The Effects of Self-Construal Fit on Motivation, Attitudes, and Charitable Giving

How people from Western and Eastern cultures view the self—either as an autonomous individual or as part of a larger social collective—has important implications for consumer decision making. Whereas Westerners are more likely to be promotion focused and strive toward achieving growth and accomplishment, Easterners tend to be prevention focused and strive toward fulfilling duties and obligations. Their different motivational orientations prompt them to have different goal pursuit strategies, different temporal perspectives, and different basis for happiness. This chapter discusses how those with an independent self-construal are more likely to pursue their goals with eagerness, have a more distal temporal perspective when construing future events, and empathize more with (and hence more likely to help) those in need of materialistic assets. In contrast, those with an interdependent self-construal are more likely to pursue their goals with vigilance, have a more proximal temporal perspective, and empathize more with (and hence more likely to help) those in need of relationship nurturance.