Effects of Gender and Individualism-Collectivism on Directness of Refusal

Abstract

The effects of gender and individualism-collectivism on directness of refusal were examined on a Singapore sample. A 2 × 2 (Gender X Individualism-Collectivism) ANOVA revealed a significant interaction effect between gender and cultural orientation. Specifically, male individualists preferred more direct refusal strategies and male collectivists preferred more indirect refusal strategies compared to both female individualists and collectivists. Implications of the results and the limitations of the study were discussed.