探寻中国人的多重互依自我:理论、挑战与整合

Explore the Chinese Interdependent Selves: Theories, the Challenges and Integration

为了全面理解中国人的互依自我内涵,整理相关文献后,发现主要有华人本土与跨文化两种研究取向及相关的多种典型理论,如差序格局理论、华人四元自我理论、道德自我理论、三重自我理论和文化会聚自我理论。这些理论适合解释不同类型的互依自我,并面临各自的挑战。在意义维持模型下对这些理论及互依自我类型进行了整理,发现中国人的互依自我是多层次的、动态的。

Hazel Markus and Shinobu Kitayama first proposed that there can be two views of self-construals, namely the independent construal and the interdependent construal. Many scholars recognize that the Chinese are prominently interdependent self-construal to their western counterparts. Besides theoretical disputes, there are mainly two approaches in studying Chinese interdependent self-construal. One is Chinese indigenous approach;The other is cross-cultural approach.The Chinese indigenous approach advocates that researchers should base on the principle of 'indigenous compatibility' to study self. They construct three typical theories: the theory of differential mode of association(DMA), the four-part theory of the Chinese self(FPT), the theory of moral self(TMS). DMA treats individual as the center of the world and gives different values to other people associated with the individual. Some studies discover that the contemporary Chinese attach not only to blood ties, but also to other forms, for instance, classmates, friends, colleagues, etc. Ideas related to FPT first appeared in 1960 s. Hsu argued that the Chinese self is situational or social centered. Inspired by Hsu, Ho regarded the Chinese self as the relational self. At nearly the same time, Yang believed that the social oriented Chinese interdependent self contained three subtypes, that is, relational orientation, family orientation and others orientation. Some scholars who supported TMS had different viewpoints. They advocated that individuals who had the ultimate meaning consciousness under the enlightenment of the Confucian culture could make a new psychological identity of the unity of heaven and man. However, studies supported TMS have mainly stayed at the speculation level or phenomenological description level.Cross-cultural approach recognizes the tripartite model of self-construal(TMS) and the polycultural self theory(PST). According to TMS, self can be divided into individual self, relational self and collective self based on different levels of representation. Some studies discovered significant differences between the Chinese and the Westerners in representing themselves at those three levels. For the Chinese, in the early stage of processing, relationship self and collective self are more dominant;In the late processing stage, the individual occupies the advantage of processing. However, the Westerners have always been the dominant individual self. The differences between the three levels of self in Han, Tibetan and Hui Nationalities are compared also. Chiu and Yang created the polycultural self theory(PST), and argued that some people had a new type of self-construct, the polycultural self, to adapt to the complex multicultural environment. Possessing a dynamic structure, the polycultural self was characterized by its hybrid cultural identities and managed multiple cultural identities at the same time.Those theories concerning interdependent self-construal can be systematically grasped from the Meaning Maintenance Model. From different views to understand the essence of Chinese selves, DMA is suitable for explaining the individual centered interdependent self-construal;FPT is suitable for social oriented interdependent self-construal;TMS is suitable for explaining the ultimate meaning self in Confucian culture;PST is suitable for explaining the new kind of self-identity emerged in the globalization era. In sum, the Meaning Maintenance Model offers a dynamic multiple perspective to explicate the Chinese interdependent selves.