Culture influences young people's self-esteem: Fulfillment of value priorities of other individuals

[Uncle Joe]

important to youth

(snip)

Regardless of our personal values, we base most of our self-esteem on the fulfilment of the dominant values of our culture, reveals a global survey supervised by Maja Becker, a social psychologist at the CLLE (Laboratoire Cognition, Langue, Langages, Ergonomie, CNRS / Université de Toulouse II-Le Mirail). The results of the study, involving more than 5,000 teenagers and young adults in 19 countries, were recently published online in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

(snip)

For the past hundred years, psychology has mostly assumed that individuals base their self-esteem on the fulfilment of the values they personally perceive as being most important. However, a worldwide survey of more than 5,000 teenagers and young adults, launched in 2008 and covering 19 countries in Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East, South America, Africa and Asia, casts an element of doubt on this widely-accepted hypothesis.

The results show that the young respondents base their self-esteem not on their own personal values -- which seem to have little or no influence on their self-regard -- but on the fulfillment of the value priorities of other individuals in their cultural environments. The survey covered about 200 secondary school pupils in each country, most of them between 16 and 17 years of age. The researchers noted that their respondents' self-esteem was based, in all cultures, on four key factors: controlling one's life, doing one's duty, benefiting others and achieving social status. Nonetheless, the relative importance of each of these items for individual self-esteem varies between cultures. For example, participants in the survey who live in cultural contexts that prize values such as individual freedom and leading a stimulating life (in Western Europe and certain regions of South America) are more likely to derive their self-esteem from the impression of controlling their lives. On the other hand, for those living in cultures that value conformity, tradition and security (certain parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia) are comparatively more likely to base their self-esteem on the feeling of doing their duty.

Seen in this light, self-esteem seems to be a mainly collaborative, as opposed to individual, undertaking. These findings suggest that the system for building self-esteem is an important channel through which individuals internalize their culture's values at an implicit level, even if they claim not to subscribe to these values when explicitly asked. These subtle processes can encourage people to act according to the expectations of the society they live in, thus helping maintain social solidarity.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140224081027.htm

P.S. That begs the questions what are U.S. preeminent cultural values?

[Igel]

1. The question is easy to overlook. And unpleasant to consider.

But it's far from, "What are US preeminent cultural values?" "Is there a single small set of preememinent cultura values?"

Cultural diversity exists among white Americans, and not just by class. Also by geography and various kinds of upbringing. Now, this seems trite, but enough research has been done to elucidate value systems among supposedly consistent WEIRD subjects that it's not something up for much dispute. Value systems don't all have the same complexity, nor are they consistent among something considered so monolithic as "white middle-class Americans."

Add in (overlapping) cultural diversity from non-white long-term groups in the US and new groups, and all you get is a pot-pourri of "preeminent cultural values". Note that some of those values class in wildly ideological ways.

It's why (a) homogeneous societies may be problematic, but (b) heterogeneous societies tend to be even more problematic.

[Uncle Joe]

2. That's true, we do have subcultures, but we also have an overriding national culture

which is promoted by our major institutions and political leaders.

[Karadeniz]

3. Materialism, material success, winning, sex appeal, money...I find American culture shallow.

[Uncle Joe]

5. That's close to where I am,

I was thinking money, power and status.

[BigmanPigman]

4. Add social media and it gets worse.

[malthaussen]

6. Gotta get it from somewhere.

How would "personal values" evolve? Through learning. How do we learn? By reading, soaking up media, direct instruction by others, assessment of observed experience, whether our own or that of others. Really, the GOPers who have taken over the majority of school boards in the US know this. It is the primary mission of an education system to impart the values it wants its students to honor. Which is not the same as saying "impart the culture's values," which, as has been discussed, are not very consistently defined in the US, anyway.

One would think that unlimited access to information thanks to the Internet would water down some of the indoctrination, but have not other studies shown that people are most comfortable in their own echo-chambers, and rarely venture outside their favored social milieu? There's a reason Fox News makes so much money.

I think Thomas Reid had it pretty well nailed in the 18th century: status, however defined, is the primary motivator of humans. The devil is in the definitions, as the means to status are the most pursued and honored.

-- Mal

[Judi Lynn]

7. Thank you, Uncle Joe. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

8. It's good to see you Judi Lynn.