Collectivist Setting Research Articles

The impact of grit on the academic buoyancy of Filipino undergraduate students engaged in distance learning

ABSTRACT Previous studies have revealed that academic buoyancy, or everyday academic resilience, have become more important amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study was conducted to ascertain if determination and passion for attaining long-term aspirations, or grit, would facilitate the academic buoyancy of Filipino undergraduate students who are engaged in distance learning. Through quota sampling, 114 Filipino college learners (57 males, 57 females) aged 18 and above were recruited to complete an online survey which included the Triarchic Model of Grit Scale (TMGS) and Academic Buoyancy Scale (ABS). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that grit had a positive impact on academic buoyancy while controlling for demographic variables. It was also identified that the grit dimension of adaptability to situations was the most significant predictor of academic buoyancy and that the demographic characteristics of the participants were not associated with their capability to cope and stay afloat on a day-to-day basis. The results provide interesting insights about the relationship between the triarchic model of grit and academic buoyancy in the collectivist setting.

For better or worse: Relationship change in Thailand during COVID-19.

ObjectiveNovel infectious diseases have the potential to both strengthen or weaken interpersonal relationships within a society. In a collectivist setting such as Thailand amplification of relationships may be particularly marked, but may be associated with individual factors, including personal values and perceived control over the virus.MethodsA national on-street survey in Thailand (April 2020, N = 1,000), collected data from five regions across the country (response rate 82.6%). Participants reported demographics, anxiety, perceived control, and personal values of security and universalism, and indicated changes, from negative to positive, across four relationship types (relationship partners, family, friendships and neighbourhood).ResultsWhile relationship changes were small overall, there was an improvement in close relations (partners, family members) but not amongst friends and neighbours. Respondents who were married without children recorded less enhancement of partnerships, friendships and neighbourhood relations. Those with less perceived control over the infection reported relationship decline, while single people reported fewer positive changes in their partnership or family relations. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated the prioritisation of security was associated with a decline in each of the relationships, while universalism was positively associated with change in the family, in friendships and neighbourly relations.ConclusionsPersonal values and marital status may impact on relationship functioning during a national health crisis. These issues should be considered by clinicians and health practitioners when trying to assist those struggling with interpersonal relations during a pandemic.

Courage: A Potential Mediator of the Relationship Between Personality and Social Anxiety.

Social anxiety is one of the most prevalent and chronic mental-health conditions in young adults. To date, no studies have been conducted about the relationships between the Big Five personality dimensions, courage, and social anxiety among Malaysian undergraduate students. Therefore, this study was designed to examine courage as a potential mediator of the association between the Big Five personality dimensions and social anxiety among Malaysian Undergraduates. In this study, 500 Malaysian undergraduate students (205 males and 295 females) completed a series of questionnaires. Structural equation modelling (AMOS-SEM) revealed that, of the Big Five, neuroticism and social anxiety were positively correlated. Extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreeableness, as well as courage, were negatively correlated with social anxiety. Courage mediated the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions and social anxiety. The main contribution of the present research is to show how the Big Five personality dimensions may contribute to social anxiety. The findings of this study also could be implicated for counselling practice for undergraduate students in Malaysia as a collectivist setting and other collectivist settings around the world.

Work from Home: Measuring Satisfaction between Work–Life Balance and Work Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Coronavirus (COVID-19), which hit in early 2020, changed the way people live and work, and affected industries and organizations all over the world. Many organizations have begun to deliver a new way of working to adapt to these shifts effectively using teleworking or a work from home policy. The purpose of this study was to fill the gaps by investigating several potential predictors of job satisfaction during working from home from the impact of COVID-19 such as work–life balance and work stress. Using a quantitative approach, 472 workers who were forced to work from home all over Indonesia participated, and the responses were analyzed using Smart-PLS software. The study revealed that working from home, work–life balance, and work stress have a significant effect, both directly and indirectly, on job satisfaction. Working from home as a new pace of work can sustain job satisfaction as the current working atmosphere for Indonesian workers. In response to the collectivist setting, working from home can be a positive sign that needs to be paid attention to for the organization.

The triarchic model of grit is linked to academic success and well-being among Filipino high school students.

Previous investigations mostly relied on the two-factor model of grit (with perseverance of effort and consistency of interests as major dimensions) which received a number criticisms in the extant literature. Recent studies have provided promising lines of evidence regarding the triarchic model of grit (TMG) which posits three dimensions of grit in a collectivist setting: perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations. However, little is known about how this model of grit may be linked to various indicators of positive educational and psychological functioning. The present research filled this gap through examining the association of the TMG with academic (Study 1) and well-being outcomes (Study 2) among Filipino high school students. Results demonstrated that grit positively predicted academic agentic, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement. Findings of multiple mediation analyses showed that grit had indirect effects on academic engagement via the intermediate variable autonomous motivation even after controlling for age, gender, and conscientiousness. Study 2 showed grit positively predicted life satisfaction, positive affect, and interdependent happiness even after controlling for demographic covariates and neuroticism. Grit negatively predicted psychological distress. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Modelling predictors of earthquake hazard preparedness in Nepal

Abstract In countries exposed to natural hazards, population preparedness is an important component of a comprehensive disaster risk reduction strategy. Recognition of poor preparedness, despite risk acknowledgement, prompted the development of theories for identifying motivators and barriers to hazard preparedness. While the majority of preparedness theorising and research has been in culturally individualistic countries, recent years have witnessed growing interest in applying the theories to more collectivistic settings. However, limited empirical evidence exists concerning the application of these theories in developing countries where disaster impacts are substantial. This paper assesses population preparedness in the aftermath of a major disaster in a developing country. Two theories of preparedness Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and Community Engagement Theory (CET), which have been previously applied in natural hazard contexts, were integrated to develop a new model of earthquake hazard preparedness. The validity of the proposed model was explored using 306 household surveys collected from Chainpur and Jeewanpur Village Development Committees, Dhading, Central Nepal during a field visit in April-May 2016. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in SmartPLS version 3.2.4 revealed that individual risk beliefs (risk appraisal and coping appraisal) and community and institutional factors could predict hazard preparedness in Nepal. The model was moderately successful (R2 41.6%) in predicting that earthquake hazard preparedness occurs at the individual cognition phase and is also influenced by community and institutional phases.

The competing influences of national identity on the negotiation of ideal worker expectations: Insights from the Sri Lankan knowledge work industry

How does national identity influence the way individuals respond to the demands of their work? Despite an increasing awareness of the complex interplay between intersecting social identities and work demands, our understanding of how they are influenced by national identity is underdeveloped. This article presents the accounts of employees from two Sri Lankan knowledge work industries, who were attempting to align work demands associated with ideal worker expectations, with the social demands associated with their national identity. Conceptualizing the empirical setting of Sri Lanka as a collectivist national context, we offer two theoretical contributions. First, by showing how a shared national identity significantly influences divergence from, and conformity to, ideal worker expectations in Sri Lankan organizations, we generalize understandings of individuals’ negotiation of ideal worker expectations. In doing so, we build on and extend the prevailing ‘individualistic’ assumptions in collectivistic settings. Second, we show how ideal worker expectations enabled individuals to fulfill and refine demands associated with their non-western national identity, contesting assumptions that non-western national identities are challenging or constraining in global organizations. These findings lead us to propose a reciprocal influence between ideal worker expectations in global organizations, and expectations associated with national identities.

Sense of relatedness is linked to higher grit in a collectivist setting

Grit (i.e., passion and perseverance for long-term goals) has been associated with positive educational, work, and well-being outcomes. However, limited research has been done to examine social and contextual antecedents of grit especially in non-Western settings. The aim of the current study was to assess the associations of relatedness to parents, teachers, and friends with grit dimensions (perseverance of effort and consistency of interests) and overall grit in 606 Filipino high school students. The results showed that sense of relatedness to teachers was linked to higher perseverance, consistency, and overall grit while relatedness to parents was associated with greater consistency and overall grit even after controlling for demographic variables. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Exploring Determination for Long-Term Goals in a Collectivist Context: a Qualitative Study

The positive human attributes of passion and perseverance for long-term goals (referred to as ‘grit’) can be linked to wide range of positive educational, psychological, and employment outcomes. The original grit theory posits that there are two dimensions which characterize determination for long-term aspirations ―perseverance of effort and consistency of interests―but some studies using quantitative design have suggested that consistency of interests may not be associated with adaptive outcomes in collectivist and interdependent societies. The aim of the qualitative study described here was to explore the meaning and significance of ‘grit’ in a collectivist society (Philippines). Participants were 10 Filipino undergraduate students who were interviewed individually and asked to describe specific life experiences wherein they have successfully achieved long-term goals despite challenges in life. Findings suggest that there are three key themes which characterize determination for long-term goals in this collectivist setting, namely perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

How to combat the negative impact of discrimination in a collectivist context? The safeguarding function of peer-oriented hope

The objective of the study was to assess the moderating role of locus-of-hope on the relations between everyday discrimination and well-being outcomes in a collectivist setting. There were 444 Filipino undergraduate students who participated in the research. Findings showed that discrimination was negatively linked to subjective well-being and flourishing while loci-of-hope (internal, external-spiritual, external-family, and external-peers) were positively associated with well-being indices. Further, external-peer locus-of-hope moderated the relations between everyday discrimination and well-being outcomes such that for those who had higher external-peer locus-of-hope, everyday discrimination may still be linked to greater well-being. The theoretical and practical implications are elucidated.

No match for money: Even in intimate relationships and collectivistic cultures, reminders of money weaken sociomoral responses

The present research tested two competing hypotheses: (1) as money cues activate an exchange orientation to social relations, money cues harm prosocial responses in communal and collectivistic settings; (2) as money can be used to help close others, money cues increase helping in communal or collectivistic settings. In a culture, characterized by strong helping norms, money cues reduced the quality of help given (Experiment 1), and lowered perceived moral obligation to help (Experiment 2). In communal relationships, money reminders decreased willingness to help romantic partners (Experiment 3). This effect was attenuated among people high on communal strength, although money cues made them upset with help requests (Experiment 4). Thus, the harmful effects of money on prosocial responses appear robust.

Why Power Decreases Happiness in a Collectivist Context? A Qualitative Study

In the Western settings, power positively predicted happiness (e.g., Kifer et al. 2013). Though, this result may not be generalized across cultures as cultural psychologists recognized that interdependence is more important in collectivist cultures. Consistent with this conjecture, Datu and Reyes (2014) assessed the relations among power, relations, and happiness in the Philippine setting which revealed that power negatively predicted happiness. However, not much is known on why power could potentially reduce happiness in collectivist cultures. Thus, the current investigation employed qualitative research to offer in-depth explanations on why power may be associated with lower happiness in a collectivist setting. Findings revealed three major themes that characterized reasons on why power may decrease happiness in an interdependent context: a.) Power impairs relationship; b.) Power evokes negative judgments from others; and c.) Power comes with a great responsibility. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Perseverance Counts but Consistency Does Not! Validating the Short Grit Scale in a Collectivist Setting

The present research aims to validate the Short Grit Scale (Duckworth et al. Journal of Personality Assessment 91:166–174, 2009) among a sample of university (n = 220) and high school students (n = 606) from a collectivist culture (i.e., the Philippines) using both within-network and between-network approaches to construct validation. Our results revealed interesting cross-cultural differences in grit. First, grit was comprised of two distinct dimensions rather than as a hierarchical construct. Only the perseverance of effort dimension loaded onto the higher-order grit factor. Second, perseverance of effort was more salient in predicting key psychological outcomes (i.e., academic engagement and subjective well-being) compared to consistency of interests. This suggests that in collectivist cultures, the perseverance of effort dimension of grit is more relevant compared to the consistency of interest. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Organizational work–family support as universal remedy? A cross-cultural comparison of China, India and the USA

In both industrialized and emerging countries, organizations increasingly seek to support employees’ efforts to maintain a healthy work–family balance. Research has identified two types of organizational support in this context: formal work–family programs and informal work–family cultures. This study examines the relative effects of work–family programs versus work–family culture on employees’ job satisfaction and performance in various cultural environments. Drawing on the individualism–collectivism cultural dimension introduced by Hofstede, it is argued that employees’ cultural background may affect family models, which in turn determine employees’ need for formal organizational work–family support, but are not related to employees’ need for informal support. In line with this notion, the results from comparisons of an industrialized country (the USA) with two emerging countries (China and India) show that work–family culture has positive effects in all three contexts. However, formal work–family programs positively affect job satisfaction and job performance only in India and the USA, whereas they exhibit no significant effect in the more collectivist setting of China.

The importance of autonomy for rural Chinese children's motivation for learning

Two studies applied self-determination theory (SDT) to investigate the motivation for learning of rural Chinese children. The aim was to test whether findings from studies in western individualist cultures would hold up within a very different, eastern collectivist setting. In the first study, when students' autonomous and controlled motivation for a course were entered simultaneously in a regression analysis, autonomous motivation uniquely positively predicted students' perceptions of interest, competence, and choice in the course, whereas controlled motivation uniquely negatively predicted perceptions of interest and choice. In the second study students' perceptions of instructors' autonomy support during the course predicted changes in autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and perceived competence. These results were discussed in terms of SDT and culture.

Commitment across cultures: A meta-analytical approach

The present study reports two sets of meta-analyses of employee commitment across cultures. First, using three-level hierarchical linear modeling, differences in mean levels of commitment were investigated. We examined the effects of individualism–collectivism and power distance values and practices (Hofstede, GLOBE) while controlling for study and industry effects. The findings showed that affective commitment (across 48 countries), continuance commitment (31 countries) and normative commitment (30 countries) were influenced by country-level individualism and power distance. Greater collectivism was associated with higher normative commitment, and greater power distance was associated with higher continuance and normative commitment. Economic variables were found to exert a strong influence on affective and normative commitment means. Second, relationships between affective commitment and turnover intentions (across 26 countries) were found to be somewhat stronger in individualistic settings, whereas the normative commitment–turnover intentions relationships (across 10 countries) were stronger in collectivistic settings. Overall, absolute cross-cultural differences in all analyses were relatively small compared with differences due to study and industry effects, but country-level predictors accounted for substantive proportions of the variance between countries. Implications for commitment and cross-cultural research are discussed, and particular attention is drawn to the need to explore the meaning of commitment across cultural and economic contexts.

Psychological Attachment to the Group: Cross-Cultural Differences in Organizational Identification and Subjective Norms as Predictors of Workers' Turnover Intentions

Two studies used the theory of reasoned action, social identity theory, and Ash forth and Mael's work on organizational identification to predict turnover intentions in Japanese and British commercial and academic organizations. In both studies and in both countries, the authors expected and found that identification with the organization substantially and significantly predicted turnover intentions. Attitudes predicted intentions only in Study 2, and subjective norms significantly predicted intentions across both studies. The authors hypothesized that subjective norms would be a significantly stronger predictor of turnover intentions in a collectivist setting. This prediction was supported. Although social identity is strongly associated with turnover intentions across both cultures, the subjective normative aspects of group membership are significantly more strongly associated in the Japanese organizations.

The effect of motivational and instrumental variables on conflict-choice and follow through

The influence of individual differences in motivational and instrumental variables on making a conflictual choice and following through with the practical implications of this choice was investigated in an Israeli collectivist setting (kibbutz). High school students ( N = 95) chose between a new, rigorous, competitive academic track regarded by many as inconsistent with the ideology of the kibbutz and the more relaxed, traditional non-competitive academic track. As hypothesized, motivational variables— student values with reference to the new track, student perception of their parents' attitudes toward the new track, and student vocational aspiration—were more associated with choosing one track over the other than instrumental variables. Two instrumental variables—scholastic ability and learned resourcefulness—were more strongly associated with efficacy of follow through than motivational variables for those students who had chosen the new track. Differences in values between students choosing the two tracks were specific to that issue only: those who chose the new track regarded it as consistent with the basic values of the kibbutz and as leading to positive consequences, and they did not reject the overall values of the kibbutz.