INDIVIDUALS IN RELATIONSHIPS - CULTURAL-VALUES, CHILDRENS SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN AMERICAN INDIVIDUALISTIC SELF

This paper explicates the theoretical position that independence and i nterdependence are inseparable dimensions of self-development in all c ultures and that self-development takes place through social interacti ons that are shaped by cultural values about the ideal nature of human existence. Individualism and collectivism are viewed as terms for cla ssifying two multidimensional cultural value systems about the nature of human existence that shape different routes and goals of self-devel opment through the enactment of different modes of independence and in terdependence. The paper highlights individualism in American culture, and research on parent-child interactions that illustrates how indivi dualism shapes self-development in terms of both autonomy and relatedn ess in American culture is reviewed. (C) 1997 Academic Press.