Self-Esteem and Self-Enhancement in Japan and America

Kobayashi, Chihiro; Brown, Jonathon D.

doi:10.1177/0022022103256479

Cited by 113Cultural Differences and ValuesPersonality Traits and PsychologyEmotions and Moral Behavior

Self-Esteem and Self-Enhancement in Japan and America

Kobayashi, Chihiro, Brown, Jonathon D.·2003·Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

DOI 10.1177/0022022103256479

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Although the self-enhancement motive is commonly held to be a universal human motivation, some theorists have recently argued that it does not operate in Japan. In an attempt to shed light on this issue, the authors conducted an investigation that explored the relation between self-esteem and self-enhancement in Japan and America. In both cultures and to the same degree, high self-esteem people were more apt to display evidence of self-enhancement than were low self-esteem people. The correspondence between the two cultures suggests that the self-enhancement motive does operate in Japan.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/0022022103256479

Cites

49 of 49 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Norm-fulfillment may not affect self-esteem in Asia.
“norm-fulfillment may not affect self-esteem in Asia (Heine, Lehman, Markus, & Kitayama, 1999; but see Kobayashi & Brown, 2003;Kurman, 2003;Sedikides et al., 2005).”
From Cultural norm fulfillment, interpersonal belonging, or getting ahead? A large-scale cross-cultural test of three perspectives on the function of self-esteem. (2015) · cites this paper as Kobayashi & Brown, 2003

Society and the Adolescent Self-Image
Rosenberg, M. (1965) · doi:10.1515/9781400876136 · Cited by 30,126 · see citing works
The Principles of Psychology
James, W. (1891) · Henry Holt and Company eBooks · doi:10.1037/11059-000 · Cited by 25,799 · see citing works
Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.98.2.224 · Cited by 21,995 · see citing works
The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (2004) · Political Psychology · doi:10.4324/9780203505984-16 · Cited by 13,467 · see citing works
The Handbook of Social Psychology
Gravatt, A. E., Lindzey, G. E., & Aronson, F. (1969) · The Family Coordinator · doi:10.2307/582242 · Cited by 12,518 · see citing works
Psychology of intergroup relations
Austin, W. G., & Worchel, S. (1986) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 10,626 · see citing works
Illusion and well‐being: A social psychological perspective on mental health
Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.193 · Cited by 7,814 · see citing works
Self-citation
Untitled work
(1979) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 5,872 · see citing works
The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts.
Triandis, H. C. (1989) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.96.3.506 · Cited by 5,019 · see citing works
The principles of psychology, Vol I.
James, W. (1890) · doi:10.1037/10538-000 · Cited by 4,514 · see citing works
The Psychology of Self-Affirmation: Sustaining the Integrity of the Self
Steele, C. M. (1988) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60229-4 · Cited by 3,697 · see citing works
Psychological perspectives on the self
Suls, J. M., & Greenwald, A. G. (1982) · Lawrence Erlbaum Associates eBooks · Cited by 2,300 · see citing works
Is there a universal need for positive self-regard?
Heine, S. J., Lehman, D. R., Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1999) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.106.4.766 · Cited by 2,247 · cited 5× · see citing works
“DISCUSSION Although the self-enhancement motive is commonly thought to be a universal human motivation, some theorists have suggested that it is characteristic only of people residing in Western cultures (Heine et al., 1999).”
BackgroundInfluential
Are we all less risky and more skillful than our fellow drivers?
Svenson, O. (1981) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/0001-6918(81)90005-6 · Cited by 1,969 · see citing works
Toward a self‐evaluation maintenance model of social behavior
Tesser, A. (1988) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60227-0 · Cited by 1,878 · see citing works
What's wrong with cross-cultural comparisons of subjective Likert scales?: The reference-group effect.
Heine, S. J., Lehman, D. R., Peng, K., & Greenholtz, J. (2002) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.903 · Cited by 1,080 · see citing works
Global self-evaluation as determined by the desirability and controllability of trait adjectives.
Alicke, M. D. (1985) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.49.6.1621 · Cited by 1,046 · see citing works
Self-Evaluation: To Thine Own Self Be Good, To Thine Own Self Be Sure, To Thine Own Self Be True, and To Thine Own Self be Better
Sedikides, C., & Strube, M. (1997) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60018-0 · Cited by 1,045 · see citing works
The cultural matrix of social psychology
Fiske, A. P., Kitayama, S., Markus, H. R., & Nisbett, R. E. (1998) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 990 · see citing works
Personal contact, individuation, and the better-than-average effect.
Alicke, M. D., Klotz, M. L., Breitenbecher, D. L., Yurak, T. J., & Vredenburg, D. S. (1995) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.68.5.804 · Cited by 914 · see citing works
Evaluations of Self and Others: Self-Enhancement Biases in Social Judgments
Brown, J. D. (1986) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.1986.4.4.353 · Cited by 911 · see citing works
Self-citation
Pancultural self-enhancement.
Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Toguchi, Y. (2003) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.1.60 · Cited by 885 · see citing works
Self‐Presentational Motivations and Personality Differences in Self‐Esteem
Baumeister, R. F., Tice, D. M., & Hutton, D. G. (1989) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1989.tb02384.x · Cited by 877 · see citing works
Cultural variation in unrealistic optimism: Does the West feel more vulnerable than the East?
Heine, S. J., & Lehman, D. (1995) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.68.4.595 · Cited by 507 · see citing works
A Leap of Faith? Positive Illusions in Romantic Relationships
Murray, S., & Holmes, J. G. (1997) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167297236003 · Cited by 398 · see citing works
Self-esteem and direct versus indirect forms of self-enhancement.
Brown, J. D., Collins, R. L., & Schmidt, G. W. (1988) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.55.3.445 · Cited by 336 · see citing works
Self-citation
Why we are fairer than others
Messick, D. M., Bloom, S., Boldizar, J. P., & Samuelson, C. D. (1985) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/0022-1031(85)90031-9 · Cited by 317 · see citing works
From the top down: Self-esteem and self-evaluation
Brown, J. D., Dutton, K. A., & Cook, K. E. (2001) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699930126063 · Cited by 313 · see citing works
Self-citation
Seeing virtues in faults: Negativity and the transformation of interpersonal narratives in close relationships.
Murray, S., & Holmes, J. G. (1993) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.4.707 · Cited by 289 · see citing works
A Newer Look: Motivated Social Cognition and the Schematic Representation of Social Concepts
Dunning, D. (1999) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1001_1 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
Intergroup discrimination and self-esteem in the minimal group paradigm.
Lemyre, L., & Smith, P. M. R. (1985) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.49.3.660 · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Self-esteem, self-presentation, and future interaction: A dilemma of reputation
Baumeister, R. F. (1982) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1982.tb00743.x · Cited by 247 · see citing works
The self and social conduct: Linking self-representations to prosocial behavior.
Brown, J. D., & Smart, S. A. (1991) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.368 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Self-citation
Why is Self-Enhancement Low in Certain Collectivist Cultures?
Kurman, J. (2003) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022103256474 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Self-Esteem and Self-Evaluation: Feeling is Believing
Brown, J. D. (2014) · doi:10.4324/9781315806976-8 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
Self-citation
Global self-esteem and specific self-views as determinants of people's reactions to success and failure.
Dutton, K. A., & Brown, J. D. (1997) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.1.139 · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Self-citation
Self-Enhancement: Is it Restricted to Individualistic Cultures?
Kurman, J. (2001) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672012712013 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
Self‐enhancement in Japan and America
Brown, J. D., & Kobayashi, C. (2002) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/1467-839x.00101 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
Self-citation
Are Americans more Optimistic than the Chinese?
Lee, Y., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1997) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167297231004 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
My Relationship is Better than- and Not as Bad as--Yours is: The Perception of Superiority in Close Relationships
Lange, P. A. M. V., & Rusbult, C. E. (1995) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167295211005 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Coming to terms with failure: Private self-enhancement and public self-effacement
Brown, J. D., & Gallagher, F. M. (1992) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/0022-1031(92)90029-j · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Self-citation
Turning up the contrast: Self-enhancement motives prompt egocentric contrast effects in social judgments
Beauregard, K. S., & Dunning, D. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.3.606 · Cited by 134 · cited 2× · see citing works
“…better after being allowed to exhibit this bias (Lemyre & Smith, 1985), and the bias is strongest after selfworth has been threatened, suggesting that it is in service of restoring and promoting positive feelings of self-worth (Beauregard & Dunning, 1998; Brown & Gallagher, 1992; Dunning, 1999).”
Background
Outline of Psychology.
Washburn, M. F., & McDougall, W. (1924) · The Philosophical Review · doi:10.2307/2178886 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Self-Enhancement, Generality of Self-Evaluation, and Affectivity in Israel and Singapore
Kurman, J., & Sriram, N. (1997) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022197284003 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Making Sense of East Asian Self-Enhancement
Heine, S. J. (2003) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022103256481 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-Enhancing Illusions among Chinese Schoolchildren
Falbo, T. L., Poston, D. L., Triscari, R. S., & Zhang, X. (1997) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022197282003 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Motivation and manifestation: Cross–cultural expression of the self–enhancement motive
Brown, J. D., & Kobayashi, C. (2003) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/1467-839x.t01-1-00012 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citation
Relationship-enhancement and relative self-effacement.
Endo, Y. (1997) · The Japanese journal of psychology · doi:10.4992/jjpsy.68.387 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
You Say You Want a Revolution (Well, You Know, We'd All Love to See the Plan)
Brown, J. D., & Marshall, M. A. (1999) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1001_5 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citation

Flagged first, then by citations

4 of the 53 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Sorted by citations

The weirdest people in the world?
Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x0999152x · Cited by 12,641 · see citing works
Self-enhancement and self-protection: What they are and what they do
Alicke, M. D., & Sedikides, C. (2009) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463280802613866 · Cited by 893 · see citing works
The evolution of misbelief
McKay, R. T., & Dennett, D. C. (2009) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x09990975 · Cited by 474 · see citing works
In Search of East Asian Self-Enhancement
Heine, S. J., & Hamamura, T. (2007) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868306294587 · Cited by 590 · see citing works
Impulsivity and the Self-Defeating Behavior of Narcissists
Vazire, S., & Funder, D. C. (2006) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_4 · Cited by 407 · see citing works
The better-than-average effect in comparative self-evaluation: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis.
Zell, E., Strickhouser, J. E., Sedikides, C., & Alicke, M. D. (2019) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000218 · Cited by 410 · see citing works
Pancultural self-enhancement reloaded: A meta-analytic reply to Heine (2005).
Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Vevea, J. L. (2005) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.4.539 · Cited by 383 · see citing works
Culture, Context, and Behavior
Matsumoto, D. (2007) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00476.x · Cited by 366 · see citing works
Culture and self-concept stability: Consistency across and within contexts among Asian Americans and European Americans.
English, T., & Chen, S. (2007) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.93.3.478 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
Understanding the Better Than Average Effect
Brown, J. D. (2011) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167211432763 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
Self-citation
Mirror, Mirror on the wall: enhancement in self-recognition
Epley, N., & Whitchurch, E. (2008) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167208318601 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Self‐esteem and culture: Differences in cognitive self‐evaluations or affective self‐regard?
Cai, H., Brown, J. D., Deng, C., & Oakes, M. A. (2007) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-839x.2007.00222.x · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Self-citation
Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection Motives
Sedikides, C., & Alicke, M. D. (2012) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195399820.013.0017 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
On the Panculturality of Self-enhancement and Self-protection Motivation
Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Cai, H. (2015) · Advances in motivation science · doi:10.1016/bs.adms.2015.04.002 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Where Is the Evidence for Pancultural Self-Enhancement? A Reply to Sedikides, Gaertner, and Toguchi (2003).
Heine, S. J. (2005) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.4.531 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
Cultural Bases for Self-Evaluation: Seeing Oneself Positively in Different Cultural Contexts
Becker, M., Vignoles, V. L., Owe, E., Easterbrook, M. J., Brown, R., Smith, P. B., Bond, M. H., Regalia, C., Manzi, C., Brambilla, M., et al. (2014) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167214522836 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Culture and Cultural Worldviews: Do Verbal Descriptions about Culture Reflect Anything Other Than Verbal Descriptions of Culture?
Matsumoto, D. (2006) · Culture & Psychology · doi:10.1177/1354067x06061592 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Dimensions of decision-making: An evidence-based classification of heuristics and biases
Ceschi, A., Costantini, A., Sartori, R., Weller, J. A., & Fabio, A. D. (2018) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2018.07.033 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Interpersonal Trust and Social Skill in Seeking Social Support Among Chinese and Americans
Mortenson, S. T. (2008) · Communication Research · doi:10.1177/0093650208326460 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
On Pancultural Self-Enhancement
Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., & Chang, K. (2008) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022108318431 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Cultural norm fulfillment, interpersonal belonging, or getting ahead? A large-scale cross-cultural test of three perspectives on the function of self-esteem.
Gebauer, J. E., Sedikides, C., Wagner, J., Bleidorn, W., Rentfrow, P. J., Potter, J., & Gosling, S. D. (2015) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspp0000052 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection Strategies in China
Hepper, E. G., Sedikides, C., & Cai, H. (2011) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022111428515 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Letters to the shareholders: A content analysis comparison of letters written by CEOs in the United States and Japan
Hooghiemstra, R. B. H. (2010) · The International Journal of Accounting · doi:10.1016/j.intacc.2010.06.006 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Cultural Similarities in Self-Esteem Functioning
Brown, J. D., Cai, H., Oakes, M. A., & Deng, C. (2008) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022108326280 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Self-citation
Inclusion of additional studies yields different conclusions: Comment on Sedikides, Gaertner, & Vevea (2005), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Heine, S. J., Kitayama, S., & Hamamura, T. (2007) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-839x.2007.00211.x · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Prone to Bias: Development of a Bias Taxonomy from an Individual Differences Perspective
Oreg, S., & Bayazıt, M. (2009) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0015656 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Inclusion of theory-relevant moderators yield the same conclusions as Sedikides, Gaertner, and Vevea (2005): A meta-analytical reply to Heine, Kitayama, and Hamamura (2007)
Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Vevea, J. L. (2007) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-839x.2007.00212.x · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Does a narcissism epidemic exist in modern western societies? Comparing narcissism and self-esteem in East and West Germany
Vater, A., Moritz, S., & Roepke, S. (2018) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0188287 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Explaining self-esteem differences between Chinese and North Americans: Dialectical self (vs. self-consistency) or lack of positive self-regard
Kim, Y.-H., Peng, S., & Chiu, C. (2008) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298860601063437 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Construct validation of individuating and relating autonomy orientations in culturally Chinese adolescents
Yeh, K., & Yang, Y. (2006) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-839x.2006.00192.x · Cited by 57 · see citing works
The relationship between self-confidence and learning Turkish as a foreign language
Hayrettin, T. C. E. (2015) · Educational Research and Reviews · doi:10.5897/err2015.2445 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Across the (Not So) Great Divide: Cultural Similarities in Self‐Evaluative Processes
Brown, J. D. (2010) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00267.x · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Self-citation
Self-Enhancement and Self-Stability Predict School Achievement at the National Level
Minkov, M. (2008) · Cross-Cultural Research · doi:10.1177/1069397107312956 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-enhancement and Self-protection Motivation: From the Laboratory to an Evolutionary Context
Sedikides, C., Skowronski, J. J., & Gaertner, L. (2004) · Journal of Cultural and Evolutionary Psychology · doi:10.1556/jcep.2.2004.1-2.4 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Biased Self‐Perception Tendencies: Self‐Enhancement/Self‐Diminishment and Leader Derailment in Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures
Cullen, K. L., Gentry, W. A., & Yammarino, F. J. (2014) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12026 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Experimentally Detecting How Cultural Differences on Social Anxiety Measures Misrepresent Cultural Differences in Emotional Well-being
Norasakkunkit, V., & Kalick, S. M. (2007) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-007-9082-1 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Cultural Similarities and Differences in Seeking Social Support as a Means of Coping: A Comparison of European Americans and Chinese and an Evaluation of the Mediating Effects of Self-Construal
Mortenson, S. T., Burleson, B. R., Feng, B., & Liu, M. (2009) · Journal of International and Intercultural Communication · doi:10.1080/17513050902985331 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
East—West Differences in Attributions for Company Performance
Hooghiemstra, R. B. H. (2008) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022108321309 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Self-Esteem and Trait Importance Moderate Cultural Differences in Self-Evaluations
Brown, J. D., & Cai, H. (2009) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022109349509 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citation
How do Positive Views Maintain Life Satisfaction?
Wu, C., Tsai, Y., & Chen, L. H. (2008) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-008-9282-z · Cited by 32 · see citing works
A four-culture study of self-enhancement and adjustment using the social relations model: Do alternative conceptualizations and indices make a difference?
Church, A. T., Katigbak, M. S., Mazuera‐Arias, R., Rincon, B. C., Vargas‐Flores, J. D. J., Ibáñez‐Reyes, J., Wang, L., Alvarez, J. M., Wang, C., & Ortiz, F. (2014) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0036491 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Positive Illusions in the Academic Context
Chung, J. M., Schriber, R. A., & Robins, R. W. (2016) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167216662866 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Parenting processes, self-esteem, and aggression: A mediation model
Özdemir, Y., Vazsonyi, A. T., & Çok, F. (2016) · European Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17405629.2016.1240674 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Overconfidence, stability and investments
Dessí, R., & Zhao, X. (2017) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2017.11.030 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Understanding Western‐East Asian Differences and Similarities in Self‐Enhancement
Boucher, H. C. (2010) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00266.x · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Investigating Implicit Trait Theories Across Cultures
Church, A. T., Katigbak, M. S., Ortiz, F. A., del Prado, A. M., Vargas‐Flores, J. D. J., Ibáñez‐Reyes, J., Reyes, J. A. S., Pe‐Pua, R., & Cabrera, H. F. (2005) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022105275963 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Individualism/Collectivism and Academic Self-Enhancement in New Zealand Māori University Students
Tassell, N. A., Flett, R. A., & Gavala, J. (2010) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1375/prp.4.2.138 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
A Fluency of Feeling
Mortenson, S., Liu, M., Burleson, B. R., & Liu, Y. (2006) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022106288475 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
American and Japanese beliefs about self‐esteem
Brown, R. A. (2008) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-839x.2008.00270.x · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Presumed Effects of “Fake News” on the Global Warming Discussion in a Cross-Cultural Context
Hong, S. C. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12052123 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
It's not WEIRD, it's WRONG: When Researchers Overlook uNderlying Genotypes, they will not detect universal processes
Gaertner, L., Sedikides, C., Cai, H., & Brown, J. D. (2010) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x10000105 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citation
The evolution of religious misbelief
Ara Norenzayan, A., Shariff, A., & Gervais, W. M. (2009) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x09991312 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
The Reporting of Self-Esteem in Japan and Canada
Tafarodi, R. W., Shaughnessy, S. C., Yamaguchi, S., & Murakoshi, A. (2010) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022110386373 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
The Better-Than-Average Effect in Hong Kong and the United States
Tam, K., Leung, A. K. ‐., Kim, Y.-H., Chiu, C., Lau, I. Y., & Au, A. K. C. (2012) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022112443774 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Electrophysiological evidence for executive control and efficient categorization involved in implicit self-evaluation
Wu, L., Gu, R., Cai, H., & Zhang, J. (2015) · Social Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/17470919.2015.1044673 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Self‐evaluation in a naturalistic context: The case of juvenile offenders
Neiss, M. B., Sedikides, C., Shahinfar, A., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (2006) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1348/014466605x64486 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Attributions for Personal Achievement Outcomes among Japanese, Chinese, and Turkish University Students
Brown, R. A., Gray, R., & Ferrara, M. S. (2005) · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Internship Experience and Organizational Attractiveness: A Realistic Job Fit Perspective
Sekiguchi, T., Mitate, Y., & Yang, Y. (2022) · Journal of Career Development · doi:10.1177/08948453221094311 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
How do Asian values constrain public support for redistribution?
Chang, A. C.-H. (2018) · Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics · doi:10.1016/j.socec.2018.10.004 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Cultural differences related to positive and negative valence
Noguchi, K., Gohm, C. L., Dalsky, D. J., & Sakamoto, S. (2007) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-839x.2007.00213.x · Cited by 16 · see citing works
The Relationships between Motivations of Intergroup Differentiation as a Function of Different Dimensions of Social Identity
Taşdemir, N. (2011) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0022816 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Are Adolescents With Higher Self-Esteem More Prosocial? Exploring the Moderating Effect of Self-Compassion in Different Genders
Li, S., & Hao, J. (2022) · The Journal of Genetic Psychology · doi:10.1080/00221325.2022.2083937 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Regulatory Fit in Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection: Implications for Life Satisfaction in the West and the East
Lafrenière, M. K., Sedikides, C., & Lei, X. (2015) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9634-8 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
My Better Half
Brown, J. D., & Han, A. (2011) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550611427607 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citation
Does Self-Enhancement Have Implications for Adjustment?
Lönnqvist, J., Leikas, S., Verkasalo, M., & Paunonen, S. V. (2008) · Basic and Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/01973530802502374 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The relationship between autonomous motivation and goal pursuit: A cross‐cultural perspective
Jiang, T., & Gore, J. S. (2015) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/ajsp.12115 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Do Cultural Values Matter? A Cross-Cultural Study of the Third-Person Effect and Support for the Regulation of Violent Video Games
Hong, S. C. (2015) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022115588950 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
A newly detected bias in self-evaluation
Deffuant, G., Roubin, T., Nugier, A., & Guimond, S. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0296383 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
You Should Be Ashamed of Yourself: Culture and Shame Driven Personal Growth
Liyanage, N. D. B., & Usoof-Thowfeek, R. (2023) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/00220221231183151 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Culture and self‐presentation: Influence of social interactions in an expected social relationship
Kim, J., Lee, S., & Gim, W.-S. (2010) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-839x.2010.01332.x · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Perceptions of Psychological Adjustment, Achievement Outcomes, and Self-Esteem in Japan and America
Brown, R. A. (2009) · Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022022109349507 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Reduction of faking with the use of a forced‐choice personality test: Cross‐cultural comparisons between South Korea and the United States
Lee, H. (2022) · International Journal of Selection and Assessment · doi:10.1111/ijsa.12408 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Strategic thinking in the shadow of self‐enhancement: Benefits and costs
Grüning, D. J., & Krueger, J. I. (2024) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12747 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Cultural Differences in Susceptibility to the End of History Illusion
Haas, B. W., & Omura, K. (2021) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672211036873 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Do Autonomous Individuals Strive for Self-Positivity? Examining the Role of Autonomy in the Expression of Self-Enhancement
Lynch, B. P., & O’Mara, E. M. (2015) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298868.2015.1006244 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Positive illusions and positive collusions: How social life abets self-enhancing beliefs
Brown, J. D. (2009) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x0999118x · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citation
Psychological well-being and self-esteem in Slovak adolescents
Sarková, M. (2010) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) · Cited by 7 · see citing works
False beliefs and naive beliefs: They can be good for you
Bertamini, M., & Casati, R. (2009) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x09991178 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
You were always on my mind: The importance of “significant others” in the attenuation of retrieval‐induced forgetting in J apan
Uchida, Y., Ueno, T., & Miyamoto, Y. (2014) · Japanese Psychological Research · doi:10.1111/jpr.12051 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-control and self-enhancement: Evidence that trait self-control relates to overclaiming
Astle, M. C., Dubravac, M., & Schmeichel, B. J. (2023) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2023.112494 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Exploring the (Mal)adaptive Consequences of Self-Deceptive Enhancement: A Narrative Review
Weissman, S., & Gorlin, E. I. (2023) · Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology · doi:10.1155/2023/2382005 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Effects of priming self-construals on self-evaluations: Cultural game player perspective
Kim, J., Song, E., & Takemoto, T. (2015) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12186 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Adaptive diversity and misbelief
Cokely, E. T., & Feltz, A. (2009) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x09991415 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Effects of Self-Enhancement Bias on Perception of Supervisory Feedback in Counseling
Sohn, N. H. (2009) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.2466/pr0.105.f.1269-1280 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
A Cross-Cultural Study of the Role of Efficacious Beliefs and Perceived Media Effects on Threat Perception in Predicting COVID-19 Compliance in China and the United States
Wei, R., Li, Z., Lo, V., & Yang, X. (2023) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1080/15213269.2023.2236938 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Memory and future thinking for self-conscious emotions: The role of self-esteem and culture
Duman, Ç., & Wang, Q. (2025) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-025-01800-2 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Cross‐national examination of the perpetrator–victim account estimation bias as a function of different types of accounts
Takaku, S., Green, J. D., & Ohbuchi, K. (2010) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1467-839x.2010.01319.x · Cited by 3 · see citing works
TRANSMISSION OF GOOD NEWS AS AN IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT TACTIC
Uysal, A. (2004) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The effect of self-perceptions of averageness on self-aggrandizement and self-esteem in Japan
Brown, R. A. (2007) · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-esteem and aggression: the relationships between explicit-implicit self-esteem, narcissism, and reactive-proactive aggression
Amad, S. (2015) · ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Interpersonal and Intergroup Bias in Japanese and Turkish University Students
Brown, R. A., & Ferrara, M. S. (2006) · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Algorithmic Kaleidoscope: The Floating Algorithmic Self and Self-Discrepancy of Recommendation System Users
Ge, J.-Y., Banu, N., Kang, H., & Tandoc, E. C. (2026) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2025.2610767 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Multiple processes associated with self-esteem as a function of attribute types
Tong, E. M. W., Chang, W. C., & Koo, L. S. (2007) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2006.10.004 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Leadership Style as an Outcome of Motive: A Contingency ‘State’ Rather Than ‘Trait’ Concept
Winston, B. E. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-77137-3_2 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Influence of Culture Priming on Self-Rating
Kim, J., 송유진, & Lee, S.-S. (2008) · 한국심리학회지 사회및성격 · doi:10.21193/kjspp.2008.22.1.010 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Connecting Attitude Position and Function: The Role of Self-Esteem
Vaughan‐Johnston, T. I., Fowlie, D. I., & Jacobson, J. A. (2022) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672221100866 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Situation-Sensitivity and Self-Esteem in Japan and America
Brown, R. A. (2009) · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The Influence of Personal and Collective Self-Esteem on the Interpersonal and Inter-group Evaluations of Japanese University Students
Brown, R. A. (2007) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The Self-enhancement and Its Relationship with Individual Adjustment
Roh, Y., & Sohn, Y. W. (2011) · 한국심리학회지 사회및성격 · doi:10.21193/kjspp.2011.25.4.004 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self - and Spouse - Enhancement, Subjective Happiness, and Martial Quality in Married Couples
Kim, Y., & 고재홍 (2011) · 한국심리학회지 사회및성격 · doi:10.21193/kjspp.2011.25.2.009 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

Motivation and manifestation: Cross–cultural expression of the self–enhancement motive
Brown, J. D., & Kobayashi, C. (2003) · Asian Journal Of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/1467-839x.t01-1-00012 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citation
Interjudge Agreement, Self-Enhancement, and Liking: Cross-Cultural Divergences
Heine, S. J., & Renshaw, K. (2002) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167202288002 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Heine, Renshaw / CROSS-CULTURAL DIVERGENCES Interjudge Agreement, Self-Enhancement, and Liking: Cross-Cultural Divergences
Heine, S. J., & Renshaw, K. (2015)
Pancultural self-enhancement.
Sedikides, C., Gaertner, L., & Toguchi, Y. (2003) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.1.60 · Cited by 885 · see citing works
Good, Better, Best: Between Culture and Self‐Enhancement
Kurman, J. (2010) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00269.x · Cited by 11 · see citing works

Authors: Kobayashi, C., & Brown, J. D.
Affiliations: The University of Osaka (JP)
University of Washington (US)
ORCID: Brown, Jonathon D.
Venue: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2003-09
Volume: 34
Issue: 5
Pages: 567-580
ISSN: 0022-0221 (ISSN-L)
1552-5422
DOI: 10.1177/0022022103256479
OpenAlex: W2124023679
Cited by: 113
References: 53
Citations by year: 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
FWCI: 5.59
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Keywords: self-esteem, self-enhancement, self-enhancement motive, cross-cultural comparison, Japanese culture, American culture

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Self-Esteem and Self-Enhancement in Japan and America

Abstract

Integrity signals

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Cites

Cited by

Related

Record

About these checks