Table 1.

An example scenario with four variants in Experiment 1 (see the Chinese version in Appendix 1).

Scenario	Context and conversation
Item 1	Context 1: Your friend got a ‘luxurious house’ from her boyfriend. When you visited, you found the house was actually small and remote.
	Your friend: I apologise for asking you to visit my simple, crude house.
	You: __________________________
Item 2	Context 1: Your friend got a ‘luxurious house’ from her boyfriend. When you visited, you found the house was actually small and remote.
	Your friend: Isn't my house luxurious?
	You: __________________________
Item 3	Context 2: Your friend's boyfriend gave her a villa. When you visited, you found that the house was large and luxurious, with an open-air swimming pool and a big garden.
	Your friend: I apologise for asking you to visit my simple, crude house.
	You: __________________________
Item 4	Context 2: Your friend's boyfriend gave her a villa. When you visited, you found that the house was large and luxurious, with an open-air swimming pool and a big garden.
	Your friend: Isn't my house luxurious?
	You: __________________________