I.

Summary

The Self

The statements made by individuals, which represent the self, have consequences for
how individuals sample data, how they process data, and how they evaluate data. It has been
discovered that those with high self-esteem are more likely to act regardless of group
standards. For every aspect of social motivation, the pattern of variations has consequences. To
the extent such aspects are shared by people who speak a common language and who are able
to interact because they live in adjacent locations during the same historical period, we can
refer to all of these elements as a cultural group's subjective culture.
This means that individuals who talk distinct languages or live in non-
adjacent places or have lived in distinct periods of time may have distinct subjective cultures. It
may be universal to some parts of the self.

Cultural Patterns

Additional complexity measurements can be achieved by examining different cultural

domains. By considering the amounts of separate components that can be recognized in it, one
can evaluate each of these domains. One of the effects of increasing complexity is that people
in organizations to whom they may or may not be faithful, have more and more capacity.
Individuals have the option of giving priority to their personal goals rather than to the
goals of an ingroup. Also, the greater the affluence of a society, the more financial
independence can be turned into social and emotional independence, with the individual giving
priority to personal rather than in group goals.
As societies become more complicated and prosperous, they can also become more
individualistic. The distinction of terms at the cultural and individual levels of analysis is useful
because it is convenient when discussing the behavior of allocentrics (collectivistic personality
attribute whereby people center their attention and actions on other people rather than
themselves) in individualist cultures and idiocentries (interest centered upon oneself or one's
own ways, rather than upon others or the ways of others/self-centered)in collectivist cultures. A
considerable literature suggests that collectivists automatically obey ingroup authorities and
are willing to fight and die to maintain the integrity of the in group, while they are distrustful
and unwilling to cooperate with outgroup members. Common destiny, common external
danger, and closeness seem to be significant determinants of the border of the group/outgroup
Relationships outside the group follow patterns of exchange everywhere.
Culture and Self

The three dimensions of cultural variation just described refleet variations in culture
that have emerged because of different environment, such as ways of surviving. In agricultural
cultures, in which cooperation in the building of irrigation systems and food storage and
distribution facilities is reinforced, collectivists design for living emerge. In complicated
industrial societies, in which loosely connected groups generate thousands of components of
contemporary devices, people often discover themselves in circumstances where they have to
choose groups or even form their own groups. Individualistic designs for living become more
functional. Similarly. the self is dynamic, ever changing. It changes in different environments,
when the group climates are different, or when drugs are used.

The three dimensions of cultural variation described earlier are systematically linked to different
kinds of self.

Individualism-Collectivism

Child-rearing patterns in individualistic cultures tend to emphasize independence,

finding yourself, and self-actualization. Child-rearing increases the complexity of the private
self, and because there are more elements of the private self to be sampled, more are sampled.
Private sampling rises with individualism. Students from Northern European backgrounds at
Hawaii University were compared with students from Japanese, Chinese, or Filipino
backgrounds at the University of Hawaii. One expects upper-middle-and upper-class individuals
to sample the collective selfless frequently than lower class individuals, although lower lower-
class individuals may again sample more the private self. This expectation derives from reliable
differences in child-rearing patterns, which indicate that in many societies child-rearing
emphasizes conformity to family norms in the lower classes and in the upper social classes, self-
direction, creativity, and independence from the group. The lower class may be an exception,
as the proof is that they often find the social environment chaotic in that situation. Sampling
chaos seems to be hard.

Tight-Loose Cultures

Cultural differences improve confusion about what conduct is right and right. Cultural
marginality also tends to lead to conflicts of norms and roles and pressures people to adopt
distinct standards. Because it can be expensive to reject members of the group who have
embraced standards of a distinct culture, people moderate their need to adhere to their
members. The looser the culture, the more people can choose what to sample themselves. If
there are several types of collective self, one may choose to prevent conflicting norms and roles
by dismissing all of them and creating individual concepts of appropriate behavior. Thus,
personal self-sampling is more probable in loose societies, and collective self-sampling in
narrow societies is more probable. Tight cultures also tend to socialize their kids by highlighting
the generalized others ' expectations. The public self is therefore going to be complicated and
more likely to be sampled.
Cultural Complexity

The more complex the culture, the more confused is likely to be the individual's identity.
Dragonas (1983) sampled the self-concepts of 11-and 12-year-olds in Greek small villages
(simple), traditional cities (medium), and large cities (complex) cultures. She found that the
more complex the culture, the more confusing was the identity.
The more complicated the culture, the more confused will probably be the identity of
the individual. In Greek tiny villages, traditional towns, and big city cultures, Dragonas tested
and discovered that the self-concepts of 11- and 12-year-olds. The more complicated the
culture, the more confusing the identity was. Children’s with fisherman and farmer parents
tend to choose to be a farmer or fisherman when they grow up.

Content of Self in Different Cultures

In particular cultures, the specific content of the self will reflect the language and
availability of that culture's mythological belief or idea. Myths often provide perfect kinds that
are embodied in a culture of selfidentity. For instance, peace of mind and freedom from worries
have been highlighted in India as elements of self and reflect early identifiable Indian values.
Identity is described in individualistic and collectivist societies on the grounds of various
components. Individualistic cultures tend to highlight identity aspects that represent
possessions — what do I own, what experiences have I had, what achievements have I had?
Identity is characterized more in terms of offerings in collectivist cultures. Example, I'm X's
mother, I'm a member of family Y, and I live at Z.

Consequences of Sampling the Private and Collective Self

The factors were called personalization, synchronization, and difficulty. As expected, in

collectivist cultures, interacting with ingroup members was more personalized and
synchronized and less difficult than in individualistic cultures. The difference when interacting
with the ingroup and the outgroup was larger in the collectivist than in the individualist
cultures.
Behavior towards true friends is mainly determined by the extent to which the conduct
is pleasant in itself, and it is enhanced by the presence of these friends. Standards and cost /
benefit factors determine behavior towards coworkers. Finally, outsiders' behavior is entirely
determined by cost / benefit ratios. Since individualistic cultures tend to be more complicated,
people may be members of more groups.
Situational Determinants of Emphases on Different Selves

The public self is more likely to be analyzed in situations where future interaction
between the person and others is expected. While a camera will probably involve the public
self, a mirror will probably emphasize the personal self. The personal self will be emphasized in
circumstances where no future interaction with another is expected. There is proof that people
who are insecure and cognitively easy are more likely to comply with ingroup standards.
It seems reasonable that the same conditions will result in greater sampling of the
collective self. To the extent that ingroup membership is rewarding, that there is competition
with outgroups, that the ingroup is frequently mentioned in childhood socialization, and that
the ingroup has distinct norms and values from other salient groups, we also expect that the
collective self will be sampled. The greater the dependence of an individual on a collective, the
greater the likelihood of the individual sampling the collective self. It is often discovered that
social patterns improve the likelihood of survival by exchanging resources.

Conclusion

Aspects of the self are sampled in different cultures, depending on the complexity, level
of individualism, and looseness of the culture. The more complex, individualistic, and loose the
culture, the more likely it is that people will sample the private self and the less likely it is that
they will sample the collective self. When people sample the collective self, the norms, role
definitions, and values of the collective are more likely to influence them than when they do
not sample the collective self. When so affected by a community, they are likely to act in ways
that members of that group consider suitable. They tend to go with the norms.
The more they sample the personal self, the more the exchange theory can account for
their conduct and can be described as a relationship of exchange. Ingroups are defined by
common objectives, common fate, the presence of an external threat and/or the need to
distribute resources for the optimal survival of the income group to all members of the income
group. Outgroups are people you're competing with or you don't trust. The public self is
especially likely to be sampled when the culture is both collectivist and narrow.
II. The Relation of the Reading Material to the Understanding of Myself

The three aspects of self, play a great role in the understanding of myself. This reading
material gave me an understanding on why do I react like that over something whenever I am
alone or with somebody. I also discover that people act according to their surroundings. They
adapt and adjust to the social norms and values that is deemed suitable in their community.
And this is the reason why I sometimes thought that I was changing my personality quickly. I
found out that the reason is because of the natural instinct of humans to adapt and to adjust
accordingly with their community.

III. My Recommendation to Myself How I Can Be a Better Version of the Myself

in the Social Context.

I can be the better version of myself only if I allow myself to grow. To try new things and
to not be scared of rejections and making mistakes. I don’t want to limit myself anymore
thinking about the things that I think I cannot do. But instead, I want to focus more on all the
things I am good at without totally ignoring my weak points. For me, being the better version of
myself is embracing both my weakness and strength while continuously improving them.
TITLE: A REFLECTION PAPER ON TRIANDIS' THE SELF AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
IN DIFFERING CULTURAL CONTEXTS
Harry C. Triandis

Submitted to
Prof. Josephine Lachica-Umali

Submitted by
Gallardo, Kate Alyssa M.
1 PSY B