TY - JOUR

T1 - Interpersonal leveling, independence, and self-enhancement

T2 - A comparison between Denmark and the US, and a relational practice framework for cultural psychology

AU - Thomsen, Lotte

AU - Sidanius, Jim

AU - Fiske, Alan Page

PY - 2007

Y1 - 2007

N2 - We argue that the relational model that people use for organizing specific social interactions in anyculture determines whether people self-enhance. Self-enhancement is not a functional consequence ofthe (independent or interdependent) cultural model of self. Across three studies, Danes self-enhancedconsiderably less than did Americans but were more independent on the Twenty Statements Test, mademore individual attributions about social life, made more autonomous scenario choices, and were moreindependent on the self-construal scale. Public modesty did not account for these Danish-Americandifferences in self-enhancement. However, Danes practiced interpersonal leveling, preferring equalityof outcome more than did Americans. This leveling strongly and inversely predicted self-enhancementwithin both cultures and mediated Danish-American differences in self-enhancement. In contrast, noindependence measure systematically predicted self-enhancement within both cultures nor mediatedthe cultural differences in self-enhancement. This dissociation of independence and self-enhancementdemonstrates that self-enhancing downward social comparisons are not functionally necessary for anindependent concept of self.We conclude that social relationships, not the model of the self, mediate themutual constitution of psyche and culture.

AB - We argue that the relational model that people use for organizing specific social interactions in anyculture determines whether people self-enhance. Self-enhancement is not a functional consequence ofthe (independent or interdependent) cultural model of self. Across three studies, Danes self-enhancedconsiderably less than did Americans but were more independent on the Twenty Statements Test, mademore individual attributions about social life, made more autonomous scenario choices, and were moreindependent on the self-construal scale. Public modesty did not account for these Danish-Americandifferences in self-enhancement. However, Danes practiced interpersonal leveling, preferring equalityof outcome more than did Americans. This leveling strongly and inversely predicted self-enhancementwithin both cultures and mediated Danish-American differences in self-enhancement. In contrast, noindependence measure systematically predicted self-enhancement within both cultures nor mediatedthe cultural differences in self-enhancement. This dissociation of independence and self-enhancementdemonstrates that self-enhancing downward social comparisons are not functionally necessary for anindependent concept of self.We conclude that social relationships, not the model of the self, mediate themutual constitution of psyche and culture.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - self-enhancement

KW - independence of self

KW - relational models

KW - equality of oppertunity vs equality of outcome ty vs equality of outcome

U2 - 10.1002/ejsp.366

DO - 10.1002/ejsp.366

M3 - Journal article

VL - 37

SP - 445

EP - 469

JO - European Journal of Social Psychology

JF - European Journal of Social Psychology

SN - 0046-2772

ER -