True-self-as-guide lay theory endorsement across five countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT A widespread lay theory in the United States suggests that the best way to make decisions is to follow who you “really are”, referred to as the “true-self-as-guide” (TSAG) lay theory of decision making. In this paper, we explore whether people from four less-WEIRD (i.e., Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) countries also explicitly endorse the TSAG lay theory, whether individual differences in horizontal/vertical individualist/collectivist mindsets correlate with TSAG endorsement, and whether TSAG endorsement predicts wellbeing. Participants were recruited from US, China, India, Singapore, and South Korea (total N=654). Results revealed TSAG lay theories was high across all countries, that horizontal mindsets were more relevant to TSAG endorsement than individualism/collectivism, and that TSAG endorsement predicted well-being in a non US-context.