In this presentation, we argue that the notion of 'modesty bias'
conceptualized in the West does not adequately capture the psychological
core of the everyday experiences of modesty in the Korean cultural
context. We surveyed the lay theory of modesty among Korean adults (N
= 167) and content analyzed the responses. From this, we found two
higher-order conceptual categories (other/relation focus, self-focus) that
include a total of seven major components pertaining to the definition of
modesty (Study 1). In an independent sample of Korean adults (N = 500),
we obtained evidence that the seven components driven from the lay
theories reflect the Koreans' understanding of modesty (Study 2). In
Study 3 (N=161), we experimentally tested the effects of a modesty
behavior congruent with the lay theory (vs. a self-deprecating behavior)
on social connectedness and state self-esteem. We found that, as
compared to the self-deprecating behavior, the modesty behavior
promoted perceptions of social connectedness and state self-esteem. We
also found that the modesty behavior led to perceptions of social
connectedness, which in turn led to higher levels of sate self-esteem. We
discuss implications of these findings for research on modesty in social
and cultural psychology.