Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection Strategies in China Cultural Expressions of a Fundamental Human Motive

• Published in: Journal of cross-cultural psychology Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 5 - 23
• Main Authors: Hepper, Erica G., Sedikides, Constantine, Cai, Huajian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2013; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Asian people; Behavior; China; Cognitive-behavioral factors; Comparative analysis; Construal; Cross cultural studies; Cross-cultural analysis; Cultural sensitivity; Culture; Defensiveness; Factor Structure; Individual differences; Motivation; Narcissism; Positive affect; Positive emotions; Protection; Reflection; Self; Self esteem; Self-expression; Selfenhancement; Selfprotection; Soliciting; China; self-esteem; self-enhancement; self-protection; narcissism; culture
• ISSN: 0022-0221; 1552-5422
• DOI: 10.1177/0022022111428515

The motive to enhance and protect positive views of the self manifests in a variety of cognitive and behavioral strategies, but its universality versus cultural specificity is debated by scholars. We sought to inform this debate by soliciting self-reports of the four principal types of self-enhancement and self-protection strategy (positivity embracement, favorable construals, self-affirming reflections, defensiveness) from a Chinese sample and comparing their structure, levels, and correlates to a Western sample. The Chinese data fit the same factor structure and were subject to the same individual differences in regulatory focus, self-esteem, and narcissism, as the Western data. Chinese participants reported lower levels of (enhancement-oriented) positivity embracement but higher levels of (protection-oriented) defensiveness than Western participants. Levels of favorable construals were also higher in the Chinese sample, with no differences in self-affirming reflections. These findings support and extend the universalist perspective on the self by demonstrating the cross-cultural structure, yet culturally sensitive manifestation, of self-enhancement motivation.