Psychological Dimensions of Cross-Cultural Differences

Abstract

Abstract : The project Psychological Dimensions of Cross-Cultural Differences endeavored to answer key questions in cross-cultural psychology, including what psychological variables generate the largest differences. We created a 315-item online questionnaire representing some 50 variables, had it translated into 31 languages, and during 2012 collected data from 8,887 respondents in 34 countries. The countries included have about 2/3 of the world's population, and otherwise compare favorably with other cross-cultural studies with respect to global representativeness. Main findings included: Religious behavior and belief variables showed the largest country/cultural effects, along with ethnonationalism, regularity norms, and hierarchical family values. In contrast, conventional cross-cultural variables (e.g., individualism-collectivism) showed only moderate-sized effects. Because these results are found even after ipsatizing/standardizing data, they are not likely attributable to cross-cultural differences in response styles. Taking a more refined approach, building on unique characteristics of present data, we recommended a new, optimal procedure for measuring response-bias (acquiescent and extreme responding) in surveys. Interesting cross-cultural differences were revealed for delay-discounting (associated with external variables such as pace of life) and for overconfidence on ability items (overconfidence is highest where accuracy is lowest). Overall, this project has provided useful, sometimes unexpected and potentially paradigm-changing answers to basic questions in cross-cultural psychology.