The cultural construction of self and well-being: a tale of two cities.

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  • Author(s): Plaut VC;Plaut VC; Markus HR; Treadway JR; Fu AS
  • Source:
    Personality & social psychology bulletin [Pers Soc Psychol Bull] 2012 Dec; Vol. 38 (12), pp. 1644-58. Date of Electronic Publication: 2012 Sep 17.
  • Publication Type:
    Comparative Study; Journal Article
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Sage Publications for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7809042 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1552-7433 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01461672 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Pers Soc Psychol Bull Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc
      Original Publication: Columbus, Ohio [etc.] Behavioral Sciences Laboratory [etc.]
    • Subject Terms:
      Cultural Characteristics* ; Culture* ; Organizational Culture* ; Personal Satisfaction* ; Social Behavior* ; Social Values*; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Attitude ; Boston ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Permissiveness ; Psychological Theory ; Residence Characteristics ; San Francisco ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Urban Population ; Young Adult
    • Abstract:
      Does local context (e.g., city of residence) matter for self and well-being? We theorized that it does because local contexts diverge in prevalent historically-derived ideas, norms, and products. Through historical analysis, studies of norms (tightness-looseness; Study 1) and cultural products (content analyses of newspaper headlines, venture capital firm websites, hospital websites; Studies 2-4), and studies assessing individuals' self and well-being (Studies 5-7), we compared Boston and San Francisco-similar cities on many metrics. We find that self and well-being are, in some important part, local. Reflecting themes of "old and established," Boston's history and cultural products emphasize tradition, status, and community, and social norms are relatively tight; accordingly feelings and selves are socially contingent. In contrast, reflecting themes of "new and free," San Francisco's history and cultural products emphasize unlimited possibility, egalitarianism, and innovation, and social norms are relatively loose; accordingly feelings and selves are relatively less contingent on others.
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20120919 Date Completed: 20130424 Latest Revision: 20121128
    • Publication Date:
      20231215
    • Accession Number:
      10.1177/0146167212458125
    • Accession Number:
      22988054