent self-construal. Using a within-subject design, Study 2 confirmed that the negative association between interdependent self-construal and group-based emotional complexity was evident only in the threatening intergroup contexts, but not in positive contexts. Implications of these findings for cross-cultural research and intergroup processes are discussed.