Two Roads to Positive Regard: Implicit and Explicit Self-Evaluation and Culture

Abstract Three studies examined the implicit (nonconscious) and explicit (conscious) self-concepts of people who varied in their degree of exposure to individualistic cultures. Studies 1 and 2 compared the implicit and explicit self-concepts of recent Asian immigrants with those of European Americans and Asian Americans reared in the United States. Implicit measures revealed clear differences in the self-evaluations of the three groups, and these differences were generally consistent with recent analyses of culture and the self-concept. In contrast, explicit measures revealed that all three groups possessed positively valenced, individualistic self-concepts. Additionally, there was evidence that the implicit self-evaluations of the recent immigrants were becoming increasingly individualistic over time. Study 3 examined the implicit and explicit self-concepts of Japanese students who either had or had not lived abroad in the United States or Canada. For both the implicit and the explicit measures, the findings were conceptually similar to those of Studies 1 and 2. Implications for the nature of self-representations and the need for positive regard are discussed.