Answer to Question #248007 in Psychology for Holi

Question

Part I – Our behaviors are influenced by society because we are parts of the society in which we live. For most of us, we are born, we grow up, and live our lives in a society. The norms and beliefs that are prevalent in society are parts of culture.

Please educate us about the role of “independence” and “interdependence” in your society and/or cultural psychology.

a) How does your society view independence and interdependence?

b) What is the relationship of independence to interdependence (and vice versa)?

Answer 1

a)     Every society has a unique way of viewing things. Interdependence and independence refer to different intellectual illustrations of the self that people may hold. My society in this case view Interdependence as the extent to which people construe the self as being fundamentally connected to other people and Independence  in contrast, as the extent to which people view the self as being separate and distinct from others and the social world.

b)     Independence and interdependence relate in that some people are very independent in relationships, while others are interdependent meaning that they put aside their own well-being to maintain a relationship with another. People with interdependent approaches are more likely to be mindful of others and their relationships and to modify their behavior to accommodate others while independent people are more concentrated on themselves and on persuading others. The healthiest way we can interact with those close to us is by being truly interdependent.