Inter- and Independent Cultural Perspectives

Western cultures such American and European tend to view individuals as  independent  or in control of one’s own behavior and self-sustaining. In contrast, the Asian perspective holds individuals as  interdependent  or the product of continued interaction with and dependence upon others. Independent and interdependent cultural perspectives impact social cognition differently.

There are many areas specific to social cognition which demonstrate independent versus interdependent perspectives. These include study of the self, attribution, modes of processing, motivation or locus of control, cognitive consistency, moral judgment, and acculturation. For example, individuals having predominately  independent  perspectives may make attributions that too, are more independent in nature versus someone having an   interdependent  perspective.

For this Discussion, consider the extent to which you identify with the   independent  and/or   interdependent  perspectives. To what extent to you feel you control your behavior versus being informed by other people in order to think, feel, and behave? Consider how these perspectives might impact your daily life.

Post by Day 4  a brief description of interdependent and independent cultural perspectives. Provide one example of either your own behavior or that of someone you observed demonstrating either an interdependent or an independent self-construal. Last, describe (at least two) factors that may have impacted why the individual in your example held an interdependent or independent self-construal. Bottom of Form

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Readings

·         Course Text:   Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination

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o    Chapter 3, “Intergroup Threat Theory”

o    Chapter 19, “Racism in the 21st Century”

·         Article: Cheung, R. Y .M., & Park, I. J. K. (2010). Anger suppression, interdependent self-construal, and depression among Asian American and European American college students.   Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16 (4), 517–525. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the MEDLINE with Full Text database.

·         Article: Clark, A. E., & Kashima, Y. (2003). Stereotype maintenance in communication: How perceptions of stereotype sharedness contribute to the stereotype content of interpersonal communication.   Australian Journal of Psychology, 55 (Suppl.), 38. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Academic Search Complete database.

·         Article: Conway, L. G., Schaller, M., Tweed, R. G., & Hallett, D. (2001). The complexity of thinking across cultures: Interactions between culture and situational context.   Social Cognition, 19 (3), 228–250. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the PsycINFO database. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Academic Search Complete database.

·         Article: Cuddy, A. J. C., Fiske, S. T., Kwan, V. S. Y., Glick, P., Demoulin, S., Leyens, J. P., Bonds, M. H.,…Ziegler, R. (2009). Stereotype content model across cultures: Towards universal similarities and some differences.   British Journal of Social Psychology, 48 (1), 1–33. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Academic Search Complete database.

·         Article: Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2010). Cultures and selves: A cycle of mutual constitution.   Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5 (4), 420–430. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the PsycINFO database.

·         Article: Zebrowitz, L. A., Kikuchi, M., & Fellous, J. (2010). Facial resemblance to emotions: Group differences, impression effects, and race stereotypes.   Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98 (2), 175–189. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the PsycARTICLES database.

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