This is a summary of part 1 of the Cross-Cultural Psychology minor. Some of the literature might differ as this is based on literature used during covid and online tutorials.
Problem 1: Statements about self + politeness & respect
- Are there any differences in self-concept between different cultures? What are these
differences?
- How useful is the 20 statements test in assessing differences in culture? What does it
measure?
- How can you assess differences in cultures?
- Is looking at underlying assumptions / habits a good way to learn about cultures?
- Can the knowing of these help people to work together?
Article 1: Cultural psychology (Heine)
• INTRODUCTION:
o Humans = cultural species -> everything we do is done in a culturally
particular way
• How the mind is shaped by cultural learning -> challenge that lead to cultural
psychology
o Culture & mind = can’t look into one without the other
o Cultures = emerge through process by which humans interact with & seize
meanings / resources from them
o Mind / psychological processes = change across cultures
• Importance of studying culture in social psychology:
o Cultural differences found -> perception of fairness; attention; moral
reasoning; need for high self-esteem …
o Seems to be some universality -> facial expression; mating preferences (?);
sex differences in violence; personality …
§ Needs to be assessed through many samples
• L Large % of sample used in psychology = western countries (94%)
o Mostly psych undergraduates (67% of US & 80% of non-US)
o à American dominance = biggest in psych (larger than other sciences)
§ Means we don’t know if most psych phenomenon are universal
o Data used for psych research = not just not universal but unusual
§ Results used are outliers
§ 1) Industrialized societies ≠ response than small-scale societies
§ 2) Western industrialized societies (WIS) = more pronounced response
than non-Western
§ 3) Americans = more extreme than other WIS
§ 4) College students in US = even more extreme
• = ‘WEIRD sample’ -> Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich,
Democratic societies
• => Often outliers in psych
• J For research
• L For creating ‘universal’ theories
• Culture study can increase understanding of nature of some psych
processes
o E.g. Mueller-Lyer illusion:
§ Subsistence environment = no visible difference btw the
lines => being exposed to carpentered corners
1
, organizes visual system in a way that relies on angles of corners to
infer relative distance
o Learning about minds of other cultures helps us understand our own minds
Evidence for cultural variability:
• THE SELF-CONCEPT:
o Not born with self-concept -> depends on interactions with people (different
cultures lead to different self-concepts)
§ “We all begin with the natural equipment to live a thousand kinds of
life but end in the end having lived only one” (Clifford Geertz)
• Independent vs interdependent:
o The Twenty Statements Test (Kuhn & McPartland) => people freely describe
aspects of themselves
§ 1) Western cultures -> use statements that reflect their inner
psychological characteristics (e.g. attitudes; personality traits; abilities)
• -> ‘Independent self-concept’
• Stable across situations/lifespan + need to be consistent with
these + unique
§ 2) Non-Western -> indicate relational roles & memberships that they
possess
• -> ‘Interdependent self-concept’
• Behaviour depends on perception of other’s thoughts, feelings
… + social context
§ à This difference is already visible from kindergarten-aged children
=> V EARLY
o Similar to individualism vs collectivism
§ Linked to differences in psych processes (e.g. in motivation for
uniqueness; self-enhancement; emotional experience; perspective on
relationships; reasoning styles …)
§ -> Linked to most research in cultural psych
• Self-consistency vs flexibility:
o Self-consistency = linked to independent self-concept
§ Independent self -> autonomous; complete; unchanging; consistent ->
no change in presence of others
§ Less variability in emotions across situations
o Flexibility = linked to interdependent
§ Relationships & roles > abstract internalized attributes
§ Different roles = different experience of the self -> not consistent
across contexts
• E.g. Japanese self-description different sig depending on who
was in the room
§ (!) Difficulty -> self-concept changes based on context -> in what
context lies the real interdependent self?
§ !!! Not unstable S-C -> many stable S-C that are context specific
§ More contradictory self-views (e.g. introvert & extrovert)
• -> Effect on well-being in Westerners but not here
2
, • Non-Westerners aspire for consistency when considering
themselves in relation to others (e.g. rationalize decisions they
make for others, but not for self)
Independent self-concept Interdependent self-concept
Self-consistency J Western
Insider Phenomenological Inner psych attributes
Experience Stable/consistent
Unique
Own perspective
Flexibility J Non-Western
Outsider Relational roles &
membership
Context dependent
Each role = specific S-C
Contradictory self-views (+/-)
Perspective of audience
• Insider vs outsider Phenomenological Experience:
o Insider = own perspective -> independent
§ Inner attributes
o Outsider = take perspective of the audience -> interdependent
§ Need to adjust to groups => need to know perspective of others
§ Eat Asians were less impacted by presence of mirror during task + by
visual task where they needed to take the perspective of their partner
• Multicultural selves:
o How do people with multiple cultures present themselves?
o 1) Multiple self-concepts that are simultaneously accessible
§ Typical thoughts reflect a blend of these
o 2) Frame-switching => sequentially activate different self-concepts depending
on the situation
§ Likelihood depends on the biculture (e.g. integrated vs opposition)
§ à Proof people can have multiple knowledge structures (ideas that
link)
§ Also visible in monocultural people (though less extreme)
• -> Multi = clearly demarked ideas like in & interdependence
• Multi = more creative -> adapting to environments = more
flexible (even more for those with higher levels of identity
integration)
• MOTIVATION:
o Influenced by cultural experience
o Some motivations appear differently across cultures:
• Motivation for self-enhancement & self-esteem:
o Self-enhancement = desire to view self positively = higher in Westerners
§ Meta-analysis -> found higher effect size in Western sample (d=.86)
than in East Asian (d=-.02) – Asian-Americans in between (d=.33)
3
, •1) East Asians -> motivated to enhance group self > individual
self? (no support for enhanced group self)
• 2) East Asians -> self-enhance in specific domains à ‘Better-
than-Average Effect’ paradigm
o More critical for important traits
• 3) Present themselves critically but enhancing privately
o Found correlation between independence & self-esteem
§ -> Could be higher self-esteem in US cause more independent lifestyle
• Approach and avoidance motivations:
o Avoidance motivation = more in East Asians
§ Persist more after failure than success
§ More motivated by negative role models
§ Remember better when containing avoidance info
o Approach motivation = more in Westerners
• Agency and control:
o Incremental (world is flexible / responsive) & entity (world is fixed, beyond
our control) theories of self
§ 1) World is malleable & self is stable = sense of primary control –
shape existing realities to fit their perception
• Westerners -> changing world > self – primary control over self
§ 2) World is stable & self is malleable = secondary control – align with
existing realities
• East Asians -> more flexible view of self
o Making choices:
§ Look at groups > individuals => more willing to adjust their behaviour
when making choices (e.g. family chooses who you marry)
• Indians = slower to make choice; less likely to show or follow
their preferences; would rather have fewer choices
• Motivations to fit in or to stick out:
o Collectivistic = conform most -> to maintain strong relationships with others
(though everyone conforms to some extent)
o Individualistic = want to stick out/be unique
§ Working (> middle) class Americans -> more likely to emphasize
themes of connection
• Motivation for honour:
o US South = stronger honour motivation (protect reputation though
aggression)
§ Due to herding in the past? -> wealth – used to have more slavery
§ More likely to be angry when threat to honour
è Link between self-concept & behaviour
4
Voordelen van het kopen van samenvattingen bij Stuvia op een rij:
Verzekerd van kwaliteit door reviews
Stuvia-klanten hebben meer dan 700.000 samenvattingen beoordeeld. Zo weet je zeker dat je de beste documenten koopt!
Snel en makkelijk kopen
Je betaalt supersnel en eenmalig met iDeal, creditcard of Stuvia-tegoed voor de samenvatting. Zonder lidmaatschap.
Focus op de essentie
Samenvattingen worden geschreven voor en door anderen. Daarom zijn de samenvattingen altijd betrouwbaar en actueel. Zo kom je snel tot de kern!
Veelgestelde vragen
Wat krijg ik als ik dit document koop?
Je krijgt een PDF, die direct beschikbaar is na je aankoop. Het gekochte document is altijd, overal en oneindig toegankelijk via je profiel.
Tevredenheidsgarantie: hoe werkt dat?
Onze tevredenheidsgarantie zorgt ervoor dat je altijd een studiedocument vindt dat goed bij je past. Je vult een formulier in en onze klantenservice regelt de rest.
Van wie koop ik deze samenvatting?
Stuvia is een marktplaats, je koop dit document dus niet van ons, maar van verkoper eurpsychology. Stuvia faciliteert de betaling aan de verkoper.
Zit ik meteen vast aan een abonnement?
Nee, je koopt alleen deze samenvatting voor €9,99. Je zit daarna nergens aan vast.
