Across the (Not So) Great Divide: Cultural Similarities in SelfEvaluative Processes

Although it is widely assumed that East Asians and Westerners evaluate themselves differently, there is much support for cultural convergences. In this article, I review evidence showing that in both cultures (and to a largely comparable degree), people (a) experience high feelings of self-regard; (b) view themselves and loved ones in highly positive terms; and (c) exhibit self-serving biases that promote feelings of self-worth. Moreover, in both cultures (and to a largely comparable degree), individual differences in self-esteem predict (d) psychological well-being and (e) emotional regulation in response to negative outcomes. These commonalities suggest that self-love is a universal human motivation. Readers who have kept abreast of developments in social and personality psychology over the past 10 years have probably noticed that cultural differences in self-evaluative processes (e.g., self-esteem, self-enhancement, self-appraisals) have received a good deal of attention (Brown, 2003; Heine, Lehman, Markus, & Kitayama, 1999; Sedikides, Gaertner, & Toguchi, 2003; Sedikides & Gregg, 2008). Most of the attention centers around differences between East Asians (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Koreans), who reside in an interdependent, collectivistic cultural context that emphasizes interpersonal harmony and connectedness with others, and Westerners (e.g., Americans, Canadians, and West Europeans), who reside in an independent, individualistic cultural context that emphasizes originality and self-reliance. Conceivably, these cultural differences could translate into cultural differences in self-evaluative processes. In this article, I review evidence relevant to this possibility. I begin by discussing the nature of self-esteem and self-enhancement more broadly, before turning to a more specific review of cultural similarities and differences. To foreshadow my conclusion, I believe the evidence shows that whenever cultural differences in self-evaluative processes are found, they represent phenotypic expressions of a common (genotypic) motive: The motive to feel good about ourselves. Before beginning, it’s important to explain why anyone should care whether self-evaluative processes are consistent across cultures. The answer is this: Virtually all theories of human motivation propose that people strive to feel good about themselves (e.g., Becker, 1968; Deci & Ryan, 1995; James, 1890; Maslow, 1943; Rogers, 1961). For some theories, this need is so vital that effective functioning is possible only after it is first satisfied (Maslow, 1943). Because it sheds light on the universality of positive self-feelings, crosscultural research on self-evaluative processes bears on these theories. Self-Evaluative Processes: Conceptual Distinctions Defining constructs is a starting point for all scientific inquiry. This task is particularly important when it comes to understanding cultural differences in self-evaluative processes, Social and Personality Psychology Compass 4/5 (2010): 318–330, 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00267.x a 2010 The Author Journal Compilation a 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd because different researchers use different terms in different ways. Four terms require attention.