Self-Enhancement and Attitudes Toward High Achievers

Abstract

Individualism, collectivism, self-enhancing biases, and attitudes toward tall poppies were investigated in New Zealand European and Maori students. Two hundred and eighty (215 women, 65 men) New Zealand European and 88 (55 women, 33 men) Maori students at Victoria University of Wellington participated in the study. Whereas Maori exhibited a stronger orientation to the collective, they also showed higher selfesteem. Group-oriented Maori displayed slightly higher levels of self-enhancement and were more likely to favor the rewarding of high achievers (tall poppies). Both groups displayed high levels of self-enhancement and favored the reward of high achievers, with both self-enhancement on the Self-Attributes Questionnaire and attitudes toward tall poppies being correlated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results are discussed in the context of a bicultural nation of both Maori and European origins, and consideration is given to a bicultural rather than categorical perspective on independence and interdependence.

International Students’ Perspectives on e-Learning During COVID-19 in Higher Education in Australia: A Study of an Asian Student

“…Recently, culture has been identified as an influential element in the construction of self, which, in turn, is reflected in individuals' behaviours (Harrington and Liu, 2002). In this study, Author 1 comes from an Eastern culture -Confucianismwhere self-criticism is commonly used in psychological processes (Harrington and Liu, 2002). Such a tendency is led by Confucian values -humility and submission (Harrington and Liu, 2002).…”

“…Culture is a critical factor that influences an individual both consciously and unconsciously. Recently, culture has been identified as an influential element in the construction of self, which, in turn, is reflected in individuals' behaviours (Harrington and Liu, 2002). In this study, Author 1 comes from an Eastern culture -Confucianismwhere self-criticism is commonly used in psychological processes (Harrington and Liu, 2002).…”

“…In this study, Author 1 comes from an Eastern culture -Confucianismwhere self-criticism is commonly used in psychological processes (Harrington and Liu, 2002). Such a tendency is led by Confucian values -humility and submission (Harrington and Liu, 2002). In this sense, Author 1 is likely to view herself as a subordinate to a group, such as a student of a particular unit, and follow the rules accordingly.…”

Adolescents’ social perceptions of academically high-performing students: a country and gender comparative study

“…Until recently, country comparative research on peer perceptions of academically high performers has explored cultural boundaries, splitting countries by the relatively broad interpretations of collectivist and individualist (see Harrington and Liu 2016;Händel, Vialle, and Ziegler 2013 ;Jung, McCormick, and Gross 2012). However, the cultural variables were inconsistent in reporting country differences in perceived high-achieving students.…”

Incremental-Entity Personal Conceptions of Intelligence and Individualism-Collectivism in Italian Students

“…Traditionally, cross-cultural studies of ability-related beliefs have long been focused on the analysis of the individualism-collectivism dichotomy (Harrington & Liu, 2002;Heine, Kitayama, & Lehman, 2001;Hofstede, 1980;Kagitçibaci, 1994). The individualism focuses on the individual as the unit of analysis in a society by emphasizing the perception of the uniqueness of personal qualities.…”