Week 1: Self & Motivation Flashcards
Explain the difference between independent and interdependent self-concept
Independent self-concept = a self- concept that is viewed as distinct, autonomous and grounded in various internal components
Interdependent self-concept = a self-concept that is fundamentally connected to, and sustained by, a number of significant relationships
However, on an individual level, people will not strictly fall into discrete categories of either independence or interdependence. Every individual has both aspects of the self but varies in the degree to which they are closer to the independent or the interdependent view. It can be seen as a continuum.
Explain the independent view of the self in a visual way (circle)
- The circle of the individual does not overlap with any of the borders of the significant relationships; identity is distinct from relationships.
- The large X’s are within the individual’s circle and reflect the important self-defining aspects of identity. The small X’s are within the relationships’ circles
- The circle around the individual has a solid border, to indicate that the self is bounded, and as such, its experience is stable and does not change much from situation to situation.
- The circle around the in-group separating close relationships from more distant ones has a dotted line border, indicating fluidity or permeability; others can move from the in- to out-group relatively easily
Explain the interdependent view of the self in a visual way (circle)
- The circle around the individual overlaps considerably with the borders of the circles of their significant relationships; identities are connected with others.
- The large X’s that indicate the key aspects of identity lie in the intersections between the individual and his or her significant relationships; identities are grounded in relationships with others.
- The circle around the individual has a dotted line border; identity is experienced as somewhat fluid and permeable.
- The circle separating the in-group from the out-group has a solid line border, indicating a relatively significant and stable distinction; people cannot easily move from the in- to the out-group
Explain the study done on cultural differences in self-concept in brain activation patterns
Chinese and Western (native English speakers living in China) participants were asked to consider how well a number of traits characterised themselves or their mothers while in an fMRI scanner:
- Westerners: showed different regions of brain activation when thinking of themselves compared to their mother, suggesting that they represent themselves
and their mothers in distinct ways.
- Chinese: showed activation patterns in the same brain regions for both themselves and their mothers, suggesting that the 2 representations are not that distinct and both reflect on the self-concept
–> suggests that significant in-group relationships form a core part of the self-concept for those with an interdependent view
Shows that cultural differences in the self-concept can also be observed in brain activation patterns.
Explain differences between views on in-group and out-group relationships between different kinds of selves
Evidence demonstrates that interdependent people view in-group members as an extension of themselves, while maintaining distance from out-group members. People with an independent self-concept, however, tend to view themselves as distinct from all others, regardless of their relationships.
Compare independent and interdependent selves in relation to individualism and collectivism
Independent selves are more common in cultures where people are likely to engage in thoughts and behaviours that foster their own independence, and they come to feel distinct from others and emphasise the importance of being self-sufficient; individualistic cultures. Interdependent selves are more common in cultures where children typically co-sleep with their parents, where education is primarily a matter decided on by families, where marriages may be arranged by parents, and so on; collectivistic cultures. People in a collectivistic culture are more likely to engage in thoughts and behaviours that foster the interdependent aspects of their self-concept, such as their close relationships and group memberships.
Explain the connection between socioeconomic status (SES) and in(ter)dependence and an experiment done on this
SES: Individualism or independence varies as a function of social class. On average, people from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have more independent selves than those from poorer backgrounds. Periods of economic growth tend to be linked to growing rates of independence, while recessions are linked with increasing interdependence.
Experiment:
First-generation college students (who are more likely to be working-class) and continuing-generation students (usually middle-class) were compared on how well they solved anagrams following an independent or an interdependent message (this was considered a measure for motivation);
- First-generation: solved more anagrams (were more motivated) following interdependent messages.
- Continuing-generation: were more motivated following independent messages.
Showed that lower SES is related to interdependence, while higher SES is related to independence.
Explain the Twenty-Statements Test
= a measure with twenty “I am” statements where people are asked to write down something about themselves that defines them; the words and categories someone uses can reveal something about the influence of their cultural background
–> People with an independent self tend to answer with personality characteristics (“I am creative”), while people with an interdependent self tend to answer with social roles like (“I am a younger brother”).
Explain the study done on the Twenty-Statements Test
American undergrads, Kenyan undergrads (most Westernized), Kenyan workers (less Westernized), and 2 Indigenous Kenyan groups (Masai and Samburu; least Westernized) completed the Twenty-Statements Test:
- American & Kenyan undergrads: were more likely to describe themselves with personality characteristics than in terms of roles and memberships (social identity).
–> more independent; derives identity from inner attributes
- Indigenous Kenyans: were more likely to describe themselves in terms of their roles and memberships and their social identity.
–> more interdependent; derives identity from their relationships
Showed that;
- Cultures differ on the most important way in which they perceive/describe themselves: some cultures tend to have an independent self-concept, while others have a more interdependent self-concept.
- Differences in self-concept are not limited to countries: there can also be differences within a country.
Explain a study done on differences between cultures and gender on items related to in(ter)dependence
The study had women and men in Western (US and Australia) and Eastern (Japan and Korea) cultures complete several measures of in(ter)dependence, with 4 underlying factors; collectivism, agency, assertiveness and relatedness.
- Significant cultural differences emerged; the Western participants scored higher on agency and assertiveness, and the Eastern participants scored higher on collectivism and relatedness.
- Significant gender differences emerged on only one factor; on relatedness, women scored higher than men.
–> suggests that women are more interdependent than men only with respect to their attention to others’ feelings and concerns
Explain differences on views on gender issues in different countries
There are also clear cultural differences in the ways people view issues of gender equality. Some countries have strong equality norms (Netherlands, Finland, Germany), while others have more ‘traditional’ role views (India, Pakistan, Nigeria). Also, in almost every country, men have more traditional gender views than women (probably because these views benefit men more than women).
Geographic location was another variable. More northern countries had mostly egalitarian views, and more southern countries had primarily traditional gender views. Also, the more urbanised the country, the more likely people were to have egalitarian gender views. The country’s individualism score also correlated positively with egalitarian views.
Explain the theory by Boserup (1970) on agriculture influencing gender norms
In shifting cultivation, the soil is dug up with a tool similar to a contemporary garden hoe. Where this is practiced, women do most of the agricultural work, with their children nearby. In plow cultivation, a large animal pulls a plow to turn over the soil. Although plow cultivation is the more efficient method, controlling the plow requires muscular strength and quick bursts of energy, which is why it tends to be done by men, with their greater average muscle mass. In addition, it’s hard to take care of children when controlling a plow. In many societies where plow cultivation is practiced, women do not participate much at all in the labor sphere; they focus almost exclusively on domestic matters. Boserup argued that even when a country moved out of agriculture into industrial work, it tended to preserve some of the gender norms associated with traditional cultivation methods.
What two other differences in ways of thinking about the self do cultural differences in in(ter)dependent self-concepts lead to
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Self-consistency = How we think and behave in different situations; some people behave almost the same in different situations, some people behave very different depending on the situation.
–> cultures vary considerably in the degree to which individuals are motivated to be consistent across all situations -
Self-awareness:
- Subjective self-awareness = a state of mind in which a person considers the self from the inside out, with the perspective of the subject interacting with the world, having little awareness of the self as an individual
- Objective self-awareness = a state of mind in which a person considers the self from the outside in, with the perspective of how he or she appears to others and is being evaluated
–> interdependent people are more often in a state of objective self-awareness, while independent people are generally in a state of subjective awareness
Explain the study done on self-consistency and its context using the Twenty-Statements Test
College students from Japan and the US completed the Twenty-Statements Test in different contexts (in professor’s office, with a fellow student, in a large group, and alone) and their ratio of positive to negative statements was calculated:
- US: responses were, on average, far more positive than the Japanese ones and they looked quite similar across the different contexts.
- Japan: responses varied depending on the situations, being way less self-critical when alone.
–> It is not clear which context is the most accurate representation of the self.
Showed that people’s self-concept does not always exist separately from the context, so people’s self-consistency is an important variable to consider in psychology methods and theories.
Explain the concept of cognitive dissonance in the context of self-consistency and 2 ways of resolving it
Cognitive dissonance = the distressing feeling we have when we observe ourselves behaving inconsistently, or against our own sense of self-consistency. There are 2 ways in which we can (attempt) to get rid of this feeling:
- Change our behavior: change our behavior in a way that is more consistent.
- Dissonance reduction: change our attitudes so we no longer appear to be so inconsistent.
Explain a study done on cognitive dissonance and decision making
Japanese and Canadians rated 10 music CDs in terms of their desirability. Next, they rated how much they would like to own the CDs and were then told they could take their 5th or 6th choice home. After this they evaluated all ten CDs again and both top 10s were compared to measure dissonance reduction. Participant ratings of the CDs made after they had chosen their CD were compared with ratings made before they had chosen their CD. If people are rationalizing their decisions, they should prefer their chosen CD even more and like their rejected CD even less after deciding. The bigger the change in their preferences, the more they are rationalizing.
- Canadians: showed clear evidence of rationalization (the CD they chose was evaluated higher and the one they didn’t choose was evaluated lower than in the first evaluation round).
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Japanese: showed no tendency to rationalize their decesions
However: in another study they were found to show rationalization when making decisions for others
Showed that:
- There is a cross-cultural similarity in the motivation to be consistent but what people try to keep consistent varies.
- North Americans aspire toward self-consistency, whereas East Asians value being consistent with others.
Explain the study done on self-consistency vs peer-consistency in Polish and US people
People from Poland (relatively collectivistic) and from the US were asked to imagine how they would respond to a request by a marketing representative from Coca-Cola. They were either asked to imagine that in the past they had always complied with such request (self-consistency), or that their classmates always complied with similar requests (peer-consistency):
- US: were more likely to comply following self-consistency information.
- Poland: were more likely to comply following peer-consistency information.
Showed that marketers and fundraisers in different cultures need different strategies to have maximum influence.
Explain the study done on Americans and Koreans looking at self-consistency across situations
Koreans and Americans were compared in terms of their self-consistency. A consistency value was calculated for each participant, to show how similarly people viewed themselves for the different situations; Koreans viewed themselves as far less similar across situations than Americans did.
The participants also completed a measure of their subjective well-being, and two informants (a friend and a family member) were asked how socially skilled and how likable they thought the participant was; for Americans, there were strong positive correlations between consistency and the other two variables, whereas the same correlations were much weaker for Koreans.
Explain the experiment done on objective and subjective self-awareness among East Asians and Westerners
Hong Kong and American students completed a random creativity test and were told that both a validated and a new program would evaluate their performance. However, everyone actually received the same 2 scores: one really good score and one average score. Then, one of their scores was “accidentally” revealed to another participant (who was actually a confederate), sometimes it was the excellent score, sometimes the average one.
Then, the participants evaluated their own creativity level:
- Americans: self-evaluations were relatively unaffected by which score was seen by someone else.
- Hong Kong: evaluated themselves to be less creative when the low score was seen by someone else than when the high score was seen by someone else.
Showed that interdependent people tend to evaluate themselves based on what they think others think of them (objective self-awareness), while independent people base their self-evaluations on their own subjective standards (subjective self-awareness).
Explain differences in third-person vs center-of-attention kind of memories
In one study, Asian Canadians and European Canadians were contrasted on whether, when thinking about a time when they were in the center of attention, these memories were from a third-person perspective (eg. the audience looking at them) compared to a center-of-attention perspective (eg. them looking at the audience). The Asian Canadians revealed significantly more third-person imagery in their memories of being at the center of attention than did the European Canadians across a variety of different situations.
These findings suggest that Asian Canadians are so much in the habit of considering the perspective of others that they start to see themselves in their mind’s eye in terms of how they think they appear to other people.
Explain the study examining whether interdependent people are more accurate in their self-views
Children from different countries attending a summer school in Spain were divided into being individualistic or collectivistic.
They were then asked to imagine they had been rewarded for their efforts by receiving ten pieces of candy. They were told other students didn’t perform as well as they had and didn’t receive as many pieces of candy, and that they could contribute some of their own candy to a common pool to be shared with those other students. The children were asked to predict how many candies they would give if they were in this hypothetical situation. Five days later, they actually found themselves in this situation. The researchers then compared the children’s earlier predictions with their actual donations.
The children from individualistic cultures donated fewer candies than they had earlier predicted, whereas the children from collectivistic cultures donated about the same number of candies as they had earlier predicted.
Explain the study done on self-evaluation and mirrors
Japanese and American students were asked to evaluate themselves on a measure of actual vs ideal self-discrepancies (difference between actual self and ideal self) while either being in front of a mirror or not:
- Americans: were more self-critical in front of a mirror than without a mirror present.
- Japanese: were unaffected by the mirror.
Showed that when independent people are put in a state of objective self-awareness they tend to become more self-critical, while there is no effect for interdependent people because they are already in this state.
