Yenping Chang, a graduate student in Social Psychology, is the recipient of a 2018 Baughman Dissertation Research Award.
The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at UNC offers the Earl and Barbara Baughman Dissertation Research Award annually to two of the top researchers within the department. The purpose of this award is to promote and support innovative dissertation research in our department and to support award recipients in their completion of their dissertation projects.
Yenping won for his dissertation titled “How Do I Let you Know? Cultural Variation in Gratitude Demonstrations Between United States and Taiwan.” In Italy, finishing the plate at dinner parties shows gratitude towards the host by implying the food is tasty. In Hong Kong, leaving a little food behind conveys the same social-emotional signal by implying the food is abundant. In his dissertation, Yenping finds that the cultural contrast is apparent, yet never addressed in the literature.