The Measurement of Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals
Abstract
Following concepts introduced by Markus and Kitayama, this study describes the theoretical and empirical development of a scale to measure the strength of an individual's interdependent and independent self-construals. These two images of self are conceptualized as reflecting the emphasis on connectedness and relations often found in non-Western cultures (interdependent) and the separateness and uniqueness of the individual (independent) stressed in the West. It is argued that these two images of self can and do coexist in individuals and that they can be measured. A 24-item Self-Construal Scale measuring two dimensions of self-image is presented. The two distinct dimensions of the scale were supported in confirmatory factor analyses of two multiethnic samples of college students. The scale was found to have satisfactory reliability and validity. Its implications and potential applications are discussed.
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The interdependent self-construal measure had reliability α = .96 for Americans and .71 for Japanese.
“The interdependent self-construal measure included 10 items (e.g., “If people in my family fail, I feel responsible”; αs = .96 for Americans, .71 for Japanese; Singelis, 1994).”
From Culture and Healthy Eating: The Role of Independence and Interdependence in the United States and Japan (2016) · cites this paper as Singelis, 1994
Goto and colleagues demonstrated that N400 is enhanced when a background scene is incongruent with an object, that this incongruity response was significantly more pronounced for Asians than European Americans, and that the response became weaker for both groups as a function of independent self-construal.
“Goto et al. (in press) demonstrated that an ERP marker corresponding to the detection of semantic incongruity (N400; Ganis and Kutas, 2003) is enhanced when a background scene in a picture is incongruent with an object featured in the picture.”
From Cultural neuroscience of the self: understanding the social grounding of the brain (2010) · cites this paper as Singelis' (1994)
The strength of an individual's collective self was associated with being under normative control.
“Trafimow and Finlay (1996) found that the strength of an individual's collective self was associated with being under normative control -scores on a collective self scale (Singelis, 1994) correlated with a tendency for people to be under NC.”
From Social influence in the theory of planned behaviour: The role of descriptive, injunctive, and in-group norms (2009) · cites this paper as Singelis, 1994
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- Authors
- Singelis, T. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
- Corresponding author
- Singelis, Theodore M.
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1994-10
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 580-591
- ISSN
- 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7433
- OpenAlex
- W2111970288
- Cited by
- 3,605
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 126 · 2025: 182 · 2024: 144 · 2023: 146 · 2022: 188 · 2021: 206 · 2020: 257 · 2019: 168 · 2018: 167 · 2017: 161 · 2016: 154 · 2015: 181 · 2014: 152 · 2013: 140 · 2012: 134
- FWCI
- 25.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Keywords
- self-construal, independent self-construal, interdependent self-construal, Self-Construal Scale, self-image, cross-cultural personality, Western and non-Western cultures, scale development
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