Cultural Differences in Positive Illusions Between Japanese and U.S. University Students

• In Event: The Complex Issues of Education From Across the Boarders

Abstract

People often perceive themselves as an above-average person regardless of what they are. This phenomenon is known as positive illusions, which are considered necessary for good mental health. It is also known that different cultures possess different types of illusions. By using a translated questionnaire, we directly compare positive/negative illusions of university students in Japan and the United States especially in terms of item responses and factor structure. Results from the surveys show positive illusions for Japanese students and negative illusions for the U.S. students. Also, some factors that are found in one country have the corresponding factor(s) in the other country, while the other factors do not have such a clear correspondence (i.e., partially invariant factor structure).

Authors

• Kazuki Hori, Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute

• Hirotaka Fukuhara, Pearson

• Tsuyoshi Yamada, Okayama University

• Yukiko Maeda, Purdue University

• Ryoko Shinagawa