PSYSCHOLOGY PSY101
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PSY101Lecture31.pptxPSY101 Introduction to Cultural Psychology
Lecture 3
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Chapter Outline
Culture and Self
Defining Self
Where does the Self-Concept Originate ?
The Dynamic and Multifaceted Nature of the Concept of Self
Early Research on Cultural Differences in Self-Concepts: The Independent versus Interdependent Self-Construal Theory
Recent Developments in Our Understanding of Cultural Differences in Self-Concepts
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Chapter Outline (continued)
Culture, Self-Esteem and Self-Enhancement
What is Self-Esteem, and Where Does It Come From?
Is Self-Enhancement Universal or Culture-Specific?
Culture and Identity
Types of Identities
Identity is Fluid
Multicultural Identities
Conclusion
Culture and Self
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Defining Self
Self-concept: Cognitive representations of one’s own self, idea, or images one has about oneself and how and why one behaves
Self - Psychological construct that people create to understand themselves and their world better
Sense of self is at the core of every human being, unconsciously and automatically influencing our thoughts, actions, and feelings
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Origins of the Self-Concept
Cultural practices
Discrete, observable, objective, and behavioral aspects of human activities in which people engage related to culture
Cultural worldviews
Belief systems about one’s self and culture
Products of several uniquely human abilities
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Different Aspects of the Self
Different Contexts of the Self
At home with family
At a restaurant with friends
In public with strangers
Different Domains of the Self
Physical
Moral
Personal
Family
Social
Work
Academic
Independent v. Interdependent Self-Construal Theory
Concept of self varies in different cultures
Different cultures have different rules of living and exist within different environments
Individuals integrate, synthesize, and coordinate their worlds to produce differences in self-concepts
Independent construal of self: Sense of self that views the self as a bounded entity, separated from relevant others
Interdependent construal of self: Self that is unbounded, flexible, and contingent on context
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Figure 5.3 - (a) Independent Construal of Self (b) Interdependent Construal of Self
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An Empirical Assessment of the Independent versus Interdependent Self-Construal Theory
Idea that American culture is individualistic and Asian cultures are collectivistic is being challenged by several studies
Degree to which previous findings were limited by the research methodologies used to test the differences should be considered
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Figure 5.4 - Percentage of Individualists and Collectivists among Japanese University Students
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Figure 5.5 - Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals among American and Japanese Students
Copyright ©2017 Cengage Learning.
Going Beyond Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals
Independent and interdependent self-construals coexist simultaneously within individuals
Differences exist between conceptualization of the self in American psychology versus other cultures
Developmental approaches fostered by natural selection
Self-definition
Development of interpersonal relatedness
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Going Beyond Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals
Different self-construals exist in people of different cultures and to different degrees within cultures
Niedenthal and Beike theory: proposed the existence of interrelated and isolated self-concepts
Triandis theory: proposed the existence of types of selves that coexist in everyone
Private, public, and collective
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Triandis’ theory
Private self structures: Idiocentric statements
Collective self structures: Group statements
Public self structures: Allocentric statements
Allocentrism- collectivism on the individual level, how individuals may act in accordance with collectivist cultural frameworks
Triandis, H. C. (1989). The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts.
Psychological Review, 96(3), 506.
Trafimow, D., Triandis, H. C., & Goto, S. G. (1991). Some tests of the distinction between the
private self and the collective self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(5), 649.
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Culture, Self-Esteem, and Self-Enhancement
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Self-Esteem
Cognitive and affective evaluations one makes about himself/herself
Self-enhancement: Collection of psychological processes by which one bolsters his/her self-esteem
Terror management theory: Humans are aware of and terrified of inevitable death
Create psychological phenomena as a buffer against the terror of dying
Not correlated with objective standards of performance
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Self-Enhancement: Universal or Culture-Specific?
Early studies showed that members of individualistic cultures have higher self-esteem than members from collectivistic cultures
Suggested that collectivistic individuals had the tendency to self-efface and criticize themselves
Self-effacement: Tendency to downplay one’s virtues
May be caused by the better than average effect
Better than average effect: Tendency of individuals to underestimate the commonality of desirable traits and to overestimate their consequences
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Figure 5.6 - Estimates of the Percentage of People Who Are Better Than Oneself in Three Categories of Behavior
Self-Enhancement: Universal or Culture-Specific?
Recent findings support the notion that:
Self-esteem may have many facets
Different cultural milieus support or challenge the development of the facets
Tactical self-enhancement
People of different cultures all self-enhance, but they choose to do it in different ways
Mutual self-enhancement: Achieved through the giving and receiving of compliments between partners in close relationships
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Culture and Identity
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Types of Identities
Personal identity: Qualities and attributes that distinguish oneself from others
Collective identity: One’s recognition that he/she belongs to social categories
Relational identity: Qualities of ourselves in relation to others
Cultural, ethnic, and racial identities: Individual’s psychological membership in a distinct culture, ethnic group, and racial group
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Identity is Fluid
Identity changes in different contexts and cultures
Depends on whom one is talking to and where the person is located
Identity denial: One is not recognized as a member of the group to which he or she identifies
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Multicultural Identities
People have two or more cultural identities
Existence of multicultural identities suggests existence of multiple psychocultural systems of representations
Cultural frame switching
People who speak multiple languages will switch between one cultural system and another when switching languages
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Multicultural Identities
Cultural reaffirmation effect: Excessive endorsement of home cultural values by bicultural individuals
Caused by the stress of multicultural life in a different world
Immigrant group retains the original cultural stereotype than the native group
Conclusion
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Conclusion
Self and identity are important in helping people understand who they are and the world around them
Different cultures create different senses of self and identity
Individuals with clearer cultural identities have clearer self-concepts, higher self-esteem, and higher well-being
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