Differentiating autonomy from individualism and independence: A self-determination theory perspective on internalization of cultural orientations and well-being

Chirkov (2003) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · Read the paper

Chirkov, Ryan, Kim and Kaplan used self-determination theory and Triandis's cultural descriptions to test three hypotheses: that people from different cultures internalise different cultural practices, that the relative autonomy of their motivation for those practices predicts well-being in all the cultures studied, and that horizontal practices are internalised more readily than vertical ones. The study included 559 participants from South Korea, Russia, Turkey and the United States. The results supported the autonomy and well-being relationship across the four cultures and across genders, and showed greater internalisation of horizontal practices. The discussion addresses how autonomy differs from individualism and how cultural forms fit basic psychological needs.

Chirkov, Ryan, Kim and Kaplan used self-determination theory and Triandis's cultural descriptions to test three hypotheses: that people from different cultures internalise different cultural practices, that the relative autonomy of their motivation for those practices predicts well-being in all the cultures studied, and that horizontal practices are internalised more readily than vertical ones. The study included 559 participants from South Korea, Russia, Turkey and the United States. The results supported the autonomy and well-being relationship across the four cultures and across genders, and showed greater internalisation of horizontal practices. The discussion addresses how autonomy differs from individualism and how cultural forms fit basic psychological needs.

Written from the abstract, university research repository record, 2026-11-02.

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Chirkov, V., Ryan, R. M., Kim, Y., & Kaplan, U. (2003). Differentiating autonomy from individualism and independence: A self-determination theory perspective on internalization of cultural orientations and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 97-110. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.1.97 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.1.97