School Counselors' Ethnic Tolerance Attitudes and Racism Attitudes as Predictors of Their Multicultural Case Conceptualization of an Immigrant Student

This study examined the extent to which school counselors' ethnic tolerance attitudes and racism attitudes were predictive of their multicultural case conceptualization ability (i.e., ability to conceptualize the mental health concerns of an immigrant student in light of salient cultural information). Results revealed that, after accounting for prior multicultural counseling training, higher ethnic tolerance attitudes were associated with greater multicultural case conceptualization ability, while higher racism attitudes were related to lower multicultural case conceptualization ability. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Using Case Documentation to Strengthen Counselor Trainees' Case Conceptualization Skills

A format for organizing case notes is presented that could increase counselor trainees' case conceptualization skills. The STIPS format of case note writing consists of 5 major sections, including documenting clients' current Signs and symptoms, Topics discussed in counseling, counseling Interventions used, clients' Progress and counselors' continuing plan for treatment, and finally, any Special issues of importance regarding clients (e.g., suicidality). The structure and design of this STIPS format is intended to enhance trainees' ability to acquire relevant facts about clients, better understand clients' presenting problems, better monitor counseling processes, and better evaluate and adjust treatment interventions.     

Cultural Values and Performance Appraisal: Assessing the Effects of Rater Self-Construal on Performance Ratings

Much of the prior research investigating the influence of cultural values on performance ratings has focused either on conducting cross-national comparisons among raters or using cultural level individualism/collectivism scales to measure the effects of cultural values on performance ratings. Recent research has shown that there is considerable within country variation in cultural values, i.e. people in one country can be more individualistic or collectivistic in nature. Taking the latter perspective, the present study used Markus and Kitayama's (1991) conceptualization of independent and interdependent self-construals as measures of individual variations in cultural values to investigate within culture variations in performance ratings. Results suggest that rater self-construal has a significant influence on overall performance evaluations; specifically, raters with a highly interdependent self-construal tend to show a preference for interdependent ratees, whereas raters high on independent self-construal do not show a preference for specific type of ratees when making overall performance evaluations. Although rater self-construal significantly influenced overall performance evaluations, no such effects were observed for specific dimension ratings. Implications of these results for performance appraisal research and practice are discussed.     

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.     

‘I was seeing more of her’: international counselling trainees' perceived benefits of intercultural clinical practice

Counsellor education in Britain is steadily turning into a multicultural environment. The limited relevant literature focuses on the challenges that ‘culturally different’ and international trainees may encounter. The aim of this paper is to elucidate a rarely exposed aspect of international counselling trainees' training experience, namely, the benefits they identify in practising across languages and cultures during placement. The illustration of this positive perspective is pertinent to the profession, as it expands existing knowledge on international trainees' experience of clinical practice and it challenges the prevailing conceptualisation of this situation as potentially problematic. It is argued that a shift towards a more holistic understanding of this population's counselling experiences is likely to have particularly useful implications for counsellor education and the profession more broadly.     

‘My language thing … is like a big shadow always behind me’: International counselling trainees' challenges in beginning clinical practice

Background: While counsellor education becomes increasingly culturally diverse, little is known about international trainees' experiences of training. Objective: The present study explores one aspect of training, namely clinical practice from the perspective of international, non‐native speaking trainees. In particular, this paper focuses on the challenges this group encounters when practicing in a second language. Methodology: Semi‐structured interviews with four non‐native English‐speaking trainees were conducted and analysed following the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: Findings suggest that participants encounter practical difficulties related to their non‐native/foreign identity in practice, such as problems with articulate self‐expression and understanding the client's speech. These difficulties generate anxiety and impact on the trainees' confidence. Conclusions and implications for counsellor training: This study elucidates language as a fundamental aspect of culture, and identifies second language use as a significant source of difference in counselling practice. This paper highlights the need for attention to linguistic diversity and for appropriate support during counsellor education. This will improve international trainees' experiences of training, but also enhance all trainees' understanding of difference, resulting in better service provision for the community.     

Who I am and how I think: The impact of self‐construal on the roles of internal and external reference prices in price evaluations

Drawing from self-construal studies on cognitive styles as well as reference price literature, this research investigates the impact of independent versus interdependent self-construal on consumers' use of internal reference prices (IRPs) and external reference prices (ERPs) during price evaluations. Three experiments reveal that IRPs have a larger impact on price evaluations for participants who are primed with an independent (vs. interdependent) self-construal, whereas ERPs have a larger impact for participants who are primed with an interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal. The differential impact of self-construal on the use of IRPs and ERPs seems to be mediated by a generalized, perceived sense of connectedness/separateness. Implications on reference price research, self-construal and cognitive styles are discussed.     

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.     

Factor structure of the self-construal scale in a Vietnamese-American adolescent sample

This study investigated the factor structure of the Self-construal Scale, an important measure of interdependent and independent self-construal. An exploratory factor analysis with the principal component method and varimax rotation supported Singelis' original two-factor model (1994) for a sample of 152 Vietnamese-American high school adolescents recruited from Little Saigon in Orange County, California. Implications for the conceptualization of self-construal and issues in research are discussed.     

It takes two to mimic: behavioral consequences of self-construals

The present studies demonstrated the moderation of self-construal orientation on mimicry. Recent research has indicated that an interdependent self-construal is associated with assimilation of the other to the self whereas an independent self-construal is associated with minimizing the influence of others on the self (H. R. Markus & S. Kitayama, 1991; D. Stapel & W. Koomen, 2001). Therefore, the authors hypothesized that an interdependent self-construal would be associated with more mimicry than an independent self-construal. When self-construal orientations were experimentally primed, as in Studies 1 and 2, independent self-construals produced less nonconscious mimicry than interdependent self-construals. When self-construals were examined as cultural differences with either a chronically dominant independent (Americans) or interdependent (Japanese) construal of the self, these results were replicated.     

Self-construal, mental distress, and family relations: a mediated moderation analysis with Asian American adolescents

The interactive effects between interdependent and independent self-construal on family cohesion and mental distress were examined. Survey responses from 153 Asian American high school students supported the hypothesized moderation of interdependence by independence on family cohesion, which was found to further mediate the relationship between self-construal and mental distress. Specifically, interdependence was positively associated with family cohesion when independence was high and negatively associated with family cohesion when independence was low. Accounting for the mediator effects of family cohesion, mental distress was positively associated with interdependence and more so for those low on independence than those high on independence. The benefits of biculturalism and research implications for the bidimensional conceptualization of self-construal for ethnic minority populations are discussed.     

探寻中国人的多重互依自我：理论、挑战与整合

为了全面理解中国人的互依自我内涵,整理相关文献后,发现主要有华人本土与跨文化两种研究取向及相关的多种典型理论,如差序格局理论、华人四元自我理论、道德自我理论、三重自我理论和文化会聚自我理论。这些理论适合解释不同类型的互依自我,并面临各自的挑战。在意义维持模型下对这些理论及互依自我类型进行了整理,发现中国人的互依自我是多层次的、动态的。     

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.     

Self-Construal as a Mediator Between Identity Structure and Subjective Well-Being

An examination of the assumptions underlying identity conceptualizations in psychology of self indicates the assumptions are based on an independent, individualistic view of self. If self is constructed as interdependent with others, such identity characteristic as a sense of uniqueness, separateness, and continuity may be less important in promoting well-being. The results of the conducted study (N?=?226) indicated that there were weaker relations between various features of identity structure and subjective well-being for individuals with a highly interdependent self-construal than for those with a highly independent self-construal. The results also showed that specificity, separateness, and stability of identity content influenced positive and negative affect through the mediating agency of independent and interdependent self-construals. These findings emphasize the importance of applying a self-construal perspective in considering adaptive functions of identity.     

Embarrassability and self-construal: A theoretical integration

This study investigates embarrassability and its association to three individual difference variables:

1. (1) social anxiety,

2. (2) a person's interdependent self-construal (i.e. interconnectedness), and

3. (3) independent self-construal (i.e. bounded, separateness).

Previous theories of embarrassment are integrated in relating these individual differences to the process of embarrassment and individual level embarrassability. It is suggested that embarrassment can be traced to three factors:

1. (1) the strength of one's idealized role-identity (as bounded and separate) going into the interaction,

2. (2) the sensitivity to others' evaluations as the interaction unfolds, and

3. (3) the degree to which one's identity is entwined with and dependent on others.

Three-hundred and seventy-one students, representing diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, composed the sample. Even after accounting for the effects of social anxiety, the strength of a person's independent self-construal is negatively associated with embarrassability. Beyond those effects, the strength of the interdependent self-construal is positively related to embarrassability. These findings support the hypothesized model and contribute to the criticism that the previous western conceptualization of embarrassability is ethnocentric and restricts the construct. Implications and directions for future research are provided.     

时间距离和自我解释对调节焦点的影响

调节焦点理论提出,自我调节过程中存在着提升焦点和预防焦点这两种不同的目标追求策略。基于以往研究,本研究提出,自我解释和时间距离会交互影响着人们的调节焦点。研究结果发现,自我解释能够显著地预测调节焦点;独立自我解释更可能激活个体的提升焦点倾向,而依赖自我解释更可能激活个体的预防焦点倾向。此外,近期时间距离启动条件下,独立和依赖自我解释使得个体的调节焦点的差异倾向性更为明显,但是对远期时间距离的知觉则使得依赖自我解释的个体更加偏离预防焦点倾向,趋向于提升性焦点,并与独立自我解释差异不大。     

Multicultural Training and Interdependent and Independent Self‐Construal as Predictors of Universal‐Diverse Orientation Among School Counselors

The study investigated 159 school counselors' previous multicultural workshop experiences and interdependent and independent self‐construal (T. M. Singelis, 1994) as predictors of universal‐diverse orientation (M. L. Miville et al., 1999). Prior workshops in multicultural counseling and interdependent self‐construal were significantly related to universal‐diverse orientation (acceptance and awareness of similarities and differences). Implications for counseling, research, and training are discussed.     

Culture,religion, and the underlying value dimensions of the metapersonal self-construal

The metapersonal self-construal (MPS) is presented in the context of a three-factor model of self-construal that is grounded in the literature on culture and values. The MPS is an understanding of the self as profoundly interconnected with all humanity and nature. It is distinct from the independent and interdependent self-construals and may emerge from one's cultural, religious, or spiritual background. Relating self-construal with a structural model of values, Study 1 indicated that while the independent and interdependent self-construals marked each end of a continuum, the MPS was associated with a unique cluster of values centred around universalism. Studies 2 and 3 found support for the predicted effects of membership in Buddhist groups and identification with Aboriginal culture on MPS. These results support the MPS as a unique understanding of the self that reflects surrounding beliefs and values. Implications for understanding the relationship between spirituality and well-being are discussed.     

Research Report: Correlates of learning styles and counsellor trainees' age and gender

Counselling relationships are important indices of therapeutic efficacy. In the Fall 2001, 71 counsellor trainees in a Counsellor Education programme at a Mid-western university participated in the current investigation. The purpose of the study was to examine relationships of learning styles in terms of counsellor trainees' age and gender (using a recently developed Preferred Learning Style Inventory, namely KPLSI). Results of the present study suggest that counsellor trainees' learning styles are varied, except that there are statistically strong groupings in analytic, global and particularistic learning styles domains among this particular body of students. Additionally, the age of trainees tend to relate to superficial and sensational learning styles, whereas gender is, participatory.     

Effects of Cultural Orientation,Self-Esteem,and Collective Self-Esteem on Well-Being

This study examined a model of independent and interdependent self-construal, individual and collective self-esteem, and subjective well-being in a sample of college students from the mainland USA, Hawaii, and Japan. Specifically, the mediation role of individual as well as collective self-esteem in the effects of independent and interdependent self-construal on subjective well-being was explored. Results indicated that the hypothesized model fit well. The study found the direct effects of independent self-construal on subjective well-being in all three cultural groups. Collective self-esteem was a significant mediator of the effects of both independent and interdependent self-construal on subjective well-being only in the mainland USA. The negative effect of interdependent self-construal on collective self-esteem was observed only in the mainland USA. Better understanding of both universal and culture-specific aspects of collective self-esteem in promoting subjective well-being seems essential for further theoretical development as well as effective prevention/intervention efforts across three cultural groups.