1998 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Japanese Selves : Dynamics of Integration and Contradiction
| Project/Area Number |
08451027
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
教育・社会系心理学
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| Research Institution | KYOTO UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
KITAYAMA Shinobu Kyoto University, Faculty of Human Integrated Studies Assoxiate Profess, 総合人間学部, 助教授 (20252398)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KARASAWA Mayumi Shirayuci College, Faculty of Literature, Instructor, 文学部, 助手 (60255940)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1996 – 1998
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| Keywords | Self / Japan / Culture, / Sympathy / Self-criticism, |
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| Research Abstract |
This research project aimed to explore both theoretically and empirically the nature of Japanese selves, with a special emphasis on the possibility that Japanese selves have two seemingly contradictory aspects. First, we proposed a collective construction theory of the self, which suggests that each of many diverse societies and cultures has historically constructed and shared a model about the person or the self. Such a cultural model of the self influences specific characteristics of mundane social situations commonly available in the culture. Because psychological processes and structures that constitute each person's self are shaped through his or her active effort to adapt to the daily situations thus constructed, there should emerge a degree of correspondence between these psychological processes and structures and the cultural model of the self. This theoretical framework was used to analyze the historical origin of the dualistic nature of Japanese selves. Thus, it was suggested
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that both tough-mindedness to the self and tender-heartedness to others are best understood in terms of indigenous Japanese ideology and climate, as well as ideas and practices imported from the Asian continent such as Confucianism and Buddhism (Chapter 1). Next, these two psychological tendencies were empriically examined. It was demonstrated that Japanese subjects tend to over-emphasize both their own shortcomings their acquaintances' desirable attributes (Chapter 2). Further, we pointed out that the tender-heartedness to others is best captured by the notion of sympathy and, then, used this notion to examine interpersonal functions of the Japanese self. We developed a scale designed to measure each person's sympathetic psychological tendency (Chapter 3), and reported evidence that sympathetic psychological tendency is one aspect of participation in mutually sympathetic social relations (Chapter 4). Specifically, we showed that sympathetic individuals do not only give help and support that can be construed to be an expression of sympathy, but do they also receive such help and support from others. Less
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