Self and Personality

When considering the development of self within a cultural context, researchers have typically portrayed cultural conceptions of self according to two dimensions; independent (or individualist) cultures are contrasted with interdependent (or collectivist) cultures (e.g., Markus and Kitayama, 1991; Shweder et al., 1998; Triandis, 1989). Markus and Kitayama (1991), for example, portray self-construal in independent cultures as emphasizing separateness from the social context, internal attributes, and the ability to assert oneself as unique and self-contained. By contrast, the self in interdependent cultures is portrayed as emphasizing connectedness, external roles, self in relation to others, and the ability to forego one’s own desires in the interest of group goals. In general, the United States and Western European societies are assumed to refl ect the independent orientation, and certain Asian, South American, and African cultures are considered to be interdependent.