Where Is the Evidence for Pancultural Self-Enhancement? A Reply to Sedikides, Gaertner, and Toguchi (2003).

2005/10/01 by Steven J. Heine · 5 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cultural Differences and Values #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion #Psychology #Self-enhancement #Social psychology #Universality (dynamical systems) #Replicate #Social comparison theory #Self

paper · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.4.531

openalex publication_date 2005/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15

Abstract

C. Sedikides, L. Gaertner, and Y. Toguchi (2003) maintained that the self-enhancement motivation (as defined by tendencies to view oneself in overly positive terms) is universal. The present article challenges their claim. A review of the literature revealed that many studies contradict their findings regarding the domain-specific nature of East Asian self-enhancement. It is argued that Sedikides et al. did not replicate past research because they did not measure self-enhancement in their studies. The present article provides a theoretical basis for understanding cross-cultural differences in self-enhancement and considers the question of universality by exploring 2 different conceptualizations of positive self-regard.

Citations

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Cited by

• Pancultural self-enhancement reloaded: A meta-analytic reply to Heine (2005).
• Inclusion of theory‐relevant moderators yield the same conclusions as Sedikides, Gaertner, and Vevea (2005): A meta‐analytical reply to Heine, Kitayama, and Hamamura (2007)
• Inclusion of additional studies yields different conclusions: Comment on Sedikides, Gaertner, & Vevea (2005), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
• Which studies test whether self‐enhancement is pancultural? Reply to Sedikides, Gaertner, and Vevea, 2007
• Self-enhancement [wikipedia]