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Cross-Cultural Research
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Importance and Descriptiveness of Self-Aspects: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Sandra Carpenter

The University of Alabama in Huntsville

Zahide Karakitapoglu-Aygün

Bilkent University, Turkey

This study investigated self-concept similarities and differences among Turkish and American (Mexican American and White) university students. The descriptiveness of self-attributes was measured in three domains (independent self, relational self, and other-focused or traditional self). In addition, the importance of personal, social, and collective selves was identified for each culture group. In terms of importance of self, the cultural groups showed more similarities than differences, emphasizing personal identity the most, followed by social and collective identity orientations. The results also suggested similarities across the cultural groups in descriptiveness of self-aspects, whereby relational attributes were rated as more self-descriptive than independent and other-focused or traditional aspects. Despite these similarities, our results suggested that importance and descriptiveness ratings do not show the same pattern. The results are discussed in terms of self-schemas and the association between aspects of the self that are important and descriptive of the self.

Key Words: self-description • identity orientation • importance and descriptiveness of self • self-schemas

Cross-Cultural Research, Vol. 39, No. 3, 293-321 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1069397104273989
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