Unlike Japanese, Koreans hold strong "positive illusions" about themselves — a theoretical paper proposing to explain this through the Korean "subjective self."
A Comparison of Positive Illusions between South Koreans and Japanese: Explanation by Subjective Self and Objective Self
긍정적 환상의 한일비교: 주체성 자기와 대상성 자기에 의한 설명
QUESTION
What alternative model of cultural self can explain why Koreans and Japanese differ in self-perception, especially in positive illusions?
FINDINGS
The established theory — "West = independent self, East = interdependent self" — cannot explain the positive illusions Koreans hold about themselves.
그러나 이 이론적 관점으로는 한국인이 가지고 있는 자기에 관한 긍정적인 환상을 설명할 수 없다However, this theoretical perspective cannot explain the positive illusions about the self that Koreans have.p1구미 문화의 상호 독립적 자기관과 동양 문화의 상호협조적 자기관을 반영하는 것으로 해석되이 왔다…has been interpreted as reflecting the independent self-construal of Euro-American culture and the interdependent self-construal of Eastern culture.p1Past studies show Korean students holding strong positive illusions — seeing themselves as better than others — in ability, independent traits, and interdependent traits alike.
한국학생들은 전반적으로 자기고양적 지각을 가지고 있으며, 능력과 상호독립적 성향 및 상호협조적 성향의 모든 면에서 강한 긍정적 환상을 품고 있다Korean students generally have self-enhancing perceptions and hold strong positive illusions in every aspect: ability, independent traits, and interdependent traits.p4The authors propose that the Korean self is a "subjective self" that sees oneself as a central person exerting influence on others, while the Japanese self is an "objective self" that sees oneself as a peripheral person receiving influence.
한국인의 자기관은 자신을 사회적 영향력을 발휘하는 중심적 존재로 보는 주체성 자기The Korean view of self is the subjective self, which sees oneself as a central being who exerts social influence.p9일본인의 자기관은 스스로를 사회적 영향력을 수용하는 주변적 존재로 보는 대상성 자기…the Japanese self-view is an objective self that sees oneself as a peripheral being who accepts social influence.p9Korean jeong (정, 情) is the feeling the giver holds for and gives to another, in contrast to Japanese amae — the dependent feeling of the one who receives.
정은 기본적으로 주체가 대상에게 느끼는 정서이며 주체가 대상에게 주는 마음이라 할 수 있다Jeong is basically an emotion the subject feels toward the object, a heart the subject gives to the object.p9한편 아미에는 수동적 애정희구이고 모친에 대한 자녀의 의존이 그 핵이 되이 있는 정서적 의존성인데Amae, on the other hand, is a passive craving for affection — an emotional dependence whose core is the child's dependence on the mother…p9IN DAILY LIFE
Where a Korean would say in the active voice, "I'll do it," a Japanese speaker typically says something like "I will receive the favor of being allowed to do it."
한국인이라면 능동태로 '제가 하겠습니다라고 하는 상황에서, 일본인은 '하도록 하여 주심을 받겠습니다In a situation where a Korean would say in the active voice, "I will do it," a Japanese person says, "I will receive the favor of being made to do it."p10In Korea, even role-based relationships such as those at work tend to become personal ones because of familism and connection-based ties (yeongo, 연고).
가족주의나 연고주의의 영향 때문에 다분히 사적 인간관계화된 관계를 맺고 있다…because of the influence of familism and connection-ism (yeongo-juui), they form relationships that have largely become personal ones.p12주체성 자기를 가진 사람들이 중시하는 관계는 공적 인간관계라기보다 사적 인간관계이며 사회적 역할을 수행하는 직업상의 인간관계도The relationships valued by people with a subjective self are private rather than public ones, and even work relationships in which social roles are performed…p12In depth
This paper, more closely — every sentence carries an original quote and page number.
Background
Research found that seeing oneself more positively than reality is closely tied to mental health — but some argued this holds only in Western cultures, not universally.
그러한 관련성은 보편적인 현상이 아니라 구미문화에 한정된 현상이라는 주장이 제기되고 있다…the claim has been raised that this relationship is not a universal phenomenon but one limited to Euro-American culture.p1긍정적으로 “왜곡된” 자기인식이 정신적 건강이나 적응과 깊은 관련이 있다는 사실들이 밝혀졌는데…it has been found that positively "distorted" self-perception is closely related to mental health and adjustment…p1Korea had been classified, like Japan, as a collectivist culture with an interdependent self — so by the theory, Koreans should show little or no self-enhancement.
한국인도 일본인과 마찬가지로 자기고양적 지각은 없거나 미약할 것이고 때로는 자기비판적 인지가 나타날 것이다Koreans, like the Japanese, would have no or weak self-enhancing perception, and at times self-critical cognition would appear.p3비교문화심리학자는 물론 문화비평기들은 모두 한국사회를 강한 집단주의 사회라고 규정한디Cross-cultural psychologists and cultural critics alike define Korean society as a strongly collectivist society.p3한국문화는 일본문화나 중국문화와 함께 상호협조적 자기관이 우세한 문화로 분류된Korean culture, along with Japanese and Chinese culture, is classified as a culture where interdependent self-construal dominates…p3Method
A theoretical paper: existing studies from the US, Canada, Japan, and Korea were compared, the assumptions of the existing theory were examined, and an alternative theory was proposed.
자기특성, 장래에 대한 지각, 통제감, 성공과 실패에 대한 귀인에 관한 구미와 일본 그리고 한국 간의 문화차에 대해 검토하기로 한다We will examine cultural differences between Euro-America, Japan, and Korea regarding self-traits, perception of the future, sense of control, and attributions for success and failure.p3이 문제를 해결하기 위해서 본고에서는 기존 이론의 가정들에 대해 검토한 후, 문화적 자기관의 대체 모델로서To solve this problem, this paper examines the assumptions of the existing theory and then, as an alternative model of cultural self-construal…p1위의 긍정적 환상에 관한 연구의 주된 대상인 한국 대학생들을…Korean university students, the main subjects of the above studies on positive illusions…p7Detailed findings
In a study asking "what percentage of students at your school are better than you?", Japanese students did not rate themselves above others in ability or independent traits.
일본의 대학생들은 능력(53.5%)과 상호독립적 성항(50.0%)에서는 그러한 긍정적 환상을 보이지 않았고Japanese students did not show such positive illusions in ability (53.5%) and independent traits (50.0%)…p3“같은 학교 학생들 중 자기보다 우수한 학생의 비율”을 추정하도록 하였다…asked them to estimate "the percentage of students at the same school who are better than oneself."p3In a Korean study using the same method, Korean students rated themselves highest on caring traits (29.7%), more than on ability (39.5%) or individuality (36.0%).
능력(39.5%)이나 개체성 특성(36.0%)의 자기고양적 지각 경향보다 배려성 특성(29.7%)의 자기고양적 지각 경향이 강한…self-enhancing perception was stronger for caring traits (29.7%) than for ability (39.5%) or individuality traits (36.0%).p4“같은 학교 학생들 중 몇%가 나 지신보다 더 우수하다고 생각되는지”를 응답하도록 하였다…had them answer "what percentage of students at the same school you think are better than yourself."p4In a study timing how long people persisted after success or failure feedback, Korean students — unlike Japanese and like Canadians — persisted longer after success.
성공 피드백을 받은 집단이 실패 피드백을 받은 집단보다 과제에 더 오래 매달리는 경향을 보였던 것이디…the group that received success feedback tended to persist at the task longer than the group that received failure feedback.p5그 후 난이도가 달라진 실험과제에 매달리는 시간을 측정한 결괴를 보면Looking at the results of measuring the time spent persisting on a subsequent task of different difficulty…p5한국 학생들은, 일본 학생이 보인 자기개선적 행위 양상이 아니라, 캐나다 학생들과 같은 자기고양적 행위 양상을 보였다Korean students showed not the self-improving behavior pattern of Japanese students but the self-enhancing behavior pattern of Canadian students.p5Korean students showed unrealistic optimism — believing bad things are less likely to happen to them than to others — for both personal and relational events.
개인지향적 사건에서도 관계지향적인 사건에서도 비현실적 낙관성을 나타냈다…showed unrealistic optimism for both individual-oriented and relationship-oriented events.p5비해서 부정적인 사건들은 지신에게 더 적게 일어날 것이라는 신념을 가지고 있는데…[compared with similar others,] hold the belief that negative events will happen less to themselves…p5As they grow up, Japanese students increasingly believe success depends on luck or powerful others, while Korean students increasingly believe it depends on their own ability, effort, and skill.
한국학생들은 성장해김에 따라 일의 성패는 개인의 능력(ability), 노력(effon), 기술(ski!1) 같은 내적 요인에 따라 통제된다는 신념이 강해진다As Korean students grow up, the belief strengthens that success or failure is controlled by internal factors such as personal ability, effort, and skill.p6일본 학생들은 성징해감에 따라 일의 성패는 운이나 우연, 힘이 있는 다인…as Japanese students grow up, [they increasingly believe] that success or failure [is controlled by] luck, chance, or powerful others…p6Korean students' tendency to credit success to their own ability was stronger in public, when others who did the same task could hear, than when anonymous.
이러한 자기고양적 내적 귀인은 익명의 귀인 상황에서보다 공개적 상황에서 더욱 뚜렷이 나타났다This self-enhancing internal attribution appeared more clearly in public situations than in anonymous attribution situations.p7실패에 대한 능력 귀인보다 성공에 대한 능력 귀인이 더 강한 자기고양적 귀인을 나타내 보였다…showed self-enhancing attribution, attributing success to ability more strongly than failure.p7자신과 같은 과제를 수행한 타인들이 듣는 상황에서도…even in a situation where others who had performed the same task were listening…p7A meta-analysis of many studies found Koreans no different from North Americans in collectivism, and Japanese actually less collectivist than North Americans.
한국인은 집단주의에 있어 북미인과 차이가 없었으며(연구수 7건) 일본인의 경우는 북미인보다 오히려 집단주의가 약한 것으로 드러났디Koreans did not differ from North Americans in collectivism (7 studies), and Japanese turned out to be even less collectivist than North Americans.p8세계 각국의 사람들을 비교한 50건의 연구를 모아 메타분석을 실시하였다…collected 50 studies comparing [North Americans] with people from around the world and conducted a meta-analysis.p8Japan can fairly be classified as an interdependent-self culture, but Korea does not fit easily into either category.
한국의 경우는 그 어느 쪽에도 쉽게 분류할 수 없는 자기관을 가지고 있다고 생각된다Korea seems to have a view of self that cannot easily be classified into either category.p8따라서 일본을 상호협조적 자기관이 우세한 문화로 분류하는 것은 타당하지만Thus it is valid to classify Japan as a culture where interdependent self-construal dominates, but…p8Authors’ interpretation
The many passive and causative-passive expressions in Japanese support the Japanese objective self, while Korean's relative avoidance of them sustains the Korean subjective self.
수동태와 사역수동태의 상대적 기피(또는 결여)는 한국인의 주체성 자기를 유지하는 역할을 하고 있는 것이다The relative avoidance (or absence) of the passive and causative-passive serves to maintain the Korean subjective self.p10일본어 표현에 짙게 스며들어 있는 수동태와 사역수~동태는 일본인의 대상성 자기를 지탱하고 있으며The passive and causative-passive forms deeply embedded in Japanese expressions support the Japanese objective self…p10The authors read Koreans' positive self-view as coming not from seeing themselves as independent, but from seeing themselves as agents who exert influence within relationships.
독립적 존재로 보기 때문(北山, 1998)이 아니라 사회적 관계에서 영향력을 발휘하는 주체적 존재로 보기 때문이다…not because they see themselves as independent beings (Kitayama, 1998), but because they see themselves as agentic beings who exert influence in social relationships.p11Because the subjective self presupposes relationships, the urge to enhance oneself grows stronger in front of others than when alone.
이는 주체성이라는 개념이 관계성을 전제로 하는 것이기 때문에 주체성 자기의 고영복-구는 순수하게 개인적 상황에서보다 사회적 상황에서 더 커진다Because the concept of subjectivity presupposes relatedness, the self-enhancement need of the subjective self grows larger in social situations than in purely individual ones.p11Limits the authors note
This theory may face the same criticisms as the older one, so its basic assumptions must themselves be tested.
주체성-대상성 자기 이론의 기본적 가정도 검증될 필요가 있다The basic assumptions of the subjective-objective self theory also need to be tested.p12먼저 선행이론이 받은 비판을 주체성-대상성 자기 이론도 똑같이 받을 수 있다First, the subjective–objective self theory may receive the same criticism the earlier theory received.p12Positive illusions can also take the form of enhancing one's relationships or groups, so future research should include these too.
앞으로의 연구에서는 관계고양(또는 타자고양)과 집단고양까지 시야에 포함시켜Future research should include relationship-enhancement (or other-enhancement) and group-enhancement in its scope…p12긍정적 환상은 자기고양뿐만 아니라 관계고양(또는 타자고양)과 집단고양으로서도 나타날 수 있다Positive illusions can appear not only as self-enhancement but also as relationship-enhancement (or other-enhancement) and group-enhancement.p12Key terms
Positive illusions The name given, based on the content of perception, to the tendency to distort reality in one's own favor (self-enhancement bias).
현실을 자신에게 유리하게 왜곡시키는 경향(자기고양 편향, self-enhancing biases)을 지각내용 자체에 착안하여 긍정적 환상…focusing on the content of perception itself, named the tendency to distort reality in one's favor (self-enhancing biases) positive illusions.p1Subjectivity and objectivity (of the self) Subjectivity is the psychological tendency arising from awareness of oneself as the subject acting on something; objectivity is the tendency arising from awareness of oneself as the object of someone.
어떤 대상에 대한 주체로서의 자각(주체성 자가에서 파생하는 심리적 활동성(또는 경향성)을 주체성The psychological activity (or tendency) derived from awareness of oneself as a subject toward some object (the subjective self) is called subjectivity.p9어떤 주체에 대한 대상으로서의 자각(대상성 자가에서 파생하는 심리적 활동성(또는 경향성)을 대상성으로 정의…and the psychological activity (or tendency) derived from awareness of oneself as an object for some subject (the objective self) was defined as objectivity.p9Jeong (정, 情) as active subject-love If Japanese amae is "passive object-love," Korean jeong can by contrast be summed up as "active subject-love."
특징을 그와 대비하여 요약해 본다면 능동적 주체애(有慟的 主體愛)라고 할 수 있을 것이디Summarizing its features in contrast, it could be called active subject-love.p10의 기본적 특징을 요약하면 수동적 대상애(표力的對象愛)라고 할 수 있는데…summarizing [amae's] basic feature, it can be called passive object-love…p9