Self-Enhancement: Is it Restricted to Individualistic Cultures?

2001/12/01 by Jenny Kurman · 2 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · Neuroscience · #Cultural Differences and Values #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment #Collectivism #Self-enhancement #Self construal #Psychology #Social psychology #Individualism #Interdependence #Individualistic culture #Ascription #Self #Sociology #Political science

paper · doi:10.1177/01461672012712013

openalex publication_date 2001/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

Two studies investigated how self-enhancement relates to interdependent and independent self-construals typical of collectivist and individualist cultures, respectively. Participants from three cultures were surveyed, two of them collectivist (Singaporean Chinese and Israeli Druze) and one individualist (Israeli Jews). Study 1 shows that the two collectivist cultures differ in their self-enhancement level among university students: Self-enhancement level among Singaporeans was weaker for academic self-enhancement and for other agentic traits. No cultural difference in self-enhancement of communal traits was found (N = 418). Study 2 replicated these results for high school students and evaluated the relations between self-construals, modesty, and self-enhancement. Regression analyses show that self-enhancement of agentic traits is predicted by independent self-construal and modesty (negatively), whereas self-enhancement of communal traits is predicted by interdependent self-construal (N = 362). The role of modesty norms in self-enhancement is discussed.

Citations

• Individual and collective processes in the construction of the self: Self-enhancement in the United States and self-criticism in Japan.
• Accuracy and bias in self-perception: Individual differences in self-enhancement and the role of narcissism.
• Is there a universal need for positive self-regard?
• Motivated inference: Self-serving generation and evaluation of causal theories.
• Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation.
• Cultural variation in unrealistic optimism: Does the West feel more vulnerable than the East?
• Self-Concept: Its Multifaceted, Hierarchical Structure
• Downward comparison principles in social psychology.
• Evaluations of Self and Others: Self-Enhancement Biases in Social Judgments
• Interpersonal and intrapsychic adaptiveness of trait self-enhancement: A mixed blessing?

Cited by

• On Pancultural Self-Enhancement
• Self-enhancement [wikipedia]