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Psychologica l Rev iew Cop yrigh t 1991 by the Am eric an Psychologica l Associa tion~ Inc .1991, Vol . 98, No. 2 , 224- 253 0033-295X/91/ 3 .00

Cu lture and th e Self. Im plications for C ogn ition , Em otion , and M otivationaze l Ros e Mar kusU n i v e r s i t y o f M i c h i g a n Sh i nobu K i t ayamaU n i v e r s i ty o f O r e g o nPeople in different culture s have s trikingly different co nstrua ls of the self, of others , a nd of thein te rdependence o f the 2 . These cons trua ls can in f luence , and in m any cases de te rmine , the ve ryna ture o f ind iv idua l exper ience , inc lud ing cogni t ion , emotion , and motiva t ion . Many A s ian cu l-tu res have d is t inc t concep t ions o f ind iv idua l i ty ha t ins is t on the fund amenta l re la tedness o f ind i-vidual s to each other. The em phasis is on attend ing to others , fitting in, and har mo niou s interde-pendence w ith them. Am erican cuRure ne i the r a s sumes nor va lues such an ov er t connec tednessamong ind iv idua ls . In con tras t , ind iv idua ls seek to main ta in the ir independence from o the rs bya t tend ing to the se l f and by d iscovering and expressing the ir un ique inn er a t t r ibu tes. As p roposedherein, these construals are even more powerful than previously imagined. Theories of the selffrom both psychology and anthropo logy are integrate d to define in de tail the difference between acons trua l o f the se l f a s independen t and a cons tru a l o f the se l f a s in te rdependen t . Each of thesed ive rgen t cons trua ls shou ld have a se t o fspec if ic consequences for cogni t ion , emotion , and motiva -tion; these consequences are pro posed and relevant empir ical literature is reviewed. Fo cusing ondifferences in self-construals enables apparently inconsis ten t em piric al findings to be rec onciled ,and raises questions abo ut what have been tho ught to b e culture-free asp ects of cognition, emotio n,and m otiva t ion .

I n A m e r i c a , t h e s q u e a k y w h e e l g e t s t h e g r e a s e : I n Ja p a n ,t h e n a i l t h at s t a n d s o u t g e t s p o u n d e d d o w n y A m e r i c a n p a r -

e n t s w h o a r e t r y i n g t o i n d u c e t h e i r c h i l d r e n t o e a t t h e i r s u p p e r sa r e f o n d o f s a y in g t h i n k o f th e s t a r v i n g k i d s i n E t h i o p i a , a n da p p r e c i a t e h o w l u c k y y o u ar e to b e d i ff e r en t fr o m t h e m J a p a -n e s e p a r e n t s a r e l ik e l y t o sa y T h i n k a b o u t t h e f a r m e r w h ow o r k e d s o h a r d t o p r o d u c e t h i s r i c e f or y o u ; i f y o u d o n ' t e a t i t,h e w i l l f e e l b a d , fo r h i s ef fo r t s w i l l h a v e b e e n in v a in (H . Y a -m a d a , F e b r u a r y 1 6 , 19 8 9 ) . A s m a l l T e x a s c o r p o r a t i o n s e e k i n g toe l e v a te p r o d u c t i v i t y t o l d i ts e m p l o y e e s t o l o o k i n t h e m i r r o r a n ds a y I a m b e a u t i f u l 1 00 t i m e s b e f o r e c o m i n g t o w o r k e a c h d a y.E m p l o y e e s o f a J a p a n e s e s u p e r m a r k e t t h a t w a s r e c e n t ly o p e n e di n N e w J e r s e y w e r e i n s t r u c t e d t o b e g i n t h e d a y b y h o l d i n gh a n d s a n d t e l li n g e a c h o t h e r t h a t h e o r s h e i s b e a u t i f u l ( ' 9 ,J a p a n e s e S u p e r m a r k e t , 1 9 89 ) .

S u c h a n e c d o t e s su g g e s t t h a t p e o p l e i n J a p a n a n d A m e r i c am a y h o l d s t r i k i n g l y d i v e r g e n t c o n s t r u a l s o f t h e s e lf , o t h e r s , a n dt h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e o f t h e t w o . T h e A m e r i c a n e x a m p l e s s tr e ssa t t e n d i n g t o t h e s e l f , t h e a p p r e c i a t i o n o f o n e ' s d i f f e r e n ce f r o mo t h e r s , a n d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f a s se r t i n g t h e s el f . T h e J a p a n e s ee x a m p l e s e m p h a s i z e a t t e n d i n g t o a n d f i t ti n g i n w i t h o t h e r s a n d

Many thanks to Hiroko Akiyama, Nancy Cantor, Steve Cousins,S u s a n C ro s s , A la n F i s k e , C a ro l G i l l i g a n , T om G iv o n , L a w re n c eHirschfe ld , Chic Kanagaw a , John Kih ls t ro m, Joan Mil le r , RichardNisbett, Jeanne Oggins, Ric hard Shweder, M ark Snyder, Harr y Trian-d is , Hiroko Yamada , and Robert Za jonc fo r the ir ex tremely he lp fu lcomm ents on ea r l ie r ve rsions o f th is a r t icle , and thanks to DebbieAps ley fo r p repar ing the manuscr ip t .Correspondence concern ing th is a r t ic le shou ld be addressed to Ha-ze l Rose Markus, Resea rch Cente r fo r Gro up D ynam ics --I SR , Univer-s i ty o f M ich igan , Ann Arbor , Mich igan 48106-1248 , o r to Sh inobuKita yam a, Depa rtm ent o f Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene,Oregon 97403-1227.

t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f h a r m o n i o u s i n t e r d e p e nd e n c e w i t h t h e m .T h e s e c o n s t r u a l s o f t h e s e l f a n d o t h e r s a r e t i e d t o t h e i m p l i c i t ,n o r m a t i v e t a s k s t h a t v a r i o u s c u l t u r e s h o l d f o r w h a t p e o p l es h o u l d b e d o i n g i n t h e i r l i ve s ( cf . C a n t o r & K i h l s t r o m , 1 9 87 ;E r ik s o n , 1 9 5 0 ; V e ro f f, 1 9 8 3 ). A n th ro p o lo g i s t s a n d p s y c h o lo -g i s t s a s s u m e t h a t s u c h c o n s t r u a l s c a n i n f l u en c e , a n d i n m a n yc a s e s d e t e r m i n e , t h e v e r y n a t u r e o f i n d i v i d u a l e x p e r i e n c e ( C h o -d o r o w , 19 7 8 ; D u m o n t , 1 9 70 ; G e e r t z , 1 9 75 ; G e r g e n , 1 9 6 8; G i l l i -g a n , 1 9 8 2 ; H o l l a n d & Q u in n , 1 9 8 7 ; L y ke s , 1 9 8 5 ; M a rs e l l a , D eV o s , & H s u , 1 9 8 5 ; S a m p s o n , 1 9 8 5 , 1 9 8 8 , 1 9 8 9 ; S h w e d e r & L e -V in e , 1 9 8 4 ; S m i th , 1 9 8 5 ; T r i a n d i s , 1 9 8 9 ; We i s z , R o th b a u m , &B l a c k b u r n , 1 9 8 4 ; W h i t e & K i r k p a t r i c k , 1 9 8 5) .

D e s p i t e t h e g r o w i n g b o d y o f p s y c h o l o g i ca l a n d a n t h r o p o l o g -i c a l e v i d e n c e t h a t p e o p l e h o l d d i v e r g e n t v ie w s a b o u t t h e s e lf ,m o s t o f w h a t p s y c h o l og i s ts c u r r e n tl y k n o w a b o u t h u m a n n a -t u r e i s b as e d o n o n e p a r t i c u l a r v i e w - - t h e s o - c a ll e d W e s t e r nv i e w o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t , s e l f - c o n t a i n e d , a u -t o n o m o u s e n t i t y w h o ( a) c o m p r i s e s a u n i q u e c o n f i g u r a t i o n o fin t e r n a l a t t r i b u te s ( e .g ., t r a i t s , a b i l i t i e s , m o t iv e s , a n d v a lu e s ) a n d( b ) b e h a v e s p r i m a r i l y a s a c o n s e q u e n c e o f t h e s e i n t e r n a l a t t r i -b u te s (G e e r t z , 1 9 7 5 ; S a m p s o n , 1 9 8 8 , 1 9 8 9 ; S h w e d e r & L e V in e ,1 98 4) . A s a r e s u l t o f t h i s m o n o c u l t u r a l a p p r o a c h t o t h e s e l f ( s e eK e n n e d y , S c h e ie r , & R o g e r s , 1 98 4 ) , p s y c h o lo g i s t s ' u n d e r s t a n d -i n g o f t h o s e p h e n o m e n a t h a t a r e l i n k e d in o n e w a y o r a n o t h e r t ot h e s e l f m a y b e u n n e c e s s a r il y r e s t r i c te d ( f or s o m e i m p o r t a n te x c e p t io n s , s e e B o n d , 1 9 8 6 , 1 9 8 8 ; C o u s in s , 1 9 8 9 ; F i s k e , i n p re s s;M a e h r & N i c h o l l s , 1 9 80 ; S te v e n s o n , A z u m a , & H a k u t a , 1 9 86 ;T r i a n d i s , 1 9 8 9; T r i a n d i s , B o n t e m p o , V i l l a r e a l , A s a i , & L u c c a ,1 9 8 8 ). In th i s a r t i c l e , w e s u g g e s t t h a t c o n s t ru a l s o f t h e s e l f, o fo t h e r s , a n d o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e s e l f a n d o t h e r s m a yb e e v e n m o r e p o w e r f u l t h a n p r e v i o u s l y s u g g e s t e d a n d t h a t t h e i rin f lu e n c e i s c l e a r ly r e f l e c t e d in d i f f e re n c e s a m o n g c u l tu re s . Inp a r t ic u l a r , w e c o m p a r e a n in epen ent v i e w o f t h e s e l f w i t h o n eo th e r , v e ry d i f f e re n t v i e w , a n inter epen ent v ie w . T h e i n d e p e n -

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C U L T U R E A N D T H E S E L F 5d e n t v i e w i s m o s t c l e a r l y e x e m p l i f i e d i n s o m e s i z a b l e s e g m e n to f A m e r i c a n c u l t u re , a s w e ll as i n m a n y W e s t e r n E u r o p e a nc u l t u r es . T h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t v i e w i s e x e m p l i f i e d in J a p a n e s ec u l t u r e a s w e l l a s i n o t h e r A s i a n c u l t u r es . B u t i t i s a l s o c h a r a c t e r -i s t i c o f A f r i c a n c u l t u re s , L a t i n - A m e r i c a n c u l tu r e s , a n d m a n ys o u t h e r n E u r o p e a n c u l t u r e s. W e d e l i n e a t e h o w t h e s e d i v e r g e n tv i e w s o f th e s e l f - - t h e i n d e p e n d e n t a n d t h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t - -c a n h a v e a s y s t e m a t i c i n f l u e n c e o n v a r i o u s a s p e c t s o f c o g n i t i o n ,e m o t i o n , a n d m o t i v a t io n .W e s u g g e s t t h a t f o r m a n y c u l t u r e s o f t h e w o r l d , t h e W e s t e r nn o t i o n o f t h e s e l f a s a n e n t i t y c o n t a i n i n g s i g n i f ic a n t d i s p o s i -t i o n a l a t t r i b u t e s , a n d a s d e t a c h e d f r o m c o n t e x t , i s s i m p l y n o t a na d e q u a t e d e s c r i p t i o n o f s e l fh o o d . R a t h e r , i n m a n y c o n s t r u a l s ,t h e s e l f i s v i e w e d a s interdependent w i t h t h e s u r r o u n d i n g c o n -t e x t , a n d i t i s t h e o t h e r o r t h e s e l f - i n - r e l a t i o n - t o - o t h e r h a t i sf o c a l i n i n d i v i d u a l e x p e r i e n c e . O n e g e n e r a l c o n s e q u e n c e o f t h i sd i v e r g e n c e i n s e l f - c o n s t r u a l i s t h a t w h e n p s y c h o l o g i c a l p r o -c e s s e s ( e .g . , c o g n i t io n , e m o t io n , a n d m o t iv a t io n ) e x p l i c i tl y , o re v e n q u i t e im p l i c i t l y , im p l i c a t e th e s e l f a s a t a rg e t o r a s a r e fe r -e n t , t h e n a t u r e o f t h e s e p r o c e s s e s w i l l v a r y a c c o r d i n g t o t h ee x a c t f o r m o r o r g a n i z a t i o n o f s e l f i n h e r e n t i n a g i v e n c o n s t r u a l .W i t h r e s p e c t t o c o g n i t i o n , f o r e x a m p l e , f o r t h o s e w i t h i n t e r d e -p e n d e n t s e l v e s , i n c o n t r a s t t o t h o s e w i t h i n d e p e n d e n t s e l v e s ,s o m e a s p e c ts o f k n o w l e d g e r e p r e se n t a t io n a n d s o m e o f t h e p r o -c e s s e s i n v o l v ed i n s o c i a l a n d n o n s o c i a l t h i n k i n g a l i k e a r e i n -f l u e n c e d b y a p e r v a s i v e a t t e n t i v e n e s s t o t h e r e l e v a n t others i nt h e s o c i a l c o n t e x t . T h u s , o n e ' s a c t i o n s a r e m o r e l i k e l y t o b e s e e na s s i t u at i o n al l y b o u n d , a n d c h a r a c t e r iz a t i o n s o f t h e i n d i v i d u a lw i l l i n c l u d e th i s c o n t e x t . F u r t h e r m o r e , f o r t h o s e w i t h i n t e r d e -p e n d e n t c o n s t r u a l s o f t h e s el f , b o t h t h e e x p r e s s i o n a n d t h e e x p e -r i e n c e o f e m o t i o n s a n d m o t i v e s m a y b e s i g n i f i c a n t ly s h a p e d a n dg o v e r n e d b y a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e r e a c t i o n s o f o t h e r s . S p e c if i -c a ll y , f o r e x a m p l e , s o m e e m o t i o n s , l i k e a n g e r , t h a t d e r i v e f r o ma n d p r o m o t e a n i n d e p e n d e n t v i e w o f th e s e l f m a y b e l e s s p r e v a-l e n t a m o n g t h o s e w i t h i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e lv e s, a n d s e l f - se r v i n gm o t i v e s m a y b e r e p l a c e d b y w h a t a p p e a r a s o t h e r - s e r v in g m o -t i ve s . A n e x a m i n a t i o n o f c u l t u r a l v a r i a t i o n i n s o m e a s p e c t s o fc o g n i t i o n , e m o t i o n , a n d m o t i v a t i o n w i l l a l l o w p s y c h o l o g i s t s t oa s k e x a c t l y w h a t i s u n i v e r s a l i n t h e s e p r o c e s s e s , a n d i t h a s t h ep o t e n t i a l t o p r o v i d e s o m e n e w i n s i g h ts f o r t h e o r i e s o f t h e s ep s y c h o l o g i c a l p r o c e s s e s .

I n t h i s a n a l y s i s , w e d r a w o n r e c e n t r e s e a r c h e f f o rt s d e v o t e d t oc h a r a c t e r i zi n g t h e g e n e r a l d i ff e r en c e s b et w e e n A m e r i c a n o rW e s t e r n v i e w s o f p e r s o n h o o d a n d E a s t e r n o r A s i a n p e r s p e c -t iv e s (e .g ., H e e la s & L o c k , 1 9 8 1 ; H o fs t e d e , 1 9 8 0 ; Ma rs e l l a e t a l . ,1 9 8 5 ; R o la n d , 1 9 8 8 ; S c h w a r t z & B i l s k y , 1 9 9 0 ; S h w e d e r , 1 9 90 ;S h w e d e r & L e V i n e , 19 8 4 ; S t i g l er , S h w e d e r , & H e r d t , 1 9 9 0 ;T r i a n d i s , 1 9 8 9 ; T r i a n d i s & B r i s l in , 19 8 0 ; We i s z e t a l. , 1 9 84 ). Wee x t r a c t f ro m t h e s e d e s c r i p t i o n s m a n y i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e nc e st h a t m a y e x i s t i n t h e s p e c i fi c c o n t e n t , s t r u c t u r e , a n d f u n c t i o n -i n g o f t h e s e l f - s y s t e m s o f p e o p l e o f d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r a l b a c k -g r o u n d s . T h e d i s t i n c t i o n s t h a t w e m a k e b e t w e e n i n d e p e n d e n ta n d i n t e r d e p e n d e n t c o n s t r u a l s m u s t b e r e g a r d e d a s g e n e r al t e n -d e n c i e s t h a t m a y e m e r g e w h e n t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e c u l tu r e a r ec o n s i d e r e d a s a w h o l e. T h e p r o t o t y p i c a l A m e r i c a n v i e w o f t hes e lf , fo r e x a m p l e , m a y p r o v e t o b e m o s t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f W h i t e ,m i d d l e - c l a s s m e n w i t h a W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n e t h n i c b a c k -g r o u n d . I t m a y b e s o m e w h a t l e s s d e s c ri p t iv e o f w o m e n i n g e n -e r a l, o r o f m e n a n d w o m e n f r o m o t h e r e t h n i c g r o u p s o r s o ci a l

c la s se s. 1 M o r e o v e r , w e r e a l i z e t h a t t h e r e m a y w e l l b e i m p o r t a n td i s t i n c t i o n s a m o n g t h o s e v i e w s w e d i s c u s s a s s i m i l a r a n d t h a tt h e r e m a y b e v i e w s o f t h e s e l f a n d o t h e r s t h a t c a n n o t e a s i l y b ec l a s s if i e d a s e i t h e r i n d e p e n d e n t o r i n t e r d e p e n d e n t .

O u r i n t e n t i o n i s n o t t o c a t a l o g a l l t y p e s o f s e l f - c o n s t r u a l s , b u tr a t h e r t o h i g h l i g h t a v i e w o f t h e s e l f t h a t i s o f t e n a s s u m e d t o b eu n i v e r s a l b u t t h a t m a y b e q u i t e s p ec i f i c t o s o m e s e g m e n t s o fW e s t e r n c u l t u r e . W e a r g u e t h a t s e l f - c o n s t r u a l s p l a y a m a j o r r o l ei n r e g u l a t i n g v a r i o u s p s y c h o l o g i c a l p r o c e s s e s . U n d e r s t a n d i n gt h e n a t u r e o f d i v e r g e n t s e l f - c o n s t r u a l s h a s t w o i m p o r t a n t c o n s e -q u e n c e s. O n t h e o n e h a n d , i t a l l o w s u s t o o r g a n i z e s e v e ra l a p p a r -e n t l y i n c o n s i s t e n t e m p i r i c a l f i n d i n g s a n d t o p o s e q u e s t i o n sa b o u t t h e u n i v e r s a l i t y a s s u m e d f o r m a n y a s p e c t s o f c o g n i t i o n ,e m o t i o n , a n d m o t i v a t i o n ( s ee S h w e d e r , 1 99 0 ). O n t h e o t h e rh a n d , i t p e r m i t s u s t o b e t t e r s p e c i f y t h e p r e c i s e r o l e o f t h e s e l f i nm e d i a t i n g a n d r e g u l a t i n g b e h a v i o r .

T h e S el f: A D e l i c a t e C a t e g o r yUniversal Aspects o f the S elf

I n e x p l o r i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f s e l f -c o n -s t r u a l s , w e b e g i n w i t h H a l l o w e l l ' s ( 1 95 5 ) n o t i o n t h a t p e o p l ee v e r y w h er e a r e l i k e ly t o d e v e l o p a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e m -s e lv e s a s p h y s i c a l l y d i s t i n c t a n d s e p a r a b l e f r o m o t h e r s. H e a d( 1 92 0 ), f o r e x a m p l e , c l a i m e d t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a u n i v e r s a ls c h e m a o f t h e b o d y t h a t p r o v i d e d o n e w i t h a n a n c h o r i n t i m ea n d s p a c e . S i m i la r l y , A l l p o r t ( 1 93 7 ) s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e r e m u s te x i s t a n a s p e c t o f p e r s o n a l i t y t h a t a l l o w s o n e , w h e n a w a k e n i n ge a c h m o r n i n g , t o b e s u r e t h a t h e o r s h e is t h e s a m e p e r s o n w h ow e n t to s l e e p th e n ig h t b e fo re . Mo s t r e c e n t ly , N e i s s e r (1 9 8 8 )r e f e r r e d t o t h i s a s p e c t o f s e l f a s t h e ecological self w h i c h h ed e f i n e d a s t h e s e l f a s p e r c e i v e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e p h y s i c a le n v i r o n m e n t : T a m t h e p e r s o n h e r e i n t h i s p l a c e , e n g a g e d i nt h i s p a r t i c u l a r a c t iv i t y ( p . 3 ). B e y o n d a p h y s i c a l o r e c o l o g i c a ls e n s e o f s el f , e a c h p e r s o n p r o b a b l y h a s s o m e a w a r e n e s s o f i n t e r -n a l a c t iv i ty , s u c h a s d r e a m s , a n d o f th e c o n t i n u o u s f lo w o ft h o u g h t s a n d f e e l in g s , w h i c h a r e p r i v a t e t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t t h e yc a n n o t b e d i r e c t l y k n o w n b y o t h e rs . T h e a w a r e n e s s o f t h i s u n -s h a r e d e x p e r i e n c e w i l l l e a d t h e p e r s o n t o s o m e s e n s e o f a nin n e r , p r iv a t e s e l f .Divergent Aspects o f the Se lf

S o m e u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d s o m e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e p r i va t e,i n n e r a s p e c t s o f t h e s e l f m a y w e l l b e u n i v e r sa l , b u t m a n y o t h e ra s p e c t s o f t h e s e l f m a y b e q u i t e s p e c i f i c t o p a r t i c u l a r c u l t u re s .P e o p l e a r e c a p a b l e o f b e l i e v i n g a n a s t o n i s h i n g v a r i e t y o f t h i n g sa b o u t t h e m s e lv e s ( cf . H e e la s & L o c k , 1 9 8 1 ; Ma rs e l l a e t a l . , 1 9 8 5 ;S h w e d e r & L e V i n e , 1 9 8 4; T r i a n d i s , 1 9 8 9 ). T h e s e l f c a n b e c o n -s t r u e d , f r a m e d , o r c o n c e p t u a l l y r e p r e s e n t e d i n m u l t i p l e w a y s. Ac r o s s - c u l t u r a l s u r v e y o f t h e s e l f l e n d s s u p p o r t t o D u r k h e i m ' s( 1 9 1 2 /1 9 6 8 ) e a r l y n o t i o n t h a t t h e c a t e g o r y o f t h e s e l f i s p r i m a r -

The p ro to typ ica l Am erican v iew m ay a lso be fu r the r res t r ic ted to apar t icu la r po in t in h is to ry. I t m ay be p r im ari ly a p roduc t o f la te, indus -tria l ca pitali sm (see Baumeister, 1987). For an analysis of the or igins ofthe indep ende nt view, see BeUah, Mad sen, Sullivan, Swidler, & Tip ton(1985) and W eber 0958).

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6 H A Z E L R O S E M A R K U S A N D S H I N O B U K I T A Y A M Ai l y t h e p r o d u c t o f s o c i a l f a c t or s , a n d t o M a u s s ' s ( 1 9 3 8 /1 9 8 5 )c l a i m t h a t a s a s o c i a l c a t e g o ry , t h e s e l f i s a d e l i c a t e o n e , s u b j e c tt o q u i t e s u b s t a n t i a l , i f n o t i n f i n it e , v a r i a t i o n .

T h e e x a c t c o n t en t a n d s t r u c t u r e o f t h e i n n e r s e l f m a y d i ff e rc o n s i d e r a b ly b y c u lt u r e. F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e n a t u r e o f t h e o u t e r o rp u b l i c s e l f t h a t d e r i v e s f r o m o n e ' s r e l a t i o n s w i t h o t h e r p e o p l ea n d s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s m a y a l s o v a r y m a r k e d l y b y c u lt u r e . A n d ,a s s u g g e s t e d b y T r i a n d i s ( 1 9 8 9 ), t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e a s s i g n e d t o t h ep r i v a t e , i n n e r a s p e c t s v e r s u s t h e p u b l i c , r e l a t i o n a l a s p e c t s i nr e g u l a t i n g b e h a v i o r w i l l v a r y a c c o r d in g l y . I n f a c t , i t m a y n o t b eu n r e a s o n a b l e t o s u p p o s e , a s d i d n u m e r o u s e a r l ie r a n t h r o p o l o -g i s t s ( s ee A l l e n , 1 98 5 ), t h a t i n s o m e c u l t u r e s , o n c e r t a i n o c c a -s io n s , t h e individual i n t h e s e n s e o f a s e t o f s i g n i f i ca n t i n n e ra t t r ib u t e s o f th e p e r s o n , m a y c e a s e t o b e t h e p r i m a r y u n i t o fc o n s c i o u s n e s s . I n s t e a d , t h e s e n s e o f b e l o n g i n g n e s s t o a s o c i a lr e l a ti o n m a y b e c o m e s o s t r o n g t h a t i t m a k e s b e t t e r s e n s e t ot h i n k o f t h e relationship a s t h e f u n c t i o n a l u n i t o f c o n s c i o u sre f l e c t io n .

T h e c u r r e n t a n a l y s i s fo c u s e s o n j u s t o n e v a r i a t i o n i n w h a tp e o p l e i n d i f f e r e n t c u l tu r e s c a n c o m e t o b e l i e v e a b o u t t h e m -s e lv e s. T h i s o n e v a r i a t i o n c o n c e r n s w h a t t h e y b e l i e v e a b o u t t h er e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e s e l f a n d others a n d , e s p e c ia l ly , t h e d e -g r e e t o w h i c h t h e y s e e t h e m s e l v e s a s separate f r o m o t h e r s o r a sconnected w i t h o t h e r s . W e s u g g e s t t h a t t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e a n d t h ee x a c t f u n c t i o n a l r o l e t h a t t h e p e r s o n a s s i g n s t o t h e o t h e r w h e nd e f i n i n g t h e s e l f d e p e n d o n t h e c u l t u r a l l y s h a r e d a s s u m p t i o n sa b o u t t h e s e p a r a t io n o r c o n n e c t e d n e s s b e t w e e n t h e s e l f a n do th e r s .

M o t h e r

S i b l i n gX x : xF r i e n d

A , In d e p e n d e n t V ie w o f S e l fM o t h e r F a t h e r

X X ~ S i b l i n gFr iend~,N X X X x ~~ ) . @ _ _ ~ C o - w o r k e r

F r i e n dB . In t e r d e p e n d e n t V i e w o f S e l f

Figure 1. Concep tua l represen ta t ions o f the se lf . (A: Independen tconstru al. B: Interd epende nt construai.)

T w o C o n s t r u a l s o f t h e S el f: I n d e p e n d e n ta n d I n t e r d e p e n d e n t

T h e I n d e p e n d e n t C o n s t r u a lI n m a n y W e s t e r n c u l t u r e s , th e r e i s a f a i t h i n t h e i n h e r e n t

s e p a r a te n e s s o f d i s t i n c t p e r so n s . T h e n o r m a t i v e i m p e r a t i v e o ft h i s cu l t u r e is to b e c o m e i n d e p e n d e n t f r o m o t h e r s a n d t o d i s -c o v e r a n d e x p r e s s o n e ' s u n i q u e a t t r i b u t e s ( J o h n s o n , 1 9 8 5; M a r -s e l l a e t a l . , 1 9 8 5 ; J. G . M i l l e r , 1 9 8 8; S h w e d e r & B o u rn e , 1 9 8 4 ).A c h i e v i n g th e c u l t u ra l g o a l o f i n d e p e n d e n c e r e q u ir e s c o n s t r u -i n g o n e s e l f a s a n i n d i v i d u a l w h o s e b e h a v i o r i s o r g an i z e d a n dm a d e m e a n i n g f u l p r i m a r i l y b y r e fe r e n ce t o o n e 's o w n i n t e r n a lr e p e r t o i r e o f t h o u g h t s, f e e li n g s , a n d a c t i o n , r a t h e r t h a n b y r e f e r -e n c e t o t h e t h o u g h t s , f e e li n g s , a n d a c t i o n s o f o th e r s . A c c o r d i n gt o t h i s c o n s t r u a l o f se l f, t o b o r r o w G e e r t z ' s ( 19 7 5 ) o f t e n q u o t e dp h r a s e , t h e p e r s o n i s v i e w e d as a b o u n d e d , u n i q u e , m o r e o rl e s s i n t e g r a t e d m o t i v a t i o n a l a n d c o g n i t i v e u n i v e r se , a d y n a m i cc e n t e r o f a w a r e n e ss , e m o t i o n , j u d g m e n t , a n d a c t i o n o r g a n iz e di n t o a d i s t i n c t i v e w h o l e a n d s e t c o n t r a s ti v e l y b o t h a g a i n s t o t h e rs u c h w h o l e s a n d a g a i n s t a so c i a l a n d n a t u r a l b a c k g r o u n d(p . 48) .

T h i s v i e w o f t h e s e l f d e r i v e s f r o m a b e l i e f i n t h e w h o l e n e s sa n d u n i q u e n e s s o f e a c h p e r s o n ' s c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f i n t e r n a l a t t r i b -u te s ( J o h n s o n , 1 9 8 5 ; S a m p s o n , 1 9 8 5 , 1 9 8 8 , 1 9 8 9 ; Wa te rm a n ,1 9 81 ) . I t g i v es r i s e t o p r o c e s s e s l ik e s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n ; r e a l i z -i n g o n e s e l f e x p r e s s i n g o n e ' s u n i q u e c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f n e e d s ,r i g h t s, a n d c a p a c i t i e s , ' o r d e v e l o p i n g o n e ' s d i s t i n c t p o t e n t i a l : 'T h e e s s e n t i a l a s p e c t o f t h i s v i e w i n v o l v e s a c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e s e l fa s a n a u t o n o m o u s , i n d e p e n d e n t p e r s o n ; w e t h u s r e f er t o i t a s t h e

independent construal of the self. O t h e r s i m i l a r l a b e l s i n c l u d eindividualist egocentric separate autonomous idiocentric a n dself-contained. W e a s s u m e t h a t , o n a v e r ag e , r e la t i v el y m o r e i n d i -v i d u a l s i n W e s t e r n c u l t u r e s w i l l h o l d t h i s v i e w t h a n w i l l in d i v i d -u a l s i n n o n -We s te rn c u l tu re s . Wi th in a g iv e n c u l tu re , h o w e v e r ,i n d i v i d u a l s w i l l v a r y i n t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e y a r e g o o d c u l -t u r a l r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a n d c o n s t r u e t h e s e l f i n t h e m a n d a t e d w ay .

T h e i n d e p e n d e n t s e l f m u s t , o f c o u r s e, b e r e s p o n s i v e t o t h es o c i a l e n v i r o n m e n t ( F i sk e , i n p r e s s) . T h i s r e s p o n s i v e n e s s , h o w -e v er , i s f o s t e r e d n o t s o m u c h f o r t h e s a k e o f t h e r e s p o n s i v e n e s si t s e lf . R a th e r , s o c ia l r e s p o n s iv e n e s s o f t e n , i f n o t a lw a y s , d e r iv e sf r o m t h e n e e d t o s t r a t e g i c a l ly d e t e r m i n e t h e b e s t w a y t o e x p re s so r a s s e r t t h e i n t e r n a l a t t r i b u t e s o f t h e s e lf . O t h e r s, o r t h e s o c i a ls i t u a t i o n i n g e n e r a l , a r e i m p o r t a n t , b u t p r i m a r i l y a s s t a n d a r d so f r e f l e c t e d a p p r a i s a l , o r a s s o u r c e s t h a t c a n v e r i f y a n d a f f i r mt h e i n n e r c o r e o f t h e s e lf .

T h e W e s t e r n , i n d e p e n d e n t v i e w o f t h e s e l f i s i l l u s t r a t e d inF i g u r e 1 A. T h e l a r g e c i r c l e r e p r e s e n ts t h e s e l f, a n d t h e s m a l l e rc i r c l e s r e p r e s e n t s p e c i f i c o t h e r s. T h e X s a r e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o ft h e v a r i o u s a s p e c t s o f t h e s e l f o r t h e o t h e r s . I n s o m e c a s es , t h el a r g e r c i r c l e a n d t h e s m a l l c i r cl e i n t er s e c t , a n d t h e r e i s a n X i nt h e i n t e r s e c t i o n . T h i s r e f e r s t o a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e s e l f - i n -r e -l a t i o n - t o - o t h e r s o r t o a p a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l r e l a t i o n (e .g ., I a m v e r yp o l i t e in f r o n t o f m y p r o f e s s o r ) . A n X w i t h i n t h e s e l f c i r c l e b u to u t s i d e o f t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n r e p r e s e n t s a n a s p e c t o f t h e s e l f p e r -c e i v e d t o b e r e l a ti v e l y i n d e p e n d e n t o f s p e c i fi c o th e r s a n d , t h u s ,i n v a r i a n t o v e r t i m e a n d c o n t e x t . T h e s e s e l f - r e p r e s e n t a t i o n su s u a l l y h a v e a s t h e i r r e f e r e n t s o m e i n d i v i d u a l d e s i r e , p r ef e r e n c e ,a t t r i b u t e , o r a b i l i t y ( e.g ., I a m c r e a ti v e ) . F o r t h o s e w i t h i n d e p e n -d e n t c o n s t r u a l s o f t h e s e lf , it i s t h e se i n n e r a t t r i b u t e s t h a t a r e

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C U L T U R E A N D T H E S E LF 2 2 7m o s t s i g n i f i c an t i n r e g u l a t i n g b e h a v i o r a n d t h a t a r e a s s u m e d ,b o t h b y t h e a c t o r a n d b y t h e o b s e r v e r a l ik e , t o b e d i a g n o s t ic o ft h e a c t o r . S u c h r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f th e i n n e r s e l f a r e t h u s t h em o s t e l a b o r a t e d i n m e m o r y a n d t h e m o s t a c c e s s i bl e w h e nt h i n k i n g o f t h e s e l f ( as i n d i c a t e d b y X s i n F i g u r e I A ) . T h e y c a nb e c a l l e d cor e conceptions salient identities o r self-schemata(e .g . , Ge rge n , 1968; M ark us , 1977; S tryker , 1986) .

T h e I n t e r d e p e nd e n t C o n s t r u a lI n c o n t r a s t , m a n y n o n - W e s t e r n c u l t u r e s i n s i s t , i n K o n d o ' s

( 1 98 2 ) t e r m s , o n t h e f u n d a m e n t a l connectedness o f h u m a n b e -i n g s t o e a c h o t h e r . A n o r m a t i v e i m p e r a t i v e o f t h e s e c u l t u r e s is t om a i n t a i n t h i s i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e a m o n g i n d i v i d u a l s ( D e V o s,1 9 8 5 ; H s u , 1 9 8 5 ; M i l l e r , 1 9 8 8 ; S h w e d e r B o u r n e , 1 9 8 4 ) . E x p e r i -e n c i n g i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e e n t a i l s s e e i n g o n e s e l f a s p a r t o f a n e n -c o m p a s s i n g s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p a n d r e c o g n i z i n g t h a t o n e ' s b e -h a v i o r i s d e t e r m i n e d , c o n t i n g e n t o n , a n d , t o a l a r g e e x t e n t o r g a -n i z e d b y w h a t t h e a c t o r p e r c e i v e s t o b e t h e t h o u g h t s , f e e l i n gs ,a n d a c t i o n s o f others i n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p . T h e J a p a n e s e e x p e r i -e n c e o f t h e s e lf , t h e r e f or e , i n c l u d e s a s e n s e o f i n t e r d e p e n d e n c ea n d o f o n e ' s s t a t u s a s a p a r t i c i p a n t i n a l a r g e r s o c ia l u n i t ( S a m p -s o n , 1 98 8 ). W i t h i n s u c h a c o n s t r u a l , t h e s e l f b e c o m e s m o s tm e a n i n g f u l a n d c o m p l e t e w h e n i t i s c a s t i n t h e a p p r o p r i a t es o c i a l r e la t i o n s h i p . A c c o r d i n g t o L e b r a ( 1 9 7 6) t h e J a p a n e s e a r em o s t f u l l y h u m a n i n t h e c o n t e x t o f o t h e r s .

T h i s v i e w o f t h e s e l f a n d t h e r e l a t i o n s h ip b e t w e e n t h e s e l f a n do t h e r s f e a t u r e s t h e p e r s o n n o t a s s e p a r a t e f r o m t h e s o c i a l c o n -t e x t b u t a s m o r e c o n n e c t e d a n d l e s s d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f r o m o t h e r s .P e o p l e a r e m o t i v a t e d t o f i n d a w a y t o f i t i n w i t h r e l e v a n t o th e r s ,t o f u l f il l a n d c r e a t e o b l i g a t i o n , a n d i n g e n e r a l t o b e c o m e p a r t o fv a r i o u s i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s . U n l i k e t h e i n d e p e n d e n ts e lf , t h e s i g n i f i c a n t f ea t u r e s o f t h e s e l f a c c o r d i n g t o t h i s c o n -s t r u a l a r e t o b e f o u n d i n t h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t a n d t h u s , i n t h em o r e p u b l i c c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e s e l f. W e t h e r e f o r e c a l l t h i s v i ewt h e in terdependent cons trual o f the se l f. T h e s a m e n o t i o n h a sb e e n v a r i o u s l y r e f e r r e d t o , w i t h s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t c o n n o t a -t io n s , a s sociocentric holistic collective allocentric ensembledconstitutive contextualist connected a n d re la t ional A s w i t h t h ei n d e p e n d e n t s e lf , o t h e r s a r e c r i t i c a l fo r so c i a l c o m p a r i s o n a n ds e l f - v a li d a t i o n , y e t i n a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e s el f ,t h e s e o t h e r s b e c o m e a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e s e t t i n g , s i t u a t i o n , o rc o n t e x t t o w h i c h t h e s e l f i s c o n n e c t e d , f i t t e d , a n d a s s i m i l a t e d .T h e e x a c t m a n n e r i n w h i c h o n e a c h i e v es t h e t a s k o f c o n n e c t i o n ,t h e r e f o re , d e p e n d s c r u c i a l l y o n t h e n a t u r e o f t h e c o n t e x t , p a r t i c -u l a r l y t h e o t h e r s p r e s e n t i n t h e c o n t e x t . O t h e r s t h u s p a r t i c i p a t ea c t iv e l y a n d c o n t i n u o u s l y i n t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e i n t e r d e p e n -d e n t s e l f .T h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f a l s o p o s s e s s e s a n d e x p r e s s e s a s e t o fi n t e r n a l a t t r i b u t e s , s u c h a s a b i l i ti e s , o p i n i o n s , j u d g m e n t s , a n dp e r s o n a l i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . H o w e v e r , t h e s e i n t e r n a l a t t r i b u t e sa r e u n d e r s t o o d a s s i t u a t i o n s p e ci f i c, a n d t h u s a s s o m e t i m e s e l u -s iv e a n d u n r e l i a b l e . A n d , a s s u ch , t h e y a r e u n l i k e l y t o a s s u m e ap o w e r f u l r o l e i n r e g u l a t i n g o v e r t b e h a v i o r , e s p e c i a l l y i f th i s b e -h a v i o r i m p l i c a t e s s ig n i f i c a n t o t h e r s . I n m a n y d o m a i n s o f s o c i a ll if e , o n e 's o p i n i o n s , a b i l i t i e s , a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e a s s i g n e do n l y s e c o n d a r y r o l e s - - t h e y m u s t i n s t e a d b e c o n s t a n t l y c o n -t r o l l ed a n d r e g u l a t e d t o c o m e t o t e r m s w i t h t h e p r i m a r y t a s k o fi n t e r d e p en d e n c e . S u c h v o l u n t a r y c o n t r o l o f t h e i n n e r a t t r i b u t e s

c o n s t it u t e s t h e c o r e o f t h e c u l t u r a l i d e a l o f b e c o m i n g m a t u r e .T h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f o n e 's a u t o n o m y a s s e c o n d a r y t o , a n d c o n -s t r a i n e d b y , t h e p r i m a r y t a s k o f i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e d i s t i n g u i sh e si n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l v e s f r o m i n d e p e n d e n t s e lv e s, f o r w h o m a u -t o n o m y a n d i t s e x p r e s s i o n i s o f t e n a f f o r d e d p r i m a r y s i g n i f i -c a n c e . A n i n d e p e n d e n t b e h a v i o r ( e .g ., a s s e r t i n g a n o p i n i o n ) e x -h i b i t e d b y a p e r s o n i n a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t c u l t u r e i s l i k e l y t o b eb a s e d o n t h e p r e m i s e o f u n d e r l y in g i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e a n d t h u sm a y h a v e a s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t s ig n i f i c a n c e t h a n i t h a s f o r ap e r s o n f r o m a n i n d e p e n d e n t c u l t ur e .

T h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f i s i ll u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e l B . F o r t h o s ew i t h i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e lv e s, t h e s i g n i f i c an t s e l f - r e p r e se n t a t i o n s( t he X s ) a r e t h o s e i n r e l a t i o n s h i p t o s p e c i fi c o th e r s . I n t e r d e p e n -d e n t s e lv e s c e r t a i n l y i n c l u d e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f i n v a r i a n t p e r -s o n a l a t t r i b u t e s a n d a b i l i ti e s , a n d t h e s e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s c a n b e -c o m e p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l l y qu i t e sa l i en t , b u t i n m a n y c i r c u m -s t a n c e s t h e y a r e l e ss i m p o r t a n t i n r e g u l a t i n g o b s e r v a b l eb e h a v i o r a n d a r e n o t a s s u m e d t o b e p a r t i c u l a r l y d i a g n o s t i c o fthe se l f .2 I n s t e a d , t h e s e l f - k n o w l e d g e t h a t g u i d e s b e h a v i o r i s o ft h e s e l f - i n - re l a t i o n t o s p e c i f i c o t h e r s i n p a r t i c u l a r c o n t e x t s . T h ef u n d a m e n t a l u n i t s o f t h e s e l f- s y s t e m , t h e c o r e c o n c e p t i o n s , o rs e l f - s c h e m a t a a r e t h u s p r e d i c a t e d o n s i g n i f i c a n t i n t e r p e r s o n a lre l a t io n s h ip s .

A n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f c a n n o t b e p r o p e r l y c h a r ac t e r i z e d a s ab o u n d e d w h o l e , fo r it c h a n g e s s t r u c t u r e w i t h t h e n a t u r e o f th ep a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l c o n t e x t . W i t h i n e a c h p a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l s i t u a -t i o n , t h e s e l f c a n b e d i f f e r en t l y i n s t a n t i a t e d . T h e u n i q u e n e s s o fs u c h a s e l f d e r i v e s f r o m t h e s p e c i f i c c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f r e l a t i o n -s h i p s t h a t e a c h p e r s o n h a s d e v e l o p e d . W h a t i s f o c a l a n d o b j e c t i -f i ed i n a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e lf , t h e n , i s n o t t h e i n n e r s e l f, b u t t h erelationships o f t h e p e r s o n t o o t h e r a c t o r s ( H a m a g u c h i , 1 9 8 5 ).

T h e n o t i o n o f a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f s l in k e d w i t h a m o n i s t i cp h i l o s o p h i c a l t r a d i t i o n i n w h i c h t h e p e r s o n i s t h o u g h t t o b e o ft h e s a m e s u b s t a n c e a s t h e r e s t o f n a t u r e ( s e e B o n d , 1 9 8 6; P h i l -l i p s , 1 9 7 6 ; R o la n d , 1 9 8 8 ; S a s s , 1 9 8 8 ) . A s a c o n s e q u e n c e , t h er e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e s e l f a n d o t h e r , o r b e t w e e n s u b j e c t a n do b j e c t , i s a s s u m e d t o b e m u c h c l o se r . T h u s , m a n y n o n - W e s t e r nc u l t u r e s i n s i s t o n t h e i n s e p a r a b i l i t y o f b a s i c e le m e n t s ( G a l t u n g ,1 9 81 ) , i n c l u d i n g s e l f a n d o t h e r , a n d p e r s o n a n d s i t u a t i o n . I nC h i n e s e c u l t u r e, f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e r e i s a n e m p h a s i s o n s y n t h e s i z -i n g t h e c o n s t i t u e n t p a r t s o f a n y p r o b l e m o r s i t u a ti o n i n t o a ni n t e g r a t e d o r h a r m o n i o u s w h o l e ( M o o r e , 1 9 6 7 ; N o r t h r o p ,1 9 46 ) . T h u s , p e r s o n s a r e o n l y p a r t s t h a t w h e n s e p a r a t e d f r o mt h e l a r g e r s o c i a l w h o l e c a n n o t b e f u l l y u n d e r s t o o d ( P h i l l i p s ,1 9 7 6 ; S h w e d e r , 1 9 8 4 ) . S u c h a h o l i s t i c v i e w i s i n o p p o s i t io n tot h e C a r t e s i a n , d u a l i s t i c t r a d i t i o n t h a t c h a r a c t e r i z e s W e s t e r nt h i n k i n g a n d i n w h i c h t h e s e l f i s s e p a r a t e d f r o m t h e o b j e c t a n df r o m t h e n a t u r a l w o d d .E x a m p l e s o f t h e in t e r d e p en d e n t s el f. A n i n t e r d e p e n d e n tv i e w o f t h e s e lf i s c o m m o n t o m a n y o f t h e o t h e r w i s e h i gh l yd i v e r s e c u l t u r e s o f t h e w o r l d . S t u d i e s o f t h e m a i n l a n d C h i n e s e ,f o r e x a m p l e , s u m m a r i z e d i n a r e c e n t b o o k b y B o n d ( 1 9 8 6 ) ,s h o w t h a t e ve n a m o n g t h e m o s t r a p i d l y m o d e r n i z i n g s e gm e n t so f t h e C h i n e s e p o p u l a t i o n , t h e r e i s a t e n d e n c y f o r p e o p l e t o a c t

2 For a d iscuss ion o f how in te rdependen t selves s t r ive to main ta in abalan ce betw een in ternal (private) and extensive (public) representa-tions , see T. Do i (1986).

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8 H A Z E L R O S E M A R K U S A N D S H I N O B U K I T A Y A M Ap r i m a r i l y i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e a n t i c i p a t e d ex p e c t a t i o n s o fo t h e r s a n d s o c i a l n o r m s r a t h e r t h a n w i t h i n t e r n a l w i s h e s o rp e r s o n a l a t t r i b u t e s ( Y a ng , 19 8 l b ) . A p r e m i u m i s p l a c e d o n e m -p h a s i z i n g c o l l e c ti v e w e l f a r e a n d o n s h o w i n g a s y m p a t h e t i c c o n -c e r n f o r o t h e r s . T h r o u g h o u t t h e s t u d i e s o f t h e C h i n e s e r e p o r t e db y B o n d , o n e c a n s e e t h e c l e a r i m p r i n t o f t h e C o n f u c i a n e m p h a -s i s o n i n t e r r e l a t e d n e s s a n d k i n d n e s s . A c c o r d i n g t o H s u ( 1 9 8 5 ),t h e s u p r e m e C h i n e s e v i r t u e , j e n i m p l i e s t h e p e r s o n ' s c a p a b i l i t yt o i n t e r a c t w i t h f e l lo w h u m a n b e i n g s i n a s i n c e r e , p ol i t e , a n dd e c e n t f a s h io n ( s e e a l s o E lv in , 1 9 8 5 ).

N u m e r o u s o t h e r e x a m p l e s o f c u l t u re s i n w h i c h p e o p l e a r el i k e l y t o h a v e s o m e v e r s i o n o f a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f c a n a l s o b ei d e n t i f i e d . F o r e x a m p l e , T r i a n d i s , M a r i n , L i s a n sk y , a n d B e t a n -c o u r t 0 9 8 4 ) h a ve d e s c r i b e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s i m p a t i c oa m o n g H i s p a n i c s . T h i s q u a l i t y re f e r s t o t h e a b i l i t y t o b o t h r e -s p e c t a n d s h a r e o t h e r s ' f e e li n g s. I n c h a r a c t e r i z i n g t h e p s y c h o l -o g y o f F i l i p i n o s , C h u r c h ( 19 87 ) d e s c r i b e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e t h a tp e o p l e a t t r i b u te t o s m o o t h i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l at i o n s a n d t o b e i n g

a g r e e a b l e e v e n u n d e r d i f f ic u l t c i r c u m s t a n c e s , s e n s it i v e to w h a to t h e r s a r e f e e l i n g a n d w i l l i n g t o a d j u s t o n e ' s b e h a v i o r a c c o r d -ing ly . S im i l a r ly , We i s z ( in p re s s ) r e p o r t e d th a t T h a i s p l a c e ap r e m i u m o n s e l f - e f f ac e m e n t , h u m i l i t y , d e f e r e n c e , a n d o n t r y i n gt o a v o i d d i s t u r b i n g o t h e r s . A m o n g t h e J a p a n e s e , i t i s s i m i l a r l yc r u c i a l n o t t o d i s t u r b t h e wa o r t h e h a r m o n i o u s e b b a n d f l o w o fi n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s ( s ee a ls o G e e r t z , 1 9 7 4 , f o r c h a r a c t e r i z a -t i o n s o f s im i l a r i m p e r a t i v es a m o n g t h e B a l i n e s e a n d M o r o c -cans ) .

B e a t t i e ( 19 8 0) c l a i m e d t h a t A f r i c a n s a r e a l s o e x t r e m e l y s e n si -t iv e to t h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n c i e s a m o n g p e o p l e a n d v i e w t h e w o r l da n d o t h e r s i n i t a s e x t e n s io n s o f o n e a n o t h e r . T h e s e l f i s v i e w e dn o t a s a h e d g e d c l o s u r e b u t a s a n o p e n f i el d . S i m i l a r ly , M a r r i o t t( 1 97 6 ) a r g u e d t h a t H i n d u c o n c e p t i o n s a s s u m e t h a t t h e s e l f i s a no p e n e n t i t y t h a t i s g i v e n s h a p e b y t h e s o c i a l c o n t e x t . I n h i si n s i g h tf u l b o o k , K a k a r ( 19 7 8) d e s c r i b e d t h e H i n d u ' s i d e a l o fi n t e r p e r s o n a l f us i o n a n d h o w i t is a c c o m p a n i e d b y a p e r s o n a l ,c u l t u r a l s e n s e o f h e l l , w h i c h i s s e p a r a t i o n f r o m o t h e r s. I n f a c t,M i l l e r , B e r so f f , a n d H a r w o o d ( 1 99 0 ), i n a r e c e n t , c a r e f u l ly c o n -t r o l l e d s t u d y o n m o r a l r e a s o n i n g , f o u n d t h a t I n d i a n s r e g a r dr e s p o n s i v e n e s s to t h e n e e d s o f o t h e r s a s a n o b j e c t i v e m o r a l o b l i -g a t i o n t o a f a r g r e a t e r e x t e n t t h a n d o A m e r i c a n s . A l t h o u g h t h es e l f - s y s t em s o f p e o p l e f r o m t h e s e c u l t u r e s a r e m a r k e d l y d i f f e r-e n t i n m a n y o t h e r i m p o r t a n t r e s pe c t s, t h e y a p p e a r t o b e a l i k e i nt h e g r e a t e r v a l u e ( w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h A m e r i c a n s ) t h a t i s a t -t a c h e d t o p r o p e r r e l a t io n s w i t h o th e r s , a n d i n t h e r e q u i r e m e n tt o f l e x i b ly c h a n g e o n e ' s o w n b e h a v i o r i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h en a t u r e o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p .

E v e n i n A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e , t h e r e i s a s t r o n g t h e m e o f i n t e r d e -p e n d e n c e t h a t i s r ef l e c t e d in t h e v a l u e s a n d a c t i v i ti e s o f m a n y o fi t s s u b c u l t u r e s . R e l i g i o u s g r o u p s , s u c h a s t h e Q u a k e r s , e x p l i c i t l yv a l u e a n d p r o m o t e i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e , a s d o m a n y s m a l l t o w n sa n d r u r a l c o m m u n i t i e s ( e.g ., B e l l a h , M a d s e n , S u l l i va n , S w i dl e r ,& T i p t o n , 1 98 5) . S o m e n o t i o n o f a m o r e c o n n e c t e d , e n s e m b l e d ,i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f , a s o p p o s e d t o a s e l f - c o n t a i n e d , i n d e p e n -d e n t s e l f . i s al s o b e i n g d e v e l o p e d b y s e v e r a l o f w h a t S a m p s o n( 1 98 9 ) c a l l s p o s t m o d e r n t h e o r i s t s . T h e s e t h e o r i s t s a r e q u e s -t i o n i n g t h e s o v e re i g n ty o f th e A m e r i c a n v i e w o f t h e m a t u r ep e r s o n a s a u t o n o m o u s , s e l f - d e t e r m i n e d , a n d u n e n c u m b e r e d .T h e y a r g u e t h a t p s y c h o l o g y is c u r r en t l y d o m i n a t e d b y a v i e w o ft h e p e r s o n t h a t d o e s n o t a d e q u a t e l y r e fl e c t t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h

p e o p l e e v e r y w h e r e a r e c r e a t e d b y, c o n s t r a i n e d b y, a n d r e s p o n -s i ve t o t h e i r v a r i o u s i n t e r p e r s o n a l c o n t e x t s ( se e G e r g e n & G e r -gen , 1988; Gi l l igan , 1982; Mil le r , 1986; Ta jfe l , 1984) .Fur the rde f in i t iono f the in te rdependen t s e l f . T h e o r i s t s o f J a p -a n e s e c u l t u r e a r e b e g i n n i n g t o c h a r a c t e r i z e th e i n t e r d e p e n d e n ts e l f m u c h m o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y t h a n w a s p r e v i o u s l y a t t e m p t e d .T h e s e d e s c r i p t i o n s o f f er s o m e m o r e r e f i n e d i d e a s o f h o w a ni n t e r d e p e n d e n t v i e w o f s e lf c a n d e p a r t m a r k e d l y f r o m a n i n d e -p e n d e n t v i e w o f s e l f ( s e e N a k a n e , 1 9 7 0 ; P la th , 1 9 80 ; R . J . S m i th ,1 9 83 ) . F o r e x a m p l e , b u i l d i n g o n a s t u d y o f L . T . D o i 0 9 7 3 ) ,B a c h n i k ( 1 9 86 ) w r o t e

(in Japa nese society) rather th an there b eing a s ingle social reality,a number o f poss ib le pe rspec t ives o f bo th se l f and soc ia l l ife a reacknowledged. In teraction in Japanese society hen focuses on thedef in i tion o f the approp ria te cho ice , ou t o f a l l the va r ious poss ib i l i -ties . This m eans tha t what one says and d oes will be different indifferent s ituations, depen ding on how one defines one's particu-lar p erspective versus the social other. (p. 69)In J a p a n , t h e w o rd fo r se l f , f i b u n r e fe r s t o o n e ' s s h a re o f t h es h a r e d l i f e s p a c e ( H a m a g u c h i , 1 9 85 ). T h e s e lf , K i m u r a ( c i te di n H a m a g u c h i , 1 9 8 5 ) c l a i m e d , i s n e i t h e r a s u b s t a n c e n o r a na t t r i b u t e h a v i n g a c o n s t a n t o n e n e s s ( p. 3 0 2 ). A c c o r d i n g t o H a -m a g u c h i ( 1 9 8 5) , f o r t h e J a p a n e s e, a s e n s e o f i d e n t i f i c a t io n w i t ho t h e r s ( s o m e t i m e s i n c l u d i n g c o n f l i ct ) p r e - e x i s ts a n d s e l fn e s s i sc o n f i r m e d o n l y t h r o u g h i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t io n s h i p s . . . S e lf -n e s s i s n o t a c o n s t a n t l i k e t h e e g o b u t d e n o t e s a f l u id c o n c e p tw h i c h c h a n g e s t h r o u g h t i m e a n d s i t u a t i o n s a c c o r d i n g t o i n t e r -p e r s o n a l r e l a t io n s h ip s (p . 3 0 2 ) .

T h e J a p a n e s e a n t h r o p o l o g i s t L e b r a ( 1 9 7 6 ) d e f i n e d t h e e s -s e n c e o f J a p a n e s e c u l t u r e a s a n e t h o s o f s o c i a l r e l a t i v i s m T h i st r a n s l a t e s i n t o a c o n s t a n t c o n c e r n f o r b e l o n g i n g n e s s , r el i a n c e,d e p e n d e n c y , e m p a t h y , o c c u p y i n g o n e ' s p r o p e r p l a c e, a n d r e c i -p r o c it y . S h e c l a i m e d t h e J a p a n e s e n i g h t m a r e i s e x c l u si o n ,m e a n i n g t h a t o n e i s f a i l i n g a t t h e n o r m a t i v e g o a l o f c o n n e c t i n gt o o t h e r s. T h i s i s i n s h a r p c o n t r a s t t o t h e A m e r i c a n n i g h t m a r e ,w h i c h i s t o f a i l a t s e p a r a t i n g f r o m o t h e r s , a s c a n o c c u r w h e n o n ei s u n d u l y i n f l u e n c e d b y o t h e rs , o r d o e s n o t s t a n d u p f o r w h a to n e b e l i e v e s , o r w h e n o n e g o e s u n n o t i c e d o r u n d i s t i n g u i s h e d .

A n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t v i e w o f s e l f d o e s n o t r e s u l t i n a m e r g i n g o fs e l f a n d o t h e r, n o r d o e s i t i m p l y t h a t o n e m u s t a l w a y s b e i n t h ec o m p a n y o f o th e r s to fu n c t io n e f fe ct iv ely, o r t h a t p e o p le d o n o th a v e a s e n s e o f t h e m s e l v e s a s a g e n t s w h o a r e t h e o r i g i n s o f t h e i ro w n a c t i o n s . O n t h e c o n t r a r y , i t t a k e s a h i g h d e g r e e o f s e lf - c o n -t r o l a n d a g e n c y t o e f fe c ti v el y a d j u s t o n e s e l f t o v a r i o u s i n t e r p e r -s o n a l c o n t i n g e n c i e s . A g e n t i c e x e r c i s e o f c o n t r o l , h o w e v e r , i sd i r e c t e d p r i m a r i l y t o t h e i n s i d e a n d t o t h o s e i n n e r a t t r i b u te s ,s u c h a s d e s i r es , p e r s o n a l g o a l s , a n d p r i v a t e e m o t i o n s , t h a t c a nd i s t u r b t h e h a r m o n i o u s e q u i l i b r i u m o f i n t e rp e r s o n a l t ra n s a c -t i o n . T h i s c a n b e c o n t r a s t e d w i t h t h e W e s t e r n n o t i o n o f c o n t r o l ,w h i c h p r i m a r i l y i m p l i e s a n a s s e r t io n o f t h e i n n e r a t t r i b u t e s a n da c o n s e q u e n t a t t e m p t t o c h a n g e t h e o u t e r a s p e c ts , s u c h as o n e 'sp u b l i c b e h a v io r s a n d th e s o c ia l s i t u a t io n ( s e e a l s o We is z e t al . ,1984).

G i v e n t h e J a p a n e s e n o t i o n o f c o n t r o l t h a t i s i n w a r d l y d i -r e c t e d , t h e a b i l i t y t o e f f ec t iv e ly a d j u s t i n t h e i n t e r p e r s o n a l d o -m a i n m a y f o r m a n i m p o r t a n t b a s is o f se l f- e st e e m , a n d i n d i v i d u-a l i z e d s t y le s o f s u c h a d j u s t m e n t t o s o c i a l c o n t i n g e n c i e s m a yc o n t r i b u t e t o t h e s e n s e o f s e l f - u n iq u e n e s s . T h u s , H a m a g u c h i

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C U L T U R E A N D T H E S E L F 9( 1 98 5 ), f o r e x a m p l e , r e p o r t e d t h a t f o r t h e J a p a n e s e , t h es t r a i g h t f o r w a r d c l a i m o f t h e n a k e d e g o ( p. 3 0 3 ) i s e x p e r i e n c e da s c h i l d i s h . S e l f - a s se r t i o n is n o t v i e w e d a s b e i n g a u t h e n t i c , b u ti n s t e a d a s b e i n g i m m a t u r e . T h i s p o i n t i s e c h o e d i n M . W h i t ea n d L e V i n e' s ( 1 98 6 ) d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e m e a n i n g o f s u n a o a t e r mu s e d b y J a p a n e s e p a r e n t s t o c h a r a c t e r i z e w h a t t h e y v a l u e i nt h e i r c h i l d r e n :

A ch i ld tha t is sunao has no t y ie lded h is o r he r pe rsona l au tonomyfor the sake o f coopera t ion ; coopera t ion does no t sugges t g iv ingup the se l f, a s i t may in the Wes t ; i t impl ies tha t work ing withothers is the app ropri ate way of expressing and enhancin g the self.Engagement an d ha rm ony w ith others is, then, a positively valuedgoa l and the b r id ge- - to open-hear ted coopera t ion , a s in s u n a o - -is through sensitivity, reiterated by the m other's exam ple and en-couragem ent. (p. 58)K u m a g a i ( 19 8 l ) s a i d s u n a o a s s u m e s c o o p e r a t i o n t o b e a n a c to f a f f i r m a t i o n o f t h e s e l f ( p . 2 6 1 ) . G i v i n g i n i s n o t a s i g n o fw e a k n e s s ; r a th e r , i t r e f l e c t s t o l e ra n c e , s e l f - c o n t ro l , f l e x ib i l i t y ,a n d m a t u r i t y .

T h e r o le o f t h e o th e r in th e in t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f . I n a n i n t e r d e -p e n d e n t v ie w , i n c o n t r a s t t o a n i n d e p e n d e n t v i e w , o t h e r s w i l l b ea s s ig n e d m u c h m o r e i m p o r t a n c e , w i l l c a r r y m o r e w e i g h t, a n dw i l l b e r e l a ti v e l y f o c a l i n o n e ' s o w n b e h a v i o r . T h e r e a r e s e v e r a ld i r e c t c o n s e q u e n c e s o f a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t c o n s t r u a l o f t h e s e lf .F i r s t , r e l a t i o n s h i p s , r a t h e r t h a n b e i n g m e a n s f o r r e a l i z i n gv a r i o u s i n d i v i d u a l g o a l s , w i l l o f t e n b e e n d s i n a n d o f t h e m -s e lv e s. A l t h o u g h p e o p l e e v e r y w h e r e m u s t m a i n t a i n s o m e r e l a t -e d n e s s w i t h o t h e r s , a n a p p r e c i a t i o n a n d a n e e d f o r p e o p l e w i l lb e m o r e i m p o r t a n t f o r th o s e w i t h a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f t h a nf o r t h o s e w i t h a n i n d e p e n d e n t s e l f. S e c o n d , m a i n t a i n i n g a c o n -n e c t i o n t o o t h e r s w i l l m e a n b e i n g c o n s t a n t l y a w a r e o f o t h e r sa n d f o c u s i n g o n t h e i r n e e d s , d e s i r e s , a n d g o a l s. I n s o m e c a s e s ,t h e g o a l s o f o th e r s m a y b e c o m e s o f o c a l i n c o n s c i o u s n e s s t h a tt h e g o a l s o f o t h e r s m a y b e e x p e r i e n c e d a s p e r s o n a l g o a l s. I no t h e r c a s e s , f u l f i ll i n g o n e ' s o w n g o a l s m a y b e q u i t e d i s t i n c t f r o mt h o s e o f o t h e r s , b u t m e e t i n g a n o t h e r ' s g o a l s , n e e d s , a n d d e s i r e sw i l l b e a n e c e s s a r y r e q u i r e m e n t f o r s a t i s fy i n g o n e ' s o w n g o a l s ,n e e d s , a n d d e s i r es . T h e a s s u m p t i o n i s t h a t w h i l e p r o m o t i n g t h eg o a l s o f o t h e r s , o n e ' s o w n g o a l s w i l l b e a t t e n d e d t o b y t h e p e r s o nw i t h w h o m o n e i s i n t e r d e p e n d e n t . H e n c e , p e o p l e m a y a c t i v e l yw o r k t o f u l fi l l t h e o t h e r s ' g o a l s w h i l e p a s s iv e l y m o n i t o r i n g t h er e c i p r o c a l c o n t r i b u t i o n s f r o m t h e s e o t h e r s f o r o n e ' s o w n g o a l -f u l f i l lm e n t . Y a m a g i s h i ( 1 98 8 ), i n f a c t , s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e J a p a -n e s e f ee l e x t r e m e l y u n c o m f o r t a b l e , m u c h m o r e s o th a n A m e r i -c a n s, w h e n t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r s u ch p a s s i v e m o n i t o r i n g o fo t h e r s ' a c t i o n s i s d e n i e d .

F r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t o f a n i n d e p e n d e n t , s e l f- i s h s e lf , o n em i g h t b e l e d t o r o m a n t i c i z e t h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f, w h o i s e v e ra t t u n e d t o t h e c o n c e r n s o f o t h e rs . Y e t i n m a n y c a s e s , r e s p o n s iv ea n d c o o p e r a t i v e a c t i o n s a r e e x e r c i se d o n l y w h e n t h e r e i s a r e a -s o n a b l e a s s u r a n c e o f t h e g o o d - i n t e n t i o n s o f o t h e r s , n a m e l yt h e i r c o m m i t m e n t t o c o n t i n u e t o e n g a g e i n r e c i p ro c a l i n te r a c -t i o n a n d m u t u a l s u p p o r t . C l e a r l y , i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e lv e s d o n o ta t t e n d t o t h e n e e d s , d e s i r e s, a n d g o a l s o f a l l o t h e r s . A t t e n t i o n t oo t h e r s i s n o t i n d i s c r i m i n a t e ; i t i s h ig h l y s el e c ti v e a n d w i l l b em o s t c h a r a c t e r i st i c o f r e l a ti o n s h i p s w i t h i n - g r o u p m e m b e r s .T h e s e a r e o t h e r s w i t h w h o m o n e s h a r e s a c o m m o n f a te , s u c h a sf a m i l y m e m b e r s o r m e m b e r s o f t h e s a m e l a s t in g s o ci a l g r o u p ,s u c h a s t h e w o r k g r o u p . O u t - g r o u p m e m b e r s a r e t y p i c a l l y

t r e a t e d q u i t e d i f f e r e n t ly a n d a r e u n l i k e l y t o e x p e r i e n c e e i t h e rt h e a d v a n t a g e s o r d i s a d v a n t a g e s o f i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e . I n d e p e n -d e n t s e lv e s a r e a l s o s e l e c t iv e i n t h e i r a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h o t h e r s b u tn o t t o t h e e x t e n t o f i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l ve s b e c a u s e m u c h l e s s o ft h e i r b e h a v i o r i s d i r e c t l y c o n t i n g e n t o n t h e a c t i o n s o f o th e r s .G i v e n t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f o th e r s i n c o n s t r u c t i n g r e a l it y a n d r e g u -l a t i n g b e h a v i o r , th e i n - g r o u p - o u t - g r o u p d i s t i n c t i o n i s a v i t a lo n e f o r i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e lv e s, a n d t h e s u b j e c ti v e b o u n d a r y o fo n e 's i n - g r o u p m a y t e n d to b e n a r r o w e r f or t h e in t e r d e p e n -d e n t s e lv e s t h a n f o r t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s e lv e s ( T r i a n d i s , 1 9 8 9) .

T o i l l u s t r a t e t h e r e c i p r o c a l n a t u r e o f i n t e r a c t i o n a m o n g t h o s ew i t h i n t e r d e p e n d e n t v i ew s , i m a g i n e t h a t o n e h a s a f r i e n d o v e rf o r l u n c h a n d h a s d e c i d e d t o m a k e a s a n d w i c h f o r h i m . T h ec o n v e r s a t i o n m i g h t b e: H e y , T o m , w h a t d o y o u w a n t i n y o u rs a n d w i c h ? I h a v e t u r k e y , s a l a m i , a n d c h e e s e : T o m r e s p o n d s ,

O h , I l i k e t u rk e y . N o t e t h a t t h e f r i e n d i s g i v e n a c h o i c e b e c a u s et h e h o s t a s s u m e s t h a t f r i e n d h a s a r i g h t , i f n o t a d u t y , t o m a k e ac h o i c e r e f l e c t i n g h i s i n n e r a t t r i b u t e s , s u c h a s p r e f e r e n c e s o rd e s i r e s. A n d t h e f r i e n d m a k e s h i s c h o i c e e x a c tl y b e c a u s e o f t h eb e l i e f n t h e s a m e a s s u m p t i o n . T h i s s c r i p t i s n a t u r a l ; h o w e ve r ,o n l y w i t h in t h e i n d e p e n d e n t v i ew o f s el f. W h a t w o u l d h a p p e n i ft h e f r i e n d w e r e a v i s i t o r f r o m J a p a n ? A l i k e l y r e s p o n s e t o t h eq u e s t i o n H e y , T o m i o , w h a t d o y o u w a n t? w o u l d b e a l i t tl em o m e n t o f b e w i l d e r m e n t a n d t h e n a n o n c o m m i t a l u t t e r a n c el i k e I d o n 't kn ow . T h i s h a p p e n s b e c a u s e u n d e r t h e a s su m p -t i o n s o f a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e lf , it i s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f t h e h o s tt o b e ab l e t o r e a d t h e m i n d o f t h e f r i e n d a n d o f fe r w h a t t h eh o s t p e r c e i v e s t o b e t h e b e s t f o r t h e f r i e n d . A n d t h e d u t y o f t h eg u e s t , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i s t o r e c e i v e t h e f a v o r w i t h g r a c e a n dt o b e p r e p a r e d t o r e t u r n t h e f a v o r i n t h e n e a r f u t u re , i f n o t r i g h ta t t h e n e x t m o m e n t . A l i k el y , i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s c r i p t fo r t h e s a m es i t u a t i o n w o u l d b e : H e y , T o m i o , I m a d e y o u a t u r k e y s a n d w i c hb e c a u s e I r e m e m b e r t h a t l a s t w e e k y o u s a i d y o u l i k e t u r k e ym o r e t h a n b e e f y A n d T o m i o w i ll r e s p o n d , O h , t h a n k y o u , Ir e a l l y l i k e t u r k e y

T h e r e c i p r o c a l i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e w i t h o t h e r s t h a t i s t h e s i g n o ft h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f s e e m s t o r e q u i r e c o n s t a n t e n g a g e m e n to f w h a t M e a d ( 1 9 3 4 ) m e a n t b y t a k i n g t h e r o l e o f t h e o t h e r. I ti n v o lv e s t h e w i l l i n g n e s s a n d a b i l i t y t o f e e l a n d t h i n k w h a t o t h e r sa r e f e e li n g a n d t h i n k i n g , t o a b s o r b t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h o u tb e i n g t o l d , a n d t h e n t o h e l p o t h e r s s a t i sf y t h e i r w i s h e s a n dr e a l i z e t h e i r g o a ls . M a i n t a i n i n g c o n n e c t i o n r e q u i r e s i n h i b i t i n gt h e I p e r s p e c t i v e a n d p r o c e s s i n g i n s t e a d f r o m t h e t h o u p e r -s p e c t i v e ( H s u , 1 98 1 ). T h e r e q u i r e m e n t is t o r e a d t h e o t h e r ' sm i n d a n d t h u s t o k n o w w h a t t h e o t h e r i s t h i n k i n g o r f e el i ng . I nc o n t r a s t , w i t h a n i n d e p e n d e n t s e l f, i t i s t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s r e s p o n s i -b i l i t y t o s a y w h a t ' s o n o n e ' s m i n d i f o n e e x p e c t s t o b e a t t e n d e dt o o r u n d e r s t o o d .C o n s e q u e n c e s o f a n I n d e p e n d e n t o r a n I n t e r d e p e n d e n t

V i e w o f t h e S e l fT a b l e 1 p r e s e n t s a b r i e f , h ig h l y s im p l i f i e d s u m m a r y o f s o m e

o f t h e h y p o t h e s i z e d di f fe r e nc e s b e t w e e n i n d e p e n d e n t a n d i n -t e r d e p e n d e n t c o n s t r u a l s o f t h e s el f. T h e s e c o n s t r u a l s o f s e l f a n do t h e r a r e c o n c e p t u a l i z e d a s p a r t o f a r e p e r t o i r e o f s e l f - re l e v a n ts c h e m a t a u s e d t o e v a l u a t e, o r g a n i z e , a n d r e g u l a t e o n e ' s e x p e r i -e n c e a n d a c t i o n . A s s c h e m a t a , t h e y a r e p a t t e r n s o f o n e 's p a s tb e h a v i o r s a s w e l l a s p a t t e r n s f o r o n e 's c u r r e n t a n d f u t u r e b e h a v -

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23 HAZEL ROSE MARKUS AND SHINOBU KITAYAMATableSum ma ry of Key Differences Between an Independent and anInterdependent Construal o f Se lfFeature compared Independent Interdependent

DefinitionStructureImportant featuresTasks

Role of others

Basis of self-esteema

Separate from social contextBounded, unitary, stableInternal, private (abilities, thoughts,feelings)Be uniqueExpress selfRealize internal attributesPromote own goalsBe direct; say what's on your mindSelf evaluation: others important forsocial comparison, reflectedappraisalAbility to express self, validateinternal attributes

Connected with social contextFlexible, variableExternal, public (statuses, roles,relationships)Belong, fit-inOccupy one's proper placeEngage in appropriate actionPromote others' goalsBe indirect; read other's mindSelf definition: relationshipswith others in specificcontexts define the selfAbility to adjust, restrain self,maintain harmony withsocial context

a Esteeming the self may be primarily a Western phenomenon, and the concept of self-esteem shouldperhaps be replaced by self-satisfaction, or by a term that reflects the realization that one is fulfilling theculturally mandated task.

iors (Neisser, 1976). M arku s an d Wu rf (1987) called this assort-ment of self-regulatory schemata the self system. Whenever atask, an event, or a situation is self-relevant, the ensuing pro-cesses and consequences are likely to be influenced by the na-ture of the self-system. The self-system has been shown to beinstr umen tal in the regulation of intrapersonal processes suchas self-relevant information processing, affect regulation, andmotivation and in the regulation of interpersonal processessuch as person perception, social comparison, a nd the seekingand shaping of social interaction (see Cantor & Kihlstr om,1987; Greenwald & Pratkanis, 1984; Markus & Wurf, 1987, forreviews). The goal of this article is to furth er specify the role ofthe self-system in behavior by examining how these divergentcultural self-schemata influe nce individua l experience.

In the current analysis, we hypothesize that the i ndepe ndentversus interdep endent construals of self are among the mos tgeneral a nd overarching sche mata of the individu al's self-sys-tem. These construals recruit an d organize the more specificself-regulatory schemata. 3 We are suggesting here, therefore,that the exact orga nizati on of man y self-relevant processes andtheir outcomes depen ds crucially on whether these processesare rooted in an indep endent construal of the self or whetherthey are based primaril y on an int erdepende nt construal of theself. For example, in the process of len ding mean ing and coher-ence to the social world, we know that people will show aheightene d sensitivity o self-relevant stimuli. For those with anindep enden t view of self, this includes inf ormation relevant toone's self-defining attributes. For one with an interdepend entview of self, such stimu li would incl ude info rmat ion about sig-nifican t others with whom the perso n has a relationship or in-formation about the self in relation to another person.

Affect regula tion involves seeking positive states a nd avoid-ing negative ones. Positive states are those that e nhan ce or pro-mote one's view of the self, and negative states are those thatchallenge this view. For a pers on with an indepe ndent view ofself, this involves seeking i nfo rmat ion that co nfirms or en-

hances one's interna l, private attributes. The most desirable situ-ations are those t hat allow one to verify and express those im-portant internal attributes and that convey the sense that one isappropriately autonomous. In contrast, for a person with aninte rdepe ndent view of self, on e might expect the most desir-able states to be those that allow one to be responsive to one'simme dia te context or that convey the sense that one is succeed-ing in his or her in terde pend ent relationships or statuses.

A third import ant function of the self-concept suggested byMarkus and Wurf (1987) is that of moti vating persons, of mov-ing them to action. The person with an ind epende nt view of selfshould be motivated to those actions that allow expression ofone's im por tan t self-defining, inner attributes (e.g., hardwork-ing, caring, independent, and powerful), whereas the personwith an interdependent view of self should be motivated to

3 What these very general cultural self-schemata of independence orinterdependence mean for a given individual's articulated view of selfcannot be specified, however. The self-concept derives not only fromthe cultural self-schema that is the focus herein but from the completeconfiguration of self-schemata, including those that are a product ofgender, race, religion, social class, and one's particular social and devel-opmental history. Not all people who are part o f an independent cul-ture will thus characterize themselves as independent, nor will allthose who live as part of an interdependent culture claim to be interde-pendent. Within independent and interdependent cultures, there isgreat diversity in indiv idual self-definition, and there can also bestrong similarities across cultures. For example, many artists, whetherJapanese or American, may describe themselves as nonconformist,innovative, and breaking with tradition. And many aspects of theirbehavior are indeed very similar. Yet, nonconformity Japanese-styleand nonconformity American-style, although similar in some respects,will not, because of the differences in their supporting cultural con-texts, be identical. For Japanese, nonconformity is a privilege affordedonly to selected, talented individuals whose deviance from the norm ofinterdependence is implicitly sanctioned by the rest of society. ForAmericans, nonconformity is regarded as every individual's birthright.

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C U L T U R E A N D T H E S E L F 23t h o s e a c t i o n s t h a t e n h a n c e o r f o s t e r o n e 's r e l a te d n e s s o r c o n n e c -t i o n t o o t h e r s . O n t h e s u r f a c e, s u c h a c t i o n s c o u l d l o o k r e m a r k -a b l y s i m i l a r ( e.g ., w o r k i n g i n c r e d i b l y h a r d t o g a i n a d m i s s i o n t o ad e s i r a b l e c o ll e ge ) , b u t t h e e x a c t s o u r c e , o r e t io l o gy , o f t h e e n e r -g i z i n g m o t i v a t i o n m a y b e p o w e r f u l l y d i ff e r e n t ( D e V o s , 19 7 3;M a e h r & N i c h o l l s , 19 8 0) .

I n t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n s , w e d i s c u s s t h e s e i d e a s i n f u r t h e rd e t a i l a n d r e v i e w t h e e m p i r i c a l l i t e ra t u r e , w h i c h s u g g e st s t h a tt h e r e a r e s i g n i f ic a n t c o g n i ti v e , e m o t i o n a l , a n d m o t i v a t i o n a lc o n s e q u e n ce s o f h o l d i n g a n i n d e p e n d e n t o r a n i n t e r d e p e n d e n tv ie w o f th e s e l f .

Consequences fo r CognitionI f a c o g n i t iv e a c ti v i t y i m p l i c a t e s t h e s e l f , t h e o u t c o m e o f t h i s

a c t i v i t y w i l l d e p e n d o n t h e n a t u r e o f t h e s e l f - s y st e m . S p e c i f i -c a ll y , t h e r e a r e t h r e e i m p o r t a n t c o n s e q u e n c e s o f t h e s e d i v e r g e n ts e l f - s y s te m s fo r c o g n i t i o n . F i r s t , w e m a y e x p e c t t h o s e w i t h i n -t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l v es t o b e m o r e a t t e n t i v e a n d s e n s it i v e t o o t h e r st h a n t h o s e w i t h i n d e p e n d e n t s e lv e s. T h e a t t e n t i v e n e s s a n d s e n s i-t i v i t y t o o t h e r s , c h a r a c t e r i z i n g t h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l ve s , w i l lr e s u l t i n a r e l a t iv e l y g r e a t e r c o g n i t i v e e l a b o r a t i o n o f t h e o t h e r o ro f t h e s e l f - i n - r e l a t io n - t o - o t h e r . S e c o n d , a m o n g t h o s e w i t h i n t e r -d e p e n d e n t s e l v es , t h e u n i t o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f b o t h t h e s e l f a n dt h e o t h e r w i l l i n c l u d e a r e l a t i v e l y s p e c i fi c s o c i a l c o n t e x t i nw h i c h t h e s e l f a n d t h e o t h e r a r e e m b e d d e d . T h i s m e a n s t h a tk n o w l e d g e a b o u t p e r s o n s , e i t h e r t h e s e l f o r o t h e r s , w i l l n o t b ea b s t r a c t a n d g e n e r a l i z e d a c r o s s c o n t e x t s , b u t i n s t e a d w i l l r e -m a i n s p e c if i c t o t h e f o c a l c o n t e x t . T h i r d , a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h es o c i a l c o n t e x t a n d t h e r e a c t i o n s o f o t h e r s m a y a l s o s h a p e s o m eb a s i c, n o n s o c i a l c o g n i t iv e a c t i v it i e s s u c h a s c a t e g o r i z i n g a n dc o u n t e r f a c t u a l t h i n k i n g .

I n e x p l o r i n g t h e i m p a c t o f d i v e r g e n t c u l t u r a l c o n s t r u a l s o nt h i n k i n g , w e a s s u m e t h a t h o w p e o p l e t h i n k ( t h e p r o c e s s ) i n as o c i a l s i t u a t i o n c a n n o t b e e a s i l y s e p a r a t e d f r o m w h a t t h e y t h i n ka b o u t ( th e c o n te n t ; S h w e d e r , 1 9 9 0 ; S h w e d e r & B o u rn e , 1 9 8 4 ) .E x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h o n s o c i a l c o g n i t i o n i n t h e p a s t d e c a d e h a ss u g g e s t e d t h e p o w e r o f c o n t e n t i n s o c i a l i n f e r e n c e ( e.g ., s e e F i s k e& T a y lo r , 1 9 8 4 ; Ma rk u s & Z a jo n c , 1 9 8 5 , fo r r e v ie w s ) . I t i s t h en a t u r e o f t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ( e.g ., s e lf , a n o t h e r p e r s o n , a w e e d ,o r c l a m c h o w d e r ) t h a t g u i d e s a t te n t i o n , a n d t h a t d e t e r m i n e sw h a t o t h e r r e l e v a n t i n f o r m a t i o n w i l l b e r e t r i e v e d t o f i ll i n t h eg a p o f a v a i l a b l e se n s e d a t a . F o r e x a m p l e , i n v e s t i g a t i o n s b yD A n d r a d e ( 1 9 8 1 ) a n d J o h n s o n - L a i r d ( 1 9 8 3 ) i n d i c a t e t h a t t h eg r e a t e r t h e f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h t h e s t i m u l u s m a t e r i a l s , t h e m o r ee l a b o r a te t h e s c h e m a t a f o r f r a m i n g t h e p r o b l e m , a n d t h e b e t t e rt h e p r o b l e m s o l v in g . I n g e n e r a l , t h e n , h o w a g i v e n o b j e c t i sc u l t u ra l l y c o n s t r u e d a n d r e p r e s e n te d i n m e m o r y s h o u l d i m p o r -t a n t ly i n f lu e n c e a n d e v e n d e t e r m i n e h o w o n e t h i n k s a b o u t t h eo b j e c t . A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e d i v e r g e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f t h e s e l f w ed e s c r i b e s h o u l d b e e x p e c t e d t o h a v e v a r i o u s c o n s e q u e n c e s f o ra l l c o g n i t io n r e l e v a n t t o s e l f , o th e r s , o r s o c ia l r e l a t io n s h ip s .Mo re interpersonal knowledge I f t h e m o s t s i g n i f ic a n t el e -m e n t s o f t h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n t s e l f a r e t h e s e l f - i n - r e l a t i o n - t o -o t h e r s e l e m e n t s , t h e r e w i l l b e a n e e d , a s w e l l a s a s t r o n g n o r m a -t iv e d e m a n d , f o r k n o w i n g a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e s o c ia ls u r r o u n d i n g , p a r t i c u l a r l y o t h e r s i n d i r e c t i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h es e lf . T h a t i s, i f p e o p l e c o n c e i v e o f t h e m s e l v e s a s i n t e r d e p e n d e n tp a r t s o f l a r g e r s o c i a l w h o l e s , i t i s i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e m t o b e

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Figure 2 Mean perce ived s imila r i ty of se l f o o the r and o the r to se l f bysub jec ts wi th Eas te rn and Wes te rn cu l tu ra l backgrounds .

s e n s i t i v e t o a n d k n o w l e d g e a b l e a b o u t t h e o t h e r s w h o a r e t h ec o p a r t i c i p a n t s i n v a r i o u s r e l a t i o n s h i p s , a n d a b o u t t h e s o c i a ls i t u a t i o n s t h a t e n a b l e t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s . M a i n t a i n i n g o n e ' s r e -l a t i o n s h i p s a n d e n s u r i n g a h a r m o n i o u s s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n r e -q u i r e s a f u l l u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e s e o t h er s , t h a t i s , k n o w i n gh o w t h e y a r e f e e l in g , t h i n k i n g , a n d l i k e l y t o a c t i n t h e c o n t e x t o fo n e ' s r e la t i o n s h i p s t o t h e m . I t f o ll o w s t h a t t h o s e w i t h i n t e r d e -p e n d e n t s e l v e s m a y d e v e l o p a d e n s e a n d r i c h l y e l a b o r a t e d s t o r eo f i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t o t h e r s o r o f t h e s e l f i n r e l a t i o n .

K i t a y a m a , M a r k u s , T u m m a l a , K u r o k a w a , a n d K a t o ( 1 99 0)e x a m i n e d t h i s i d e a i n a s t u d y r e q u i r i ng s i m i l a r i t y j u d g m e n t sb e t w e e n s e l f a n d o t h e r . A t y p i c a l A m e r i c a n f i n d i n g i s t h a t t h es e l f i s j u d g e d t o b e m o r e d i s s i m i l a r t o o t h e r t h a n o t h e r i s to t h es e l f ( H o l y o a k & G o r d o n , 1 9 83 ; S r u l l & G a e l i c k , 1 98 3 ). T h i sf i n d i n g h a s b e e n i n t e r p r e t e d t o i n d i c a t e t h a t f o r t h e t y p i c a lA m e r i c a n s u b j e c t , t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e s e lf i s m o r e e l a b o -r a t e d a n d d i s t i n c t iv e i n m e m o r y t h a n t h e r e p r e s e n t a t io n o f a n -o t h e r p e r s o n . A s a r e s u lt , t h e s i m i l a r i t y b e t w e e n s e l f a n d o t h e r i sj u d g e d t o b e l e s s w h e n t h e q u e s t i o n i s p o s e d a b o u t a m o r ed i s t i n c t i v e o b j e c t ( I s s e / f s i m i l a r t o o t h e r ? ) t h a n w h e n t h e q u e s -t i o n i s p o s e d a b o u t a l e s s d i s t i n c t i v e o b j e c t ( I s other s i m i l a r t os el f? .) . I f, h o w e v e r , t h o s e w i th i n t e rd e p e n d e n t s e lv e s h a v e a t l e a s ta s m u c h k n o w l e d g e a b o u t s o m e o t h e r s a s t h e y h a ve a b o u t t h e m -s e lv e s, t h i s A m e r i c a n p a t t e r n o f f in d i n g s m a y n o t b e f o u n d .

T o t e s t t h e s e p r e d i c t i o n s , K i t a y a m a e t a l . ( 1 9 9 0 ) c o m p a r e ds t u d e n t s f r o m E a s t e r n c u l t u r a l b a c k g r o u n d s ( s t u d e n t s f r o m I n -d i a ) w i t h t h o s e f r o m W e s t e r n c u l t u r a l b a c k g r o u n d s ( A m e r i c a ns t u d e n ts ) . A s s h o w n i n F i g u r e 2 , f o r t h e W e s t e r n s u b j e c t s,K i t a y a m a e t a l. r e p l i c a t e d t h e p r i o r f i n d i n g s i n w h i c h t h e s e l f i sp e r c e i v e d a s s i g n i f ic a n t l y m o r e d i s s i m i l a r t o t h e o t h e r t h a n i st h e o t h e r t o t h e s e lf . S u c h a f i n d i n g i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h a b r o a dr a n g e o f s t u d i e s s h o w i n g t h a t f o r i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h a W e s t e r nb a c k g r o u n d , s u p p o s e d l y t h o s e w i t h i n d e p e n d e n t s e l ve s , s e lf -k n o w l e d g e i s m o r e d i s t i n c t i v e a n d d e n s e l y e l a b o r a t e d t h a nk n o w l e d g e a b o u t o t h e r p e o p l e ( e .g ., G r e e n w a l d & P r a t k a n i s ,1 9 84 ). T h i s p a t t e rn , h o w e v e r , w a s n o n s ig n i f i c a n t ly r e v e r s e d fo rt h e I n d i a n s u b j e c ts , w h o j u d g e d t h e s e l f t o b e s o m e w h a t m o r es i m i l a r t o t h e o t h e r t h a n i s th e o t h e r t o t h e s e l f. I t a p p e a r s , t h e n ,

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232 HAZEL ROSE MARKUSthat for the latter, more inter depen dent subjects, knowledgeabout others is relatively more elaborated and distinctive thanknowledge about the self. Asymmet ry in similarity judgment sis an indirect way to evaluate knowledge accessibility, but amore d irect mea sure of cross-cultural differences in knowledgeof the other s hould reveal that those with inte rdepe nden t selveshave more readily accessible knowledge of the other.Context specific knowledg e o f self and other. A second con-sequence of having an interdependent self as opposed to anindepe ndent self concerns the ways in which knowledge aboutself and other is processed, organized, and retrieved from mem -ory. For example, given an interdependent self, knowledgeabout the self may not be organized into a hierarchical structurewith th e person's characteristic attribu tes (e.g., intelligent, com-petent, a nd athletic) as the supe rordin ate nodes, as is often as-sumed in characterizations of the ind epend ent self. In otherwords, those with inte rdep ende nt selves are less likely to orga-nize knowledge about the self in general or about the other ingeneral?' Specific social situation s are mor e likely to serve as theunit of representation th an are attributes of separate persons.One learns about the self with respect to a specific other in aparti cula r context and, conversely, ab out the other with respectto the self in a particular context.

In exploring variations in the nature of person knowledge,Shweder and Bourne (1984) asked respondents in India andAmerica to describe several close acquaintances. The descrip-tions pro vided by the I ndi ans were more situa tionally specificand more relational than those of Americans. Ind ian descrip-tions focused on behavior; they described what was done,where it was done, and to whom or with who m it was done. TheIndia n respondents said, He has no land to cultivate but likesto cultivate the land of others, or Wh en a quarrel arises, hecann ot resist the temptatio n of saying a word or He behavesproperly with guests but feels sorry if money is spent on the m?'It is the behavior itself that is focal and significant rather th anthe inne r attribute that supposedly underlies it. Notably thistendency to provide the specific situational or interpersonalcontext when providing a des cription was reported to character-ize the free descriptions of Indians regardless of social class,educatio n, or literacy level. It appears, th en, tha t the concrete-ness in person description is not due to a lack of skill in ab-stracting concrete instanc es to form a general proposition, butrather a consequence of the fact that global inferences aboutpersons are typically regarded as not m eaningful or informa-tive.

Americans also describe other people in terms of the spe-cifics of their behavior, but typically this occurs only at thebegi nnin g of relationships when the other is relatively un-known, or if the behavior is somehow distinctive and does notreadily lend itself o a trait characterization. Rather than sayingHe does not disclose secrets Amer ica ns are more likely to sayHe is discreet or principled?' Rather than He is hesitant to

give his money away, Ame ric ans say He is tight or selfish?'Shweder and Bourne (1984) found that 46% of American de-scriptions were o f the context-free variety, whereas this was tru eof only 20% from the Ind ian sample.

A study by J. G. Miller (1984) on patterns of explanationamong Indian Hindus and Americans revealed the same ten-dency for contextual and relational descriptions of behavior

AND SHINOBU KITAYAMAamong Indian respondents. In the first phase of her study, re-spondents generated two prosocial behaviors and two deviantbehaviors and then explained why each behavior was under-taken. For example, in the prosocial case, respondents wereasked to describe something a person you know well did re-cently that you considered good for someo ne else:' Miller codedthe e xplanat ions for reference to dis positional explanations; forreference to social, spatial, temporal l ocation; and for referenceto specific acts or occurrences. Like Shweder and Bourne(1984), she found that on average, 40% of the reasons given byAmerica n respondents referred to the general dispositions ofthe actor. For the Hin du respondents, dispositio nal explana-tions cons tituted less than 20% of their responses.

In a sec ond phase of the study, Miller (1984) asked bot h Ame r-ican a nd India n respondents to explain several accounts of thedeviant behaviors generated by the Indi an respondents. For ex-ample, a Hindu subject narrated the following incident:

This concerns a motorcycle accident. The back wheel burst on themotorcycle. The passenger sitting in the rear jumped. The mo-ment the passenger fell, he struck his head on the pavement. Thedriver of the motorcycle--who is an