Notes on Self and Personality in Cross-Cultural Psychology

Introduction to Self and Personality in Cross-Cultural Psychology

  • Instructor: Dr. Sofia Stathi
  • Overview of self representation:
    • Conceptual Self: Autobiographical, narrative, social, extended self, extended consciousness.
    • Bodily Self: Core, phenomenal, non-conceptual, ecological, primary consciousness, physical self.

Individualism and Collectivism

  • Individualistic Cultures:
    • Emphasize independent aspects of the self.
    • Characteristics: Distinctiveness, self-reliance.
  • Collectivistic Cultures:
    • Emphasize interdependent aspects of the self.
    • Characteristics: Close relationships, group memberships.
Individualism vs. Collectivism
  • Cultures are not strictly individualistic or collectivistic.
  • People exhibit varying degrees of both.
  • Example: Americans generally individualistic, but some embody collectivistic traits.

Understanding the Self

  • Two primary focuses to understand self:
    • Personality Traits and Abilities: Individuals focusing on oneself.
    • Connections with Others: Individuals focusing on relationships and roles.
  • Cultural implications on self-view:
    • Significant differences across cultures in how people perceive themselves.
    • Research: Findings from kindergarten-age children (Wang, 2004).

Self Concept

  • Comprises universal and culturally variable aspects.

Self Construal

Definition
  • How individuals view themselves, either independently or interdependently.
Independent Self Construal (Singelis, 1994)
  • Characteristics:
    • Separate from social context.
    • Bounded and stable.
    • Focus on private factors (abilities, thoughts, feelings).
    • Uses others for social comparison and appraisal.
Interdependent Self Construal
  • Characteristics:
    • Connected to social context.
    • Flexible and variable.
    • Focus on external factors (statuses, roles, relationships).
    • Relationships with others define the self.

Processes Related to Self-Concept

Self-Consistency
  • Investigation of whether individuals maintain a consistent self-image in different social contexts.
  • Reference study by Kanagawa, Cross, and Markus (2001):
    • Participants described themselves in varying contexts, noting differences in positivity.
Self-Awareness
  • Subjective Self-Awareness: Viewing oneself from an "I" perspective, focusing outward.
  • Objective Self-Awareness: Viewing oneself as an object from a "me" perspective, focusing inward.

Personality Across Cultures

Personality Trait Analysis
  • English Language: Roughly 18,000 personality trait words identified (Allport & Odbert, 1936).
  • NEO-PI-R identifies five core personality factors:
    • Openness to Experience
    • Conscientiousness
    • Extraversion
    • Agreeableness
    • Neuroticism
  • Used across 50 cultures showing universal structure, but captures limited cultural specificity.
Additional Personality Factors
  • Additional traits surfaced in various cultures:
    • Spain, Greece, Philippines, China.
  • Example mappings of personality traits:
    • Dependability correlates with Neuroticism.
    • Social potency correlates with Extraversion.
    • Individualism correlates with Agreeableness.

Summary

  • Individuals from individualistic cultures likely develop an independent self view.
  • Individuals from collectivist cultures likely develop an interdependent self view.
  • Approach individualism-collectivism spectrum critically.
  • Some personality factors are universal, but cultural contexts influence others.

Further Readings

  • Boer D., & Fischer R. (2013).
  • McCrae, R. R. (2004).
  • Roberts, B. W. et al. (2006).
  • Suh, E.M. (2002).
  • Triandis, H. C., & Suh, E. M. (2002).