Insecure Cuteness: Performed Pamperedness (Sa Jiao) in Romantic Relationships – Experiences of Urban Chinese Youth

This research seeks to understand the motivations behind sa jiao behaviour, understood as performed pamperedness, among Chinese university students. Performed pamperedness is an act in which one party of a romantic relationship behaves in a child-like manner (pouting, throwing tantrums, engaging in ‘baby talk’) in hopes of attaining benefits from their partner (attention, concern, material items). This research uses a psychosocial methodology, combining Adult Attachment Theory with Social Capital Theory to examine the relationship between performed pamperedness and emotional insecurity. Attachment theory is a psychological model which seeks to explain dynamics in interpersonal relationships. Typically understood as beginning in childhood, based on the interaction of children with their caregivers, the attachments formed early in life carry on into adulthood. In romantic relationships attachment types should be able to explain certain behaviors within said relationships, including sa jiao behavior. The psychological factors alone are not enough to explain performed pamperedness. Myriad sociological factors exist which can explain this behavior. This research will focus on determining the social insecurity of the respondents. This will be done by ascertaining the amount of social capital, relative to their peers, a given student has. TBC

Faculty Supervisor:

Tara MacDonald

Student:

Partner:

Fudan University

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

Queen's University

Program: