Self-Evaluative Focus, Life Orientation, Self-Esteem, and Self-Ambivalence in Japan

神奈川県茅ヶ崎市The present research investigated whether within-culture (specifically Japan) differences in Self-Esteem, Life Orientation (optimism-pessimism), and Self-Ambivalence are related to a propensity for differentially attending to and accessing (focusing on) negative, positive, or mixed self-evaluative information (Self-Evaluative Focus, or SEF). Participants were 224 Japanese college students. Results indicated that (1) negative SEF individuals had lower Self-Esteem and were less optimistic and more pessimistic, than positive SEF individuals, (2) mixed SEF individuals also differed from negative SEF individuals in precisely the same ways. However, (3) positive and mixed SEF individuals did not differ in SE, optimism, or pessimism. Self-ambivalence was modestly correlated with mixed SEF, but also marginally with positive SEF, suggesting that SEF overlaps partially with but is conceptually distinct from self-ambivalence. Overall, it is suggested that in Japan, having a mixed SEF does not entail adverse mental health consequences, but rather promotes a “self-improvement orientation” while simultaneously facilitating modest self-presentation, both of which are culturally endorsed