“How Did I Do?” versus “How Did We Do?”

Abstract

Research shows that feedback concerning a person’s prior performance is an important determinant of self-efficacy and subsequent work activity. In addition, several recent cultural models posit that people use different aspects of their environment in assessing their self-concepts. In this article, the authors explore Triandis’s sampling-probability hypothesis of cultural influence by examining the relationship of an individual’s cultural values and performance feedback referents to an individual’s self-efficacy. A laboratory experiment is used to test hypotheses concerning the nature of self-efficacy and feedback referent (self vs. group) in relation to individualism-collectivism. The results show that, depending on cultural values held, participants relied on different combinations of individual- and group-based feedback. The results are discussed with regard to a general model of self-efficacy and culture in an organizational environment.