粟屋 南
Need for Uniqueness(Snyder & Fromkin, 1977) is defined as a positive striving for differentness relative to other people. The word differentness implies the authors’ assumption that people strive for a difference whatever it may be. Occidentals may do so. But, on the other hand, when Japanese want to feel different from others, the difference is thought to be a socially desirable one. Nevertheless, Japanese research has been conducted regardless of this cultural difference, leading to the production of deficient measures of Need for Uniqueness, that is Okamoto’s(1985) and Yamaoka’s(1993). To demonstrate the defects of these measures, an experiment with a questionnaire was conducted which instructed research participants to evaluate the impression that was formed after looking over answer examples of the measures. The result supported the deficiency of the measures. But as for the hypothesis that Japanese want a socially desirable difference was not fully supported owing to the result of qualitative analysis of answers of the open-ended questions. Accordingly a variety of Japanese need for uniqueness was suggested.