Independent and Interdependent Conceptions of Self: An Investigation of Age, Gender, and Culture Differences in Importance and Satisfaction Ratings

Abstract

Measures of the importance of and self-satisfaction with the independent and interdependent self were used to test age, gender, and culture differences in the nature of self-conception. The participants were 903 first-or second-year college undergraduates and 936 middle-class adults from four countries differing markedly in religious, political, and cultural dimensions: Hong Kong, Iran, Russia, and the United States. In both college and adult samples from all four countries, the Interdependent self was rated more important and a greater source of satisfaction than the Independent self. Analyses of variance indicated substantial main effects for age 113

The Structure of Cultural Identity in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Emerging Adults

“…Matsumoto notes that considerable individual differences may exist between people residing in a primarily individualist or primarily collectivist cultural context (cf. Watkins, Mortazavi, & Trofimova, 2000), and we take these differences to reflect variations in cultural identity.…”

Comparing Social Behaviour Across Culture and Nations: The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ Questions

“…Thus, assuming invariance of measurement for different cultural groups may not be attainable as yet. Hence, we have studies and reviews questioning the appropriateness of Western independent conceptions of the self for collectivistic participants (e.g., Bagozzi et al 1999;Cheng and Watkins 2000;Markus and Kitayama 1991;Triandis 1989Triandis , 1995Triandis , 1996Watkins et al 1996Watkins et al , 2000. Perhaps future research using female and male participants (similar in terms of age, lifestyles, worldview and education), from a wider range of cultures varying in underlying dimensions such as individualism-collectivism or in this complexity are highly recommended.…”

Identity Distress During the Era of Globalization: A Cross-National Comparative Study of India, China, and the United States

“…It was hypothesized that identity distress would be higher in more collectivistic cultures (i.e., China and India) than in individualistic cultures (i.e., the United States). There have been some mixed findings regarding the influence of gender on identity relative to one's cultural orientation (Clancy & Dollinger, 1993;Josephs, Markus, Tafarodi, 1992;Watkins et al, 1998;Watkins, Mortazavi, & Trofimova, 2000). Given the lack of clarity gleaned from prior research, no specific hypotheses in regard to gender were made; however, analyses by gender were also conducted for exploratory purposes.…”