Interpersonal leveling, independence, and self-enhancement: A comparison between Denmark and the US, and a relational practice framework for cultural psychology

We argue that the relational model that people use for organizing specific social interactions in any
culture determines whether people self-enhance. Self-enhancement is not a functional consequence of
the (independent or interdependent) cultural model of self. Across three studies, Danes self-enhanced
considerably less than did Americans but were more independent on the Twenty Statements Test, made
more individual attributions about social life, made more autonomous scenario choices, and were more
independent on the self-construal scale. Public modesty did not account for these Danish-American
differences in self-enhancement. However, Danes practiced interpersonal leveling, preferring equality
of outcome more than did Americans. This leveling strongly and inversely predicted self-enhancement
within both cultures and mediated Danish-American differences in self-enhancement. In contrast, no
independence measure systematically predicted self-enhancement within both cultures nor mediated
the cultural differences in self-enhancement. This dissociation of independence and self-enhancement
demonstrates that self-enhancing downward social comparisons are not functionally necessary for an
independent concept of self.We conclude that social relationships, not the model of the self, mediate the
mutual constitution of psyche and culture.