January 15-16, 2010
Harnack-Haus Berlin
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Cultural theories in psychology hold that individuals differ in their self-construal according to cultural affiliation. While Westerners typically see the self as an autonomous entity emphasizing their individual traits (independent self-construal), Easterners typically view the self as an entity highlighting their social relations (interdependent self-construal). The way of construing the self has become a key variable in understanding how cultural affiliation shapes human cognition, emotion, and behaviour.
The purpose of the symposium is to discuss the concept of self-construal from various perspectives: developmental, cross-cultural, and social psychology as well as neuroscience and philosophy. How is the interaction between learning and maturation reflected in the development of an individual self-construal? How do insights from the neurosciences bear on these issues? How can we diagnose the various empirical findings on culturally formed self-construals from philosophical and medical accounts?
Based on current studies and examples, we aim to characterize the cultural, social and psychological constructions underlying the differences, depending on self-construal (independent vs. interdependent) and cultural affiliation (Western vs. Eastern cultural context). It is still an open issue whether the observed effects of self-construals on emotion and cognition are qualitative or quantitative, and whether these interindividual differences can be stable and universal in a constantly changing world.
Registration
Please send your address and affiliation with a short motivational statement by December 21, 2009 to Teresa Birngruber (birngruber@cbs.mpg.de).
Places are limited. Please register early as registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis
Programme
Friday, January 15th
13.00 Lunch
14:00 - 14:30 Welcome (Anne Springer)
14:30 - 15:15 Heidi Keller
Socialization strategies towards different conceptions of the self
15:15 - 15:45 Coffee Break
15:45 - 16:30 Monika Keller
The development of the moral self: universal and differential aspects
16:30 - 17:15 David Trafimow
Culture, Consequences, and Opinions
17:15 - 17:45 Coffee Break
17:45 - 18:15 Anne Springer
Self-construals, context-dependency, and cognitive control
19:30 Dinner
Saturday, January 16th
09:00 - 09:45 Albert Newen
Self-understanding and understanding others: The interdependence of self-construal and person models
09:45 - 10:30 Shihui Han
Neural Basis of cultural influence on self-construals
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee-Break
11:00 - 11:45 Cristóbal Curio
Real-time facial expression simulation towards a cognitive model of interaction
11:45 - 12:15 Kirsten Volz
Neuroscientific data on the effects of self-construals
12:15 - 13:00 Final Discussion
13:00 Lunch (optional)
Organization:
Dr. Anne Springer (Leipzig)
Dr. Kirsten Volz (Berlin)
Self and Others in Mind.
Interdisciplinary viewpoints on Self-Construals
