Self, Identity and Biculturalism

Question 1

The self

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Self concept part of cultural worldviews

Answer 2

Belief systems about oneself and culture

Question 3

Self concepts are functional

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

Independent construal of the self

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

Interdependent construal of the self

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

Assessments of the independent versus interdependent self-construal theory

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Individualist in Japanese uni

Answer 7

29.2% is collectivistic and 70.8% is individualistic

Question 8

Contemporary view: self is multifaceted

Answer 8

• Different contexts of the self
• Different domains of the self
  –> independent and interdpendent aspects co-exist in a person’s self-construal

Question 9

Different contexts of the self

Answer 9

• at home with family
• at a restaurant with friends
• in public with strangers

Question 10

Different domains of the self

Answer 10

• physical
• moral
• personal
• family
• social
• work
• academic

Question 11

Self-esteem

Answer 11

Cognitive and affective evaluations one makes about himself/herself
- different focus in different cultures

Question 12

Self-enhancement

Answer 12

Collection of psychological processes by which one bolsters his/her self-esteem
- everybody does it differently

Question 13

Self-enhancement –> universal or cultural

Answer 13

Early studies: individualistic has higher self-esteem than collectivistic
- self-effacement
- better than average effect

Question 14

Self-effacement

Answer 14

Tendency to downplay one’s virtues

Question 15

Better than average effect

Answer 15

Tendency of individuals to underestimate the commonality of desirable traits and to overestimate their consequences

Question 16

Mutual self-enhancement

Answer 16

Achieved through the giving and receiving of compliments between partners in close relationships

Question 17

Types of identity

Answer 17

• personal identity
• collective identity
• relational identity

Question 18

Personal identity

Answer 18

Qualities and attributes that distinguish oneself from others

Question 19

Relational identity

Answer 19

Ourselved in relation to others

Question 20

Collective identity

Answer 20

Social categories:
- cultural
- ethnic
- racial
- national

Question 21

Race and ethnicity shape people’s lives

Answer 21

Has an effect on:
- risk infancy
- challanging childhood
- graduation gap
- health insurance
- earnings gap
- unemployment
–> identification with these groups often important and chronically salient

Question 22

Ethnic and racial identity

Answer 22

• ascribed membership
• meaning subjectively achieved
• identification dynamic and context-dependent

Question 23

Identification is context-dependent

Answer 23

Contextual dissonance heightens salience of identity

Question 24

Identity denial

Answer 24

When an individual is not recognized as a member of a group with which they identify

Question 25

How to cope with identity denial

Answer 25

Demonstrate knowledge of American culture and greater participation in American cultural practices

Question 26

Frame-switching

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Do people switch their cultural frame if part of the cultural network of ideas is activated?

Answer 27

Cultural differences in interpretation of behavior
- internal attributions
- external attributions

Question 28

Internal attribution

Answer 28

Behavior comes from the inside
- fish is leading the other fish (it comes from inside the fish)

Question 29

External attribution

Answer 29

Behavior comes from an outside source
- fish is being chased ny the other fish (it comes from outside the fish)

Question 30

Frame-switching experiment

Answer 30

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