Affective experience involved in ijiri as compared with teasing and bullying

Abstract

In recent years, some forms of interpersonal communication labeled “ijiri” have played a significant role among the youth. This paper investigates what type of affective experience ijiri is perceived to cause compared with similar behaviors like teasing and bullying. We recruited 312 university students and asked them to answer questions about the possible affective experiences that arise in either of the agents (actor or receiver) in response to each type of behavior. The rating was done from the standpoint of either the actor, receiver, or third party. Results revealed that compared with the other two types of behavior, ijiri was perceived to cause lesser negative affective experiences. Affective experiences entailed by each type of behavior were influenced by the role of the respondent and that of the appraisal target. Future research is warranted to investigate the generalizability of the findings, given the limitations of self-reported measurements and conceptualization of affects.