64 Chapter 2 Theories of Personality
your culture emphasizes individualism or com-
munity (Hofstede & Bond, 1988; Kanagawa,
Cross, & Markus, 2001; Markus & Kitayama,
1991; Triandis, 1996, 2007). In individualist cul-
tures, the independence of the individual often
takes precedence over the needs of the group,
and the self is often defined as a collection of
personality traits (“I am outgoing, agreeable, and
ambitious”) or in occupational terms (“I am a
psychologist”). In collectivist cultures, group har-
mony often takes precedence over the wishes of
the individual, and the self is defined in the con-
text of relationships and the community (“I am
the son of a farmer, descended from three gen-
erations of storytellers on my mother’s side and
five generations of farmers on my father’s side.”).
A study showed how embedded this dimension
is in language and how it shapes our thinking:
Bicultural individuals born in China but living in
the United States tended to reply to “Who am I?”
in terms of their own individual attributes when
they were writing in English. But they described
themselves in terms of their relations to others
when they were writing in Chinese (Ross, Xun, &
Wilson, 2002).
Watch the Video Differences Between Collectiv-
istic and Individualistic Cultures at mypsychlabAs Table 2.1 shows, individualist and col-
lectivist ways of defining the “self” influence
many aspects of life, including which personality
traits we value, how and whether we express our
feelings, how much we value having relation-
ships or maintaining freedom, and how freely
we express angry or aggressive emotions (Forbes
et al., 2009; Oyserman & Lee, 2008). These
influences are subtle but powerful. In one study,
Chinese and American pairs had to play a com-
munication game that required each partner to
be able to take the other’s perspective. Eye-gazeindividualist cultures
Cultures in which the self
is regarded as autono-
mous, and individual
goals and wishes are
prized above duty and
relations with others.
collectivist cultures
Cultures in which the self
is regarded as embed-
ded in relationships, and
harmony with one’s group
is prized above individual
goals and wishes.
You are about to learn...
• how culture influences your personality, and
even whether you think you have a stable one.
• why men in the American South and West are
more likely to get angry when insulted than are
men from other regions of the country.
• how to appreciate cultural influences on
personality without stereotyping.Cultural Influences
on personality
If you get an invitation to come to a party at
7 p. m., what time are you actually likely to get
there? If someone gives you the finger or calls you
a rude name, are you more likely to become furi-
ous or laugh it off? Most Western psychologists
regard conscientiousness about time and quickness
to anger as personality traits that result partly from
genetic dispositions and partly from experience.
But culture also has a profound effect on people’s
behavior, attitudes, and the traits they value or
disdain. A culture is a program of shared rules that
govern the behavior of members of a community
or society, and a set of values and beliefs shared by
most members of that community and passed from
one generation to another. It provides countless
rules that govern our actions and shape our beliefs,
as we will see further in Chapter 10. And it is just
as powerful an influence on personality and behav-
ior as any biological process.Culture, Values, and Traits LO 2.15,
LO 2.16
Quick! Answer this question: Who are you?
Your answer will be influenced by your cul-
tural background, and particularly by whetherculture A program of
shared rules that govern
the behavior of members
of a community or soci-
ety and a set of values,
beliefs, and attitudes
shared by most members
of that community.
Individualistic Americans exercise by running, walking, bicycling, and skating, all in different directions and wearing
different clothes. Collectivist Japanese employees at their hiring ceremony exercise in identical fashion.