Week One

Question 1

Interdependent self concept (1)

Answer 1

• a self concept that is fundamentally connected to and sustained by a number of significant relationships

Question 2

Independent self concept (1)

Answer 2

• a self concept viewed as distinct, autonomous and grounded in various internal components

Question 3

Twenty-statements test (2)

Answer 3

• an exercise in which people describe themselves by finishing 20 statements starting with “I am”.
• people with independent self concepts tend to answer with personality characteristics while those with interdependent self concepts tend to answer with social roles

Question 4

Twenty-statements test study (4)

Answer 4

• American undergrads, Kenyan undergrads, Kenyan workers and 2 Indigenous Kenyan groups completed the test
• American and Kenyan undergrads used personality traits more than social roles
• Indigenous Kenyan groups tended to describe themselves in terms of social identity
• differences in self concept are not limited to countries, differences can be seen within a country

Question 5

Independent Self concept diagram (5)

Answer 5

• individual circle does not overlap with the circles of significant relationships: the self concept is distinct from relationships
• the biggest X sizes are in the individual circle: the most important self-defining aspects lie within the individual
• the individual border is solid: self is bounded and stable across situations
• ingroup border is dotted can move between ingroup and outgroup easily
• individualistic cultures

Question 6

Interdependent self concept diagram (5)

Answer 6

• individual circle overlaps with circles of significant relationships: self concept is closely connected with others
• biggest X sizes are in the intersections between the individual and significant relationships: self concept is grounded in relationship with others
• individual border is dotted: self concept is somewhat fluid
• ingroup border is solid: significant and stable distinction between ingroup and outgroup
• collectivist cultures

Question 7

Ingroup and Outgroup relations (1)

Answer 7

• ppl in independent cultures perceive themselves as functioning largely separately from the social environment so new relationships can be formed and old ones dissolved without much impact on individual identity, reverse is seen for interdependent cultures

Question 8

Brain Activity and Self Concept Study (3)

Answer 8

• Chinese and Western participants were asked to consider how well a number of traits characterized themselves or their mothers while in an fMRI scanner
• Westerners: different regions of brain activation, suggesting they represent themselves and their mothers in distinct ways
• Chinese participants: showed activation patterns in the same brain regions for both tasks, suggesting that the 2 representations are not that distinct and both reflect on the self concept

Question 9

Socioeconomic Status

Answer 9

• on average ppl from higher SES tend to have more independent selves
• periods of economic growth tend to be linked to independence and recessions to interdependence

Question 10

SES and motivation (3)

Answer 10

• first gen college students and continuous generation students were compared on how well they solved anagrams following an independent or interdependent message
• first gen solved more anagrams following interdependent messages and continuing generation were more motivated following independent messages
• lower SES is related to interdependence and vice versa

Question 11

Gender and Self Concept (1)

Answer 11

• men and women were found to be similar in most areas but women score higher on relatedness (attention to others’ feelings and concerns)

Question 12

Self consistency (1)

Answer 12

the extent to which someone acts across situations

Question 13

Self consistency study (4)

Answer 13

• college students from Japan and the US completed the Twenty-Statements test in different contexts
• The US ones were more positive because they looked quite similar across contexts
• The Japanese responses varied, with people being much less self critical when alone
• self concept does not exist separately from context so self-consistency is an important variable

Question 14

Cognitive Dissonance (2)

Answer 14

• distressing feeling when we observe ourselves behaving against our own sense of self-consistency
• we can either change our behaviour in a way that is more consistent or do dissonance reduction where we change our attitudes so we no longer appear to be so inconsistent

Question 15

Dissonance reduction tendencies (5)

Answer 15

• Japanese and Canadian participants rated the desirability of 10 CDs, then they rated how much they would like to own the CDs and were told they could take their 5th or 6th choice home
• then they evaluated all 10 CDs again
• Canadians showed clear evidence of rationalisation
• Japanese participants did not appear to be motivated to ensure decisions were consistent but other studies showed they tended to rationalize when making decisions for others
• North Americans aspire toward self-consistency whereas East Asians value being consistent with others

Question 16

Self consistency and Peer consistency (3)

Answer 16

• people from Poland and the US were asked to imagine how they would respond to a request by a marketing executive from Coca Cola
• they were either asked to imagine that in the past they had always complied or that their classmates had always complied
• US were more likely to comply following self- consistency info and Poland were more likely to comply following peer consistent info

Question 17

Consistency within and across situations (1)

Answer 17

• Westerners self remains consistency across situations and East Asians remains consistent within situations

Question 18

Subjective Self Awareness (1)

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

Objective Self Awareness (1)

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

Objective vs Subjective Self Awareness Study (6)

Answer 20

• Hong Kong and American students completed a random creativity test and were told that one validated and 1 new program would evaluate their creativity
• everyone received 2 scores, one bad and one good
• It was then made known that 1 other person had seen one of their scores, later participants evaluated their own creativity level
• Americans: self evaluations were unaffected by which score was seen
• Hong Kong: evaluated themselves to be less creative when the low score was seen by someone else and vice versa
• interdependent ppl tend to evaluate themselves based on what they think others think of them

Question 21

Mirrors and Self Evaluations (4)

Answer 21

• Japanese and American students had to evaluated themselves on ideal-actual self discrepancies while either being in front of a mirror or not
• Americans were more self critical in front of a mirror
• Japanese people were unaffected by the mirror
• when independent people are put in a state of objective self awareness they tend to become mor self critical, there is no effect on interdependent people because they are already are in this state

Question 22

Implicit Theory (1)

Answer 22

• a theory that represents a set of beliefs we take for granted, usually without engaging in much active hypothesis testing

Question 23

Incremental theory of self (1)

Answer 23

• the self concept can easily change, abilities and traits are malleable and can be improved

Question 24

Entity Theory of self (1)

Answer 24

• aspects of the self are resistant to change, abilities and traits are fixed, innate features of the self

Question 25

Limitations of the Big Five (2)

Answer 25

• some cross cultural research suggests that while core traits are often highly similar to the big five, specific cultures may have additional factors
• a majority of the studies use WEIRD samples which is problematic

Question 26

Self enhancement (1)

Answer 26

• the motivation to view oneself positively

Question 27

Self-esteem (1)

Answer 27

the positivity of one’s evaluation of oneself

Question 28

Self enhancement strategies (6)

Answer 28

• self-serving bias
• downward social comparison
• compensatory self enhancement
• discounting
• external attribution
• basking in reflected glory

Question 29

Self serving bias (1)

Answer 29

• exaggerating one’s positive characteristics

Question 30

Downward social comparison (1)

Answer 30

• comparing one’s performance with that of someone doing worse

Question 31

Compensatory self enhancement (1)

Answer 31

• compensating for poor performance by focusing on success in another area

Question 32

Discounting (1)

Answer 32

• reducing the perceived importance of a poor performance

Question 33

External attribution (1)

Answer 33

• attributing the reason for an action or event to something outside of oneself

Question 34

Basking in reflected glory (1)

Answer 34

• emphasizing one’s connection to successful others and sharing in the glow of their success

Question 35

Cultural variation in self enhancement (2)

Answer 35

• Independent cultures aim to maintain high self esteem: self serving bias, downward social comparison, basking in reflected glory, discounting negative info, external attribution of failure and compensatory self enhancement
• Interdependent cultures aim to maintain modesty: self-criticism, upward social comparison, no compensatory self enhancement, increase significance of the domain, critical attitude toward one’s own team and internal attribution of failure

Question 36

Success and failure memory (3)

Answer 36

• Japanese and American students were asked to list as many success or failure experiences as they could remember
• Japanese people listed less success than failure memories and vice versa
• Americans find success more memorable, probably because they think about them more, and vice versa

Question 37

Primary Control

Answer 37

• trying to shape existing realities, goals or wishes

Question 38

Secondary Control

Answer 38

• attempting to align oneself with existing realities, leaving the circumstances unchanged but exerting control over their psychological impact

Question 39

Primary vs secondary control study (2)

Answer 39

• Japanese and American students were asked to list occasions when they had either tried to influence the people or objects around them (primary control) or adjust themselves to the people or objects around them (secondary control)
• Japanese participants recalled more secondary control and vice versa but both groups felt more powerful in primary control situations (Japanese participants did not feel forced in secondary control situations tho)

Question 40

Group Agency (1)

Answer 40

• East Asians are more likely to see power and control as resting within groups (group agency) while Westerners are more likely to see power and control as the responsibility of individuals

Question 41

Case Study: Nick Leeson Fraud (4)

Answer 41

• it was investigated how newspapers in Japan and the US reported this fraud case
• US explored the scandals in terms of problems with the individual trader
• Japan reported problems in the organisation that could allow the scandal to occur
  -Japanese are more likely to see groups as in control and responsible for the world and vice versa

Question 42

Making Choices in Independent Cultures

Answer 42

• less dependent on the actions of others
• value making choices by themselves
• value having many choice options
• view a larger proportion of their behaviours as based on personal choices

Question 43

Making Choices in Interdependent Cultures

Answer 43

• often more concerned about group goals
• value choices being made by trusted others
• more willing to adjust behaviours (and reduce their choices) to coordinate with the actions of the group toward those goals

Question 44

Others making choices study (7)

Answer 44

• American and East Asian students played a math game and were assigned to 1 out of 3 conditions
  1. Personal choice: allowed to make a number of choices unrelated to their success in the game
  2. Outgroup choice: did not have freedom to choose, told choice was made by third graders at another school (less valued opinion)
  3. Ingroup choice: did not have freedom to choose, students from own class would choose
• it was measured how many games they attempted in 20 minutes, indicating motivation
• American: attempted the most games in the personal choice and made way less when others chose
• Asian: attempted the most games in the ingroup choice condition

Question 45

Learned Helplessness (1)

Answer 45

• the feeling of being powerless, unable to control or avoid unpleasant situations or harmful events, leading to stress and possibly depression

Question 46

SES and control study (4)

Answer 46

• working and upper middle class Americans were asked to complete a questionnaire in exchange for a pen
• they could either choose any pen (free choice) or choose one but then were told they couldn’t have it and were given a different one (usurped choice), after this they were asked to evaluate the pen
• working class were satisfied with either pen, upper middle class were much less satisfied in the usurped choice condition
• middle class prefer making their own choices more

Question 47

Asch’s conformity experiment (3)

Answer 47

• participants were shown 3 different line lengths and asked which one was the same length as the target length (right answer was obvious but whole group gave the wrong answer)
• 75% of Americans conformed when the group gave from answer
• collectivist cultures conformed even more

Question 48

Conformity vs uniqueness motivation study (4)

Answer 48

• East Asian and American participants agreed to fill out a questionnaire in exchange for a pen
• the researcher then pulled out 5 pens (3 green and 2 red) and asked the participants to choose between the pens
• Americans were much more likely to choose the minority colored pens and vice versa
• Americans want to express uniqueness while East Asians want to express their sense of belonging

Question 49

Article: A tale of two cities (main point and method) (2)

Answer 49

• Main point: self and wellbeing are dependent on local context (city of residence) because contexts diverge in prevalent historically-derived ideas, norms and products
• Methods: Boston and San Francisco were compared with historical analysis and cultural products, studies of norms (tightness vs looseness), and studies of assessing individuals’ self and wellbeing

Question 50

Article: A tale of two cities (results) (3)

Answer 50

• History and Cultural products: Boston emphasized tradition, status and community (old and established) while San Francisco emphasized unlimited possibility, egalitarianism and innovation (new and free)
• Norms: Social norms were relatively tight in Boston and relatively loose in San Francisco
• Self and wellbeing: In Boston, feelings and selves are socially contingent (Dependent) and in SF were relatively less contingent on others

Question 51

Article: A tale of two cities (Conclusion) (2)

Answer 51

• different cities in the same country can even differ on how to be (Self) and how to be well (Wellbeing)
• self and wellbeing are socially contingent in Boston and vice versa

Question 52

Twenty statements test: independent self concept (3)

Answer 52

• self-qualities exist by themselves
• these qualities are stable across conditions
• these qualities are abstract, as they encapsulate different manifestations of the self across situations

Question 53

Twenty statements test: interdependent self concept (3)

Answer 53

• self qualities are conceived in the framework of relationships
• they are context dependent
• and are roles that imply responsibilities and appropriate behaviours

Question 54

Collectivistic self concept (1)

Answer 54

• cultural values stress connectedness, which nurtures an interdependent self concept

Question 55

Individualistic self concept (1)

Answer 55

• cultural values stress the importance of self sufficiency, which nurtures an independent self concept

Question 56

Physical and social environment (1)

Answer 56

• constraints and the affordance of physical (agriculture) and social (education) environment are important in the formation of self concept

Question 57

Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI) (3)

Answer 57

• questionnaire including personality traits based on cultural analysis filled in by Chinese people
• 4 factors emerged, 3 overlapped with big 5
• additional factor was interpersonal relatedness

Question 58

Issues with personality tests (2)

Answer 58

1. Construct equivalence: is personality conceptualised in the same way? ( i.e. people with an interdependent self-concept experience the self as fluid and permeable so are there even stable personality characteristics?)
2. Reference group effect: people tend to compare themselves according to local norms, behavioural measures and objective observations might be more objective then

Question 59

Physiological needs (1)

Answer 59

-biological requirements for human survival (food, water, etc.)

Question 60

Hierarchy of needs (6)

Answer 60

• physiological needs
• safety needs
• love and belonging needs
• self-esteem needs
  -self-actualisation needs
• not always as universal as proposed

Question 61

Safety needs (1)

Answer 61

• the need for security and safety

Question 62

Love and belonging needs (2)

Answer 62

• the need to maintain significant relationships, which includes our motivation for connectedness (conformity or uniqueness idk)
• how relationships are structured and to what extent people are motivated to fit in differs culturally

Question 63

Self-esteem needs (2)

Answer 63

• the need to feel valued and respected, which includes our motivation for self enhancement
• but self-enhancement is not universal and there are other ways aside from having high self esteem that make people feel valued (through having face)

Question 64

Self actualisation needs (4)

Answer 64

• the need to achieve our full potential, which includes our motivation for mastery (control)
• what is actualised differs across cultures
• some strive to verify their attributes through individual choice, disjoint agency and primary control (independent cultures)
• others strive to verify their public qualities through shared choice, conjoint agency and secondary control (interdependent cultures)

Question 65

Models of agency (1)

Answer 65

• theories that involve understanding why and how people act

Question 66

Disjoint agency (1)

Answer 66

• actions are freely chosen and contingent on one’s own preferences, goals, intentions and motives, and are independent of others (independent cultures)

Question 67

Conjoint agency (1)

Answer 67

• actions are responsive to obligations, contingent on expectations from others, roles and situations and are interpersonally anchored (interdependent cultures)

Question 68

Primary (influence) vs. secondary (adjustment) control
(1)

Answer 68

In the West, it is often assumed that people first try to shape their environment to their personal wishes
(primary control) and if this cannot be done, they will adjust to the environment (secondary control).
However, cross-cultural research shows that in interdependent cultures, people often prefer secondary
control. Therefore, it is better to refer to them as influence and adjustment.

Question 69

Incremental theory of the world + entity theory of self (2)

Answer 69

• the belief that the world is flexible and
  responsive to efforts to change it goes with an entity theory of self (because adjusting the self is not
  needed in this case).
• This combination leads to primary control.

Question 70

Entity theory of the world + incremental theory of self (2)

Answer 70

• the belief that the world is fixed and beyond
  our control to change it goes with an incremental theory y of self (because the self needs to be malleable
  to adjust).
• This combination leads to secondary control.

Question 71

Etic (4)

Answer 71

• examines and compares personality across cultures
• starts from the assumption that there are a few shared dimensions across cultures which allow for comparison of personality across cultures
• it is a universal, intercultural approach focused on comparisons
• i.e. the Big 5

Question 72

Emic (2)

Answer 72

• examines personality in specific cultural contexts, starts from the assumption that there is a separate model of personality for every culture
• it is a more relativistic, intracultural approach, focused on unique cultural qualities

Question 73

Downsides of Etic (2)

Answer 73

• instruments might impose a certain structure so there may be cultural specific factors that are missed
• even though there is overall generalizability of the findings for the big 5 from instruments designed to measure it, there has also been similar generalizability of other factorial instruments

Question 74

South African Personality Index (SAPI)

Answer 74

• 6 factors emerged
• 4 were similar to Big 5 ( openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and neuroticism)
• two additional factors found, one resembling a much broader version of agreeableness (so despite having universal personality characteristics, some do seem to be culturally specific)
• this structure was replicated in New Zealand (very different culture): some factors that emerge from a specific structure within an emic approach might also be present in other cultures, but not noticed when certain established etic models (Big 5) are used only

Question 75

Downsides of Emic (2)

Answer 75

• remains limited because it is still in early stages
• due to this a complementary approach is optimal

Question 76

Emic-etic approach (1)

Answer 76

• approach to personality and culture that combines both emic and etic approaches, includes computing localised structures of personality and comparing them cross-culturally