CULTURE, DISSONANCE, AND SELF-AFFIRMATION

Within the framework of self-affirmation theory, the authors compared levels of dissonance reduction in the free-choice paradigm between a c ulture typical of an independent construal of self (Canadian) and a cu lture typical of an interdependent construal of self (Japanese). Where as Canadian results virtually duplicated past self-affirmation finding s with U.S. participants, Japanese results showed no dissonance reduct ion. This, the authors argue, is because such situations do not threat en core aspects of the interdependent self.