Mapping the Self with Units of Culture

This study explored a method of representing the self graphically using elemental units of culture called memes. A diverse sample of eleven volunteers participated in the co-construction of individual “self-maps” during a series of interviews over a nine month period. Two of the resultant maps are presented as exemplars. Commonalities found in all eleven maps lend support to the notion that there are certain structures to the self that are cross-cultural. The use of memes in mapping those structures was considered useful but insufficient because emotive elements to the self emerged from the research that could not be represented in memetic form. Suggestions are made for future research.