Neoliberal Tendencies and Obligations towards Family across Cultural Contexts

Neoliberal psychological tendencies include motivations towards growth, expansion, and taking advantage of opportunities for individual exploration. These tendencies influence the ways in which people construct their relationships, as well as their ideas about love and interpersonal obligation. In particular, neoliberalism is compatible with a greater emphasis on personal interests and needs for growth over maintenance of interpersonal networks through obligation. We explored these constructions in a study in two different national settings, the U.S. and Guatemala. Participants (N=234) responded to items about constructions of love, family-related attitudes, regulatory focus, ecological features, and evaluations of life choices between obligations and personal interests. Results suggest greater tendencies toward neo-liberal patterns among U.S. participants and among those Guatemalan participants culturally closer to the U.S. In addition, lower neoliberal tendencies were related to greater prioritization of interpersonal obligation over personal goals, except when personal goals have potential to allow for better fulfillment of interpersonal obligations in the future. We discuss implications of results for conceptions of obligations and care within close interpersonal networks as cultures becomes increasingly neoliberal.