Polish-French Bilingualism and Bicultural Identity: Cross-Cultural Studies on Immigrants in France and Belgium, and French Language Students in Poland

In the present study, the authors applied the Cultural Values and Script Questionnaire, together with language measures (bidirectional translation, listening comprehension tasks), to explore the relationship between Polish-French bilinguality and bicultural identity among Polish migrants in France and Belgium and students learning French at a Polish University. We hypothesized that the Francophone acculturative context will lead to (i) integrated bicultural identity, as well as (ii) a balanced bilingual profile. Thirdly, we assumed there is a link between an individual’s bicultural identity and his or her bilinguality. The data partially confirm the two first hypotheses. An unexpected contrast effect revealed that students in Poland identify more strongly with French cultural values than with Polish values

Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies

An Author Correction to this article: DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22955-x.Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate.Peer reviewe

Changes in social norms during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic across 43 countries

The emergence of COVID-19 dramatically changed social behavior across societies and contexts. Here we study whether social norms also changed. Specifically, we study this question for cultural tightness (the degree to which societies generally have strong norms), specific social norms (e.g. stealing, hand washing), and norms about enforcement, using survey data from 30,431 respondents in 43 countries recorded before and in the early stages following the emergence of COVID-19. Using variation in disease intensity, we shed light on the mechanisms predicting changes in social norm measures. We find evidence that, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, hand washing norms increased while tightness and punishing frequency slightly decreased but observe no evidence for a robust change in most other norms. Thus, at least in the short term, our findings suggest that cultures are largely stable to pandemic threats except in those norms, hand washing in this case, that are perceived to be directly relevant to dealing with the collective threat

Anger and disgust shape judgments of social sanctions across cultures, especially in high individual autonomy societies

When someone violates a social norm, others may think that some sanction would be appropriate. We examine how the experience of emotions like anger and disgust relate to the judged appropriateness of sanctions, in a pre-registered analysis of data from a large-scale study in 56 societies. Across the world, we find that individuals who experience anger and disgust over a norm violation are more likely to endorse confrontation, ostracism and, to a smaller extent, gossip. Moreover, we find that the experience of anger is consistently the strongest predictor of judgments of confrontation, compared to other emotions. Although the link between state-based emotions and judgments may seem universal, its strength varies across countries. Aligned with theoretical predictions, this link is stronger in societies, and among individuals, that place higher value on individual autonomy. Thus, autonomy values may increase the role that emotions play in guiding judgments of social sanctions

Client welfare in psychologists’ ethics codes - a voice in debate

The point of departure for the remarks made in my text is Katarzyna Sikorska’s paper, opening a debate on ethical issues involved in the profession of psychologist. The paper itself is, in my opinion, a solid presentation of these issues as they appear in international and Polish codes. Against this backdrop, my remarks concern the situation in Poland. They describe this situation as advanced disintegration of the community of Polish psychologists caused by the weakness of Polish Psychological Association (PTP) and by the failure to take into account the cultural rootedness of most treatments used in psychologists’ work. The latter remark refers to the failure to take into account both the cultural identity of clients and the cultural rootedness of products imported into the country

Dobro odbiorcy w kodeksach etyczno-zawodowych psychologów - głos w dyskusji

Punktem wyjścia dla sformułowanych uwag w moim wystąpieniu jest artykuł Katarzyny Sikory, otwierający dyskusję na tematy etyczne związane z zawodem psychologa. Sam artykuł jest, w mojej ocenie, solidnym przedstawieniem tej problematyki na łamach kodeksów zarówno międzynarodowych, jak i krajowych. Moje uwagi na tym tle dotyczą sytuacji w Polsce. Charakteryzują ją jako daleko posuniętą dezintegrację polskich psychologów, spowodowaną słabością Polskiego Towarzystwa Psychologicznego (PTP) oraz nieuwzględnianiem kulturowego zakotwiczenia większości oddziaływań stosowanych w pracy psychologów. Ta druga uwaga dotyczy zarówno nieuwzględniania kulturowej odmienności odbiorców, jak i kulturowego zakotwiczenia importowanych do kraju produktów

Logical relationships between answers to questions in a questionnaire

To discover errors that diminish the cognitive value of data obtained in questionnaire-based surveys, two procedures may be applied: (1) external analysis and (2) internal analysis. The first one consists in the confrontation of the answers given by respondents in a questionnaire with information on the same topics obtained from sources independent from the researcher and considered to be objective. The second procedure uses the existing logical relationships between answers to questions which occur at the very moment of the construction of a questionnaire. As a result of these relationships, co-existence of certain answers in a filled-out questionnaire leads to the contradiction. In the internal analysis, by an error is understood the situation of co-existence of contradictory sentences (answers). In a questionnaire interview three elements may be distinguished: (1) interviewer, (2) respondent, (3) the set of questions in the questionnaire all of them entangled in the psycho-social situation of interview. Methodological innovations introduced and a methodological evaluation should relate to each of them. The internal analysis consists in the methodological evaluation of a questionnaire treated as a carrier of a communication process. The principles of internal analysis are implicitly observed in the current research practice in the form of a check on information obtained in the course of interviewing. The checking is done by the interviewer as well as, at the later stage, by the interviewer’s supervisor. This is reflected in the use of filtering questions, control questions and instructions for interviewing. Nevertheless, the analysis of logical relationships between answers to questions in a questionnaire constitutes a higher level of methodological consciousness for it takes into account more complicated situations, such as, for example, enthymematic relationships; in addition, it makes use of logical calculus. Using the classical sentential calculus, the author introduces the concepts of thesis, tautology and counter-tautology which serve to define two basic logical relationships: the conclusion and the contradiction. Then he undertakes an attempt at the typology of contradiction relationships between answers to questions in a questionnaire. We have to do with a direct contradiction in such a situation only where questions and answers are identical; otherwise it is necessary to accept certain additional assumptions. These assumptions may be based on definitional terminological conventions as well as on empirical regularities. Among the latter, of especial importance for socio-medical research are interrelationships discovered in medical science. Quantitative results of analysis of questions in the socio-medical questionnaire are presented: 455 possible pairs of contradictory sentences have been identified, discussed and exemplified within the framework of the above-mentioned typology. Finally, prospects for treatment of the results of internal analysis together with the results of other methodological studies are discussed

Identity conditions of an emigree's satisfaction with life

The article presents the results of research on the satisfaction with life of Poles living in the USA and Canada. The author indicates that the level of satisfaction depends on sex and the duration of stay abroad. Besides, the author determined t he role of criterial and correlative identity in the process of adjusting to a new cultural environment.Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/201

Identity conditions of an emigree's satisfaction with life

The article presents the results of research on the satisfaction with life of Poles living in the USA and Canada. The author indicates that the level of satisfaction depends on sex and the duration of stay abroad. Besides, the author determined t he role of criterial and correlative identity in the process of adjusting to a new cultural environment.Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/201

Empathy gap – what do we know about empathizing with others′ pain?

Empathy of pain as a multi-dimensional process includes sharing and understanding the pain of others in relation to oneself. Subjects in such studies are typically members of western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic societies. In the literature review that we conducted, we observed that little is known about the empathy for pain in people who are not members of societies with these cultural characteristics. We often understand those who are “similar” to us more easily – ones who belong to “our” cultural circle. However, contact with another culture could help prevent such bias. Group characteristics, such as focus on others, hierarchy preference, or cultural differences in self-constructs, can change the activity of brain regions associated with empathy and compassion. Increasing the diversity of the research participants connected with education level, poverty, industrialization, and respect for basic citizen freedoms seem to be necessary to fully understand the mechanisms that influence the development and operation of empathy