PSYC 3350 Chapter 6: chapter 6- self and personality
31 Jan 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Monday, January 28, 2019
Chapter 6- The Self and Personality
-culture shapes a number of key aspects of the self-concept!
Who am I?!
-culture provides the content and structure about the ways people think of
themselves !
•categories of self statements!
•inner attributes about the self !
-people think of themselves in terms of both abstract psychological attributes and
concrete roles and relationships (the degree to which these traits are viewed
seperately varies across cultures)!
-Americans: personal characteristics!
-Kenyans: social identiy (their roles and memberships)!
-self-perceptions are associated with different patterns of brain activity depending on
the culture !
Independent vs. Interdependent Self!
-Independent: the self derives its identity from its inner unique attributes!
-Interdependent: the self that is a relational entity that is fundamentally connected to
and sustained by significant relationships!
•behaviour is contingent upon perceptions of others’ thoughts, feelings, and
actions!
-the ways that people view themselves are central to human cognition, motivation,
emotions, and relationships!
Relations with Ingroups and Outgroups!
-independent individuals have close relationships, but they are less self-defining!
•more permeable boundary between ingroup and outgrou!
1
Monday, January 28, 2019
-Interdependent individuals have clear-cut boundaries between ingroup and outgroup
since the groups are less consquential to self-construction!
-It is not easy for outgroup members to become part of a valued ingroup, making
obligations a salient part!
-interdependent groups focus their trust on people with whom they share a
relationship with (ingroup), and are less willing to cooperate with strangers !
•higher conformity to peers!
-independent groups tend to have higher levels of general trust towards strangers !
Individualism and Collectivism !
-independent and interdependent self views are distributed in places where there are
cultural practices that sustain them !
-individualistic culture: elaborate on independent aspects of the individual, so that
they come to feel distinct from others and are self-sufficient!
-Collectivistic culture: attend to interdependent aspects of the individual, such as
their close relationships and group memberships !
-although interdependent/collectivism is most common, most research emerges in
cultures where independent selves predominate !
-Social Class: people from higher SES tend to have more independent selves !
Cultural Dimensions!
-dimension of societal tightness vs. looseness: how strong cultural norms are and
how tolerant cultures are of deviant behaviour !
-10 distinguishable cultural values: universalism, benevolence, conformity, tradition,
security, power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction!
Heterogeneity of Individuals and Cultures!
-Since individuals are capable of being both interdependent and independent, how
often we experience these “selfs” is dependent on being exposed to situations that
highlight those aspects of the individual!
•situations highlighting interdependent aspects of the self are more frequently
encountered in collectivistic cultures!
2
Document Summary
Culture shapes a number of key aspects of the self-concept. Culture provides the content and structure about the ways people think of themselves: categories of self statements, inner attributes about the self. People think of themselves in terms of both abstract psychological attributes and concrete roles and relationships (the degree to which these traits are viewed seperately varies across cultures) Kenyans: social identiy (their roles and memberships) Self-perceptions are associated with di erent patterns of brain activity depending on the culture. Independent: the self derives its identity from its inner unique attributes. Interdependent: the self that is a relational entity that is fundamentally connected to and sustained by signi cant relationships: behaviour is contingent upon perceptions of others" thoughts, feelings, and actions. The ways that people view themselves are central to human cognition, motivation, emotions, and relationships. Independent individuals have close relationships, but they are less self-de ning: more permeable boundary between ingroup and outgrou.
