Abstract
The present study examined the influence of independent and interdependent self-construals and social context on decision-making using a set of hypothetical scenarios. Following the methodology of Sinha et al. (J Psychol 37(5):309–319, 2002. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207590244000124), a sample of Canadian undergraduate students was presented with 16 decision-making scenarios. Scenarios were divided into two clusters depending on interaction target: nine scenarios related to conflict between personal needs versus family and friends, and seven scenarios related to conflict between personal needs versus community or society. Participants were asked to choose one of five responses: collectivist behaviour with collectivist intent, individualist behaviour with individualist intent, collectivist behaviour with individualist intent, individualist behaviour with collectivist intent, or a mix of collectivist and individualist behaviours and intentions. Participant self-construal was measured orthogonally using Singelis’ (Personal Soc Psychol Bull 20(5):580–591, 1994) Self-Construal Scale. The results suggest that a complex mix of self-concept, situation, and interaction target influenced participant behaviours and intentions. Biggest differences were observed between participants who scored high on one construal and low on the other: those who were more independent were more likely to choose individualist behaviours and intentions, and those who were more interdependent tended to choose more collectivist options. Interdependent self-construal was found to curtail individualist intentions, but not behaviour. Both independent and interdependent participants made collectivist choices towards family and friends as opposed to the greater community. The results have implications for studying the influence of self-concept and cultural norms on behaviour.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aycan, Z., Kanungo, R. N., & Sinha, J. B. P. (1999). Organizational culture and human resource management practices: The model of culture fit. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 30, 501–526.
Brewer, M. B., & Gardner, W. (1996). Who is this “we”? Levels of collective identity and self representations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 83–93.
Choi, I., Nisbett, R. E., & Norenzayan, A. (1999). Causal attributions across cultures: Variation and universality. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 47–63.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture and organizations: Software of the mind. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Hong, Y., & Mallorie, L. (2004). A dynamic constructivist approach to culture: Lessons learned from personality psychology. Journal of Research in Personality, 38, 59–67.
Hong, Y.-Y., Morris, M. W., Chiu, C.-Y., & Benet-Martínez, V. (2000). Multicultural minds: A dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition. American Psychologist, 55, 709–720.
Kuo, B. C. H., Roysircar, G., & Newby-Clark, I. R. (2006). Development of the cross-cultural coping scale: Collective, avoidance, and engagement strategies. Measurement and Evaluation in Counselling and Development, 39, 161–181.
Kwantes, C. T., Ali, S., Kuo, B. C. H., & Towson, S. (2007a). Measuring intentions and behaviours: Allocentrism and idiocentrism in cultural context. Presented at the International Academy of Intercultural Research Conference, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Kwantes, C. T., Ali, S., Kuo, B. C. H., & Towson, S. (2007b) Allocentrism and idiocentrism: Are intentions and behaviours always congruent? Presented at the 68th Annual Conference of the Canadian Psychological Association, Ottawa, Canada.
Li, H., Zhang, Z., Bhatt, G., & Yum, Y.-O. (2006). Rethinking culture and self construal: China as a middle land. The Journal of Social Psychology, 146, 591–610.
Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.
Oyserman, D. (2011). Culture as situated cognition: Cultural mindsets, cultural fluency, and meaning making. European Review of Social Psychology, 22, 164–214.
Oyserman, D., & Lee, S. (2008). Does culture influence what and how we think? Effects of priming individualism and collectivism. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 311–342.
Oyserman, D., Coon, H., & Kemmelmeier, M. (2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 3–72.
Peng, K., Nisbett, R. E., & Wong, N. Y. C. (1997). Validity problems comparing values across cultures and possible solutions. Psychological Methods, 2, 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.2.4.329.
Realo, A., & Allik, J. (2009). On the relationship between social capital and individualism–collectivism. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3(6), 871–886.
Schwarzer, R., & Schwarzer, C. (1996). A critical survey of coping instruments. In M. Zeiclner & N. Endler (Eds.), Handbook of coping: Theory, research, and application (pp. 107–132). New York, NY: Wiley.
Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P. R. (1988). The theory of reasoned action: A meta-analysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 325–343.
Singelis, T. (1994). The measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 580–591.
Sinha, J. B. P., Vohra, N., Singhal, S., Sinha, R. B. N., & Ushashree, S. (2002). Normative predictions of collectivist–individualist intentions and behaviour of Indians. International Journal of Psychology, 37, 309–319.
Statistics Canada. (2006). Canada’s ethnocultural mosaic, 2006 census. Retrieved from http://www12.statscan.ca/english/census06/analysis/ethnicorigin/more/cfm.
Triandis, H. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Koustova, N., Kwantes, C.T. & Kuo, B.C.H. Self-Construals in Situational Context: Disaggregating Behaviours and Intentions Using Sinha et al.’s (2002) Decision-Making Scenarios. Psychol Stud 63, 78–87 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-018-0440-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-018-0440-3