Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 2002, Volume 49

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Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 2002, Volume 49

Cross-Cultural Differences in Perspectives on the Self

Edited by Virginia Murphy-Berman and John J. Berman

Nebraska Symposium on Motivation Series

341 pages
11 figures, 11 tables, index

Hardcover

December 2003

978-0-8032-1333-3

$50.00 Add to Cart

About the Book

Cross-Cultural Difference in Perspectives on the Self features the latest research in a dynamic area of inquiry and practice. Considered in these pages are cross-cultural differences in the idea of the person and in models of balancing obligations to the self, family, and community.
 
Revisiting and questioning the concepts of self and self-worth, the authors investigate the extent to which factors traditionally associated with psychological effectiveness (intrinsic motivation; assuming personal responsibility for one’s actions; and feeling in control, unique, hopeful, and optimistic) are culturally bound. Hazel Markus and Shinobu Kitayama consider cultural differences in models of psychological agency; Joan Miller critiques the meaning of the term agency, analyzing the extent to which many popular theories in psychology rest on rather narrow Western models of behavior and effective functioning; Steven Heine calls into question the presumed universality of some forms of cognitive processing; Sheena Iyengar and Sanford DeVoe apply a cross-cultural perspective to better understand intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the value of choice; Kuo-shu Yang questions the universality of the pervasive and popular “theory of self-actualization” formulated by Abraham Maslow; and finally, Ype Poortinga reexamines not only the cultural boundaries of theory but also the very meaning of the concept of culture itself.

Author Bio

Virginia Murphy-Berman is a visiting professor of psychology at Skidmore College. John J. Berman is a professor of psychology at Skidmore College and the editor of the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Volume 37: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (Nebraska 1990).

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