Within-culture variations of uniqueness: towards an integrative approach based on social status, gender, life contexts, and interpersonal comparison

J Soc Psychol. 2014 Mar-Apr;154(2):115-25. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2013.869532.

Abstract

Research on uniqueness is widely focused on cross-cultural comparisons and tends to postulate a certain form of within-culture homogeneity. Taking the opposite course of this classic posture, we aimed at testing an integrative approach enabling the study of within-culture variations of uniqueness. This approach considered different sources of variation: social status, gender, life contexts, and interpersonal comparison. Four hundred seventy-nine participants completed a measure based on descriptions of "self" and "other." Results showed important variations of uniqueness. An interaction between social status and life contexts revealed the expression of uniqueness in the low-status group. This study highlights the complexity of uniqueness that appears to be related to both cultural ideology and social hierarchy.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Culture*
  • Employment / psychology
  • Family / psychology
  • Female
  • France
  • Friends / psychology
  • Gender Identity*
  • Hierarchy, Social*
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Male
  • Occupations*