Culture shapes the experience of obligation. Comparing participants from three countries with different cultural backgrounds, this study investigated the effect of obligation to help on positive affect and satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Adult participants from Japan, Romania, and the United States recalled either a situation in which they helped spontaneously, without being directly requested to do so (agentic help), or a situation in which they felt obligated to respond to a direct request for help (obligated help). The results revealed that obligation reduced benefactors' positive affect, but less so in Japan. The effect of obligation on satisfaction of basic psychological needs did not differ by culture. The results suggest that obligation to help may have less detrimental effects on positive affect in countries such as Japan, where social expectations to help are more fully internalized.

中文翻译：

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帮助义务对积极影响的影响：比较日本、罗马尼亚和美国

文化塑造了义务的体验。本研究比较了来自三个不同文化背景的国家的参与者，调查了帮助义务对积极影响和基本心理需求满足的影响。来自日本、罗马尼亚和美国的成年参与者回忆了一种情况，即他们自发地提供帮助，而没有被直接要求这样做（代理帮助），或者他们感到有义务回应直接的帮助请求的情况（义务帮助）。结果表明，义务降低了恩人的积极影响，但在日本则较小。义务对满足基本心理需求的影响没有因文化而异。结果表明，在日本等国家，帮助的义务对积极影响的不利影响可能较小。