Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cultural Perspectives On The Interactions Between Nutrition, Health, And Psychological Functioning, Frances E. Aboud

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

Food and nutrition occupy the daily thoughts of most people, particularly the 178 million children who are malnourished and have been since their first birthday. While malnutrition is directly and indirectly responsible for one-third of child deaths in developing countries, overweight has been declared the number one health problem in other countries. More food is therefore not necessarily better when talking about health. This reading presents information on the major nutrients important for health and psychological functioning, including energy, protein, vitamin A, zinc, iron, and iodine. It also discusses how cultures differ in their food preferences and their beliefs about …

Asian American Mental Health: What We Know And What We Don't Know, Joyce P. Chu, Stanley Sue

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

This chapter reviews and critically examines issues regarding the mental health of Asians in the United States. As a distinct ethnic group in the United States, Asian Americans have experienced value conflicts between their own ethnic culture and that of mainstream Americans, as well as instances of racial prejudice and discrimination. Given these experiences, it is important to examine the mental health status of Asian Americans. Several consistent research findings have emerged. First, few Asian Americans utilize the mental health system. Second, those who do use services are highly disturbed in terms of psychiatric disorders. Third, cultural factors appear to …

Creativity In The Brazilian Culture, Denise S. Fleith

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

Research has pointed out creativity as a sociocultural and contextually embedded phenomenon. As a consequence, the effect of cultural factors on the manifestation of creativity has been discussed worldwide. The purpose of this chapter is, therefore, to analyze the development of creativity in the Brazilian culture. A brief description of the Brazilian culture is provided. Models of creativity developed by Brazilian researchers, as well as a review of creativity studies conducted in the educational environment, are presented. Guidelines for future cross-cultural studies on creativity are also suggested.

Cultural Psychology And Cross-Cultural Psychology: The Case Of Chinese Psychology, Carl Ratner

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

No abstract provided.

Language And Culture, Chi-Yue Chiu

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

Language pervades social life. It is a primary means by which we gain access to the contents of others' minds and establish shared understanding of the reality. Meanwhile, there is an enormous amount of linguistic diversity among human populations. Depending on what counts as a language, there are 3,000 to 10,000 living languages in the world, although a quarter of the world’s languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers and half have fewer than 10,000 (Crystal, 1997). Not surprisingly, a key question in culture and psychology research concerns the role of language in cultural processes. The present chapter focuses on two …

Compatibility: An Experimental Demonstration, Thomas R. Herzog, Lauren J. Hayes, Rebecca C. Applin, Anna M. Weatherly

Peer Reviewed Articles

Are people sensitive to the level of compatibility in everyday settings? We manipulated via scenario both a specified goal and a setting typically associated with a given goal. Settings were either typically compatible with the specified goal or not. Different participants rated either compatibility (as a direct indicator of sensitivity to manipulated compatibility) or preference for being in the setting (as an indirect indicator of sensitivity). For both measures, mean ratings were significantly greater in the high-compatibility conditions than in the low-compatibility conditions. We conclude that people are indeed sensitive to the level of compatibility in everyday settings. These findings …

Perceived And Capitalization Support Are Substantially Similar: Implications For Social Support Theory, Ryan C. Shorey, Brian Lakey

Peer Reviewed Articles

Social support is typically thought to protect people from bad events, whereas capitalization support augments people’s reactions to good events. Because social support and capitalization support apply to different classes of events, most theory predicts that measures of perceived support and capitalization support should be empirically distinct. We tested a new theory that hypothesizes that the main effects between perceived support and mental health do not reflect stress and coping primarily, but instead reflect ordinary, yet affectively consequential conversations and shared activities, some of which include positive events. According to this view, perceived support and capitalization support should be substantially …

Reactions To Participating In Dating Violence Research: Are Our Questions Distressing Participants?, Ryan C. Shorey, Tara L. Cornelius, Kathryn M. Bell

Peer Reviewed Articles

In recent years, there has been increased research focus on dating violence, producing important information for reducing these violent relationships. Yet Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are often hesitant to approve research on dating violence, citing emotional distress of participants as a possible risk of participation. However, no known research has examined the reactions of research participants to questions about dating violence. The current study examined the reactions among college students to completing a self-report measure on dating violence. Results showed that participants reported numerous positive experiences as a result of their research participation, with only mildly increased negative emotional reactions …

Preference And Tranquility For Houses Of Worship, Thomas R. Herzog, Lauren E. Gray, Amy M. Dunville, Angela M. Hicks, Emily A. Gilson

Peer Reviewed Articles

Participants rated houses of worship for one of seven variables: preference, tranquility, age, visual richness, building care, potential for recovery from fatigued attention, and potential for reflection. Factor analysis of the preference ratings yielded four content categories: “contemporary,” “traditional,” “unusual architecture,” and “older red brick churches.” Preference was positively correlated with visual richness and building care in the contemporary and traditional categories and had a positive partial correlation with age in the traditional category. Tranquility was positively correlated with preference, building care, recovery, and reflection in the contemporary category but only with reflection in the traditional category. Tranquility was rated …

Conflict Patterns Among Greek Couples: The Role Of Values, Self- Disclosure, And Relationship Satisfaction, Marianna Argiropoulou, Vassilis Pavlopoulos, Karen Quek

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

This study tested the assumption that self- and spouse reports on values, self-disclosure and satisfaction could predict conflict patterns, as proposed by Rusbult, Zembrodt, & Gunn’s (1982) Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect typology. Participants were 133 married Greek couples. Results were generally consistent with expectations: Self- and spouse reports on satisfaction, self-disclosure and values were significant predictors of the use of the four conflict resolution strategies, to an extent that varied across conflict type, informant (self vs. spouse) and gender. Overall, husbands were more satisfied than wives. No differences were found at the mean level of selfdisclosure, or in the frequency and type of …

Culture And Passionate Love, Elaine Hatfield, Richard L. Rapson

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

For more than 4,000 years, poets and storytellers have sung of the delights and sufferings of love and lust. This chapter reviews what scholars from various disciplines have discovered about the nature of passionate love and sexual desire. Anthropologists and evolutionary psychologists have assumed that passionate love is a cultural universal. Cultural researchers, historians, and social psychologists have emphasized the stunning diversity in the way passionate love and sexual desire have been viewed and experienced. Culture, ethnicity and the rules passed down by political and religious authorities have a profound impact on the way people think about and act out …

Rendering Borders Obsolete: Cross-Cultural And Cultural Psychology As An Interdisciplinary, Multi-Method Endeavor, Franziska Deutsch, Mandy Boehnke, Ulrich KüHnen, Klaus Boehnke

IACCP Proceedings of the Biennial International Conferences

A peer-reviewed book based on presentations at the XIX Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2008, Bremen, Germany.

(c) 2011, International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology

Estonians And Russians In Contemporary Estonia: Is The Soviet Past Still Dominating The Present?, Aksel Kirch, Tarmo Tuisk, Hanna-­‐Hulda Reinkort

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

The current article focuses on a study about Estonians and Russians living in Estonia. As a method we used Identity Structure Analysis (ISA) to investigate their patterns of identification with 'Estonians', 'Russians in Estonia', 'Russians in Russia', and 'Estonian Government'. The themes embraced constructions of the past, including the context of the Soviet Union's role in WWII. Findings suggest that alarming events on the streets of Tallinn (April 2007) appear to be related to the role of the Soviet Union in WWII inter alia, where its construction as 'occupier' of Eastern Europe (as opposed to 'liberator') forms a 'core evaluative …

Structure Of Acculturation Attitudes And Their Relationships With Personality And Psychological Adaptation: A Study With Immigrant And National Samples In Germany, Paul G. Schmitz, John W. Berry

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

This contribution deals with the structure of acculturation attitudes and their relationship with personality dimensions and psychological adaptation. Based on two German samples—an immigrant and a national one— evidence suggests that four independent factors are underlying acculturation styles as assessed with the Acculturation Attitudes Styles (AAS). Integration, Assimilation, Separation, and Marginalization are independent, lowly correlated constructs and represent distinct modes of coping with acculturation demands. Analyses also demonstrate that each acculturation factor shows a specific pattern of personality characteristics, including basic temperament dimensions, cognitive styles, coping, and components of emotional intelligence. Finally, the four acculturation styles can predict psychological adaptation …

It Can Be Taught: Explorations Into Teaching The Foundations For Multicultural Effectiveness, Randall E. Osborne, Paul Kriese, John M. Davis

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

Connections are drawn between the development of intercultural sensitivity, interpersonal skills, and critical thinking. A case is made that fostering particular critical thinking skills in courses enhances interpersonal skills, and that enhanced interpersonal skills facilitate movement along Bennett’s (1993) proposed continuum of development of intercultural sensitivity. Discussion centers on how to integrate these qualities (e.g., critical thinking, intercultural sensitivity, and interpersonal skills) and facilitate them in courses. Furthermore, it introduces a call for research on how to test these assumptions with experiences beyond the classroom.

Validation Of The Infant-Toddler Home Inventory Among Households In Low Income Communities At The Kenyan Coast, Penny Holding, Amina Abubakar, Elizabeth Obiero, Fons J. R. Van De Vijver

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

The aim of this paper is to describe the adaptations made to the Infant-Toddler version of the Home Observation Measure of the Environment for use in a low income Kenyan population. A total of 425 (214 girls) children aged 6-35 months were involved in this cross-sectional study. Focus groups and in-depth individual interviews were used to generate culturally appropriate modifications. Translations and back translations of the HOME were carried out using a Panel Approach. A significant number of items from the original HOME (N = 26) showed limited variability and were excluded from the final schedule. Two more items were …

The Significance Of Positive Perceptions Of Counseling In Willingness To Seek Counseling Help: An Indonesian Study, Jenny Lukito Setiawan

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

This paper describes a study designed to investigate the relationships between perceptions relevant to counseling and willingness to seek counseling. A total of 1,279 undergraduates who came from an urban area in Indonesia volunteered to participate in the questionnaire survey. Results show that those who were potentially highly likely and those who were less likely to seek counseling showed significant differences in most of the areas of perceptions of counseling. Generally, the potential high seekers had better perceptions of counseling than the potential low seekers. The study suggests that those with more positive perceptions are more disposed to seek counseling. …

Theory Of Mind Understanding In Narration: A Study Among Children From Different Socioeconomic Backgrounds In India, Nandita Babu

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

This study investigates the theory of mind understanding as reflected in the narratives of children from families of low as well as high socioeconomic-status (SES). A group of 30 Hindi-speaking children from six to seven years of age and their mothers participated in this study. Children were asked to narrate six stories prompted by pictures and standard verbal probes. In addition, they were also administered false-belief tasks to assess their theory of mind understanding. Later, their mothers were asked to narrate three stories to their children. Content analysis of the stories indicated the frequency of occurrence of words referring to …

Social Support Networks On International Assignments, Erika Spieß, Christina Stroppa

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

This study presents the role of social support and of networks for staff of small- and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations on foreign assignment. We used both, a qualitative and quantitative approach: qualitative interviews of staff of small- and medium-sized enterprises revealed the special need of support within the scope of the assignment and the immense significance of a well-functioning, supportive network. A quantitative survey with 143 respondents examined the relation between the phases of an assignment for satisfaction, stress, and company support. The outcome was that critical phases of foreign assignment were the sojourn and the return phases, marked …

Bias In Terms Of Culture: Work Values Country-Clustering For 33 European Countries And Person-Job Fit Factor Equivalence Testing For Four European Countries, Kostas Mylonas, Aikaterini Gari, Penny Panagiotopoulou, Elli Georgiadi, Velichko Valchev, Sofia Papazoglou, Mariana Brkich

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

Bias in terms of culture has been posing threat to cross-cultural research since the very beginning of crosscultural endeavor. Metric and statistical methods have been discussed in literature in order to deal with this type of bias; however, some of these methods show side-effects on the level of scale validity and some others with so stringent effects on the available information and allow for very limited variance to be interpreted. The present twofold study describes yet another method, this time based on country clusters, following the idea introduced by Georgas & Berry (1995) of employing country sets based on their …

Meaning Correlates Of Value Orientations, Shulamith Kreitler

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

The purpose was to explore the relations between value orientations and meaning assignment tendencies. The hypotheses were that values would be related to a certain number of meaning variables that would be similar in three cultural groups. The participants were 150 individuals of both genders living in Israel. They are from three cultural communities (50 participants each): Israeli, French, and Russian. They were administered the values inventory PQ IV by Schwartz (1992) and the Meaning Test by Kreitler and Kreitler (1990a). The relations between the values of hedonism, power, and benevolence and the meaning variables were analyzed by correlations. The …

Those Wonderful People Across The Sea: Positive Out-Group Bias By Caucasians Toward Asians, Wing Sze Leung, Shue Ying Ting

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

While individuals often favor their in-group, they sometimes favor an out-group, such as when Caucasians positively stereotype Asians' quantitative abilities. It is unclear, however, whether positive stereotypes of Asians extend into other domains and create a generalized halo effect that influences judgments on other attributes. To examine this, three studies were performed. In Study 1, Asians and Caucasians were equally biased toward an Asian's response to a calculus problem. In Study 2, Asians, but not Caucasians, gave lower grades to essay writers they guessed were Asian. In Study 3, Caucasians rated their ethnic group with fewer positive terms and more …

Vietnamese Students Abroad: A Research Framework, Le Nhat Tran

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, a critique of the current literature on the acculturation experience of Vietnamese international students is provided. Second, a review of the distinctive cultural-historical traits of Vietnamese international students is presented, demonstrating their differences relative to other Asian sojourning groups as well as other Vietnamese migrant groups. A third purpose of this paper is to present a Vietnamesespecific psychological acculturation framework that might pave the theoretical foundation for investigations on the acculturation experience of Vietnamese international students. This framework is based upon Berry’s (1997) acculturation framework, and De Jong and Fawcett’s (1981) value-expectancy …

Host Acculturation Orientation: Some Preliminary Impressions Of The French Students On Ethnic Minority Groups In Montpellier, S. France, Jyoti Verma

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

The objective was to study the host acculturation orientation of a sample of 100 French students of a S. France University. For this purpose a nine-items Host Acculturation Scale was used. Observations gave the impression that the students considered it significantly ‘more important’ that the immigrants maintained their heritage culture in their homes rather than doing so in general or at the workplace. Furthermore, it was considered only ‘partially important’ that the immigrants adopted the French norms, values and customs in general and at the workplace, and ‘not important at all’ that they did so in their homes. Ethnic groups …

Jealousy And Infidelity Among Mexican Couples, Sofia Rivera-­‐Aragon, Rolando Diaz-­‐Loving, Pedro Wolfgang Velasco-­‐Matus, Nancy Montero-­‐Santamaria

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

Gender differences in jealously have been traced back to both socio-cultural, as well as to evolutionary sources. The evolutionary approach predicts similar gender differences to be found in all cultures. Socio-cultural explanations, however, suggest that the patterns of gender differences may be culture-specific. The current study investigated gender differences in the relations between jealousy and infidelity in Mexico. 537 participants (248 men; 289 women) filled out an inventory of jealousy and infidelity, respectively. The results show first a positive relationship among infidelity, anger, fear, suspicion, frustration and distrust. Second, the data reveal a clear gender difference in that men desired …

Can Happiness Change? An Interdisciplinary, Multi-Method Investigation Of The Dynamics Of Happiness, Franziska Deutsch, Mandy Boehnke, Ulrich Kühnen, Klaus Boehnke

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

None of the major basic questions social sciences are concerned with can satisfyingly be answered from the perspective of one discipline alone. Each of them proposes theories and perspectives that make unique and important contributions. At the same time theoretical perspectives in general inevitably do have their blind spots. This fundamental insight was the reason for us to choose as the motto for the 19th IACCP congress held in Bremen in 2008 “Crossing borders – (Cross-) Cultural Psychology as an Interdisciplinary, Multi-Method Endeavor”. In this chapter we first want to illustrate this motto and our reasons for choosing it by …

The Functions Of Music-Listening Across Cultures: The Development Of A Scale Measuring Personal, Social And Cultural Functions Of Music, Diana Boer, Ronald Fischer, Jimena De Garay Hernández, Ma. Luisa González Atilano, Luz Moreno, Marcus Roth, Markus Zenger

Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences

We examined the functions of music-listening from a cross-cultural perspective. Two studies were conducted to capture personal, social and cultural experiences with music. Young people were sampled; mainly online surveys were used. Study 1 is a qualitative multicultural study that identified seven main functions of music: background, memories, diversion, emotion, self-regulation, reflection of self, and social bonding. In study 2, based on the qualitative data, we developed and validated a scale measuring Ratings of Experienced Social, PErsonal and Cultural Themes of MUSIC functions (RESPECT-MUSIC) in three cultural samples (Latin-American, Anglo- Saxon, and Germanic). A ten-factorial solution was found to be …