The Role of the Subjective Self (I) in the Cross-Cultural Acceptability of Youth

Abstract

Cross-cultural acceptability in youth tends to be higher than that in adults. This is a phenomenon that is difficult to explain within the general concept of socialization. It suggests that there is a unique recognition mechanism for cross-cultural acceptability in the experience of youths. This study searched for clues to the mechanism in the self concept proposed by Mead, namely, Me (the social self) and I (the subjective self). The study applied a growth curve model from the second year of middle school to the third year of high school to investigate trends in students’ cross-cultural acceptability and the influence of the subjective self as a developmental factor. Cross-cultural acceptability was analyzed by applying the Guttman scale to items measuring social distances, such as neighbors, friends, close friends, opposite gender friends, and marriage partners. The results show that cross-cultural acceptability increases in a non-linear form from the second year of middle school to the third year of high school. The subjective self significantly increases the level of cross-cultural acceptability in the second year of middle school, but as the grades increase, the influence of the subjective self on cross-cultural acceptability decreases. In cases where the subjective self is high, the function of the subjective self has already been mobilized to increase cross-cultural acceptability in the second year of middle school, and a high level of cross-cultural acceptability has been reached, resulting in its influence decreasing in subsequent grades. The results are evidence that the role of the subjective self, which awakens youths’ spontaneity, initiative, and willingness, is at work in an environment where youth are experiencing the low cross-cultural acceptability of adult society.