1 Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology Lecture 10

2 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)

3 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.

4 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:

5 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”).

6 ● 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:

7 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.

8 Actual-Ideal Self-Discrepancy

9 ● 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:

10 ● 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:

11 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:

12 Percent of Participants Who Endorsed Attribute as Self-Descriptive

13  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)

14 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.

15 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)