Interdependent Self Research Articles

Validation of the Arabic Humor Styles Questionnaire in a Community Sample of Lebanese in Lebanon

The Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) is a measure of two potentially beneficial (affiliative and self-enhancing) and two potentially detrimental (self-defeating and aggressive) humor styles. Validation of the Arabic translation of the HSQ in the Lebanese culture, in which the self is construed as interdependent and in-group relatedness is seen as the primary determinant of well-being, indicates that four humor styles exist in the Lebanese context but that aggressive humor is less clearly distinct in this case, that self-defeating humor may be less clearly maladaptive for the interdependent self of the Lebanese, and that the four humor styles are not as strong predictors of psychological and social well-being in the Lebanese context as they are in the West. The findings suggest conceptual rethinking of humor styles in cultural contexts in which the self is construed as interdependent.

Forgiveness and Personality in a Chinese Cultural Context

This research tested the hypotheses that forgiveness in collectivist China is influenced by the salience of the interdependent self and other-oriented personality factors rather than the salience of the independent self or individually oriented personality factors as in the Western literature. The relationships between forgiveness and some emic personality variables including Ren Qing (relationship orientation), Inner Peace of Mind, Interpersonal Harmony, Saving Self\'s Face, Saving Other\'s Face, Anxiety, and Independent / Interdependent Conceptions of Self were investigated with a sample of 316 college students from the People\'s Republic of China. Examination of correlates between measures of those scales and the Chinese-Mullet Forgiveness Questionnaire showed that, as predicted, forgiveness was strongly related with Interpersonal Harmony, Saving Other\'s Face, Relationship Orientation, and the salience of the Interdependent Self, but no significant relationships were found with other personality correlates.IFE PsychologIA Vol. 16 (1) 2007: pp. 1-15

Self‐Enhancement and Self‐Effacement in Reaction to Praise and Criticism: The Case of Multiethnic Youth

AbstractWe conducted research on the independent and interdependent self which points to cultural differences in self‐enhancing versus self‐effacing perspectives. We investigated members of multiethnic, high school, girls' sports teams and their tendencies to interpret praise or criticism in a self‐effacing or self‐enhancing manner. Our analysis is in the spirit of Bruner's conceptualization of narrative as cultural interpretation. This investigation differs from other studies on the independent and interdependent self in several respects: (1) it is naturalistic; (2) it focuses on ethnic differences within a multicultural society, rather than on cross‐national comparison; (3) primary data sources are qualitative (ethnography, journals); (4) we analyzed cultural perspectives of researchers and participants; and (5) its focus is on adolescence. Euro‐American and African American participants shared a more self‐enhancing perspective, while Asian American and Latina participants shared a more self‐effacing perspective. Differing cultural perspectives produced conflict when participants were faced with contrasting interpretations of praise and criticism. [individualism, independence, collectivism, interdependence, sport, adolescence]

Mutual Self-Enhancement in Japan and the United States

The authors address the debate on pancultural self-enhancement by suggesting that some Japanese enhance their self-worth by praising and receiving praise from others included in the self. The authors call this process “mutual self-enhancement” and validated a scale for its measurement in Japan and the United States. Mutual self-enhancement was positively correlated with including others in the self, relational self-construal, family support, and sympathy. Mutual self-enhancement was not related to the interdependent self, collectivism, and approval from others, confirming that the process involves including others in the self via self-expansion rather than fitting into an interdependent relationship network. Future studies based on the self-expansion model will consider the inclusion of in-group members in the self as an important part of mutual self-enhancement that predicts well-being in East Asian countries such as Japan.

Importance of Personal Goals in People with Independent Versus Interdependent Selves

This paper investigates how the importance attached to personal goals differs according to the person’s independent or interdependent self. Results of one questionnaire study and two priming studies showed that, overall, independents considered their goals more important than interdependents. A closer analysis revealed, however, that interdependents assigned more relevance to social goals (e.g., harmony with others), than to individual goals (e.g., to be successful), whereas independents attached equal importance to both types of goals.

Independence-supportive praise versus interdependence-promoting praise

This study used dinnertime observational data to investigate parental praise in Chinese-immigrant and European-American families. Three process models of praise with distinctive communicative content were uncovered. Two models focus on adherence to parental expectations, which promote the development of an interdependent self (interdependence-promoting praise). One focuses on child's self-initiated behaviors and supports the development of an independent self (independence-supportive praise). Consistent with past findings, independence-supportive praise is widely distributed in European-American families. Although interdependence-promoting praise has been overlooked in previous research, it is commonly found in Chinese-immigrant families. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the development of culturally inclusive models of praise.

UNDERSTANDING CHANGE: THE INTERDEPENDENT SELF IN ITS ENVIRONMENT

Journal of Chinese PhilosophyVolume 34, Issue s1 p. 81-99 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE: THE INTERDEPENDENT SELF IN ITS ENVIRONMENT KARYN L. LAI, Corresponding Author KARYN L. LAI UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALESSydney, AustraliaKARYN L. LAI, Senior Lecturer, School of History and Philosophy, University of New South Wales. Specialities: early Confucianism and Daoism, Confucian ethics, and environmental ethics. E-mail: k.lai@unsw.edu.auSearch for more papers by this author KARYN L. LAI, Corresponding Author KARYN L. LAI UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALESSydney, AustraliaKARYN L. LAI, Senior Lecturer, School of History and Philosophy, University of New South Wales. Specialities: early Confucianism and Daoism, Confucian ethics, and environmental ethics. E-mail: k.lai@unsw.edu.auSearch for more papers by this author First published: 18 December 2007 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6253.2007.00454.xCitations: 2Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume34, Issues1December 2007Pages 81-99 RelatedInformation

Blending Cobrand Personalities: An Examination of the Complex Self

This research examines the role of self-complexity in influencing consumer responses to cobrands with trait associations to two distinct brand personality dimensions versus one distinct brand personality dimension. Three experiments reveal that consumers whose complex self becomes activated prefer cobrands that exude both sophistication and excitement to those that exhibit either sophistication or excitement. Caucasians, who have a more complex independent self, tend to evaluate a sophisticated and excited personality cobrand more favorably when primed on independence, whereas Hispanics, who have a more complex interdependent self, tend to evaluate this cobrand personality combination more favorably when primed on interdependence. This research also suggests that this self-complexity-driven process is conscious in nature.

The Effect of Culture on Perspective Taking

People consider the mental states of other people to understand their actions. We evaluated whether such perspective taking is culture dependent. People in collectivistic cultures (e.g., China) are said to have interdependent selves, whereas people in individualistic cultures (e.g., the United States) are said to have independent selves. To evaluate the effect of culture, we asked Chinese and American pairs to play a communication game that required perspective taking. Eye-gaze measures demonstrated that the Chinese participants were more tuned into their partner's perspective than were the American participants. Moreover, Americans often completely failed to take the perspective of their partner, whereas Chinese almost never did. We conclude that cultural patterns of interdependence focus attention on the other, causing Chinese to be better perspective takers than Americans. Although members of both cultures are able to distinguish between their perspective and another person's perspective, cultural patterns afford Chinese the effective use of this ability to interpret other people's actions.

Repercussions of Self–Construal for Self–Relevant and Other–Relevant Choice

In the present investigation, we build on prior research by examining perceptions of choices and their outcomes as a factor of independent and interdependent self–construals, the identity of the chooser, and the recipient of the choice. Results from two experiments suggest that independent selves prefer to be both chooser and choice recipient, whereas interdependent selves are more amenable to choosing for others and having others choose on their behalf. Particularly, results from Study 2 show that participants high in independence are more attentive to their options when choosing for themselves, whereas participants high in interdependence are more attentive when choosing for someone else. Results from both studies further show that independents like choices they make for themselves more than interdependents, but like choices they make for others and choices others make on their behalf less than interdependents. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Approaching the Mobile Culture of East Asia

Convergence is a term that has been gaining increasing attention across the globe. Conceptually situated between technological and socio-cultural domains – as has been intensely debated between the technological and social determinists since the birth of computer mediated communication (CMC) – mobile culture is no exception. It is powered by inter-operable and multi-functional mobile telecommunication technologies, which are also becoming increasingly high functional especially via fixed-mobile convergence, interconnecting fixed and wireless broadband networks. Wide diffusion and convergence of digital communication technologies – wired and wireless – in recent years have resulted in the emergence of two key paradigmatic convergences: between technology and sociality, and between productivity and play. I will first elucidate these convergences; I will then discuss cultural characteristics of specific East Asian cultures, focusing on South Korea, China, and Japan.

Understanding Change: The Interdependent Self in its Environment

Understanding Change: The Interdependent Self in its Environment

日本人青年と中高年層における相互独立的・相互協調的自己スキーマの形成

The study investigated the functions of self-schema pertaining to independent and interdependent self-construal. Four groups of participants, who had (a) independent schema, (b) interdependent schema, (c) both schemata, or (d) neither schema (aschematic), were compared in cognitive performance on a schema-relevant information processing task. Study I, with college students, found that interdependent schemata were used in the task by the interdependent (b) and the both (c) group, but independent schemata were not used by the independent (a) and the both (c) group. Study II, with aged participants, found that not only the interdependent schemata were used by the interdependent (b) and the both (c) group, but also independent schemata were used by the independent (a) and the both (c) group. These findings provide evidence for Takata's (2004) hypotheses that the interdependent self is internalized in adolescence and the independent self develops after adulthood in Japanese culture.

Neural basis of cultural influence on self-representation

Culture affects the psychological structure of self and results in two distinct types of self-representation (Western independent self and East Asian interdependent self). However, the neural basis of culture–self interaction remains unknown. We used fMRI to measured brain activity from Western and Chinese subjects who judged personal trait adjectives regarding self, mother or a public person. We found that the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) showed stronger activation in self- than other-judgment conditions for both Chinese and Western subjects. However, relative to other-judgments, mother-judgments activated MPFC in Chinese but not in Western subjects. Our findings suggest that Chinese individuals use MPFC to represent both the self and the mother whereas Westerners use MPFC to represent exclusively the self, providing neuroimaging evidence that culture shapes the functional anatomy of self-representation.

Developing a new measure of independent and interdependent views of the self

Following concepts introduced by Markus and Kitayama [Markus, H. R. & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: implication for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.], two studies were conducted to develop and test a new scale to measure individualism and collectivism, each with its seven constituent facets. The proposed two-dimensional structure was supported by exploratory factor analyses of Chinese and British samples of general populations. The new Independent and Interdependent Self Scale (IISS) was found to have satisfactory reliability and validity across five independent samples of Chinese and British students and community adults. The strengths and limitations of the present research as well as future directions for research are discussed.

Who shapes the self of independents and interdependents? Explicit and implicit measures of the self's relatedness to family, friends and partner

We suggest that social relationships shape the self in different ways, depending on whether persons define themselves as independent or interdependent. While the self of independents is most strongly associated with mental representations of others to whom they are related because of their own deliberate action (e.g. friends), the self of interdependents is most strongly connected with representations of others with whom they share allocated group memberships (e.g. family members). We took both explicit (Study 1) and implicit measures (Studies 2, 3 and 4) on how strongly independent and interdependent selves are associated with self‐chosen versus allocated close others. In Studies 3 and 4, we additionally primed the independent or interdependent self. Both explicit and implicit measures indicated that mental representations of family members were more strongly associated with the interdependent self than with the independent self, while romantic partners and friends were connected with both the independent and interdependent self. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing Similarity of Meaning at the Individual and Country Level

The question was addressed as to whether individual-level and country-level score differences of a measure of the Independent and Interdependent Self, the Adult Sources of Self-Esteem Inventory (ASSEI) have the same meaning, using two-level exploratory factor analysis in a group of 5,258 college students and other adults from 19 countries. A two-factor solution based on factors interpreted as representing the Independent and Interdependent Self was highly similar at the individual and country levels, suggesting the applicability and similarity of meaning of the factors at both levels. The factors differed from the common conceptualization of in(ter)dependence in that at both levels the Independent Self involved both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, while the Interdependent Self was narrowed down to unselfishness and being a good member of the family, community, and society. Finally, it was found that the two factors were not retrieved in all countries, indicating that the ASSEI did not measure the same in all countries.

Individuality or Conformity? The Effect of Independent and Interdependent Self-Concepts on Public Judgments

When both independent and interdependent self‐concepts are available, priming either self‐concept will increase the accessibility in memory of the motivations and cognitions associated with it. Thus, priming the interdependent self may activate motivation to maintain harmony and conform to others’ opinions, whereas priming the independent self is likely to activate motivation to be independent and to withstand social pressure. Two experiments investigated implications of these possibilities for judgments of risk when participants anticipated (or not) explaining their judgments to others. Participants relied on others’ beliefs only when their interdependent self was primed and they expected they might have to explain their judgments to others. When their independent self was primed, expectations to communicate theirjudgments had no effect. Culture‐based differences in individualism vs. collectivism had no impact on these effects.

Third-Party Intervention in Workplace Conflict: The Impact of Culture and Gender

This study examines the impact of culture and gender on perceptions of conflict in general, and third-party intervention in particular. We theorized that third-party help may concern four different types of interventions: procedural interventions, substantive interventions, social-emotional interventions, and relational interventions. Using a scenario study on a group of Chinese and Dutch employees and students (n = 164) exploratory factor analysis on 14 potential third-party interventions confirmed this four-part typology. Further analyses on the Dutch (n = 36) and Chinese (n = 35) sub sample of bank employees showed that, as expected, Hong Kong Chinese rather than Dutch employees and female rather than male employees seem to suffer from conflict stress. Furthermore, while a social-emotional function was most preferred by Dutch respondents and relational third-party intervention by Hong Kong Chinese respondents, these effects were both qualified by the respondents' gender. That is, particularly Hong Kong Chinese men preferred relational third-party help highest and social-emotional help lowest. We found some evidence to support our expectation that this effect might be mediated by the parties' interdependent self construal. When involved in workplace conflict, third parties might incorporate these differential preferences in the strategy they choose.

Culture, Self-Construal, and Leisure Theory and Practice

According to Markus and Kitayama (1991), although European North Americans are more likely to have independent self-construals (and therefore to value being unique, expressing one's inner attributes, etc.), people in or from Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe are more likely to have interdependent self-construals (and therefore to value belonging, maintaining harmony, etc.). The type of self-construal a person has affects his or her emotions, cognitions, and motivations. In the case of intrinsic motivation, for example, it is often put forth that the key factor affecting this variable is autonomy/personal choice. Recent research suggests, however, that while this may be true for independent selves, relatedness may be more important for interdependent selves. Because intrinsic motivation and autonomy/personal choice are present in many leisure theories, and leisure theories often influence leisure practice, the concept of self-construal may have great import for our field. In order to support this proposition, this article: (a) describes what self-construal is and how it affects intrinsic motivation; (b) reviews some of the major leisure theories that include intrinsic motivation and discusses how the above may affect them; (c) outlines the implications of not incorporating self-construal into leisure practice, using benefits based programming (Rossman & Schlatter, 2000) as an exemplar; and (d) examines some of the conceptual and methodological concerns associated with self-construal.