Theme 1: Classics
Concepts and methodological Issues
Learning goals:
Vignette 1
▪ How do individualistic and collectivistic cultures differ in relation to self-perception?
▪ What did they find in the experiment?
▪ What is the effect on your self-perception when you move between cultures?
Heine, J. (2010). Cultural Psychology.
Self-concept
Independent vs. Interdependent self-concepts
The process of becoming a self is contingent on people interacting with seizing meaning from their
cultural environments. People with different cultural experiences will develop different kinds of self-
concepts. There is evidence for the cultural foundation of the self-concept from a number of sources.
- Western cultures tend to describe themselves with statements that reflect their inner
psychological characteristics, such as their attitudes, personality traits, and abilities.
- Non-Western cultures tend to describe themselves by indicating relational roles and
memberships that they possess.
These differences are already evident among kindergarten-aged children. The differences suggest
that there are at least two different ways that people might conceive their selves:
1. Independent self-concept: the self can largely derive its identity from its inner attributes. This
is most common among the responses of Westerners. These attributes are assumed to be stable,
unique, significant for regulating behaviour and men feels obligated to publicly advertise
themselves in ways consistent with these attributes.
2. Interdependent self-concept: the self can largely derive its identity from its relations with
significant others. This is most common among the responses of those from non-Western
cultures. People recognize that their behaviour is contingent upon their perceptions of other’s
thoughts, feelings, and actions, they attend to how their behaviours affect others, and consider
their relevant roles within each social context.
Self-Consistency vs. Flexibility
- Much research had targeted cultural samples in which independent self-concepts predominate.
These people remain largely uninfluenced by the presence of others and stable across situations.
People are often willing to make sacrifices in order to preserve a semblance of self-consistency.
- People with interdependent views are influenced by an individual’s relationship and roles.
These people change themselves in situations and try different roles which leads to different
experiences of the self.
Research from interdependent cultures reveals less evidence for a self-concept that is consistent
across contexts compared with independent cultures. However, whereas the self-concepts among
non-Westerners appear more variable across context, does not mean that they have unstable self-
concepts. They rather develop a number of stable but context-specific self-views that depend on the
relationship and roles that are activated in a given context.
1
, Cultural differences in self-consistency are
also apparent in that East Asians endorse Vignette 1: For example, Koreans are more
more contradictory self-views than likely than Americans (and Dutch) to state that
Westerners. Chinese are more ambivalent they are both introverted and extraverted.
(positive and negative) and East Asian tend to
endorse contradictory items about
personality.
Whereas psychological consistency has been linked with well-being among Westerners, the benefits
of being consistent across situations are less apparent for East Asians. Well-being and positive
feelings about the self, do not seem to be as tethered to a consistent identity for East Asians as they
do for North Americans.
Short summary of the above: interdependent views of self, have weaker tendencies for self-
consistency than do those from cultures with independent self-views.
- However: one alternative perspective is that people with interdependent selves have different
kinds of consistency needs. For example, East Asians do show some consistency motivations
when other are involved.
In sum: people from more interdependent cultures aspire for consistency when they consider
themselves in relation to others.
Insider vs. Outsider Phenomenological Experiences
Self-concepts vary in terms of the perspective that people habitually adopt:
1. Insider phenomenological experience: people may prioritize their own perspective, thereby
making sense of the world in terms of how it unfolds in front of their own eyes.
2. Outsider phenomenological experience: people may prioritize the perspective of an audience,
and attend to the world and themselves in terms of how they imagine it appears to others.
There is much evidence for this difference. For example, East Asians are more likely to recall
memories when they are at the centre of attention from a third-person perspective and are better at
taking the perspective of their partner on a visual task.
Multicultural Selves
There are two complementary perspectives on the question: ‘if culture shapes the self, how do people
from multiple cultural backgrounds represent the self?’
1. They have multiple self-concepts that are simultaneously accessible, and their typical thought
and responses reflect a blending of these.
2. They sequentially activate their different self-concepts, depending upon situation or primes; this
is known as frame-switching. People are more likely to frame-switch if they see their dual
cultural identities as integrated than if they see them in opposition, and if they were second-
generation as opposed to first-generation immigrants.
This suggests that people can have multiple knowledge structures. Activation of one part (such as
seeing an American icon) facilitates the activation of another part of that same network (such as
preferring to explain people’s behaviour in terms of internal dispositions).
Many studies find that people with largely monocultural experiences also frame-switch. Frame-
switching is not limited to multiculturals, but they do show more extreme degrees than
monoculturals do, suggesting that the knowledge networks of multiculturals regarding ideas such as
independence and interdependence are more clearly demarcated than they are for monoculturals.
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Concepts and methodological Issues
Learning goals:
Vignette 1
▪ How do individualistic and collectivistic cultures differ in relation to self-perception?
▪ What did they find in the experiment?
▪ What is the effect on your self-perception when you move between cultures?
Heine, J. (2010). Cultural Psychology.
Self-concept
Independent vs. Interdependent self-concepts
The process of becoming a self is contingent on people interacting with seizing meaning from their
cultural environments. People with different cultural experiences will develop different kinds of self-
concepts. There is evidence for the cultural foundation of the self-concept from a number of sources.
- Western cultures tend to describe themselves with statements that reflect their inner
psychological characteristics, such as their attitudes, personality traits, and abilities.
- Non-Western cultures tend to describe themselves by indicating relational roles and
memberships that they possess.
These differences are already evident among kindergarten-aged children. The differences suggest
that there are at least two different ways that people might conceive their selves:
1. Independent self-concept: the self can largely derive its identity from its inner attributes. This
is most common among the responses of Westerners. These attributes are assumed to be stable,
unique, significant for regulating behaviour and men feels obligated to publicly advertise
themselves in ways consistent with these attributes.
2. Interdependent self-concept: the self can largely derive its identity from its relations with
significant others. This is most common among the responses of those from non-Western
cultures. People recognize that their behaviour is contingent upon their perceptions of other’s
thoughts, feelings, and actions, they attend to how their behaviours affect others, and consider
their relevant roles within each social context.
Self-Consistency vs. Flexibility
- Much research had targeted cultural samples in which independent self-concepts predominate.
These people remain largely uninfluenced by the presence of others and stable across situations.
People are often willing to make sacrifices in order to preserve a semblance of self-consistency.
- People with interdependent views are influenced by an individual’s relationship and roles.
These people change themselves in situations and try different roles which leads to different
experiences of the self.
Research from interdependent cultures reveals less evidence for a self-concept that is consistent
across contexts compared with independent cultures. However, whereas the self-concepts among
non-Westerners appear more variable across context, does not mean that they have unstable self-
concepts. They rather develop a number of stable but context-specific self-views that depend on the
relationship and roles that are activated in a given context.
1
, Cultural differences in self-consistency are
also apparent in that East Asians endorse Vignette 1: For example, Koreans are more
more contradictory self-views than likely than Americans (and Dutch) to state that
Westerners. Chinese are more ambivalent they are both introverted and extraverted.
(positive and negative) and East Asian tend to
endorse contradictory items about
personality.
Whereas psychological consistency has been linked with well-being among Westerners, the benefits
of being consistent across situations are less apparent for East Asians. Well-being and positive
feelings about the self, do not seem to be as tethered to a consistent identity for East Asians as they
do for North Americans.
Short summary of the above: interdependent views of self, have weaker tendencies for self-
consistency than do those from cultures with independent self-views.
- However: one alternative perspective is that people with interdependent selves have different
kinds of consistency needs. For example, East Asians do show some consistency motivations
when other are involved.
In sum: people from more interdependent cultures aspire for consistency when they consider
themselves in relation to others.
Insider vs. Outsider Phenomenological Experiences
Self-concepts vary in terms of the perspective that people habitually adopt:
1. Insider phenomenological experience: people may prioritize their own perspective, thereby
making sense of the world in terms of how it unfolds in front of their own eyes.
2. Outsider phenomenological experience: people may prioritize the perspective of an audience,
and attend to the world and themselves in terms of how they imagine it appears to others.
There is much evidence for this difference. For example, East Asians are more likely to recall
memories when they are at the centre of attention from a third-person perspective and are better at
taking the perspective of their partner on a visual task.
Multicultural Selves
There are two complementary perspectives on the question: ‘if culture shapes the self, how do people
from multiple cultural backgrounds represent the self?’
1. They have multiple self-concepts that are simultaneously accessible, and their typical thought
and responses reflect a blending of these.
2. They sequentially activate their different self-concepts, depending upon situation or primes; this
is known as frame-switching. People are more likely to frame-switch if they see their dual
cultural identities as integrated than if they see them in opposition, and if they were second-
generation as opposed to first-generation immigrants.
This suggests that people can have multiple knowledge structures. Activation of one part (such as
seeing an American icon) facilitates the activation of another part of that same network (such as
preferring to explain people’s behaviour in terms of internal dispositions).
Many studies find that people with largely monocultural experiences also frame-switch. Frame-
switching is not limited to multiculturals, but they do show more extreme degrees than
monoculturals do, suggesting that the knowledge networks of multiculturals regarding ideas such as
independence and interdependence are more clearly demarcated than they are for monoculturals.
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