Critics of a dominant model of the person, which emphasizes autonomy and independence, have called for an alternative, more social, conceptualization of the self. To describe and validate social individuality as an alternative conceptualization of the self, 84 adults (54 females, 30 males), from a range of social classes and including persons participating in groups for social change, completed a survey. The survey included indices of cognitive-perceptual style, social apperception, and ideology, as well as questions about participants' backgrounds. An analysis of the results showed that the four measures interrelated in a way that supported social individuality. The measures were significantly correlated for women but not for men. Specifically, those women whose cognitive-perceptual style reflected a tendency to perceive integrated wholes (in contrast to simple wholes or small details) were also more likely to apperceive the social dimensions of human interactions, to express a collectivist ideology, and to describe the resolution of moral dilemmas using strategies that reflect themes of social responsibility. Women who participated in collectivist activities were more likely to perceive the self as social. Autonomous individualists, on the other hand, tended to stress the autonomy and independence of their range of activities. These findings support an alternative conceptualization of the self, and suggest that social individuality is more consistent for women than for men. (BL)