THE MECHANISM OF JAPAN-SPECIFIC SELF EMERGING -THE CULTURAL PHENOTYPE AND GENOTYPE OF THE SELF-CONCEPT-

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<Abstract>The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences and similaritics of self-concept and self-schema between US students and Japanese students. Especially this study focuses on finding out the similarities between two cultures in terms of the development of self-concept or self-schema. In the Piaget's studies the developmental course was found to be universal among various coultures, whereas the difference was found in only regards to when children will reach a certain stage of cognitive development. Just like this, in this study, too, the developmental course of the self-concept might be considered rather universal, which is rather free from the cultural infulences, whereas the differences might be observed as to when children will reach a certain stage.In order to investigate these hypotheses, TST method was employed. BY means of this open-ended questions, the subjects were induced to write the free descriptions about the self. The subjcets are Japanese college students and US highschool students. The results were as follows : (1) both Japanese and US subjects showed the similar pattern of self descriptions in that the contents of the descriptions have the characteristics of independent self-scheme which is considered to be salient among so called Western cultures, (2) the difference was found in terms of when to reach some stage. US 9 graders and Japanese sophomore students showed much similar patterns of self-description. This might suggest that US students might reach a certain stage of self-development much cariler than Japanese.