Gender Differences in Individualistic and Collectivistic Self-Schema Among Union College Students

Self-schema refers to how individuals define themselves in terms of independence (individualism) or relationships (collectivism). Prior social psychology research suggests that gender socialization may influence these self-construal patterns, with men more likely to report independent self-schemas and women more likely to report interdependent self-schemas. This study examined whether such gender differences are present among Union College students. Nineteen students (10 females, 9 males) completed an anonymous online survey measuring individualistic and collectivistic self-schema. Mean scores were compared across gender groups using independent-samples t-tests. Contrary to the hypotheses, females reported slightly higher individualism scores, while males reported marginally higher collectivism scores; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Overall, the findings did not support predicted gender differences in self-schema within this sample.