Independent and Interdependent Conceptions of Self

An Investigation of Age, Gender, and Culture Differences in Importance and Satisfaction Ratings

Bibliographic Data

ID7738454
AuthorsDavid Watkins (0000-0002-3930-5990, University of Hong Kong), Dora N Watkins (0009-0001-5468-9830, University of Hong Kong, corresponding author), Shahrenaz Mortazavi (Shahid Beheshti University), Irina Trofimova (0000-0001-8538-3845), Ирина Трофимова (0000-0001-6758-1389, McMaster University)
Year2000
Volume34
Issue2
Pages113-134
Publication date2000-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCross-Cultural Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1069-3971 • E-ISSN: 1552-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/106939710003400202
OpenAlexW2027013799
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited26

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 Cross-Cultural Research, Vol. 34 No. 2, May 2000 113-134 and country but a very modest gender effect. However, the interaction effects were also substantial. The data were interpreted as casting doubt on explanations of the nature of self-conception in terms of a single cultural dimension, such as Individualism-Collectivism or gender. The danger of generalizing about a country from a single group, such as college students, was also evident, as within-country differences were consistently found for the adult and student samples

Collectivism · Economics · Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory · Individualism · Individualistic culture · Interdependence · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Test (biology · Variance (accounting · Cultural Differences and Values · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology