Comparison of self-perception between Slovenian, Finnish and Lebanese students

Abstract

A multitude of social changes, which take place from the local to the global level, have made the social systems highly diverse. People from different cultural backgrounds need to coexist, interact and cooperate at different social levels, from everyday life to the creation of state and world policies. Therefore, it is important to understand how people perceive themselves. The study presents a comparative analysis of the self-perception of Slovenian, Finnish and Lebanese students. We have found that students, regardless of nationality, use more individual than social self-descriptors. Next, the results confirmed that there are differences in individualist-collectivist cultures and independent vs. interdependent self. On average, Slovenians and Finns used more individualistic descriptors (personality traits or states of mind, other people's judgement, preferences, etc.), while Lebanese had the highest number of social descriptors (social roles, group commitment, etc.). The self-complexity was the lowest with Lebanese students. The understanding of self-conception can benefit the individual's ability to adapt to the social context and to reflexively align his or her life paths to the desired goal. The understanding of self- -content and complexity can also be useful for the correct design of therapy and counselling goals and procedures.