Abstract
Previous research on cross-culture comparisons found that Western cultures tend to value independence and the self is construed as an autonomous individual, while Eastern cultures value interdependence and self-identity is perceived as embedded among friends and family members (Markus and Kitayama, 1991). The present experiment explored these cultural differences in the context of a paradigm developed by Sui et al. (2012), which found a bias toward the processing of self-relevant information using perceptual matching tasks. In this task, each neutral shape (i.e., triangle, circle, square) is associated with a person (i.e., self, friend, stranger), and faster and more accurate responses were found to formerly neutral stimuli tagged to the self compared to stimuli tagged to non-self. With this paradigm, the current study examined cross-cultural differences in the self-bias effect between participants from Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Results demonstrated a reliable self-bias effect across groups consistent with previous studies. Importantly, a variation was identified in a larger self-bias toward stranger-associated stimuli in the United Kingdom participants than the Hong Kong participants. This suggested the cultural modulation of the self-bias effect in perceptual matching.
Highlights
The “self ” is an important concept that has been the focus of different fields, from social psychology, cross-culture psychology to social cognitive neuroscience
This study explored the cultural influence on the self-bias effect in Hong Kong (HK) and United Kingdom (UK) participants through the perceptual matching paradigm
The initial hypothesis was that due to cultural differences in the emphasis on independent and interdependent self, the self-bias effect relative to friend would be larger in the UK participants than HK participants
Summary
The “self ” is an important concept that has been the focus of different fields, from social psychology, cross-culture psychology to social cognitive neuroscience. Much literature has focused on cultural differences between the East (e.g., East Asia) and the West (e.g., North America and Western Europe). These differences have been referred to as individualism versus collectivism by Triandis (1989), or independence versus interdependence by Markus and Kitayama (1991), and the concept of the self in relation to others is one of the key distinctions between the East and the West (Gardner et al, 1999). Western cultures tend to emphasize independence and perceive the self as distinct autonomous entities
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
