The pleasures and pains of distinct self-construals: The role of interdependence in regulatory focus

Angela Y. Lee*, Jennifer L. Aaker, Wendi L. Gardner

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

728 Scopus citations

Abstract

Regulatory focus theory distinguishes between self-regulatory processes that focus on promotion and prevention strategies for goal pursuit. Five studies provide support for the hypothesis that these strategies differ for individuals with distinct self-construals. Specifically, individuals with a dominant independent self-construal were predicted to place more emphasis on promotion-focused information, and those with a dominant interdependent self-construal on prevention-focused information. Support for this hypothesis was obtained for participants who scored high versus low on the Self-Construal Scale, participants who were presented with an independent versus interdependent situation, and participants from a Western versus Eastern culture. The influence of interdependence on regulatory focus was observed in both importance ratings of information and affective responses consistent with promotion or prevention focus.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1122-1134
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of personality and social psychology
Volume78
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2000

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Sociology and Political Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The pleasures and pains of distinct self-construals: The role of interdependence in regulatory focus'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this