This document discusses the ME/WE balance and the need for uniqueness. It describes research by Howard Fromkin and C.R. Snyder in the 1970s that found most people desire to feel special compared to others. They proposed that people evaluate their perceived similarity to others on an identity schema for uniqueness. Studies found those with a higher need for uniqueness had higher self-esteem and less anxiety, and tended to write their names larger or have more unusual names. The document also discusses how attitudes, beliefs, and performances can be used as uniqueness attributes. Finally, it notes that while Americans are individualistic, they are not necessarily lower in collectivism than other cultures.

1. ME/WE BALANCE

2. Core Emphases
Independence vs dependence
Uniqueness vs conformity
Unit of analysis self/ others

3. Goals
Success
Satisfaction
Cost-benefit analysis vs unconditionally
Spontaneity vs duties
Informal vs formal

4. The pursuit of individualistic goals to produce a sense
of specialness has been termed the need for
uniqueness
In the 1970s, researchers Howard
Fromkin and C. R. Snyder (see Snyder & Fromkin,
1977, 1980) embarked on a program of research based
on the premise that most people have some desire to
be special relative to other

5. An identity dimension is defined as "a set of person
attributes which have a common core of meaning“
Snyder and Fromkin (1980) proposed that people
think about their perceived similarity to others and
use a dimension (in their minds) on which they
evaluate how correct any given feedback seems about
their degree of similarity to other people (technically,
this is encoded on a uniqueness identity schema

6. People evaluate the acceptability of their having
varying degrees eof similarity to other peopl

10. Snyder and Fromkin (1977)
32 intems
5 pt likert
People who score higher on the Need for Uniqueness
Scale also have higher self esteem and less anxiety,
especially relative to interpersonal matters
http://www.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/app/social/ad
dchap3.html

11. Commodities as Uniqueness Attributes
Names as Uniqueness Attributes
Those with higher scores in need for uniqueness wrote
their names larger (i.e., area of signature as measured by
length by height, controlling for the number ofletters in
the names).
In a similar study, Zweigenhaft gave the Need for
Uniqueness Scale to a large number of female college
students and then found that those with higher
scores also had names that were statistically unusual.

12. Attitudes and Beliefs as Uniqueness Attributes
Performances as Uniqueness Attributes
individualistic normal competition
individualistic successful differentiation
individualistic deviance

13. In the watershed review on this topic, Oyserman and
colleagues (2002) found that Americans indeed were
high in individualism, but they were not necessarily
lower than others in collectivism
Inter country regional differernces
Generational differences
Furthermore, a seemingly individualistic propensity in
actuality may contribute to collectivism; for example,
consider the fact that a robust personal sense of efficacy
may contribute to the collective efficacy of a society