Online Readings In Psychology Research Articles

Compulsively Moral: OCD, Ethics, and the Law.

Compulsively Moral: OCD, Ethics, and the Law.

Adolescent Future Orientation: Does Culture Matter?

Future orientation, or the image individuals have of the future, provides the grounds for setting goals and planning, and therefore is considered an important adolescent developmental task. This chapter introduces future orientation research by describing its evolvement from a thematic approach focusing on the content of future domains to a model consisting of three components, discusses its universal and cross-cultural meanings, and reports a replicated finding that across cultures, adolescents share a common core of future orientation domains consisting of education, career, and marriage and family. Based on findings on effects of the family setting on future orientation and an integration of developmental ecology, developmental niche, and bridging multiple worlds models, the author suggests new directions for research especially pertinent for adolescents undergoing social change. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol6/iss1/5

The Psychology of Morality

Five questions regarding the nature of the moral sense, the origin of conscience, the development of morality, variability in the moral sense, and the relation of morality to behavior are examined from the point of view of four theoretical approaches (psychoanalytic theory, social learning theory, cognitive-developmental theory, and evolutionary psychology). In addition, some concepts and findings from outside the four approaches are also touched upon. The moral sense is shown to be complex, comprising cognitions, feelings, and behaviors. The theoretical approaches disagree regarding the issues of whether conscience directly reflects social teaching, or is constructed by the developing individual. They also disagree on whether moral development is incremental or stagewise. Explanations of individual, gender, and cultural differences in morality differ across the four approaches. None of the approaches explains the relation of behavior to morality; rather, application of social psychological theories is suggested. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol2/iss1/6

Conceptualizing Cultural Variations in Close Friendships

The goal of this article is to propose a model, new to the field, describing cultural variations in close friendships. The model addresses shortcomings in past research regarding how close friendships differ in individualist compared to collectivist cultures. The model proposes three dimensions, with six overlapping but conceptually useful styles of friendship, Independents versus Interveners, Includers versus Excluders, and Idealists versus Realists. Succinct, simplified descriptors of each style follow: Independents respect each other’s autonomy, value spending quality time with friends, and support each other’s sense of self. Interveners are actively involved in their friends’ lives, reflecting the highly interdependent nature of their relationships. Includers behave in an open and friendly manner with nearly everyone they encounter, distinguishing between close friends and mere acquaintances in cognitive and emotional realms, but not in their outward behaviors. Excluders make clear distinctions between friends and acquaintances behaviorally as well as emotionally and cognitively. Idealists tend to exaggerate their ratings of close friends on anonymous questionnaires and avoid direct confrontations that might cause loss of face. Realist friends tend to rate each other in more nuanced, objective ways, and feel uninhibited about directly confronting friends when they feel that it might be for their friends’ ultimate benefit. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol5/iss4/3

The Introductory Psychology Text and Cross-Cultural Psychology: Beyond Ekman, Whorf, and Biased I.Q. Tests

This article is a reprint of the following paper: Lonner, W. J. (1989). The introductory psychology text and cross-cultural psychology: Beyond Ekman, Whorf, and biased I.Q. tests. In D. Keats, D. Munro, & L. Mann (Eds.), Heterogeneity in cross-cultural psychology. (pp. 4-22). Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets and Zeitlinger. Some small changes and format modifications were applied. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol11/iss1/4

Editorial: A Commentary on the Assessment and Analysis of “Culture-Content” in Basic Psychology Texts

This commentary focuses on one basic question: “How and to what extent do beginning university students in North America (United States as well as Canada) learn about culture’s influence on behavior via introductory psychology texts that are almost always published in the U.S.?” An overarching question permeates the article: What objective methods have been used to find and evaluate the cultural content of beginning psychology texts? These questions are considered important in the teaching of psychology at the basic level and can influence the authors of texts that are central in psychology curricula in general and teaching cross-cultural psychology in particular. In this unit, the earlier article by Lonner and Murdock (2012) and the recently uploaded article by Scott and Safdar (2016) focus on the cultural content of two types of basic texts in psychology. Respectively, they are the workhorse introductory text (IPT) and those that introduce social psychology (SPT). The main purpose of these two studies and seminal writings (Lonner, 1989; Rumple, 1988) was to assess and analyze the extent to which such texts in these areas contain information on culture and its proxies such as ethnicity and diversity. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol11/iss1/3

The Inclusion of Culture in Canadian Social Psychology Textbooks: A Content Analysis of Introductory Texts

Cultural diversity features prominently in Canadian social and political life. Canadian social psychologists, for their part, have led a rich tradition of research on intercultural relations. We identified the undergraduate social psychology textbooks used to introduce students of psychology in Canada to the field and examined the extent that culture is incorporated into the teaching of introductory social psychology. Through a content analysis of Canadian-published introductory social psychology texts, we found that these textbooks are inclusive of cultural diversity, although not all textbooks covered culture with the same depth. Across textbooks, cultural coverage was broad, with many hits across textbooks, whereas discussion of cultural differences was not particularly deep, with most hits being elaborated under one page of text. Results are discussed alongside past research on the inclusion of culture in the teaching of generalized introductory psychology courses in the United States (Lonner & Murdock, 2012; Rumpel, 1988). . Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol11/iss1/2

Half a century of cross-cultural psychology: A grateful coda.

This article provides brief commentaries on culture-oriented research in psychology and a synopsis of the author's 50-year involvement in cross-cultural psychology. Overviews of several areas with which he is more familiar are given. These include his career-long stewardship of the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, of which he is founding and special issues editor, continuous involvement with the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, ongoing interest in the search for psychological universals, studying the influence of cultures on personality, values, and other psychological dimensions, monitoring the inclusion of culture in introductory psychology texts, contributions to cross-cultural counseling, and sustained involvement with the Online Readings in Psychology and Culture since its inception. Also included are comments on both the ever-expanding research on culture's influence on behavior and thought by a growing network of scholars who have different, yet complementary, agendas and research methods.

Through Silence We Speak: Approaches to Counselling and Psychotherapy with Canadian First Nation Clients

Canadian First Nations are composed of 53 different cultures. Their key forces involve a sense of community, respect for elders, and deep values and religious beliefs promoting growth. Counselling issues include assimilation, post-traumatic stress, addictions, cultural identification, health, and issues caused by societal rupture. Non-Native counsellors may be seen as unhelpful or even potentially harmful to community strengths. Counselling methods need to be based on deep respect, benefit to the community, spirituality, and values. Skills include listening in a way that gives meaning to both verbal and nonverbal messages, growth from one’s own hardships, and being helpful versus using technique. . Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol10/iss3/6

Social Motives and Their Development in Cultural Context

This paper deals with differences in social motives between cultures and with respect to their development. First, social motives are described as complex functional systems. Then aggressiveness and achievement motivation are dealt with as examples. Assumptions about biological factors are discussed and cultural differences are reported. Based on cross-cultural research, variations in early mother-child relations and in cultural norms and values are discussed as main sources of individual and cultural differences. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol5/iss3/1

How Death Imitates Life: Cultural Influences on Conceptions of Death and Dying

Regardless of how or where we are born, what unites people of all cultures is the fact everyone eventually dies. However, cultures vary in how they conceptualize death and what happens when a person dies. In some cultures, death is conceived to involve different conditions, including sleep, illness, and reaching a certain age. In other cultures, death is said to occur only when there is a total cessation of life. Similarly, certain cultural traditions view death as a transition to other forms of existence; others propose a continuous interaction between the dead and the living; some cultures conceive a circular pattern of multiple deaths and rebirths; and yet others view death as the final end, with nothing occurring after death. These different conceptions have a noticeable influence on their lifestyles, their readiness to die for a cause, the degree to which they fear death, their expressions of grief and mourning, and the nature of funeral rituals. Any reasonably broad conceptualization of death issues would necessarily have to incorporate these various cultural variations. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol6/iss2/3

Chronological Benchmarks in Cross-Cultural Psychology. Foreword to the Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural Psychology

Prefatory Remarks Researchers and persons interested in culture almost inevitably are asked questions such as: “When did interest in this area begin?” “Why did it start, and how?” “Who were the main people in this area?” “What is its current status, and where is it going?” Of course, answering these questions, and many more like them, would take hours and hours of lectures, visits to libraries and hundreds of books, and other excursions into the history of psychology, anthropology, sociology and other fields. With respect to cross-cultural psychology, there were definite significant events and developments that contributed to its current status. One of the more recent developments – and indeed a very noteworthy one – is the new three-volume Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural Psychology (ECCP). Edited by Kenneth D. Keith and published by Wiley-Blackwell, this set of books covers hundreds of terms and concepts as well as brief biosketches of hundreds of scholars who have made important contributions to modern cross-cultural psychology in theory, research, applications, teaching, and service. Ken Keith, as editor of the ECCP, invited me to write the Foreword to this ground-breaking effort. He gave me free reign in this project, and I decided it would be appropriate to provide a chronological perspective. Toward the end of the project I thought it would be appropriate for the ORPC. With thanks to him, Danielle Descoteaux (Senior Editor at Wiley-Blackwell) and of course the publisher, my Foreword follows. By agreement, it appears here exactly as it appears in the ECCP. The six articles in subunit 1.1 provide additional information about events leading to the development of the IACCP. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol1/iss2/1

Culture and Development: Developmental Pathways to Psychological Autonomy and Hierarchical Relatedness (2)

This paper proposes to conceive of the cultural models of psychological autonomy and hierarchical relatedness as cultural scripts that direct the socialization of offspring generations. The earliest social experiences in the natural environment during the first months of infants' life are considered to organize consequent developmental tasks and their achievements. Our considerations are based on the component model of parenting that conceives of parenting systems and interactional mechanisms as independent components of parenting that form culture specific profiles. We particularly concentrate on contingency as the prompt reactiveness to infant signals and warmth as the physical and/or emotional closeness. Specific consequences in terms of supporting psychological autonomy and hierarchical relatedness are discussed. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol6/iss1/1

Japanese Culture and Therapeutic Relationship

Japanese culture is collectivistic by nature, and there are some culturally indigenous patterns which govern forming relationships in Japan. One of the important patterns is hierarchy. Counselling and psychotherapy are based on Western concepts and the Japanese view them differently. When the Japanese provide or use counselling and psychotherapy services, they generally follow Japanese methods of forming relationships, which results in a hierarchical relationship between client and therapist. In this article, after the hierarchical nature of relationship in the Japanese cultural context is introduced, reflections of this pattern of relationship in the author's therapeutic work with Japanese clients are presented. Suggestions as to how this dynamic can be used positively in the therapeutic setting are also made. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol10/iss3/5

Japanese Students' Experience of Adaptation and Acculturation of the United Kingdom

Many Japanese students come to the U.K. to study. In general, studying is their primary aim but some have additional reasons such as personal development through exposure to another culture. As a result of the homogeneity of Japanese society, Japanese people are not necessarily used to other cultures especially if they have only lived within Japan. Due to the vast differences between Japanese and British cultures, many students have difficulties in adapting to British society (Nippoda, 2011). This article presents some culturally specific factors that affect students' adaptation based on research (Nippoda, 1993). It focuses on four main points arising from clinical work: the language barrier, differences in communication styles and educational systems, the individual's motivation and external pressure, and the effects of students' insecure status in the host country. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol8/iss1/5

Psychology of a Culture: Humanism and Social Ineffectiveness Embedded in Polish Ways of Life

This paper is intended as a learning tool for students wishing to expand their knowledge on culture – psychology interaction derived from a single culture perspective. The paper presents a cultural psychology approach to two themes of Polish culture: Humanism and Social (In)-Effectiveness. The text is divided into three distinct parts: (1) A detailed account of a foreigner's encounter with Poland, where standards typical for this culture are introduced; (2) Historical analysis tracing the origins of these two syndromes in Poland; (3) Empirical comparative studies combined over twenty five years, and their meta-analysis. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol3/iss1/7

The Contributing Role of Prevalent Belief Systems to Intergroup Attitudes and Behaviors

Abundant research shows that prevalent belief systems across cultures contribute to people’s levels of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Such popular belief systems are often communicated by everyday sayings (e.g., the belief that hard work leads to success, as captured by “Madruga y veras, trabaja y tendras” [Colombia], “Kung may tiyaga, may nilaga” [Philippines], The early bird catches the worm [U.S.A.]). We review the relations between intergroup processes and the following belief systems: entity theory, incremental theory, multiculturalism, colorblindness, polyculturalism, and the Protestant work ethic. We discuss factors that affect the development, maintenance, and potential change in these belief systems, and ways that this knowledge may be used to reduce prejudice are discussed. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol5/iss1/2

Assessment of Acculturation: Issues and Overview of Measures

Publicly available acculturation measures are systematically reviewed based on three criteria: scale descriptors (name of the scale, authors, year, target group, age group, subscales, and number of items), psychometric properties (reliabilities) and conceptual and theoretical structure (acculturation conditions, acculturation orientations, acculturation outcomes, acculturation attitudes, acculturation behaviors, conceptual model and life domains). Majority of the reviewed acculturation measures are short, single-scale instruments that are directed to specific target groups. Additionally, they mainly assess behavioral acculturation outcomes than acculturation conditions and orientations. Regarding the psychometric properties; most measures have an adequate internal consistency; yet cross-cultural validity of the instruments have not been reported. Guidelines for choosing or developing acculturation instruments are provided in the chapter. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol8/iss1/10

Ethical Issues Related to Psychological Testing in Africa: What I Have Learned (So Far)

This article attempts to introduce readers to what I have learned regarding ethical issues in psychological testing in Africa. The core ethical consideration of how to best cater for cultural and linguistic diversity so as to be sensitive to test-takers' cultural backgrounds and values during the testing process is highlighted. Thereafter, specific issues to consider and address before using tests in an assessment or research context are presented. This is followed by a discussion on the ethical issues that an assessment practitioner needs to deal with during and after testing. Throughout, examples relevant to the multicultural African context are provided to illustrate specific ethical issues. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol2/iss2/7

Evolution and Culture

The goal of cross-cultural psychology to identify and explain similarities and differences in the behavior of individuals in different cultures requires linking human behavior to its context (Cole, Meshcheryakov & Ponomariov, 2011). In order to specify this relation, the focus is usually on the sociocultural environment and how it interacts with behavior. Since crosscultural psychology also deals with the evolutionary and biological bases of behavior, this focus on culture has regularly led to an unbalanced view (Berry, Poortinga, Breugelmans, Chasiotis & Sam, 2011). Too often, biology and culture are seen as opposites: what is labeled as cultural is not biological and what is labeled as biological is not cultural (Chasiotis, 2010, 2011a). This article will first introduce the central concepts of natural and sexual selection, adaptation, and the epigenetic (open) genetic processes in evolutionary biology, and indicate their psychological implications. It will then argue that biology and culture are intricately related. Finally, empirical evidence from diverse psychological research areas will be presented to illustrate why the study of the evolutionary basis is as essential as the analysis of the sociocultural context for the understanding of behavior. Due to space restrictions, cultural transmission will be the only research area which is addressed in more detail (more examples of evolutionary approaches in intelligence, personality, and behavior genetics and their implications for cross-cultural research can be found on the website accompanying Berry et al., 2011; see also further readings section). Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol9/iss1/1 The goal of cross-cultural psychology to identify and explain similarities and differences in the behavior of individuals in different cultures requires linking human behavior to its context (Cole, Meshcheryakov & Ponomariov, 2011). In order to specify this relation, the focus is usually on the sociocultural environment and how it interacts with behavior. Since cross-cultural psychology also deals with the evolutionary and biological bases of behavior, this focus on culture has regularly led to an unbalanced view (Berry, Poortinga, Breugelmans, Chasiotis & Sam, 2011). Too often, biology and culture are seen as opposites: what is labeled as cultural is not biological and what is labeled as biological is not cultural (Chasiotis, 2010, 2011a). This article will first introduce the central concepts of natural and sexual selection, adaptation, and the epigenetic (open) genetic processes in evolutionary biology, and indicate their psychological implications. It will then argue that biology and culture are intricately related. Finally, empirical evidence from diverse psychological research areas will be presented to illustrate why the study of the evolutionary basis is as essential as the analysis of the sociocultural context for the understanding of behavior. Due to space restrictions, cultural transmission will be the only research area which is addressed in more detail (more examples of evolutionary approaches in intelligence, personality, and behavior genetics and their implications for cross-cultural research can be found on the website accompanying Berry et al., 2011; see also further readings section). Basic concepts of evolutionary biology