Abstract
Research suggests that quieting the ego (reducing excessive self-focus) can foster well-being. Two exploratory qualitative studies were carried out to investigate the features of ego-quieting group activities. Romanian (N = 140) and Japanese participants (N = 99) read a definition of “self-detachment” and answered several open-ended questions asking them to describe a group situation in which they had experienced a similar state. Thematic analysis showed numerous similarities between the responses of the two samples, as well as cultural-specific features. Participants recalled moments of enjoyment in the company of friends, or challenging group work. For the Romanian sample, the experience was characterized by present-oriented attention, valuing others, positivity, disinhibition and altered perceptions, while for the Japanese sample, valuing others, stress relief, matching challenge and skill and merging self with exterior world were its prevalent features. Both samples identified similar eliciting factors (individual receptiveness, acceptant group, captivating activity, appropriate environment) and similar consequences of the experience (increased closeness, relaxation and self-development). While supporting the existing literature on the importance of communal activities in reducing self-focus and promoting individual well-being, the paper provides new in-depth insights into participants’ subjective experiences and the cultural specifics of positive group activities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Algoe, S. B., & Haidt, J. (2009). Witnessing excellence in action: The “other-praising” emotions of elevation, gratitude, and admiration. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(2), 105–127.
Bauer, J. J., & Wayment, H. A. (2008). The psychology of the quiet ego. In H. A. Wayment & J. J. Bauer (Eds.), Transcending self-interest: Psychological explorations of the quiet ego (pp. 7–19). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Escaping the self: Alcoholism, spirituality, masochism, and other flights from the burden of selfhood. New York: Basic Books.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Brown, K. W., & Leary, M. R. (2016). The Oxford handbook of hypo-egoic phenomena. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cohen, D., Hoshino-Browne, E., & Leung, A. K. (2007). Culture and the structure of personal experience: Insider and outsider phenomenologies of the self and social world. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 1–67.
Crocker, J., Olivier, M.-A., & Nuer, N. (2009). Self-image goals and compassionate goals: Costs and benefits. Self and Identity, 8(2–3), 251–269.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond Boredom and anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, I. S. (1988). Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dambrun, M., & Ricard, M. (2011). Self-centeredness and selflessness: A theory of self-based psychological functioning and its consequences for happiness. Review of General Psychology, 15(2), 138–157.
Delle Fave, A. (2013). Past, present and future of flow. In S. A. David, I. Boniwell, & A. Conley Ayers (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of happiness (pp. 60–72). New York: Oxford University Press.
Delle Fave, A., Bassi, M., & Massimini, F. (2003). Coping with boundaries: The quality of daily experience of rom nomads in Europe. Psychology and Developing Societies, 15(1), 87–102.
Delle Fave, A., Massimini, F., & Bassi, M. (2011). Psychological selection and optimal experience across cultures. Dordrecht: Springer.
Diener, E. (1980). Deindividuation: The absence of self-awareness and self-regulation in group members. In P. B. Paulus (Ed.), The psychology of group influence (pp. 209–242). Hillsday, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum.
Durkheim, É. (2008 [1912]). The elementary forms of the religious life. New York: Dover Publications, INC.
Frost, K. M., & Frost, C. J. (2000). Romanian and American life aspirations in relation to psychological wellbeing. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31(6), 726–751.
Gavreliuc, A., & Ciobotă, C. I. (2013). Culture and self-construal: Implications for the social cognitions of young cohorts in Romania. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 78, 270–274.
Gherghel, C., & Nastas, D. (2014). Facilitating factors and consequences of experiencing self-detachment in groups: A thematic analysis. In S. Ionita (Ed.), The second world congress on resilience: From person to society (pp. 1107–1110). Bologna: Medimond.
Greenwald, A. G. (1980). The totalitarian ego: Fabrication and revision of personal history. American Psychologist, 35(7), 603–618.
Haidt, J. (2012). The Righteous Mind: Why good people are divided by religion and politics. New York: Pantheon.
Haidt, J., Seder, J., & Kesebir, S. (2008). Hive psychology, happiness, and public policy. The Journal of Legal Studies, 37, S133–S156.
Harmat, L., Andersen, F. Ø., Ullén, F., Wright, J., & Sadlo, G. (2016). Flow experience: Empirical research and applications. Dordrecht: Springer.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Professional.
Kitayama, S., Markus, H. R., & Kurokawa, M. (2000). Culture, emotion, and well-being: Good feelings in Japan and the United States. Cognition and Emotion, 14(1), 93–124.
Leary, M. (2004). The curse of the self: Self-awareness, egotism, and the quality of human life. New York: Oxford University Press.
Leary, M., & Terry, M. (2012). Hypo-egoic mindsets. In M. R. Leary & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (2nd ed., pp. 268–288). New York: The Guilford Press.
Lewins, A., & Silver, C. (2007). Using software in qualitative research: A step-by-step guide. Los Angeles: Sage.
Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224–253.
Matsumoto, D. (1999). Culture and self: An empirical assessment of Markus and Kitayama’s theory of independent and interdependent self-construals. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2(3), 289–310.
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). The concept of flow. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 89–105). New York: Oxford University Press.
Oishi, S., & Graham, J. (2013). Concepts of happiness across time and cultures. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(5), 559–577.
Páez, D., Rimé, B., Basabe, N., Wlodarczyk, A., & Zumeta, L. (2015). Psychosocial effects of perceived emotional synchrony in collective gatherings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(5), 711–729.
Reed, P. G. (1991). Toward a nursing theory of self-transcendence: Deductive reformulation using developmental theories. Advances in Nursing Science, 13(4), 64–77.
Reicher, S., Spears, R., & Postmes, T. (1995). A social identity model of deindividuation phenomena. In W. Stroebe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European review of social psychology (pp. 161–198). Chichester: Wiley.
Ryan, R. M., & Frederick, C. (1997). On energy, personality, and health: subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well-being. Journal of Personality, 65(3), 529–565.
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology. An introduction. The American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.
Spector, P. E., Cooper, C. L., Sanchez, J. I., O’Driscoll, M., Sparks, K., Bernin, P., et al. (2001). Do national levels of individualism and internal locus of control relate to well-being: An ecological level international study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 815–832.
Turner, V. W. (1991 [1969]). The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. New York: Cornell University Press.
Turner, E. (2012). Communitas: The anthropology of collective joy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Twenge, J. (2014). Generation Me-revised and updated: Why today’s young Americans are more confident, assertive, entitled—and more miserable than ever before. New York: Atria Paperback.
Wayment, H. A., & Bauer, J. J. (2008). Transcending self-interest: Psychological explorations of the quiet ego. Decade of behavior. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Wayment, H. A., Bauer, J. J., & Sylaska, K. (2014). The quiet ego scale: Measuring the compassionate self-identity. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(4), 999–1033.
Wood, A. M., Linley, P. A., Baliousis, M., Joseph, S., & Maltby, J. (2008). The authentic personality: A theoretical and empirical conceptualization and the development of the authenticity scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55(3), 385–399.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gherghel, C., Nastas, D. & Hashimoto, T. Quieting the Ego Through Group Activities: A Thematic Analysis of Romanian and Japanese Students’ Positive Group Experiences. J Happiness Stud 19, 1283–1303 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9872-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9872-z