Social Psychology Commons^™

Unpacking East-West Differences In The Extent Of Self-Enhancement From The Perspective Of Face Versus Dignity Cultures, Hae In Lee, Angela K. Y. Leung, Young-Hoon Kim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The question of whether or not the need for self-enhancement is culturally universal has been a controversial issue in cultural psychology. Though there have been numerous studies arguing that East Asians also have the need for self-enhancement, the controversy remained. We contend that the field is ready to see a cohesive theory that integrates and explains when and why East Asians do and do not manifest their need for self-enhancement. In this paper, we provide the theoretical logics of and rationales behind face and dignity cultures as the new theoretical proxies that integrate and explain East Asians' self-enhancing behaviors, supplementing …