Relational compartmentalization: How culture keeps our social worlds apart

Segregation of social networks has traditionally been studied at the macro level in disciplines such as sociology. The present study introduces the concept of relational compartmentalization to examine this phenomenon at the level of individual behavior and apply a cultural and psychological lens. Across two studies, we investigated relational compartmentalization using a mixed-methods approach and complementary measures—a novel behavioral paradigm and egocentric social network analysis. We found evidence that, compared to Euro-Americans, Chinese and Asian American participants exhibited a greater tendency to compartmentalize their social networks, mediated by self-consistency and relational mobility, but not by contextualism. In cultural contexts characterized by greater self-concept variability and lower relational fluidity, individuals were more likely to organize their social networks into distinct, non-overlapping groups. These findings advance our understanding of how culture shapes social networks, highlighting the roles of culturally salient psychological and ecosocial characteristics in this process.