Self-assertive interdependence in Arab culture

Arabs represent a major cultural group, yet one that is relatively neglected in cultural psychology. We hypothesized that Arab culture is characterized by a unique form of interdependence that is self-assertive. Arab cultural identity emerged historically in regions with harsh ecological and climati...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature human behaviour 2018-11, Vol.2 (11), p.830-837
Main Authors: San Martin Alvaro, Sinaceur Marwan, Madi Amer, Tompson, Steve, Maddux, William W, Kitayama Shinobu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arab culture
Arab people
Assertiveness
Christian Islamic relations
Cross-cultural psychology
Cultural groups
Cultural identity
Culture
Interdependence
Islam
Middle Eastern cultural groups
Psychologists
Religion
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Arabs represent a major cultural group, yet one that is relatively neglected in cultural psychology. We hypothesized that Arab culture is characterized by a unique form of interdependence that is self-assertive. Arab cultural identity emerged historically in regions with harsh ecological and climatic environments, in which it was necessary to protect the survival of tribal groups. Individuals in Arabian cultures were honour-bound to be respectable and trustworthy group members. Supporting this hypothesis, study 1 found that Arabs were interdependent and holistic (like East Asians), but also self-assertive (like Westerners). This psychological profile was observed equally for both Muslim and Christian Arabs, thus ruling out Islamic religion as an alternative explanation for our findings. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the self-assertive tendency of Arabs is in service of interdependence, whereas that of Westerners is in service of independence. Our work contributes to the current effort by cultural psychologists to go beyond the prevailing East versus West, interdependence versus independence paradigm. It also speaks to the emerging socioecological perspective in cultural research.Despite being a major cultural group, Arabs are relatively neglected in cultural psychology. Going beyond the prevailing East versus West paradigm, this paper suggests that a unique form of interdependence that is self-assertive typifies Arab culture.
ISSN:2397-3374
DOI:10.1038/s41562-018-0435-z