Differed Self within Collectivist Culture: Introducing an Alternative Self-Construal Theory

Abstract

Markus and Kitayama's theory of independent and interdependent self has been a powerful framework that unravelsthe relations between culture and human behavior. However, its dichotomous approach has faced some theoreticallimitations in explaining the differences among the countries within the same culture. We suggest an alternativetheory with new types of self-construal: subjective self, objective self, and autonomous self. In the present article, thecharacteristics of the three self-construal types and the measurement scales are introduced as well as the results fromthe comparative study conducted in Korea, Japan, and China. Moreover, the developmental processes that couldcause the disparities in self-construal among these nations are discussed.