Self, Identity and Biculturalism Flashcards
The self
Self-concepts are cognitive representations of who one is - ideas or images that one has about oneself, especially in relation to others, and how and why one behaves
Self concept part of cultural worldviews
Belief systems about oneself and culture
Self concepts are functional
- aid in adressing needs for affiliation and uniqueness
- explain the importance of understanding values as guiding principles within a specific culture - self-concept mediates cultural values
Independent construal of the self
- the self as a bounded entity, clearly separated from relevant others
- be unique and expressive, realize and actualize the inner, and promote personal goals
- most salient self-relevant information relates to attributes thought to be stable, constant and intrinsic to self
Interdependent construal of the self
- self as unbounded, flexible and contingent on context
- focus on their interdependent status with others and strive to meet or even create duties, obligations and social responsibilities
- most salient aspects of the self are defined in relationships
Assessments of the independent versus interdependent self-construal theory
Idea that American culture is individualistic and Asian cultures are collectivistic is being challenged by several studies - largest meta-analysis (83) did not find the expected differences
Individualist in Japanese uni
29.2% is collectivistic and 70.8% is individualistic
Contemporary view: self is multifaceted
- Different contexts of the self
- Different domains of the self
–> independent and interdpendent aspects co-exist in a person’s self-construal
Different contexts of the self
- at home with family
- at a restaurant with friends
- in public with strangers
Different domains of the self
- physical
- moral
- personal
- family
- social
- work
- academic
Self-esteem
Cognitive and affective evaluations one makes about himself/herself
- different focus in different cultures
Self-enhancement
Collection of psychological processes by which one bolsters his/her self-esteem
- everybody does it differently
Self-enhancement –> universal or cultural
Early studies: individualistic has higher self-esteem than collectivistic
- self-effacement
- better than average effect
Self-effacement
Tendency to downplay one’s virtues
Better than average effect
Tendency of individuals to underestimate the commonality of desirable traits and to overestimate their consequences
Mutual self-enhancement
Achieved through the giving and receiving of compliments between partners in close relationships
Types of identity
- personal identity
- collective identity
- relational identity
Personal identity
Qualities and attributes that distinguish oneself from others
Relational identity
Ourselved in relation to others
Collective identity
Social categories:
- cultural
- ethnic
- racial
- national
Race and ethnicity shape people’s lives
Has an effect on:
- risk infancy
- challanging childhood
- graduation gap
- health insurance
- earnings gap
- unemployment
–> identification with these groups often important and chronically salient
Ethnic and racial identity
- ascribed membership
- meaning subjectively achieved
- identification dynamic and context-dependent
Identification is context-dependent
Contextual dissonance heightens salience of identity
Identity denial
When an individual is not recognized as a member of a group with which they identify
How to cope with identity denial
Demonstrate knowledge of American culture and greater participation in American cultural practices
Frame-switching
People maintain multiple self-concepts and switch between them depending on context
- such self-concepts are represented by a network of ideas in the mind
Do people switch their cultural frame if part of the cultural network of ideas is activated?
Cultural differences in interpretation of behavior
- internal attributions
- external attributions
Internal attribution
Behavior comes from the inside
- fish is leading the other fish (it comes from inside the fish)
External attribution
Behavior comes from an outside source
- fish is being chased ny the other fish (it comes from outside the fish)
Frame-switching experiment
Priming with USA and china and looking at the fish to see internal and external attributions per culture
- so there is frame-switching depending on the cultural context
