Development of “Agentic” Regulation in Cultural Context: The Role of Self and World Views

This article explores differences in the development of intentional self-regulation in children from European American and Asian communities and examines the ways in which the socialization and development of “agentic” regulation follow specific goals that are in line with the predominant cultural model of agency and related self and world views. In particular, it considers whether cultural differences in self-regulation in these populations are related to the target of agency (one’s self or external world) and to the view of the self as malleable (to personal effort and social influence). An overview of some basic beliefs in different Asian communities is provided, followed by empirical studies on socialization and the development of self-regulation and emotion regulation. It is argued that a binary distinction between independence and interdependence is not sufficient and does not take into account intracultural differences in cultural models of agency in Asian communities. Empirical studies show that culture-specific views on the self and the world influence respective socialization conditions and the development of agentic regulation.