Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Calendar of events

Events photo montage banner

Show all calendar items

Dr Viv Vignoles, "Cross-cultural generality of identity motives" University of Sussex: Departmental Seminar Series 2017/18

- Export as iCalendar
Location: H1.48

Hosted by Robin Goodwin

Refreshments in Common room at 3.30pm

Cross-cultural generality of identity motives

 Dr Vivian L Vignoles Reader in Social Psychology, University of Sussex

Beyond basic needs for food, water, affiliation and security, people’s thoughts and actions are often guided by psychological needs; these include identity motives—motives to see oneself in particular ways—which influence psychological functioning and social action. People in contemporary “Western”, individualistic societies are motivated to see themselves positively (self-esteem), as distinguished from others (distinctiveness), persisting through time (continuity), accepted by others (belonging), competent and capable (efficacy), and their existence as mattering (meaning). However, little has been known about the relevance or otherwise of these motives to people living in “non-Western” societies—most of the world’s population—and psychologists have disagreed about whether these motives are universal or culturally specific/relative. With members of the Culture and Identity Research Network, I conducted two surveys measuring strengths of identity motives, sources of motive satisfaction, and cultural beliefs and values, among approximately 10,000 student and adult members of cultural groupings spanning 35 nations on all inhabited continents. Multilevel analyses of cross-sectional and longitudinal data supported a predicted middle way between universalism and relativism: Supporting universalism, the six identity motives showed a relatively similar pattern of effects on identity construction across cultural groups with widely varying beliefs, values and practices. Supporting relativism, cultural groups showed different characteristic ways of satisfying each of these motives. Thus, a common set of motives appears to underlie the different expressions and outcomes of identity observed across cultures, supporting a view of identity motives as “culturally flexible universals”.

Viv Vignoes 1 February 2018

Show all calendar items