Self Concept and Culture: 1314434

Research question:

Is there a relationship between expressions of self-concept and the individualism/collectivism domain of culture?

Abstract

This study is to establish a connection between culture, individualism, self-concept, and collectivism. A total number of 288 first-year psychology students participated in this study. To ensure accurate information is obtained, a questionnaire of 10 questions was prepared and circulated to all the target groups. Data collected was analysed using SPSS. The results indicate a positive correlation between characterization and individualism. The results also point to the negative correlation between individualism and group expression. The analysis also indicates a negative correlation between the individualism index estimates and the ratings of all central statements. From the study, it is recommended that a larger sample be used for further research.

Introduction

 The self-concept is the idea that someone builds themselves based on their beliefs and the responses of others (Orth & Robins, 2019). Gjersoe, Newman, Chituc, and Hood, (2014), in their work, noted that culture is one of the most powerful tools human lives. They argue that culture affects how people see themselves and their surroundings. Familiar centrists tend to consider themselves independent, giving priority to their personal interests in relation to public goals (Marsh et al., 2015). Conversely, concentric centralism is sometimes intertwined with collectivism, and it pays particular attention to the interdependent self, especially norms, obligations, and obligations (Vannini & Williams, 2016). In a group environment, people tend to emphasize their sense of belonging to a particular group or association (Han & Humphreys, 2016).

Culture is defined as the behavioral characteristics of a given ethnic group or society. Culture is known to promote experience in our lives because the environment allows this experience to take place (Huang & Park 2013). On the other hand, self-esteem can be defined as knowledge and understanding of oneself. The concept of self-concept consists of the following components: physical, social, and psychological attitudes and ideas (Heine, 2015). A key factor influencing self-esteem is family and religion. Since a good culture works to develop people in society. It is important to study how culture affects the way people see things around them

This article tries to uncover the concepts of individualism and collectivism, explain the ideas of collectivism and individualism in the social sciences and their impact on culture, and describe individualism and collectivism in social sciences and philosophy.

Aim of this research

In looking at collectivism and the culture of individualism. The study took into account the following factors:

• Gender.
• Nationality of the participants
• Age.

The goal of the study is to demonstrate the relationship between self-esteem and culture; this will make it easier to predict the self-esteem of a person with their behaviors. The paper also intends to determine the relationship between personal culture and behavior that lead a collective or individualistic lifestyle (Chen and Li, 2013). It will also determine the correlation between the grouping of self-esteem of concentric behavior, group behavior and thought-oriented behavior, and culture of collectivism or individualism. In the end, the study examines the correlation between individualistic ratings and self-rating groupings.

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES  

Marsh, H. W., Abduljabbar, A. S., Parker, P. D., Morin, A. J., Abdelfattah, F., Nagengast, B., … & Abu-Hilal, M. M. (2015). The internal/external frame of reference model of self-concept and achievement relations: Age-cohort and cross-cultural differences. American Educational Research Journal, 52(1), 168-202.

This book places ideas and principles of psychology in an intercultural context, allowing readers to analyze things such as changing gender roles, sex, violence, and choice of spouse. The idea in the journal is applicable in this context as it affects the meaning of the self-concept and its various elements, placing psychological thoughts and principles in a cross-cultural context.

Church, A. T., Katigbak, M. S., Ibáñez-Reyes, J., de Jesús Vargas-Flores, J., Curtis, G. J., Tanaka-Matsumi, J., … & Locke, K. D. (2014). Relating self-concept consistency to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in eight cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(5), 695-712.

This article explores the meaning of self-concept and its various elements. This is important for this study because the main topic is self-esteem and how various aspects affect it.

Hoeve, Y. T., Jansen, G., & Roodbol, P. (2014). The nursing profession: public image, self‐concept, and professional identity. A discussion paper. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(2), 295-309.

This article discusses the assumptions of Paula M. Niedenthal and Denise R. Beike, which indicate that there are two self-evaluations: interrelated and independent self-evaluations. This is important because we study the impact of culture on self-esteem.

Chen, C. Y., & Li, C. I. (2013). Assessing the spiritual leadership effectiveness: The contribution of follower’s self-concept and preliminary tests for the moderation of culture

This article discusses the cultural philosophy of Gale Hofstede and various cultural forms, such as individualistic and collectivist societies, as well as the characteristics of people belonging to these particular societies. This is important for research because it brings us insights into individualism and collectivist society. And leadership position.

Church, A. T., Katigbak, M. S., Ching, C. M., Zhang, H., Shen, J., Arias, R. M., … & Mastor, K. A. (2013). Within-individual variability in self-concepts and personality states: Applying density distribution and situation-behavior approaches across cultures. Journal of Research in Personality, 47(6), 922-935.

This article discusses the influence of culture and individualism in two completely independent societies and nations, the United States and China, and helps people to express different opinions on how to educate people, ideas, and beliefs in these societies. This is important because it contrasts with the ideal of a unique center of completely independent culture and a heterogeneous center.

Study hypothesis

1. There is no connection between individualism and statements of group self-esteem
2. There is a positive correlation between self-centered self-esteem and individuals
3. There is a negative correlation between individualism and homocentric indicators.

In his work, MacDonald (2020) define self-esteem as a person’s self-image. Fiske (2010). pointed out that the development of self-esteem includes two aspects. There are I and the category of I. According to Marsh and Seaton (2013), the existential “I” is an essential aspect of self-esteem or self-planning. This applies to the consciousness of difference and difference and the unshakable consciousness of oneself. Usborne and Taylor (2010) found that self-esteem consists of three parts. Self-esteem, self-image and ideal self.

Spencer (2013) found that even if researchers tried to influence people’s personal qualities, they still believed them. Matzler et al (2016) suggested four main determinants of self- esteem as the comparison with others, social role, reaction of others and identity. We will make hypotheses by comparing the assessments of centers of thought, individualism, and concentric self-esteem among 288 first-year psychology students from different countries, and find out why the grades differ in different cultures and countries.

Method

1. Participants

The study involved a total of 288 first-year psychology university students. Initially, the study had 293 participants, but data from 5 students could not be used due to the luck of the Individualism Index rating for their country of origin.

By gender, there were 111 men (34.5%), 177 women (61.5). Participants were taken from different ages, which ranged from 17 to 77 years. The mean age was 22.14 years.

Participants were from 31 nationalities, the majority of Australia (74%) plus three countries without the rating. Australia  , China , Brazil,  Canada, Belgium, Germany, Colombia, Eritrea,    Ghana, Congo El Salvador ,  Hong Kong, Ireland, Indonesia, India, Iran,  Italy  Kenya  Malaysia  Netherlands, Iraq,  New Zealand, UK, Philippines, Vietnam, Serbia, Pakistan, Seychelles,  Singapore, South, Africa, USA, Venezuela, Zambia and  Zimbabwe.

1. Materials

The study made use of the ten statement test “I am test.” The test was given to the students in their lecture halls and took half an hour to fill. To reduce the tension among the students, lecturers informed the students what the test was for, but they did not explain how the information would be used to ensure the highest level of accuracy.

1. Procedures
2. Provide a ten questions questionnaire to each participant. All questions begin with the statement “I am.”
3.  Respondents did not fully disclose the content used to measure the questionnaire.
4. For accuracy, the completed “I am test” questionnaires were compiled and grouped into homogeneous central statements, group statements, or unique central statements, where the characteristics of the group are mainly reflected in the answers provided.
5.  Extract the answers and then enter the statistical SPSS software for analysis.

Results

1. Descriptive Statistics
2. From the table of descriptive statistics,
3. The average value of idiocentric is 11.0104, Std Deviation of idiocentric is 6.42485.
4. The highest and lowest ratings of idiocentric are 28 and 0.0
5. The average group score is 14.6007; group Std Deviation is 6.55587.
6. The highest rating of the group is 28. The lowest is 0.0.
7. The average value of allocentric is 2.2091; Std Deviation is 3.17302
8. The lowest and highest scores of allocentric are 0.0 and 16.0.

• Statistics output

To assess the size and direction of the relationship between the individualism index indicator and three variables: a unique center indicator, a group indicator, and a uniform center indicator, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was calculated. Discover all relationships are important. A significant, but weak negative relationship was found between Individualism Index rating and idiocentric statement score, r (286) = -.13, p < .05, 2 tailed. No significant relationships were found between Individualism Index rating and group statement score, r (286) = .10, p > .05, 2 tailed, or Individualism Index rating and allocentric statement score, r (286) = .04, p > .05, 2 tailed.

Discussion

This study was conducted to establish a link between self-esteem and collectivism and the culture of individualism. The Alleged hypothesis: There is a positive correlation between self-centered statements about oneself and individualism; there is no connection between group self-esteem and individualism. And lastly, there is a negative correlation between concentric theory and individualistic self-esteem. The study is consistent with the first hypothesis and finds that there is an average positive correlation between the trait score and the individualism score. This conclusion contradicts the assertion hypothesis, which indicates a weak negative correlation between the assessment of the individualism index and the assessment of the group’s approval. Finally, the results of the study are consistent with the above assumptions, indicating a weak negative correlation between the individualism index estimates and all central statements. For collect data, the study employed ten statement test “I am test”. This made the process accurate and less stressful to the target group.

The main advantage of this study is that the samples it includes include a wide range of age samples. The study involved people aged 17 to 77, in which the majority of people in the world participated. It also involved a large number of countries.

The main limitation of this study a small sample size was used. The study used 288 psychology students. This is a very small sample compared to the world population.

Similarly, sample selection is not random, which may skew the results because individuals do not have equal opportunities to be selected.

From the above limitations, we recommend conducting further studies to use a larger sample size to increase the reliability and validity of data.

Conclusion

The paper was undertaken to study the relationship that exist between culture, individualism, self-concept, and collectivism. 288 psychology students taken randomly from different countries were involved in the study. For accurate data, the age limit of the participants was between 17 to 77 years. The data obtained was analysed using SPSS.

From the study concludes that there exist a weak negative correlation between the assessment of the individualism index and the assessment of the group’s approval. Results of the study are consistent with the above assumptions, indicating a weak negative correlation between the individualism index estimates and all central statements. It is however important for a larger sample size to be used in future studies.

References

Chen, C. Y., & Li, C. I. (2013). Assessing the spiritual leadership effectiveness: The contribution of follower’s self-concept and preliminary tests for moderation of culture and managerial position. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(1), 240-255.

Fiske, J. (2010). Understanding popular culture. Routledge.

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Heine, S. J. (2015). Cultural psychology: third international student edition. WW Norton & company.

Huang, C. M., & Park, D. (2013). Cultural influences on Facebook photographs. International Journal of Psychology, 48(3), 334-343.

MacDonald, N. (2020). Determinants of Self-Esteem.

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Marsh, H. W., Abduljabbar, A. S., Parker, P. D., Morin, A. J., Abdelfattah, F., Nagengast, B., … & Abu-Hilal, M. M. (2015). The internal/external frame of reference model of self-concept and achievement relations: Age-cohort and cross-cultural differences. American Educational Research Journal, 52(1), 168-202.

Matzler, K., Strobl, A., Stokburger-Sauer, N., Bobovnicky, A., & Bauer, F. (2016). Brand personality and culture: The role of cultural differences on the impact of brand personality perceptions on tourists’ visit intentions. Tourism Management, 52, 507-520.

Orth, U., & Robins, R. W. (2019). Development of self-esteem across the lifespan.

Spencer, M. B. (2013). Cultural cognition and social cognition as identity correlates of Black children’s personal-social development. Beginnings: The art and science of planning psychotherapy, 215.

Usborne, E., & Taylor, D. M. (2010). The role of cultural identity clarity for self-concept clarity, self-esteem, and subjective well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(7), 883-897.

Vannini, P., & Williams, J. P. (2016). Authenticity in culture, self, and society. In Authenticity in culture, self, and society (pp. 17-34). Routledge.