connectedness (or separateness) of the self from others (Markus and Kitayama 1991; Oyserman, Coon, and Kemmelmeier 2002). Individuals with a dominant independent self tend to feel distinct from others whereas those with a strong interdependent self tend to focus on connectedness with others. For independents, the normative imperative is to appreciate and assert one’s unique self, without being influenced by the context or the presence of others around them. On the contrary, for interdependents, the self is meaningful and complete only when cast in an appropriate relationship and context. Although there may be intra-country variations in self-construal, studies have shown that Easterners, or those living in collectivist countries such as China, Korea and Japan, generally possess a stronger interdependent self-construal (or ‘interdependents’). On the other hand, Westerners, such as those living in individualistic countries, epitomized by Americans, have been shown to possess a stronger independent self-construal (or ‘independents’; Markus and Kitayama 1991; Singelis 1994; Lalvani and Shavitt 2013). For example, when asked to define themselves in open-ended questions, people from Western countries were more likely to describe themselves independent of any group and focus on their personal autonomy. In contrast, those from Eastern countries used more interdependent descriptions (Gardner, Gabriel, and Lee 1999; Hannover and Kuhnen 2004). Further, self-construal priming has been shown to mirror cultural differences in worldview and judgment (Gardner, Gabriel, and Lee CULTURE & BEAUTY 10 1999). Given this, extant research in cross-cultural psychology (Cross 1995; Gudykunst et al. 1996), consumer behaviour (Ahluwalia 2008; Escalas and Bettman 2005), and international marketing (Agarwal, Malhotra, and Bolton 2010; Hui, Ho, and Wan 2011) has used selfconstrual to operationalize culture at an individual level. For example, in the international marketing literature, this difference has been demonstrated to have an impact across various domains such as willingness to complain about product and service performance (Chelminski and Coulter 2007), response to service failures (Hui, Ho, and Wan 2011), and reciprocity in relationship marketing (Hoppner, Griffith, and Whyte 2015). Building on and extending these findings, this research proposes that self-construal also influences consumers’ motivation to adhere to beauty norms. Culture and Beauty: The Role of Norms While the definition of beauty may differ across cultures, the normative requirement is clear and well understood by individuals within a particular culture (Cunningham et al. 1995). However, having clear norms alone is not enough to motivate consumers to adhere to them. The way a person views herself has also been shown to affect their motivation to adhere to norms. Savani and colleagues (2015) found that even when the content of the norms is similar across cultures, the motivation to adhere to the norms is stronger for interdependents, as compared to independents. Easterners (interdependents) gain their sense of worth and satisfaction from belonging to a larger group and adjusting oneself to promote and ensure group harmony, whereas Westerners (independents) gain their sense of worth from being unique and achieving personal goals (Bond and Smith 1996; Markus and Kitayama 1991). As such, compared to independents, interdependents’ self-perceptions are influenced to a larger extent by others’ opinions (Kim and Markman 2006; Kim and Markus 2004; Savani et al. 2015). Further, when a person’s interdependent self-construal or collective self is activated, subjective norms (instead of personal attitudes) guide behavioural intentions CULTURE & BEAUTY 11 (Ybarra and Trafimow 1998). Individuals with an interdependent self-construal tend to conform and adhere to others’ judgment as interdependence requires fitting into a larger network of socially prescribed roles, standards, and duties (Ji, Peng, and Nisbett 2000; Torelli 2006; Trafimow, Triandis, and Goto 1991). Thus, interdependents, but not independents, feel the obligation to ensure that they are conforming to the requirements of the group (Heine et al. 2001). Drawing from this stream of literature, we propose that due to a stronger interdependent self, Easterners, compared to Westerners, would be more motivated to conform to the set of criteria considered beautiful in their society. This greater motivation to conform to beauty related norms will lead interdependents to have a greater proclivity for appearance enhancing tools and products that can help them to conform to beauty related normative ideals. This will influence their usage of appearance enhancing products. Thus, we hypothesize that: H1: Compared to Westerners (less