A New Research Method for Asian Indigenous Psychologies

Dr. David Y.F. Ho has proposed of a new methodology in approaching indigenous concepts. This is a new perspective that has gained wide acceptance to nations of East Asia (China and Taiwan). It is hoped that this methodological orientation be of more use instead of methodological comparison.

Methodological Relationalism (MR)

David Y.F. How
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Abstract

As a general framework for the analysis of human thought and action, methodological relationalism attends to social actions within the context of not only interpersonal relationships, but also metarelations (relations of relationships). Accordingly, two levels of analysis may be distinguished. The first, relational analysis, applies to interactions between individuals; the second, metarelational analysis, applies to interactions between relationships. Relational constructs, such as guanxi, serve as powerful intellectual tools at both levels of analysis.

In this presentation, I attempt to show that relational and metarelational analyses not only define what is Chinese about Chinese social science research but also promise to lead the way in diverse domains of knowledge generation.

Selected Bibliography

Ho, D. Y. F. (1994). Face dynamics: From conceptualization to measurement. In S. Ting-Toomey (Ed.), The challenge of facework: Cross-cultural and interpersonal issues (pp. 269-286). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Ho, D. Y. F. (1998). Interpersonal relationships and relationship dominance: An analysis based on methodological relationalism. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 1 (1), 1-16.

Ho, D. Y. F., & Peng, S. Q. (1998). Methodological relationalism and its applications in Eastern and Western cultures. Sociological Research, 4, 34-43. (In Chinese; republished in Sociology, No. 1, 9-18, 1999.)

Ho, D. Y. F., Chan, S. F., & Zhang, Z. X. (2001). Metarelational analysis: An answer to “What’s Asian about Asian social psychology?” Journal of Psychology in Chinese Societies, 2 (1), 7-26.

*Ho, D. Y. F., Peng, S. Q., Lai, A. C., & Chan, S. F. (2001). Indigenization and beyond: Methodological relationalism in the study of personality across cultural traditions. Journal of Personality, 69 (6), 925-953.

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