Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Mar 1:7:282.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00282. eCollection 2016.

Serendipity in Relationship: A Tentative Theory of the Cognitive Process of Yuanfen and Its Psychological Constructs in Chinese Cultural Societies

Hsin-Ping Hsu  1 , Kwang-Kuo Hwang  1
Affiliations

Serendipity in Relationship: A Tentative Theory of the Cognitive Process of Yuanfen and Its Psychological Constructs in Chinese Cultural Societies

Hsin-Ping Hsu et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to combine three important themes in Chinese cultural societies: serendipity in relationship (yuanfen), relational interactions, and psychological adaptation through self-cultivation. People who live in Chinese cultural societies are deeply affected by relationalism and tend to be very different from their Western counterparts, who adopt individualistic methods when dealing with interpersonal problems. They are highly likely to access the perspective of yuanfen as part of their cultural wisdom to convert negative feelings, awkwardness, or setbacks caused by interpersonal relationship incidents, into a type of cognitive belief that can be used to combat anxiety and actuate coping actions. Based on this, this article proposes the tentative theory of a dialectical model which comprises elements of the philosophies of Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, to analyze the cognitive operation process regarding yuanfen and to explain and predict how people in Chinese cultural societies differ from most Western people in terms of psychological adjustment and coping actions when dealing with interpersonal problems. Canonical correlation analysis was used in the empirical study to describe this model and resulted in two statistically significant canonical factor pairs. The hypothesized model has been partially verified. It is hoped that this framework can serve as a pilot perspective for future studies, and at the same time provide the Western academic world with a reference for understanding the concept and substantive effects of serendipity in relationship. Further suggestions for future research direction are offered.

Keywords: fate; guan-xi; serendipity in relationship; social and personal relationship; yuanfen.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A dialectical model of yuanfen and its function on psychological adaptation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graphical representation of the significant canonical functions and the contributing predictors (left side) and criterion variables (right side). *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Beck A. T. (1989). Love is Never Enough: How Couples can Overcome Misunderstandings, Resolve Conflicts, and Solve Relationship Problems through Cognitive Therapy. New York, NY: Harper Paperbacks.
    1. Bhikkhuni H. Y., Bhikkhuni D. C., Chen C. Y., Bhikkhuni T. T., Bhikkhu H. M. (2008). Ameliorating grief with gratefulness. Taiwan J. Hosp. Palliat. Care 13, 168–184. [formula image (2008). formula image 13, 168–184]. 10.6537/TJHPC.2008.13(2).3 - DOI
    1. Bourdieu P. (1990). In Other Words: Essays Towards a Reflexive Sociology. Transl. by A. Mattew Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
    1. Carver C. S., Scheier M. F., Weintraub J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: a theoretically based approach. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 56, 267–283. 10.1037/0022-3514.56.2.267 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chang H. C., Holt G. R. (1991). The concept of yuan and Chinese interpersonal relationship, in Cross-Culture Interpersonal Communication, eds Ting-Toomey S., Korzenny F. (Newbury Park, CA: Sage; ), 28–57.

LinkOut - more resources