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Culture and First-Person Pronouns

University of Michigan

Incheol Choi

Seoul National University, ichoi{at}snu.ac.kr

Priming research has shown that repeated exposures to first-person singular pronouns (I, my, me, mine) activate an individualistic orientation, whereas first-person plural pronouns (we, our, us, ours) activate a collectivistic orientation. However, little research has been done to explore the opposite direction of influence such that one’s cultural orientation determines one’s choice between first-person singular versus plural pronouns. The authors conducted three studies to examine the effects of one’s cultural orientation on one’s use of first-person possessive pronouns. Results show that, compared to their individualistic counterparts, participants who have a collectivistic orientation, chronically or temporarily by priming, preferred to use first-person plural possessive pronouns.

Key Words: cultural differences • self-concept • priming • language • pronouns

This version was published on November 1, 2009

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 35, No. 11, 1492-1499 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167209343810


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