Cultural PSYC 307 WHO AM I? CHAPTER 6 - SELF & PERSONALITY . The nature of ourselves strongly influences the ways we perceive and interact with our social worlds . People all over the world are able to think of themselves in terms of both abstract psychological attributes (I am creative) and concrete roles and relationships (I am a younger brother) o The ways in which they think of themselves in these 2 ways varies across cultures . Our survival and fitness depend both on the things that we accomplish as individuals and on our abilities to interact successfully with others . How we are ultimately distinct from others or how we are closely connected to others in the most researched psychological dimension across culture INDEPENDENT VS. INTERDEPENDENT VIEWS OF SELF . Independent View of Self o The self can be thought to derive its identity from its inner attributes - these are assumed to reflect an essence of the individual in that they are: " The basis of the individuals identity " Stable across the lifespan · Perceived to be unique " Are self-contained in that they are perceived to arise from the individual and not from interactions with others · Viewed as significant for regulating behaviour Individuals feel an obligation to publicly advertise themselves in ways consistent with these attributes " Independent selves tend to be viewed as distinct, autonomous entities whose identities are grounded in a variety of internal component features, and who interact with other similar independent entities · Interdependent View of Self o The self can be viewed as relational entity that is fundamentally connected to, and sustained by, a number of significant relationships o Viewing oneself as part of an encompassing social relationship means that behaviour is recognized as dependent upon perceptions of others thoughts, feelings, and actions
o In this view individuals are not perceived as separate and distinct entities but as participants in a larger social unit o Their experience of identity is reflexive in that it is contingent on their position relative to others, and their relationships with those others . These cultural differences in the self concept can also be observed in brain activation patterns o The medial prefrontal cortex is an area that has previously been linked to self representation . Self concepts shapes much about how people think-not just about themselves but about the world more generally . Our minds are like computers - they both take in information, execute various programs or heuristics to process that information and reach a conclusions regarding the info considered o The mind, however, has a self concept . Our self concepts serve a number of key functions Organize the info that we have abut ourselves Direct our attention to info that is viewed to be relevant Shape the concerns we have Guide us in our choice of relationship partners and the kinds of relationships we maintain o Influence how we interpret situations - which influences the emotional experiences that we have