Jillian
Discussion Thread: Culture and Self-Concept
The sum of a person's beliefs about themselves is self-concept (Kassin et al., 2021). Self- Concept is constructed from within the environment in which a person is raised, or family culture. For example, I was raised within an environment of conflicting ideologies between individualistic and collectivistic. As a military brat, growing up with collectivistic ideals, such as teamwork, conformity, and loyalty, was heavily emphasized. Then as an American citizen, influences from popular culture like; books, magazines, and television heavily promoted individualism, self-reliance, uniqueness, and independence the most prevalent would be with beauty products. Culture encompasses the ideals, institutions, and social constructs that affect how a person thinks, feels, and acts (Kassin et al., 2021). Culture does not exist solely on individualistic or collectivistic virtues, instead culture commonly uses virtues from both. For example, when flying on an airplane, the flight attendant reminds passengers to secure their air masks before helping others in an emergency. To be collectivistic and care for a community, a person needs individualistic traits to ensure they can help. Jesus said, 'Love thy neighbor as yourself' (Bible: Matthew 22:39), meaning that from a collectivistic viewpoint, to care for others but, to do so you must care about yourself as well. Also, Bible: Romans 12:5, ‘so we are many, are one body in Christ and individually dependent from each other.’ God wants us to be a collectivistic community while still values our individualistic nature and tendencies.
References
Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2020). Social Psychology. Cengage Learning.
Zondervan. (2017). The Amplified Study Bible. Zondervan.
Janae
Question no. 1
Culture holds great significance in shaping the self-concept of the individual. For people enhancing up in a specific culture, their values, societal norms, beliefs, and traditions impact how they purpose themselves as well as their place in the globe. Cultural influences can shape self-esteem, self-identity, and the method they engage with others of someone. Within any provided culture, there could be variations in the level of collectivism or individualism across individuals. Individualism evaluates personal objectives, self-expression, and autonomy, while at the same time, collectivism evaluates group harmony, social expectations, and interdependence (DeMarree & Bobrowski, 2017). These variations can enhance due to the traits such as education, exposure to several cultural influences, upbringing, and socioeconomic status.
Question no. 2
When determining the biblical principles related to self-concept and culture, different teachings can be implemented in the case. Such as, one principle is a call to love one another (John 13:34-35). People are fortified to embrace understanding, acceptance, and love towards others regardless of any cultural difference, evaluating the dignity of every individual (Van der Watt, 2017). After that, another related principle is the idea of unity within the diversity named 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. It evaluates that although people might have diverse cultural perspectives and backgrounds, they are all the domain of a higher human family. Every unique strength and contribution of people must be valued and acknowledged, enhancing the sense of cooperation and unity.
References
DeMarree, K. G., & Bobrowski, M. E. (2017). Structure and validity of self-concept clarity measures. Self-concept clarity: Perspectives on assessment, research, and applications, 1-17.
Van der Watt, J. (2017). The meaning of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples (John 13). Neotestamentica, 51(1), 25-39.
