Self-construal level and voice procedures: The individual self as psychological basis for procedural fairness effects

In the current article, we investigate the influence of self-construal level on procedural fairness effects, that is, the finding that fair versus unfair procedures influence people’s evaluations of their relation with decision-making authorities. In two experiments, we manipulated self-construal level by activating the individual self (“I”) or the social self (“We”), and we induced a control condition. Furthermore, we manipulated procedural fairness by granting versus denying participants an opportunity to voice their opinion in a decision-making process. Results consistently revealed stronger procedural fairness effects if the individual self is activated than if the social self is activated. It is concluded that sometimes the individual self, rather than the social self, constitutes the psychological basis for procedural fairness effects.     

What fair procedures say about me: Self-construals and reactions to procedural fairness

Past research has revealed both positive and negative reactions when people receive unfavorable outcomes via fair decision-making procedures. In three laboratory experiments, we reconcile these findings by considering the role of people’s self-identity. Our results suggest that the more that people base their self-identity on their relationships with others—as indexed by a strong interdependent self-construal—the more positively they react to an unfavorable outcome following from fair procedures. Conversely, the more that people base their self-identity on achievement—as indexed by a strong independent self-construal—the more negatively they react to an unfavorable outcome following from fair procedures. Moreover, these results were stronger when the situation primed interdependence and independence, respectively. Our research indicates that people interpret procedural fairness information in a manner that is consistent with defining aspects of the self.     

社会支持缓解高互依自我个体的急性心理应激反应

高互依自我构念个体以社会角色来定义自己, 更看重自己的社会关系; 社会评价威胁是诱发个体社会心理应激反应的重要情境因素, 然而高互依自我构念个体在心理性应激情境中是否会表现出更高的应激反应, 以及社会支持是否会缓解高互依自我构念个体的急性心理应激反应还不可知。本研究以特里尔社会应激测试为范式, 以主观应激报告、心率和唾液皮质醇作为应激指标, 使用自我构念问卷测量个体互依自我构念水平, 将健康大学生被试随机分配到自我支持启动组和社会支持启动组。结果发现, 互依自我构念水平正向预测个体在应激情境中的皮质醇水平增加量; 同时, 相比于自我支持启动, 高互依自我构念的个体在经历社会支持后有更低的唾液皮质醇变化量。研究结果提示, 社会支持对高互依自我构念个体的急性心理应激反应起到了良好的缓解作用。     

Who cares about organizational justice? How personality moderates the effects of perceived fairness on organizational attachment

The present article tests whether two theoretically relevant individual differences moderate the impact of perceived fairness on organizational attachment among young professionals in a large Dutch multinational firm. Drawing on the relational and control perspectives on organizational justice, we predict that any relationship between perceived fairness and organizational attachment will differ between individuals with varying beliefs in personal control and will be stronger for individuals with high interdependent self-construal (ISC). The findings revealed that almost all positive main effects of perceived fairness on organizational attachment were indeed moderated by either type of personality. As a result, we found support for both the relational as well as the control perspective, depending on the type of attachment considered. “Hard” reciprocation through extrarole behaviour seems to be inspired by the empowering impact of control through fairness. “Soft” reciprocation by affection and staying intentions (cognitions) on the other hand, results from the relational bond that is strengthened by fair treatment.     

Organizational identification and leader evaluation in a global workplace: Interaction of self-uncertainty,self-construal,and organizational culture

Past studies in social psychology, and in organizational psychology, have incorporated social identity theory but have not specifically examined the effects of self-construal and self-uncertainty on an individual's organizational identification. Through two social psychology experiments, the present research advances the literature by studying the effects of three predictor variables (self-construal, self-uncertainty, and organizational culture) on the criterion variables of identification with the organization, commitment to the organization, extra-role behaviors (Study 1), and leader evaluations (Study 2). Study 1 (N = 256) found that participants evaluated a self-inclusive organization more favorably when it possessed a relational (as opposed to nonrelational) organizational culture. This effect was, as predicted, moderated by self-uncertainty such that it was significantly stronger under high rather than low self-uncertainty. Study 2 (N = 336) examined the same criterion variables as the previous study but with the addition of leader evaluation. It was found that interdependent participants identified with and were more committed to their organization. Participants with an interdependent self-construal and high levels of self-uncertainty rated their leader more favorably when in a relational (as opposed to nonrelational) organization. Additionally, a significant three-way interaction between the predictors was explored. Future research directions and wider implications for strengthening employee identification and leader evaluations in organizations are discussed.     

负面评价恐惧对社交焦虑的影响:基于社交焦虑的认知行为模型

在社交焦虑认知行为模型的理论视角下，本研究拟探讨负面评价恐惧、不确定性容忍度和依赖型自我构念对社交焦虑的影响及其作用机制。以424名大学生为被试，使用问卷调查法的研究结果表明：（1）负面评价恐惧对社交焦虑有显著预测作用，且不确定性容忍度在这一关系中的中介作用显著；（2）不确定性容忍度的间接效应受到依赖型自我构念的调节。具体而言，该中介效应在高依赖型自我构念群体中更为显著。本研究结果不仅有助于揭示负面评价恐惧对社交焦虑的影响及其作用机制，而且对社交焦虑的预防和干预也有一定的理论和实践指导价值。     

Culture,context, and cognition: The Semantic Procedural Interface model of the self

Several studies have found evidence that social information processing is strongly influenced by the person either primarily defining his or her self as an autonomous entity (independent self-construal) or as related to other people (interdependent self-construal). In this chapter, we describe the psychological mechanisms by which independent and interdependent self-construals affect individual experience. We propose the Semantic Procedural Interface (SPI) model of the self, which distinguishes two such mechanisms. In addition to differences in the semantic content areas from which independent and interdependent self-construals arise (semantic application mechanism), there are also different procedural modes of thinking (procedural application mechanism) associated with them. Independent self-definitions coincide with the tendency to process stimuli unaffected by the context in which they appear. Relating the self to the social contexts within interdependent self-construals facilitates context-bounded thinking (i.e., processing stimuli by paying attention to their relation to the given context). The results of several experiments attesting to the value of the differentiation between both application mechanisms are presented. We discuss how far differences in information processing between members of different cultural groups can be traced back to the mechanisms described in the SPI model.     

The effects of body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio on ratings of female attractiveness, fecundity, and health

This paper examines the effects of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on people’s perceptions of female attractiveness and fecundity. One hundred and two participants (51 females) were asked to rate 18 line drawings, varying across three BMI and six WHR levels, on seven different attributes (‘healthy’, ‘fertile’, ‘youthful’, ‘intelligent’, ‘nurturing’, ‘flirty’, and ‘attractive’). Line drawings manipulated arm and leg thickness while keeping torso WHR consistent, thus unconfounding previously confounded variables. The data were analysed through a doubly multivariate analysis of variance. Effect sizes were larger for BMI than for WHR. Figures of average weight and a WHR of 0.7 were rated as most attractive and healthy. Overall, the results demonstrate that the effects of BMI and WHR on perceptions of attractiveness and fecundity are interdependent and should be studied concurrently rather than in isolation.     

Self-construal,affective valence of the encounter,and quality of social interactions: Within and cross-culture examination

In two samples, one from Greece and another from Germany, we examined relationships between self-construal, emotional experience, and the quality of social interactions. In Greece, a more collectivistic culture, the negative affect people experienced in social interactions was more weakly related to the quality of social interactions for those higher in interdependent self-construal than it was for those lower in interdependent self-construal. In Germany, a more independent culture, a contrasting pattern was observed such that the positive affect people experienced in social interaction was more strongly related to the quality of social interactions for those higher in independent self-construal than it was for those lower in independent self-construal. These findings suggest that positive and negative affect in social encounters can have different effects for persons with independent and interdependent cultural orientations within different cultural settings.     

Procedural justice and intragroup status: Knowing where we stand in a group enhances reactions to procedures

The current research investigates the role of relative intragroup status as a moderator of people’s reactions to procedural justice. Based on a review of the procedural justice literature, the authors argue that information about intragroup status influences people’s reactions to variations in procedural justice. In correspondence with predictions, two experiments show that reactions of people who have been informed about their intragroup status position (either low, average, or high) are influenced more strongly by voice as opposed to no-voice procedures than people who are not informed about their intragroup status. It is concluded that knowing where we stand in a group enhances reactions to procedural justice.     

Decision Frame,Procedural Justice,and Survivors′ Reactions to Job Layoffs

Behavioral decision theory suggests that the perceived favorability of outcomes depends on how they are framed. Recent research in the justice literature suggests that perceived outcome favorability and procedural fairness interactively combine to influence employees′ reactions to a resource allocation decision. The present study tested a hypothesis derived from the integration of these two literatures: that decision frame-by affecting perceived outcome favorability-would interact with procedural fairness to influence individuals′ reactions to the decision. All participants were layoff survivors; the primary dependent variable was their trust in and support for the organization subsequent to the layoff. Through a framing manipulation, half evaluated the criteria that the organization used to keep certain employees rather than others (Keep condition), whereas the other half judged the criteria that the organization used to dismiss certain employees rather than others (Dismiss condition). Survivors also evaluated the procedural fairness of the layoff. As predicted, decision frame and procedural fairness interacted to influence survivors′ trust in and support for the organization. When procedural fairness was low, survivors reacted more favorably in the positive frame (Keep) than in the negative frame (Dismiss) condition. When procedural fairness was high, however, decision frame had no effect on survivors′ reactions. Possible explanations of the findings, as well as their theoretical and practical implications, are discussed.     

Seeing My World in a Million Little Pieces: Narcissism, Self-Construal, and Cognitive–Perceptual Style

ABSTRACT In 4 studies we examine the association between narcissism, self-construal, and cognitive–perceptual style, hypothesizing that high self-focus in combination with low other-focus (i.e., social atomization) is related to an analytic cognitive–perceptual style. Participants completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, the Self-Construal Scale, and measures of cognitive–perceptual style such as the Analysis-Holism Scale, the Embedded Figures Test, a visual illusion test, and a measure of the representativeness heuristic. We found evidence for a decontextualized cognitive–perceptual style in socially atomized participants, which included those high in narcissism and also those who had a combination of high independent and low interdependent self-construal. A meta-analytic integration of our findings found that narcissism was positively related to independent and negatively related to interdependent self-construal, and mediation analyses found some evidence that the relationship between self-construal and cognitive–perceptual style is partially mediated by narcissism.     

When fairness neither satisfies nor motivates: The role of risk aversion and uncertainty reduction in attenuating and reversing the fair process effect

It is widely acknowledged that procedural justice has many positive effects. However, some evidence suggests that procedural justice may not always have positive effects and may even have negative effects. We present three studies that vary in method and participant populations, including an archival study, a field study, and an experiment, using data provided by the general American population, Indian software engineers, and undergraduate students in the US. We demonstrate that key work-related variables such as people’s job satisfaction and performance depend on procedural justice, perceived uncertainty, and risk aversion such that risk seeking people react less positively and at times negatively to the same fair procedures that appeal to risk averse people. Our results suggest that one possible reason for these effects is that being treated fairly reduces people’s perception of uncertainty in the environment and while risk averse people find low uncertainty desirable and react positively to it, risk seeking people do not. We discuss the implications of our findings for theories of procedural justice including the uncertainty management model of fairness, the fair process effect, and fairness heuristic theory.     

Is the Interdependent Self More Sensitive to Question Context Than the Independent Self? Self-Construal and the Observation of Conversational Norms

Question answering requires close attention to the common ground to determine what the questioner wants to know. Because attentiveness to others is more likely to be a self-defining goal when the self is thought of as interdependent with others rather than independent of others, we predicted that self-construal influences attentiveness to the common ground. In Experiment 1, participants' temporary self-construal was manipulated through a priming technique. As predicted, interdependence-primed participants were more likely than independence-primed participants to take the recipient's knowledge into account and avoided providing redundant information in a self-administered questionnaire. Drawing on chronic differences in self-construal, Experiment 2 replicated these findings with participants from independent (Germany) and interdependent (China) cultures. Throughout, participants' differential attentiveness to the common ground resulted in differential question order effects, raising important methodological issues for cross-cultural research.     

大学生自我构念与主观幸福感的关系:自尊与关系和谐的中介效应

为了分析文化融合、社会变迁背景下大学生自我观的特点,及自我构念与自尊、关系和谐、主观幸福感之间的关系,采用了自我构念量表、自尊量表、关系和谐量表及主观幸福感量表对446名大学生进行调查.结果显示:(1)文化融合、社会变迁背景下,代表集体主义文化价值观的互依我在大学生自我观中仍占优势.大学生自我观可分为二元型、独立型、互依型和边缘型.本研究中,四种类型所占比例分别为32.5%、18.6%、18.0%、30.9%.(2)自我构念与主观幸福感显著正相关;不同自我观类型大学生在主观幸福感上差异显著,二元型个体主观幸福感水平最高,边缘型最低,独立型、互依型处于中间水平.(3)自尊在独立我与主观幸福感间起到完全中介作用;互依我一方面通过关系和谐间接影响主观幸福感,另一方面,通过关系和谐对自尊的促进作用影响主观幸福感.     

Self-construal as a predictor of communal and exchange orientation in Taiwan and the USA

Based on a three-dimensional model of self-construal (independent, collective interdependent, and relational interdependent self-construal), the present study investigated whether self-construal systematically related to exchange and communal orientation with data (357 participants) collected in Taiwan ( N  = 178) and the USA ( N  = 179). United States participants scored significantly higher on all scales except for relational interdependent self-construal. Females exhibited significantly higher scores for relational interdependent self-construal and communal orientation. As predicted, independent self-construal was related to exchange orientation and relational interdependent self-construal was related to communal orientation. However, in contrast to what was expected, collective interdependent self-construal was only marginally related to communal orientation. The findings for scales revised for validity were compared with scales including all items. This comparison disclosed differences for exchange orientation.     

Awareness of the saccade goal in oculomotor selection: Your eyes go before you know

The aim of the present study was to investigate how saccadic selection relates to people’s awareness of the saliency and identity of a saccade goal. Observers were instructed to make an eye movement to either the most salient line segment (Experiment 1) or the only right-tilted element (Experiment 2) in a visual search display. The display was masked contingent on the first eye movement and after each trial observers indicated whether or not they had correctly selected the target. Whereas people’s awareness concerning the saliency of the saccade goal was generally low, their awareness concerning the identity was high. Observers’ awareness of the saccade goal was not related to saccadic performance. Whereas saccadic selection consistently varied as a function of saccade latency, people’s awareness concerning the saliency or identity of the saccade goal did not. The results suggest that saccadic selection is primarily driven by subconscious processes.     

Relational self-construal moderates the effect of social support on life satisfaction

While social support is associated with a host of important physical and psychological benefits, these effects are not always straightforward. Still, the moderating factors that might underlie individual differences in reactions to social support are not well-understood. In the current studies, we examined individual differences in relational self-construal in the typically positive relationship between social support and life satisfaction. In Study 1 (N = 79) relational self-construal moderated the relationship between social support and life satisfaction such that social support was especially beneficial for those with high relational self-construal. We replicated this effect in Study 2 (N = 284), and also found that social support was especially important for individuals with high relational self-construal in the context of high feelings of stress. These studies suggest that social support has differently gauged effects on life satisfaction depending on an individual’s relational self-construal.     

Self-construal and social anxiety: Considering personality

Self-construal has been identified as a potential means to explain cultural differences in social anxiety. Yet, research findings suggest that self-construal is an individual difference as much as a cultural difference. We tested for mediation and moderation regarding self-construal, social anxiety, and other primary individual difference constructs. Our results indicated that the relation of extraversion and neuroticism to social anxiety was partially mediated by independent self-construal. In addition, the relationship between social anxiety and interdependent self-construal was moderated by neuroticism. These results suggest that personality traits play an important role in the relationship between social anxiety and self-construal. Clinical interventions that consider the interplay between self-construal and personality may be helpful in decreasing social anxiety.     

Do self-report measures of social anxiety reflect cultural bias or real difficulties for Asian American college students?

Construal of the self as independent or interdependent in relation to others has been found to correlate significantly with social anxiety symptom ratings, raising concerns about possible cultural bias in these measures for Asian Americans. To investigate the validity of self-reported social anxiety symptoms, we examined the role of ethnicity in the associations among social anxiety, self-construal, and adaptive social functioning in a sample of 229 Asian- and European American college students. Results revealed that ethnicity moderated the relationship between self-construal and social anxiety such that interdependent self-construal was associated with higher social anxiety only for first generation Asian Americans. However, there were no significant ethnic differences in the associations between social anxiety self-reports and several measures of social functioning.