ABSTRACT
This chapter describes two divergent construals of the self, an independent view and an interdependent view. The most significant differences between these two construals is in the role that is assigned to the other in self-definition. As with cognition and emotion, the motivational processes that implicate the self depend on the nature of the self-system. The defining features of an independent self are attributes, abilities, traits, desires, and motives that have been social products but that have become the "property" of the self-contained individual and that are assumed to be the source of the individual's behavior. The sense of individuality that accom-panies the construal of the self includes a sense of oneself as an agent, as a producer of one's actions. A consideration of the social context and the reactions of others may shape some basic, nonsocial cognitive activities such as categorizing and counterfactual thinking. In many Western cultures, there is a faith in the inherent separateness of distinct persons.
