title: Individualism and the extended-self: cross-cultural differences in the valuation of authentic objects.
abstract: The current studies examine how valuation of authentic items varies as a function of culture. We find that U.S. respondents value authentic items associated with individual persons (a sweater or an artwork) more than Indian respondents, but that both cultures value authentic objects not associated with persons (a dinosaur bone or a moon rock) equally. These differences cannot be attributed to more general cultural differences in the value assigned to authenticity. Rather, the results support the hypothesis that individualistic cultures place a greater value on objects associated with unique persons and in so doing, offer the first evidence for how valuation of certain authentic items may vary cross-culturally.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nathalia L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Gjersoe
authors.affiliation: School of Management, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
authors.forename: George E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chituc
authors.affiliation: Bristol Cognitive Development Centre, Bristol University, Bristol, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hood
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D012945:Social Values; D014481:United States