ABSTRACT
Social psychology of the self has examined the interplay between social context and self-cognition, primarily focusing on the impact of a variety of interpersonal and intergroup processes on the way in which one regards oneself. This chapter argues for examining the nexus of symbolic mediation and selfhood. While critically reviewing existing approaches to the symbolic self, it review one's own work on culture and self that involves both empirical and connectionist-inspired simulation research. In the current literature of social psychology, however, there have been two clusters of research on the interplay between symbolic culture and self-conception. The chapter outlines what one call a doubly distributed approach, which one believes can move them forward in addressing the micro-macro problem in culture and self. Yet, in examining how individuals construct their selves in their ongoing social interaction, it is imperative to address the interface of the macro-level cultural meaning system as symbolic resources and the micro-level meaning-making in symbolically mediated social interaction.
