1 psychology 307: cultural psychology lecture 10
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Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology
Lecture 10
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The Self-Concept and Motivation
1. Does cultural variation on the dimension of “individualism-collectivism” influence the way in which the self is conceptualized? (continued)
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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:
1. explain how self-construals influence self-awareness and self-enhancement motivations.
2. discuss how early educational experiences may foster distinct self-construals among children in China, Japan, and the United States.
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Does cultural variation on the dimension of “individualism-collectivism” influence the way in which the self is conceptualized? (continued)
(c) Self-awareness:
● Self-awareness theory maintains that people oscillate between two states of self-awareness:
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Subjective self-awareness: People consider themselves from the perspective of the subject (i.e., “I”).
Objective self-awareness: People consider themselves from the perspective of others, as an object (i.e., “me”).
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● Research has shown that individualists spend a greater proportion of their time in a state of subjective
self-awareness.
● In contrast, collectivists spend a greater proportion of their time in a state of objective self-awareness.
● Example:
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Heine, Takemoto, Moskalenko, and Lasaleta (2007)
Recruited Japanese and Americans.
Examined the degree to which participants experienced discrepancies between their “actual” and
“ideal” selves, either in front of a mirror or not.
Found that Japanese actual-ideal discrepancies were unaffected when in front of a mirror; American
actual-ideal discrepancies increased.
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USA Japan
No Mirror Mirror
Act
ual-I
deal
Sel
f-D
iscr
epan
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● Research suggests that individualists tend to engage in self-enhancement—that is, they tend to view and evaluate themselves in a positive and socially
desirable manner.
● Self-enhancement is motivated by a desire to bolster one’s self-image and demonstrate one’s unique
attributes.
(d) Self-enhancement:
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● In contrast, collectivists tend to engage in self-effacement—that is, they tend to view and evaluate
themselves in a critical and disparaging manner.
● Self-effacement is motivated by a desire to fit in with others and maintain “face.”
● Examples:
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1. Markus and Kitayama (1998)
Found that Americans used the term “special” to describe themselves more frequently than Japanese.
Japanese used the term “ordinary” to describe themselves more frequently than Americans:
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Special Ordinary
Japanese Americans
Pe
rce
nt o
f Par
ticip
ant
s W
ho
En
dors
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Attr
ibu
te a
s S
elf-
Des
crip
tive
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Found that 93% of European-Canadians vs. 55% of Japanese had self-esteem scores exceeding the midpoint of the scale.
2. Heine, Lehman, Markus and Kitayama (1999)
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3. Endo and Meijer (2004); Heine et al. (2001); Snibbe et al. (2003); White and Lehman (1999)
Found that Americans were more likely than East Asians to use tactics to enhance their self-view: Downward social comparison, compensatory self-enhancement, discounting, attributing failure to
external causes, basking in the reflected glory of others.
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The Self-Concept and Motivation
1. Does cultural variation on the dimension of “individualism-collectivism” influence the way in which the self is conceptualized? (continued)
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