Cross-cultural Psychological Research Research Articles

Теория и практика этнопсихологии: 20 лет в российском контексте

<p style="text-align: justify;">The article presents a report on the work of the international scientific and practical conference “Ethnopsychology: Theory and Practice”, which took place on November 16-17, 2023 in Moscow and was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Department of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Psychological Problems of Multicultural Education, Faculty of Social Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology & Education. The content of plenary and sectional sessions, master classes and round tables is reflected. The range of questions and problems raised during the conference reflects the current issues of Russian cross-cultural psychological research.</p>

Measurement Equivalence of the English, German, and French Versions of the Strike Attitude and Behavioral Reactions Scale (SABeRS)

Abstract: Strikes are an important phenomenon in the working world. Nevertheless, cross-cultural psychological research on strikes has been limited as appropriate scales were missing. Recently, a scale to determine third-party attitudes and behavioral reactions was introduced: the Strike Attitude and Behavioral Reactions Scale (SABeRS). The applicability of this scale is currently limited to a German context, as it was developed in German. We thus decided to extend the applicability to other languages, that is, English and French. To test the measurement equivalence of the SABeRS, we used a British ( n = 444), a German ( n = 454), and a French sample ( n = 463) and ran multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Based on multi-group CFA and alignment optimization analyses, the scale was found to be at least partially measurement equivalent between the groups. The five factors were consistently confirmed in all samples. Overall, this study indicates that the SABeRS is psychometrically solid and that it is measurement-equivalent in English, German, and French samples.

Promoting Cross-Cultural Psychology Research in the Caribbean: Best Practices in Intersectionality

Given the Caribbean region’s post-colonial history with entrenched and daunting challenges of: structural racism, patriarchy, and colorism as epiphenomenal outcomes, it is imperative that cross-cultural investigators using 21st century research paradigms honed and crafted from strengths-based approaches interrogate issues surrounding national, cultural identity, and cultural hybridity. Additionally, push-pull factors in migration, acculturative influences, psychological resilience, and coping strategies within non-pathologizing frameworks of inclusivity and intersectionality are fodder for empirical research. These holistic perspectives borrow from multiple perspectives in Black Psychology paradigm shifting as they reject and deconstruct Eurocentric models in explaining Black psyche and behaviors. The discursive frame around subaltern voices, is that, it deracinates “grand” theories, splinters and challenges hegemonic assumptions. Moving from the mechanistic, binary constructions placing a premium on only quantitative models with a concomitant devaluation of qualitative approaches, this author argues that the kinds of cross-cultural research that offers the most qualitatively-rich analysis is ethnography, as this approach embraces concepts of lived epistemological realities of participants. As a cross-cultural tool, it triangulates participant observations, interviews, and case studies. The ethnographic report generated from this data-gathering methodology and comprised of multiple sections, illuminates the following: the uniqueness of indigenous psychologies; provides important historical contexts; addresses issues of language, cultural rituals, and norms; and grounds the work within multidisciplinary perspectives offering more integrative, cogent analyses of cultural phenomena. Further, even research ensconced in knowledge-production for academic consumption should hue to the penultimate, translational goals of nation building, community flourishings, and human capital development. Keywords: cross-cultural research, Caribbean psychology, intersectional research

ETHNOSPECIFIC INDICATORS OF PERSONAL ADAPTATION IN THE CONDITIONS OF INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION

The present paper supplements existing quantitative and qualitative research in social and cross-cultural psychology, theoretical provisions on the psychological determinants of intercultural relations. The author of the article have an attempt to investigate and explain how types of ethnic identity, auto- and hetero-stereotypes are related to eachanother and how they affect the acculturation process of foreign students in Ukraine and therefore they affect intercultural interaction. In the article the results of the survey of foreign and Ukrainian studentsstudying at the Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University are represented. The sample consisted of 170 students: 79 foreign students and 91 Ukrainians aged 17 to 26 years. This survey was based on standardized questionnaires: Types of Ethnic Identity (G. U. Soldatova, S. V. Ryzhova), Diagnostic test of relations (G. U. Soldatova) and Acculturation Strategies Research Questionnaire (J. Berry). The aim of the article is to present the results of an empirical study of ethnospecific indicators of personality adaptation in the environment of intercultural interaction. Results indicated that foreign students that had a high degree of positive ethnic identification have expressed the have expressed the strong preference to integration strategies and the low preference to the assimilation and separation. In its turn, the powerful feeling of belonging to an ethnic group and attitude towards the in-group in Ukrainian students promotes of the segregation strategy and exclusion of the foreign students and contributes to the acculturation expectation — the multiculturalism. The presented empirical results can find their application in further studies of interethnic relations: diagnostics of the current state and forecasting of their further development.

Beyond Free Will: Variety in Understanding of Choice, Luck, and Necessity

Contemporary Western discourse on freedom and choice – some of the most championed modern values – is usually anchored in the concept cluster of free will and autonomous choice. In turn, academic research on free will in philosophy (including experimental philosophy) and psychology is largely based on a limited conceptual framework with roots in particular debates in Christianity and European philosophy. This framework is currently challenged by multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches applied in the fields of area and Asian studies, comparative philosophy, and also empirical research in cross-cultural psychology, and anthropology. One reason for this challenge is that the dominant Western academic approach, with its almost exclusive focus on concepts of free will and causal determinism, neglects the multitude of non-Western cultural traditions. In most parts of the world, these traditions continue to shape everyday practices and conceptualizations of free action, choice, and decision. Traditions also provide various strategies for navigating the constraints on human agency.In the present multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary conference, we invited scholars from philosophy, psychology, anthropology, Asian studies, religious studies and other related fields to discuss theoretical alternatives to the dominant framework that are sensitive to cultural differences and local contexts as well as empirical research – especially crosscultural and cross-linguistic – on conceptualizations of free and constrained action and cultural practices in dealing with these constraints.This project “Between choice and determinism: cultural variations in experiencing and conceptualizing free will, luck and randomness” has received funding from European Social Fund (project No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0111) under grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT).

Methodological Challenges for Cross-cultural Research in Sport Psychology: A Review

This review investigates methodological challenges in conducting cross-cultural studies in sport psychology. Over the last few decades, there has been an increase in the number of studies to incorporate culture and cultural identities in research and interventions in this field. As sport grows more transnational and multicultural, the need to explore better research methods and the challenges in conducting these cross-cultural sport psychology studies emerges. For this review, we examined studies that were published between January 1985 and July 2021, written in English, and focused on cross-cultural studies in the field of sport psychology. The literature search was conducted in EBSCO (e.g., MEDLINE, APA PsychARTICLES, Academic Search Ultimate, and ERIC), Sciencedirect, Researchgate, Springer link and Wiley Online library databases. A total of 18 articles matched the inclusion criteria and were selected. The study observed that quantitative approach was the most often used methodology in the studies due to popularity and easy administration. Qualitative and mixed (quantitative and qualitative) approaches are now gradually being used by researchers to overcome the cultural insensitivity in the quantitative research, although these studies are scarce and need to be highlighted more. We discussed research designs formulated by researchers in their quantitative and qualitative studies and methodological challenges they encountered, such as sample representativeness, small and unequal sample sizes, gender inequality, and comparing different kinds of sports across countries. Therefore, this review addressed the gap in the literature and paved the way for future research studies.

Exploring motion event construal: How much attention do speakers of different languages and cultures pay to context?

Cross-cultural psychology research has consistently shown that East Asians tend to display a holistic attentional bias and attend to the background context while Westerners show a tendency to attend to focal objects in relative isolation from their context. The present study sought to expand ongoing research on motion event construal by investigating how speakers of different languages and cultures (i.e., functionally monolingual speakers of English and Korean, and Korean-speaking learners of English) construe and describe motion events in relation to focal versus peripheral information. Our results demonstrated that American English monolinguals and Korean monolinguals differed in the amount of attention they give to focal versus peripheral information in their descriptions of motion events embedded in a story. Furthermore, Korean-speaking learners of English adhered to the Korean thinking style when describing events in English. Such findings appear to show that the scope of conceptual transfer extends beyond the encoding of manner, path, ongoingness, and endpoint reference to other types of motion event construal.

Integrating evolutionary game theory and cross-cultural psychology to understand cultural dynamics.

In this article, we show that an evolutionary game theoretic (EGT) modeling approach can be fruitfully integrated with research in cross-cultural psychology to provide insight into cultural dynamics. EGT was initially developed to model biological evolution, but has been increasingly used to study the evolution of human behavior. Through "virtual experimentation," EGT models can be used to test the effects of various factors on the trajectories of behavioral change at the population level. We illustrate how EGT models can provide new insights into processes of cultural adaptation, transmission, maintenance, and change. We conclude with the strengths and limitations of using EGT to study cultural dynamics and new frontiers that await investigation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Beyond the façade of generosity-Regional stereotypes within the same national culture influence prosocial behaviors.

We analyzed prosocial behaviors in a field experiment (N = 307) conducted in an urban context (Timisoara, Banat region, Romania), starting from a classical Cross-Cultural Psychology research organized in UK and Iran by Collet & O’Shea in 1976. If the evoked study is focused on comparing prosocial behaviors in two very different national cultures (UK vs. Iran), we compared helping strangers strategies within the same national culture in relation to the regional identities of the help-seeking subjects. A behavioral scenario was created by asking naïve participants to offer support and give directions to a place even if they did not know its whereabouts. Drawing on social identity theory, it was tested whether regional belonging of the help-seeker (in-group vs. out-group) predicts the availability of help-givers for offering help, their availability for giving wrong directions, as well as their emotional expressiveness. Results are interpreted within the perspective of social distance between groups and show that the more distant regional identities are perceived to be, the less generous help-givers are, both in terms of their decision to help and to give wrong directions, as well as in their expressed emotions.

Navigating cross-cultural research: methodological and ethical considerations.

The intensifying pace of research based on cross-cultural studies in the social sciences necessitates a discussion of the unique challenges of multi-sited research. Given an increasing demand for social scientists to expand their data collection beyond WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) populations, there is an urgent need for transdisciplinary conversations on the logistical, scientific and ethical considerations inherent to this type of scholarship. As a group of social scientists engaged in cross-cultural research in psychology and anthropology, we hope to guide prospective cross-cultural researchers through some of the complex scientific and ethical challenges involved in such work: (a) study site selection, (b) community involvement and (c) culturally appropriate research methods. We aim to shed light on some of the difficult ethical quandaries of this type of research. Our recommendation emphasizes a community-centred approach, in which the desires of the community regarding research approach and methodology, community involvement, results communication and distribution, and data sharing are held in the highest regard by the researchers. We argue that such considerations are central to scientific rigour and the foundation of the study of human behaviour.

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Cultural and Contextual Factors on Autism Across the Globe.

Autism research is heavily skewed toward western high-income countries. Culturally appropriate screening and diagnostic instruments for autism are lacking in most low- and middle-income settings where the majority of the global autism population lives. To date, a clear overview of the possible cultural and contextual factors that may affect the process of identifying and diagnosing individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is missing. This study aims to outline these factors by proposing a conceptual framework. A multidisciplinary review approach was applied to inform the development of the conceptual framework, combining a systematic review of the relevant autism research literature with a wider literature search spanning key texts in global mental health, cultural psychiatry, cross-cultural psychology, and intellectual disability research. The resulting conceptual framework considers the identification, help-seeking, and diagnostic process at four interrelated levels: (a) the expression; (b) recognition; (c) interpretation; and (d) reporting of autism symptoms, and describes the cultural and contextual factors associated with each of these levels, including cultural norms of typical and atypical behavior, culture-specific approaches to parenting, mental health literacy, cultural beliefs, attitudes and stigma, as well as the affordability, availability, accessibility, and acceptability of services. This framework, mapping out the cultural and contextual factors that can affect the identification, help-seeking, and diagnosis of ASD may function as a springboard for the development of culturally appropriate autism screening and diagnostic instruments, and inform future cross-cultural autism research directions. The framework also has relevance for clinicians and policy makers aiming to improve support for underserved autism populations worldwide. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1029-1050. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The vast majority of autism research is conducted in western high-income settings. We therefore know relatively little of how culture and context can affect the identification, help-seeking, and diagnosis of autism across the globe. This study synthesizes what is known from the autism research literature and a broader literature and maps out how culture and context may affect (a) the expression, (b) recognition, (c) interpretation, and (d) reporting of autism symptoms.

Cross-cultural psychology research: the results obtained and further ways of development

Cross-cultural psychology research: the results obtained and further ways of development

Of ostriches, frogs, birds and lizards

PurposeIn response to the somewhat paradoxical combination of increasing diversity in the global workforce and the resurgence of nationalism in an era of global mobility, the purpose of this paper is to uncover how employees on international assignments respond to exposure to new cultures. Specifically, the paper aims to explicate the underlying psychological mechanisms linking expatriates’ monocultural, multicultural, global and cosmopolitan identity negotiation strategies with their responses toward the host culture by drawing upon exclusionary and integrative reactions theory in cross-cultural psychology.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper draws on the perspective of exclusionary vs integrative reactions toward foreign cultures – a perspective rooted in cross-cultural psychology research – to categorize expatriates’ responses toward the host culture. More specifically, the study elaborates how two primary activators of expatriates’ responses toward the host culture – the salience of home-culture identity and a cultural learning mindset – explain the relationship between cultural identity negotiation strategies and expatriates’ exclusionary and integrative responses, providing specific propositions on how each type of cultural identity negotiation strategy is expected to be associated with expatriates’ exclusionary and integrative responses toward the host culture.FindingsThe present study proposes that expatriates’ adoption of a monocultural identity negotiation strategy is positively associated with exclusionary responses toward the host culture and it is negatively associated with integrative responses toward the host culture; expatriates’ adoption of a multicultural identity negotiation strategy is positively associated with both exclusionary responses and integrative responses toward the host culture; expatriates’ adoption of a global identity negotiation strategy is negatively associated with exclusionary responses toward the host culture; and expatriates’ adoption of a cosmopolitan identity negotiation strategy is negatively associated with exclusionary responses, and positively associated with integrative responses toward the host culture. The following metaphors for these different types of cultural identity negotiation strategies are introduced: “ostrich” (monocultural strategy), “frog” (multicultural strategy), “bird” (global strategy) and “lizard” (cosmopolitan strategy).Originality/valueThe proposed dynamic framework of cultural identity negotiation strategies illustrates the sophisticated nature of expatriates’ responses to new cultures. This paper also emphasizes that cross-cultural training tempering expatriates’ exclusionary reactions and encouraging integrative reactions is crucial for more effective expatriation in a multicultural work environment.

The Chinese version of the Gold-MSI: Adaptation and validation of an inventory for the measurement of musical sophistication in a Taiwanese sample

This study presents the Chinese adaptation of the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI), an instrument for measuring individual differences in musical ability and skilled musical behaviour. Its psychometric properties were examined with a Taiwanese sample. The Gold-MSI inventory was translated into Chinese following recommendations from the literature on cross-cultural test development. Subsequently, the psychometric properties of the Chinese Gold-MSI self-report inventory, including the Melody Memory Task and the Beat Alignment Perception Task, were evaluated using an online survey with 1,065 participants. Results of confirmatory factor analysis suggest that the original factor structure of the Gold-MSI inventory showed an acceptable fit with the data from the Chinese-speaking sample. In addition, the Chinese Gold-MSI inventory shows good reliability. The Melody Memory Task and the Beat Alignment Perception Task also have sufficient test-retest reliability. Finally, correlations between the Chinese Gold-MSI inventory and the Musical-Rhythmic Intelligence subscale of the Eight Multiple Intelligences Questionnaire as well as the two additional music tests provide evidence for convergent and divergent validity. Overall, the data suggest that the Chinese Gold-MSI has good psychometric properties. Percentile norms for the Gold-MSI inventory and the music tests from the present sample are reported for use in future studies. The present study thus makes a valuable contribution to cross-cultural research in music psychology by enabling the comparison between Chinese and Western studies of individual differences in musical ability.

座談会 Cross-cultural Researchのまとめと展望

座談会 Cross-cultural Researchのまとめと展望

Investigating the Moderating Role of Culture on the Relationship Between Appraisals and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Appraisals play a central role in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Accumulating cross-cultural psychology research has demonstrated that culture affects the way in which individuals appraise an experience. However, there is little empirical work considering the influence of culture on appraisals in PTSD. In this study, we investigated the influence of culture on trauma-related appraisals and PTSD symptoms, with a particular focus on appraisals related to control. Trauma-related appraisals and PTSD symptoms were assessed in European Australian ( n = 71) and Asian Australian ( n = 73) adult trauma survivors. The group (European Australian vs. Asian Australian) was found to moderate the relationship between control, responsibility, and agency-focused appraisals (mental defeat, mastery, present control, and self-blame) and PTSD symptoms. Findings suggest that the relationship between these appraisal types and PTSD is influenced by the extent to which an individual emphasizes the independent self-construal. The cross-sectional design prevents causal inferences being drawn from the findings. Implications for culturally informed PTSD models and treatments are discussed.

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Turkish Version of the Decent Work Scale

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Decent Work Scale (DWS), a recently developed measure that assesses the psychological experience of the quality of one’s work life. The proposed five-factor structure was verified with a sample of 326 Turkish working adults. Consistent with previous research, a five-factor bifactor model showed best fit to the data. The results of multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed that the structure of the instrument was invariant across gender, income, and social class groups. Convergent and discriminant validity were supported by positive correlations with person–organization fit, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and work meaning and by negative correlations with withdrawal intentions. Evidence of predictive validity was obtained by regressing the five subscales on four outcome measures. These findings suggest that the Turkish version of the DWS can be used for assessing decent work among Turkish working adults and cross-cultural psychological research.

Cultural Differences in Event Construal: Evidence from Monolingual and Bilingual Speakers

According to cross-cultural psychology research, East Asians and Westerners perceive and evaluate the world in different ways. While East Asians are inclined to follow a broad perceptual or conceptual field and to be concerned with relationships between objects, Westerners are more likely to concentrate on a focal object and its properties. Ample evidence is now available that shows that these cross-cultural differences may yield differences in cognitive processes (Nisbett, 2010; Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005). However, research into cultural influences on cognition to date has largely focused on examining monolingual speakers, and less is known about how cross-cultural influences affect bilingual cognition. Therefore, in the present study, an attempt was made to examine how Korean-English bilinguals, sampled at varying levels (n = 80), interpreted event scenes in comparison to Korean and English monolinguals (n = 15 each). Participants were asked to describe four event scenes, which could afford multiple perceptual interpretations. The event descriptions by the Korean and English monolinguals revealed typical East Asian and Western cognitive styles, respectively, to interpret and describe event scenes. Furthermore, the pattern of the event construal of the bilinguals did not completely match that of either monolingual group, suggesting that they have been influenced by both East Asian and Western modes of thought when interpreting and describing event scenes.

Culture and Social Hierarchy: Cultural Differences in the Power-Status Distinction

Integrating social hierarchy and cross-cultural psychology research, we investigate whether the magnitude of the relationship between perceived status and power varies with cultural orientation. We...

Self- and other-descriptions by individuals with autism spectrum disorder in Los Angeles and New Delhi: Bridging cross-cultural psychology and neurodiversity

Decades of cross-cultural research have shown that self-concepts vary across cultural contexts. However, it is unclear whether individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who have impairments in self- and other-understanding, will acquire the relevant cultural patterns regarding self- and other-concepts; or whether their social impairments will extend to broader cultural impairments. Here we present the first examination, to our knowledge, of self- and other-concepts in a cross-cultural sample of individuals with ASD in Los Angeles, USA, and New Delhi, India, compared with matched control groups in each culture. We used a modification of the well-known 20 statements description task, and coded participants’ responses according to 28 sub-categories, along the axes of autonomous/social and abstract/specific. When describing themselves and their favorite fictional characters, participants in Los Angeles provided significantly more autonomous and abstract descriptions than participants in New Delhi, as expected from their different locations. Surprisingly, we found no effect of diagnostic group on the content of participants’ responses, suggesting that individuals with ASD are indeed capable of acquiring the cultural scripts that surround them—at least on a cognitive, verbal level—despite their neurocognitive impairments. These results provide an important step towards bridging the study of cross-cultural psychology and global autism research; while simultaneously highlighting the ways in which individuals with ASD can become a part of their local cultures, serving as an important impetus of acceptance for caregivers and policy-makers worldwide.