Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between “under” and “over” cultural self discrepancy, and the individual’s well-being. “Under cultural self discrepancy” occurs when the individual expects that s/he would fail to behave in specific situations in accordance with the culture norms. In “over cultural self discrepancy” the individual expects to over react and exaggerate the expected behavior. The hypothesis of this paper is that in a culture that emphasizes primary control, “under cultural discrepancy” would be negatively correlated with well being, while “over cultural discrepancy” would not be. To that end, four equstionnaires were adiminstered to130 first-year, Israeli Psychology undergraduates: The Primary and Secondary Control Dilemmas Questionnaire; Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; Depressive Experiences Questionnaire; and Trait Anxiety Inventory. The results clearly demonstrate that “under primary control self discrepancy” correlates negatively with well being, while “over primary control self discrepancy” does not. Since Israeli culture emphasizes primary control, these results support the hypothesis that “under cultural self discrepancy” is negatively correlated with well being, while “over cultural self discrepancy” is not in such cultures.
Highlights
Consistency is thought to be a powerful basic drive, similar to needs such as hunger or thirst (Festinger, 1957)
The first hypothesis of the study pertained to the correlation between “general primary control culture discrepancy” and well-being
As previously shown in various studies (e.g. Sheldon et al, 1997), the discrepancy would be negatively related to well-being as indicated by reports of self-esteem, depression and anxiety
Summary
Consistency is thought to be a powerful basic drive, similar to needs such as hunger or thirst (Festinger, 1957). The relationship between the need for consistency and well being has been incorporated in various theories including the cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957); “self-ideal” discrepancy (Rogers, 1951; Rogers & Dymond, 1954) and the self discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). Cognitive dissonance theory suggest that people who hold conflicting or incompatible beliefs or attitudes are likely to experience discomfort Many studies show that cognitive dissonance causes psychological tension or discomfort (e.g., Aronson, 1992; Festinger, 1957; Rydell, McConnell & Mackie, 2008), unpleasant feelings It has been suggested that this discrepancy is an indicator of maladjustment, so that a higher level of discrepancy indicates a less well adjusted, more unhappy, and more defensive individual (Rogers, 1951; Rogers & Dymond, 1954)
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