rkipp
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Post by rkipp on May 19, 2016 19:17:56 GMT
In the article on the neural basis of self, it discusses the two different ways people view themselves. One can be an individualistic person, who thinks of him or herself as autonomous of others and his or her environment, or a collectivistic, who is defined by their social context and relationships. According to research, people who view themselves collectivistically have greater fMRI activation in the medial prefrontal cortex compared to people who view themselves as an individualist person.
However, my question is do you think this remains true for one's entire life, or as we age can we become more of an individualist or collectivist?
For instance, teenagers feel much more pressure to fit in than adults, thus teens would probably behave more like a collectivist. Yet do you think teens who stand out are individualist and thus have a harder time fitting in, or do you think you can be a collectivist and as you grow older you (and your brain) become more individualist? The article also claims that cultural values, rather than cultural affiliation modulated neural response, yet do you think one's cultural affiliation has the ability to influence these personal values?
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Post by lilyzhuo on May 19, 2016 21:00:08 GMT
I think, as with all the articles we read on political associations and the brain, we don't have to remain either individualist or collectivist. Neuroplasticity is prevalent even in adults, and thus, just because we were one way before does not mean we will always be that way. It would be interesting to see if people are born individualist or collectivist, as in these were heritable characteristics of our personalities, though this would be difficult to test. I agree that most teens are collectivists, which explains why they feel so much separation/disunity in how they behave at school with their friends and at home. Like in the article, the example is that collectivists would say "When talking to my mother, I am honest." For teens, their collectivist mentality manifests as "When talking to my friends, I'm honest," whereas "When talking to my mom, I am not honest." Teens are still struggling to figure out who they are and what values they want to stand for, regardless of the situation. Thus, it seems like maturity may bring about a more individualistic mentality.
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Post by stacyli on May 19, 2016 21:06:19 GMT
I think this is a really interesting way to discuss identity. Because I grew up in a relatively traditional Chinese household, my family values have always been more collectivist. We would always do things in order to keep from disappointing your family, you would get a job that your elders can be proud of, and essentially do anything that is beneficial to both you and the people around you. Up until middle school of so, I always thought these were the most "correct" values that someone could have. It had always made a lot of sense as to why you should be looking out for your family and close loved ones, after all they were the ones who seemed to be looking out for you the most. However, I started to realize what effect this had on my personal identity. I felt more as though I was a collection of expectations and ideas imposed onto me by my surroundings rather than an independent being with my own thoughts, ideas, and goals. (I low key think I had a bit of an existential breakdown when I first started to really think about who I was as a person in 8th grade or so because I felt very trapped in this bubble of collectivism). Over time, especially through high school, I felt like I had made a stark transition from having a collectivist mindset to an individualist mindset, which I think may be the case for most people whether or not it was rooted in cultural influence or just general household pressure. Through my personal experience, I think it is definitely possible for one person to develop a mindset for one or the other and think in certain ways when appropriate. There are many situations where it is definitely more beneficial to be as independent and individualistic as possible, while there are certainly situations where it would be more wise to think collectively. As a whole, I don't think it is common for people to fall under an entirely individualistic or collectivist set of values.
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rkipp
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Post by rkipp on May 19, 2016 21:47:27 GMT
Nice personal connection stacyli. I think your expereince really shows how there are downsides and upsides to both ways of identification and totally agree with you about the idea that most middle schoolers probably go through a similar self-identity crisis like you explained. For these reasons, I personally don't think the article shows anything that significant because as lilyzhuo mentioned, are brains are capable of change and our view of our self is not always definite. |
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Post by vannahyazon on May 24, 2016 4:01:38 GMT
While people remain stagnant, i believe it's very common to become more or less individualistic or collective. Coming to UCLA i had a very "me" mindset when it came to what i was going to do. I feel like i always join clubs or pick my major in order to make myself happy and for my future career, but in the process of joining certain clubs, getting a job, and changing my major collective views were really inculcated into me. Now i want to be in my job for the benefit of others and i want my major to result in a job that really does help as well. I feel like collective goals were grounded in my ability to forward-think. But when i think about me in the present it really is more individualistic, which i actually think is a bit strange. I do feel like affiliation is the culmination of values so i think just being a certain identity influences who a person's sense of self is although not directly stated in the articles.
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rkipp
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Post by rkipp on May 25, 2016 3:01:30 GMT
Interesting viewpoint vannahyazon. I never thought about how being a collectivistic could actually lead to one becoming an individualistic person - as if the ideas we formulate from certain groups help us to better understand ourselves and who we really want to be. I also agree that our affiliation has at least somewhat of an influence on our sense of self. Since whatever identity/culture we identify with plays such a huge role in our lives, it seems odd that it would have no influence on who we become/what we value. |
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Post by vannahyazon on May 25, 2016 20:25:28 GMT
Interesting viewpoint vannahyazon . I never thought about how being a collectivistic could actually lead to one becoming an individualistic person - as if the ideas we formulate from certain groups help us to better understand ourselves and who we really want to be. I also agree that our affiliation has at least somewhat of an influence on our sense of self. Since whatever identity/culture we identify with plays such a huge role in our lives, it seems odd that it would have no influence on who we become/what we value. yeah i feel like whether it is purposeful or not being collective leads to being individualist and vice versa because although we're looking at these two categories as strictly one or the other, they are very correlated with each other and bleeding between the two senses of self. |
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Oliver Micklewright
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Post by Oliver Micklewright on Jun 11, 2016 4:54:41 GMT
I think teenagers and younger people are definitely more insecure and therefore are more collectivist. Most teenagers are yet to define their sense of self and hence their sense of self is probably going to be related more to their social interactions, such as their popularity, or role models. However, I think that as most people get older their values change - maybe they no longer care about their popularity for example but instead care more about the close relationships that are important to them. I think its sad if a person completely considers themselves an individualistic person as I think people are naturally sociable and need the support and love of others.
I also think that as people get older they will tend to move more towards the individualistic side as they might begin to realise that some things are more important than others. Actually, i don't think they will necessarily become more individualistic but their value in collectivism are likely to change. For example, they are likely to move from social media, and celebrities (or something along those lines) towards family and close friends whose friendships are truly valued.
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Post by dchang on Jun 13, 2016 7:24:48 GMT
I think that we are not born to remain either individualist or collectivist. Instead, I think that this is subjective to change over time. Just like what you said, I think that teens tend to be more collectivists, but as they grow up then their personalities are further defined and may become individualist or stay collectivist. It also makes sense that most teens tend to be collectivists since they want to fit in with their peers and feel socially accepted. Teens are often still struggling to figure out their identities and value systems, thus may be more defined by their social environment and relationships.
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