Self-Construal, Self-Control & Effects on Social Cohesion

[StWd]

Hi, this is my first post after my intro- I hope you find it interesting! 

 

In one of the current series of lectures I attend at university, we are studying social cognition and the self. An interesting thing that has come up a lot recently is how cultural differences, most notably between East and Western cultures, changes the way we develop our self-concept.

 

In Western cultures, notably US, the self is independent whereas in Eastern cultures, notably Japan, the self is interdependent. These differences in self-construal are then replicated, in a similar manner to how culture replicates itself. Self-construal also affects the level of mimicry behaviours people engage in; the more interdependent, the more they mimic.

 

It's hypothesised that we evolved to form mimicry behaviours in order to increase social cohesion and decrease the risk of ostracisation. These, among many other "socially beneficial" behaviours are mostly automatic- happening below our conscious awareness. I put socially beneficial in quotation marks here as, especially in the case of increased mimicry behaviour caused by perceived social ostracisation, works similarly to conformity. 

 

Another interesting bit of theory and research I have come across, which may be similarly relevant, relates to compensatory control theory. This hypothesised that people value personal control in their life as part of their psychological need for structure. Moreover, this need for structure is more satisfied by the social organisation offered by hierarchies compared to "flatter", more egalitarian social structures. 

 

As you can see, cultural differences in self-construal, evolutionary beneficial social cognition and intra-psychic homeostatic influences have significant implications or may provide insightful explanations for social cohesion. 

 

Do you think this is overall positive or negative, for humanity or just yourself (eg if you have power/status)?

Do you agree that the culture you are brought up in significantly affects your self-concept? (eg interdependent self-concept of those who developed in "A-Culture" or other online culture)

Can you think of any times in the past when you have perhaps behaved in a more conforming manner in order to avoid feelings of ostracisation?

Do you think hierarchical social organisations are artificial or are produced naturally due to individual differences or other reasons? 

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to seeing your ideas!

[Alice Amell]

Hi StWd! I took social psychology last semester so I learned these too. I do find them interesting. To answer your questions:

 

I think it is neither good nor bad for humanity or myself. I see it almost as a preference - I maybe don't understand why it would matter. However, it's hard to compare the two when I have only lived in the U.S. and so I only really have the perspective of an independent culture.

 

I do think the culture I'm brought up in affects my self-concept. I've no idea how significantly, but probably a lot. I studied Japanese for four years and went to Japan for 2 weeks. They are definitely more interdependent there and the Americans were more independent and outspoken, outgoing, etc.

 

Yes, I conform to avoid being ostracized. All the time basically. I think we all do. If we didn't use the same language as those around us, or if we abandoned societal conceptions of politeness, or good dress, if we did not conform to these standards, we can experience a lot of grief for it. It's not bad to conform. It can provide a sense of belonging, if you are accepted by society and their standards..but disagreeing with certain standards (gender roles, for example) can be really difficult and cause lots of stress and often I'll just conform to avoid that.

 

I'm not sure I understand the distinction between artificial and natural hierarchies. I don't really like the distinction between natural and artificial to begin with. People separate humanity from nature, but we are part of nature, as any other creature. Other creatures, particularly apes, are very hierarchical, so I would say that it is natural, even if I accept the premise that artificial is somehow different.

 

I'm also interested how they measure a need for control and how they quantify how hierarchical societies or areas are. My initial response is that perhaps if your parents were authoritarian, you probably have a greater need for control because that's how you learned to live. I've honestly no idea though.