The interplay between objective and subjective ethno-cultural diversity in predicting intergroup relations

This nation-wide probability sample survey study among Finnish majority group members (N = 335) focused on the interactive effects of objective and subjective ethno-cultural diversity on three indicators of intergroup relations: outgroup attitudes, perceived group and personal discrimination, and outgroup trust. Complementing previous research that has mostly examined a linear relationship between cultural diversity and intergroup relations, special attention was given to moderate diversity contexts, which are claimed to pose different challenges to intergroup dynamics than high- and low-diversity contexts. It was hypothesised that majority group members who live in contexts characterised by moderate levels of objective diversity but subjectively perceive high levels of diversity will report more negative outgroup attitudes, lower levels of outgroup trust and higher levels of discrimination, as compared to those living in low- or high-diversity contexts. The hypothesis was confirmed for perceived group discrimination and outgroup trust. The results highlight the need to acknowledge possible non-linear relationships between diversity and intergroup relations.Peer reviewe

Cultural variations in the relationship between anger coping styles, depression and life satisfaction

Hypotheses are tested that ways of handling anger and their consequences will differ in student samples drawn from dignity cultures (UK and Finland), honor cultures (Turkey and Pakistan) and face cultures (Hong Kong and China). In line with our hypotheses, holding anger in and controlling anger correlate positively in face cultures but not in other samples, whereas holding anger in and letting anger out correlate positively in honor cultures but not in other samples. Furthermore, holding anger in and letting anger out are more strongly predictive of high depression and low life satisfaction in honor cultures than in other samples. The results provide support for the cross-cultural validity of Spielberger's (1999) anger expression inventory and for the proposition that differences in ways of handling anger can be understood in terms of contrasting cultural contexts

Nation-level moderators of the extent to which self-efficacy and relationship harmony predict students’ depression and life satisfaction: evidence from ten cultures

Previous two-nation comparisons have provided evidence that self-efficacy may be a protective factor against depression in individualist cultures, whereas relationship harmony may be a stronger protective factor in collectivist cultures. However, wider sampling and more specific measures of cultural difference are required to test these conclusions. Student ratings of depression and life satisfaction were surveyed in 10 samples drawn from nine nations. Culture-level individualism positively moderated the relationship of self-efficacy to low depression. However, culture-level collectivism negatively moderated the linkage of relationship harmony to depression. To better understand these effects, four separate nation-level predictors derived from dimensions of self-construal were employed. Effects of self-efficacy were strongest where cultural models of selfhood emphasized self-direction (vs. receptiveness to influence); effects of relationship harmony were strongest where cultural models of selfhood emphasized dependence on others (vs. self-reliance). These results illustrate the value of unpackaging the diffusely defined concept of individualism-collectivism