Self-esteem may be culturally universal

TOKYO, June 11 (UPI) -- The notion that east Asians, especially the Japanese, are self-effacing and have low self-esteem compared with Americans may not be true.

Psychologists used measures to compare samples of university students from three countries. The researchers used the Implicit Association Test, created by study co-author and University of Washington psychologist Anthony Greenwald, to probe the students' positive associations with themselves.

Surveying more than 500 students in Japan, China and the United States, the authors found that implicit, or automatic, self-esteem was strongly positive among students from each of the nations, according to the study published in the journal Psychological Science.

The consistency of the findings across cultures was so clearly apparent that the researchers conclude that high implicit self-esteem may be culturally universal, according to lead author Susumu Yamaguchi, of Tokyo University.

The authors speculate that cross-cultural similarities in positive implicit self-esteem may arise from cross-cultural similarities in child-rearing -- parents in all societies adore their children and put them on a pedestal so that children worldwide absorb a highly positive self-concept.