Dichotomous Thinking and Anger Regulation: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study between Japan and Turkey

Background: Binary or dichotomous thinking can lead to propensity for aggression throughout a person’s life being an essential part of a person’s mentality and cultural code. Both dichotomous thinking and aggressiveness negatively affect a person’s resistance to stress and it hinders an adequate stress coping style. Aim: The aim of this study is to make a comparative analysis of dependence of different types of anger on the dichotomy of thinking in different cultures. Method: A Japanese sample consisted of 226 university students (180 females) whereas a Turkey sample included a total of 243 university students (145 females) who participated in an online survey applying socio-demographic forms, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Dichotomous Thinking Inventory. Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analyses (MGCFAs) were conducted to examine measurement invariance of the DTI and STAXI using structural equation modeling. Multiple regression analyses were examined to assess the degree to which such a cultural aspect as of dichotomous thinking predicted the different anger traits. Results: Results of the multiple regression analysis for State Anger and Trait Anger demonstrated that the effect of the country indicating State Anger to be higher in Turkey than in Japan. A noticeable negative effect of the country was also significant indicating Trait Anger to be higher in Japan than in Turkey. Furthermore, Japanese people had lower dichotomous thinking scores than Turkish people. Conclusions: The results confirmed previously proposed cultural differences, as well as opened up new avenues for exploring cultural pathways.