Role Of Cultural Norms Research Articles

Resolving the cultural loneliness paradox of choice: The role of cultural norms about individual choice regarding relationships in explaining loneliness in four European countries

Do cultural norms that allow individuals to choose their social relationships put them at risk for, or protect them from, loneliness? After all, more freedom to choose whom to relate to may promote that individuals can choose higher-quality relationships (which protects from loneliness), but it may also imply a higher risk of social isolation (which puts at risk for loneliness). We propose that the solution to this cultural loneliness paradox of choice is to distinguish whether more individual choice flows from cultural norms that provide more opportunities for new relationships (as implied by higher relational mobility; higher RMn), or from cultural norms that allow to leave established relationships (as implied by lower relational stability; lower RSn). Specifically, we suggest that more individual choice protects from loneliness when emerging from higher RMn (which allows to establish new higher-quality relationships), but puts at risk for loneliness when emerging from lower RSn (which increases the risk of social isolation by undermining the stability of established relationships). Findings from two cross-sectional survey studies in four European countries (Study 1: Finland, N = 237; Portugal, N = 261; Study 2: Poland, N = 242; Austria, N = 2 41) supported this line of thought: Higher RMn was consistently related to lower loneliness across all samples, and lower RSn was related to higher loneliness in two out of four samples (and either non-significantly related to higher loneliness or unrelated to it in the other two samples). We discuss the importance and implications of differentiating RMn and RSn to resolve the cultural loneliness paradox of choice.

Signaling sickness: the role of recalled sickness behavior and psychosocial factors in shaping communication style.

Background and objectivesActive infection results in several outward signs in humans, including visible symptoms, changes in behavior and possible alterations in skin color and gait. A potential adaptive function of these indicators is to signal distress and elicit care from close others. We hypothesized that sickness behavior, a suite of stereotypical changes in mood and behavior, also serves to communicate health status to others. We further hypothesized that such outward signals/cues of health status would vary based on context and sociocultural norms.MethodologyWe explored self-reported, recalled sickness behavior, communication style, demographics and theoretically relevant cultural factors in a large national US sample (n = 1259) using multinomial probit regressions.ResultsIn accordance with predictions, relatively few participants were willing to talk or complain about sickness to strangers. Self-reported, recalled sickness behavior was associated with some communication styles but attention received from others was more consistently associated with potential signaling. Several cultural factors, including stoicism and traditional machismo, were also associated with different sickness signaling styles.Conclusions and implicationsThese preliminary, self-reported data lend some tentative support to the sickness behavior signaling hypothesis, though experimental or observational support is needed. The role of cultural norms in shaping how such signals are transmitted and received also deserves further attention as they may have important implications for disease transmission.Lay SummaryEvolutionary medicine hypothesizes that signs and symptoms of infectious disease—including sickness behavior—have adaptive functions, one of which might be to reliably signal one’s health status to others. Our results suggest that evolved signals like these are likely shaped by cultural factors.

The role of cultural norms in shaping attitudes towards amphibians in Cape Town, South Africa.

Urban ecosystems are increasingly viewed as an important component within strategies for wildlife conservation but are shaped as much by natural systems as they are by social and political processes. At the garden scale, attitudes and preferences govern design and maintenance choices including the decision to encourage or discourage specific faunal presence. At the global scale, charismatic taxa that are well-liked attract more conservation funding and volunteer stewardship. Amphibians are a class of animals that are both loved and loathed making them a suitable subject for comparing and unpacking the drivers of preference and attitudes towards animals. We conducted a mixed methods survey of 192 participants in three adjacent neighbourhoods in Cape Town, South Africa. The survey included both quantitative and qualitative questions which were analysed thematically and used to explain the quantitative results. The results revealed that attitudes formed during childhood tended to be retained into adulthood, were shaped by cultural norms, childhood experiences and the attitudes of primary care-givers. The findings are significant for environmental education programmes aimed at building connectedness to nature and biophilic values.

A randomised feasibility study to investigate the impact of education and the addition of prompts on the sedentary behaviour of office workers

BackgroundOffice workers have been identified as being at risk of accumulating high amounts of sedentary time in prolonged events during work hours, which has been associated with increased risk of a number of long-term health conditions.There is some evidence that providing advice to stand at regular intervals during the working day, and using computer-based prompts, can reduce sedentary behaviour in office workers. However, evidence of effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability for these types of intervention is currently limited.MethodsA 2-arm, parallel group, cluster-randomised feasibility trial to assess the acceptability of prompts to break up sedentary behaviour was conducted with office workers in a commercial bank (n = 21). Participants were assigned to an education only group (EG) or prompt and education group (PG). Both groups received education on reducing and breaking up sitting at work, and the PG also received hourly prompts, delivered by Microsoft Outlook over 10 weeks, reminding them to stand. Objective measurements of sedentary behaviour were made using activPAL monitors worn at three time points: baseline, in the last 2 weeks of the intervention period and 12 weeks after the intervention. Focus groups were conducted to explore the acceptability of the intervention and the motivations and barriers to changing sedentary behaviour.ResultsRandomly generated, customised prompts, delivered by Microsoft Outlook, with messages about breaking up sitting, proved to be a feasible and acceptable way of delivering prompts to office workers. Participants in both groups reduced their sitting, but changes were not maintained at follow-up. The education session seemed to increase outcome expectations of the benefits of changing sedentary behaviour and promote self-regulation of behaviour in some participants. However, low self-efficacy and a desire to conform to cultural norms were barriers to changing behaviour.ConclusionsPrompts delivered by Microsoft Outlook were a feasible, low-cost way of prompting office workers to break up their sedentary behaviour, although further research is needed to determine whether this has an additional impact on sedentary behaviour, to education alone. The role of cultural norms, and promoting self-efficacy, should be considered in the design of future interventions.Trial registrationThis study was registered retrospectively as a clinical trial on ClinicalTrials.gov (ID no. NCT02609282) on 23 March 2015.

Sustainable leadership pre- and within the 21st century

This paper reviews literature on sustainable leadership pre- and within the 21st century, using the following nuances: (1) selected dynamics attributable to socio-demographics, (2) implications and barriers that skew gender and leadership bias, and (3) the role of cultural norms and values in leadership practices and processes within organizations. The global challenge for research on sustainable leadership is also discussed, as it must take into account the different cultures, needs and requirements of different organizations within specific environmental contexts. A challenge spoke to the use of international models and strategies in order to achieve semantic interoperability. It is concluded that from the established theoretical framework, a focus on culture and sustainable leadership is needed, as these impact on various aspects of leadership including sustainability. It is suggested that for the future, emerging issues should incorporate sustainability into businesses in order to align environmental and social objectives with business strategies.

Individualism and Corruption: A Cross‐Country Analysis

While the role of cultural norms in determining corruption is well‐explored in the empirical literature, the relationship between a specific aspect of culture, that is, individualism versus collectivism, and corruption is rather unexplored. This paper investigates the relationship between individualism/collectivism and corruption in a large cross‐section of countries. To establish causality, the paper uses an index of historical prevalence of infectious diseases and a measure of genetic distance between the population in a country from that in the United States to instrument the individualism/collectivism variable. We find that more individualistic countries have lower levels of corruption (perception). This relationship is robust to the inclusion of a rich set of control variables and to the use of alternative measures of corruption.

Marital Sexual Abuse in the Orthodox Jewish Community

Objective: The recent past has seen a sharp increase in our awareness of the pervasiveness and devastating impact of child sexual abuse. In contrast, the topic of sexual abuse within marriage continues to receive relatively little notice, clinically, legislatively or academically. Aim – The aim of this presentation is to review current legal and clinical perceptions of marital sex abuse and to examine this phenomenon and its manifestations in the Orthodox Jewish community, as an example of the impact of social norms and values on this critical area. Design and Method: Method – We will initially summarize and present the current literature on this topic with an emphasis on the role of cultural norms and values in defining marital sex abuse across a tolerable/illegal spectrum. We will then examine 1) one ethnic group, Orthodox Jews, to locate potential points of this abuse and 2) that communities understanding and coping with this phenomenon. Illustrative case material will be presented. Results: Results/Conclusions – This traditional community may be representative of other similar ethnic groups and the challenges presented in dealing with marital sexual abuse where norms and values may not always reflect contemporary standards. We expect this presentation to shed light on this phenomenon, expanding our knowledge and sensitivity to the victims and their social contexts. Conclusions: We will conclude with suggested points and techniques of intervention, which take into consideration the needs of the victims and community acknowledgement of a problem.

King’s College London Student Clinical Ethics Committee case discussion: A family requests that their grandmother, who does not speak English, is not informed of her terminal diagnosis

Members of the Student Clinical Ethics Committee discussed the ethical and legal issues arising in a case referred for consideration – the family of a very elderly non-English speaking Asian lady did not want her to be informed that she had incurable lymphoma. The case study summarises the reflections of the Committee and focusses on: the role of cultural norms in healthcare decision making; the extent to which the views of the family about what is best for the patient should be respected, whether the patient should have been informed of her terminal diagnosis and the role of the clinician in navigating complex family dynamics.

More than Altruism: Cultural Norms and Remittances Among Hispanics in the USA

Cultural norms embody the communalism and familism that characterize social structures and traditions of care among certain identity groups, notably, Hispanics. In turn, they affect remitting behavior as they do family dynamics thereby extending care transnationally. Using the 2006 Latino National Survey, the largest instrument that captures socioeconomic variables and political perspectives among Hispanics residing in the USA, we constructed a Hispanic identity index that is used to capture the role of cultural norms in remittance behavior. This index is used as an explanatory variable in a logit model for the probability and frequency of remitting money. We find that both the probability and frequency of remitting increase with higher levels of self-defined familism as reflected by the Hispanic index. This effect is stronger among males, renters, foreign-born non-US citizens, and migrants with fewer years of residence in the USA. Incorporating variables such as our Hispanic identity index may shed light on a relatively unexplored area in the field of economics that explains remitting behavior.

Sibling structure, distributive norms, and negotiation for mothers-in-law's assistance in rural South China

Context: Recent studies of parent–adult child relations using a network family approach have paid increasing attention to within-family differences and the role of in-laws in parent–adult child exchanges. However, the effect of sibling structure on the allocation of childcare and household help provided by older women, the negotiation process among in-laws and the underlying principle(s) have been under-examined. Purpose and methods: Based on ethnographic and interview data collected from 28 women in rural South China, this article examines the effect of sibling structure on mothers-in-law's assistance in the context of economic reform, and the role of cultural norms and daughters-in-law in the negotiation process using a family network perspective. Findings: Since the late 1970s, the sibling order of husbands and the presence of their unmarried brothers have negatively affected the bargaining power of young married women and their access to childcare assistance from their mothers-in-law. In terms of household help, sibling size and the equity principle have prevented mothers-in-law in larger extended families from providing assistance during both the pre-reform and reform periods. Although the equity norm is a pivotal moral resource for daughters-in-law in negotiating parental support, other competing norms, particularly parents' obligations to their unmarried adult sons, may set limits on their claims and bargaining power. Implications: Findings demonstrate that the distribution of childcare and household help provided by mothers-in-law are results of intra- and intergenerational negotiation among daughters- and mothers-in-law, rather than simply a dyadic parent–child relationship. Competing norms and daughters-in-law also play important roles in the negotiation for parental help.

Marriage and Cohabitation in South Africa: An Enriching Explanation?

Patterns of marriage and family formation in South Africa have changed dramatically in recent years. Many studies have indicated that marriage patterns and changes in family structure can be attributed to economic and social changes. However, the role of cultural norms and attitudes towards marriage and cohabitation across different social locations is under-researched. Using survey data from the 2005 South African Social Attitudes Survey, we investigate the extent to which structural variables and cultural attitudes towards marriage and cohabitation predict the likelihood of such transitions. In common with other research findings, we find that structural variables such as age, gender, employment status and location were significant predictors of marriage. However the findings also indicate that cultural attitudes, when examined in conjunction with sociodemographic factors, explains more of the changes in coupling in South Africa. In particular, individuals who cohabit as a means of preparing for marriage are significantly more likely to get married at some point in the future. We argue that explanations of low marriage rates in South Africa cannot exclude the cultural context of rules and norms governing coupledom.

Confrontation versus withdrawal: Cultural differences in responses to threats to honor

This study compares evaluations by members of an honor culture (Turkey) and a dignity culture (northern USA) of honor threat scenarios, in which a target was the victim of either a rude affront or a false accusation, and the target chose to withdraw or confront the attacker. Turkish participants were more likely than American participants to evaluate positively the person who withdrew from the rude affront and the person who confronted the false accusation. Participants in both societies perceived that others in their society would endorse confrontation more than withdrawal in both types of scenarios, but this effect was larger for Turkish than American participants. Honor values were associated with evaluations of the targets most strongly among Turkish participants who read about a person who confronted their attacker. These findings provide insight into the role of cultural norms and individual differences in the ways honor influences behavior.

Culture and Policies for Sustainable Tourism: A South Asian Comparison

International tourism has become a core economic growth strategy for many countries of the Global South. While this holds much promise, it also brings heightened potential for environmental degradation, cultural clashes and social problems. Tourism policy that navigates economic growth in a manner that is sustainable for ecological and social systems is therefore critical. This study explores the role of cultural norms in shaping sustainable tourism policy. Through a comparative analysis of tourism policies in Nepal and Bhutan and their impacts on open access commons like trekking lands and cultural sites, it argues that cultural norms can account for differences in tourism policies and their resulting influence on sustainable development.

Medieval visions and contemporary hallucinations.

SynopsisThe hallucinations of 23 patients with predominantly religious themes were compared with descriptions of visions from the Middle Ages. Although there were many points of similarity between the two classes of phenomena, none of the medieval visionaries was identified as mentally ill. The role of cultural norms in determining the attribution of mental illness, and the limitations of Euro-American criteria of psychoses, are discussed in the light of these findings.