Relationships Between Response Styles and the Hofstede and GLOBE Dimensions of Culture in a Sample of Adolescents From 33 Countries

Abstract

A number of studies have examined the relationships between response styles and the Hofstede and GLOBE cultural indices; however, studies involving adolescent samples or examining the effects of national wealth on observed relationships are scarce. This study addresses these gaps by applying simple and partial correlation analysis to the data of 15-year-olds in 33 PISA 2006 countries. The study found that the relationships between response styles and cultural indices in the two frameworks are similar to those in past studies of adult populations. After accounting for GDP per capita, the majority of relationships remained unchanged. However, others, such as Hofstede’s power distance and acquiescence and dis-acquiescence, lost significance, and Hofstede’s masculinity and extreme response styles only gained significance when GDP per capita was held constant. The findings highlight the influence of cultural values on students’ questionnaire-response behaviours, which should be recognised in comparative studies.