Language and the bicultural dialectical self.

We examined the effect of language priming on naïve dialecticism, with special attention paid to effects on dialectical beliefs about the self. European Americans responding in English and bilingual Chinese responding in either Chinese or English completed several measures designed to tap dialectical thinking and dialectical self-perceptions, including tolerance of contradiction, change in thoughts and behavior over time and context, holistic beliefs, and self-concept inconsistency. As expected, those answering in Chinese reported greater dialecticism on most of these measures, relative to those responding in English.

Culture and individuation: the role of norms and self-construals.

Despite mounting evidence that members of Asian cultures are less likely to engage in behavior that makes them appear distinctive (i.e., individuating behavior) than members of prototypical Western culture, the direct mechanisms through which this effect occurs have not been explored.

The dialectical self-concept: contradiction, change, and holism in East asian cultures.

Naïve dialecticism refers to a set of East Asian lay beliefs characterized by tolerance for contradiction, the expectation of change, and cognitive holism. In five studies, the authors examined the cognitive mechanisms that give rise to global self-concept inconsistency among dialectical cultures. Contradictory self-knowledge was more readily available (Study 1) and simultaneously accessible (Study 2) among East Asians (Japanese and Chinese) than among Euro-Americans.

The relational self revealed: integrative conceptualization and implications for interpersonal life.

The authors offer a new, integrative conceptualization of the relational self based on a synthesis of recent approaches to the self and significant others. This conceptualization provides a sharper and fuller definition of the relational self than does any existing approach alone and a common framework to interpret findings from separate literatures. The authors then present 5 propositions and evidence to support the thesis that relational selves exert a pervasive influence on interpersonal life.