Abstract
In this study, we explored cultural scripts in narratives about future life by comparing three different cultural groups. Participants were 236 Japanese, 83 Chinese, and 179 American undergraduates. They were asked to imagine and describe freely one day 10 years ahead. Through content analysis, we found that narratives about one's future life are likely to reflect scripts unique to each culture. Japanese narratives tended to be vague and to focus more on inner states. Chinese narratives were likely to contain concrete goals and behaviors, as well as aspirations. American narratives emphasized a nice job and a happy life with family. A “going with the flow” pattern, “mountain climbing” pattern and “happy ending” pattern were found to be dominant in Japan, China and the U.S., respectively. It is suggested that these culture-specific patterns are similar to the features of cultural texts prevailing in each society. Future research is needed to explore how these scripts emerge and how they influence people's behavior in reality.
