Types of Comparative Studies in Cross-Cultural Psychology

From a methodological perspective cross-cultural studies in psychology differ in three dimensions. First, cross-cultural psychological studies can be exploratory or test specific hypotheses. Second, some cross-cultural studies compare countries or ethnic groups while other cross-cultural studies relate specific characteristics of a country or ethnicity (e.g., socialization patterns or religiosity) to psychological variables. Third, studies can compare either constructs (e.g., do Chinese and Kenyans mean the same when they say that a person is intelligent?) or score levels (e.g., are Americans more extravert than Italians?). A classification of cross-cultural psychological studies, based on the three dimensions, is presented and examples are given

National and European Identities of Bulgarian and Dutch Students

The present study explored the adoption of national and European identities and the perceptions of own nation and Europe in Bulgarian and Dutch students. A questionnaire developed by Georgas et al. (2004) was administered to 256 students in Bulgaria and 190 students in the Netherlands. The majority of participants in both countries (88% in Bulgaria and 85% in the Netherlands) endorsed both national and European identity; European identity was secondary to national identity. There were marked cross-national differences in the way own country and Europe were perceived. Bulgarian students perceived larger differences between the two identities than did Dutch students. Results are in accordance with theories regarding national and supranational identities as compatible and suggest a stronger role of instrumental elements for European identification in Bulgarian students as compared to Dutch students

Identity and acculturation : the case for Africa

Abstract: Despite the multicultural nature of African societies, there is still very little knowledge about acculturation and its association with identity on this continent Acculturation processes and outcomes are strongly associated with identity The objective of this article is to relate different models of acculturation (unidimensional, bi-dimensional, multidimensional) with the tri-dimensional model of identity (personal, relational, and social) Social identity components, such as ethnicity, religion, and culture, suggest a need for modification of Western models of acculturation to embrace the multifaceted realities of non-Western multicultural societies The social complexity and the continuous transition within African societies provides unique opportunities to examine and further develop the multidimensional acculturation models to take into account the social complexity which informs identity issues both within and across different African nations

Values and Migration Motives in Three Ethnic Groups in Indonesia

Indonesia has 1340 ethnic groups. This study focused on three large ethnic groups, which are Bataknese, Minangnese and Sundanese. There were 712 participants in this study, aged 20-23 years. There is a different orientation on migration (within Indonesia) in those three ethnic groups. Bataknese mainly migrate for study. Minangnese mainly migrate for work and trading. Sundanese do not have a strong orientation toward migration, although members migrate for study or work. The aim of this study is to understand the value system of these three ethnic groups as measured by Schwartz’s PVQ-40 in correlation to migration attitudes. Migration attitudes were measured by items such as the importance of migration, the importance of having the tenacity and perseverance, the importance of making an effort, strive and work hard, the importance of having the ability to adjust with the new situation and dealing with problems in new place. There was no significant difference in value system of the three ethnic groups. Means on social life values were higher than means on fulfilling personal needs values in the three ethnic groups. Factors on migration motive have stronger and significant correlation with factors on value system in Bataknese than in Minangnese and Sundanese. We concluded that Bataknese’s motive to migrate was more associated with social life values and fulfilling personal needs values, Minangnese’s motive to migrate with fulfilling personal needs values, and Sundanese’s motive to migrate with social life values

Reward-allocation judgments in Romania: a factorial survey approach

We investigated reward-allocation judgments when positive outcomes (monetary rewards) were distributed and the allocator was not a co-recipient, in a sample of 200 Romanian students. Within a full factorial survey design, seven factors, selected to affect the allocation decision, were orthogonally varied. The factors reflect individual characteristics of the recipients (gender, age, contribution, need, work experience) and situational characteristics (future work interaction and task routineness). Romanian students preferred to allocate rewards applying an equity-based distribution model. Work experience and task routineness were also significant, yet less important. The recipient gender has no effect on allocation judgments. In terms of between-respondents variability, we found that students' gender, work experience, and age do not have an impact on reward-allocation judgments. We discuss implications of our findings for organizations and practitioners

Contextual Conditions for Acculturation and Adjustment of Adolescent Immigrants – Integrating Theory and Findings

In this paper we review the literature on contextual conditions related to the school, the family, and ethnic or immigrant-group membership, and their association with adjustment outcomes of adolescent immigrants in Europe. Drawing on theories in the areas of acculturation and development, the first aim was to develop a conceptual framework, which integrates acculturative and developmental processes in early adolescence and can guide the literature review in this area. The second aim was to identify the most important conditions for adolescent immigrants’ acculturation and adjustment outcomes in school and the family, and related to immigrant-group membership

Self- and Other-Oriented Motivations Associated with Emotional Suppression of Internalized and Externalized Negative Emotions: A Multiethnic Self-Report Study in the Netherlands

We were interested in the motivations associated with emotional suppression, their relationship with negative emotions in self-reported emotional events, and their cross-cultural similarities and differences. Based on a framework of human values (Schwartz, 1994) and internalization-externalization (Krueger & Markon, 2006), we expected in the current study that self-reported motivations to suppress negative emotions are either self- or other-oriented. The sample consisted of 354 Dutch majority members, 319 immigrants from non-Western, and 368 from Western countries. The two-dimensional solution of self- and other-oriented motivations was confirmed. Non-Western immigrants scored higher on other-oriented motivation than Western immigrants, but no interethnic differences were found in self-oriented motivation. Non-Western immigrants scored higher on anxiety, compassion, guilt, and hate compared to Dutch group. Associations of negative emotions with self- and other- oriented motivation were the same in all groups. Sadness was positively related to self-oriented motivation, whereas anger was positively related to other-oriented motivation. We concluded that emotional suppression depends not only on self- or other-orientation but also on the type of emotions (internalized versus externalized) and the relationships are not influenced by ethnicity

Interethnic Similarity of Anger Suppression-Aggression Association in Conflicts in Intimate and Non-Intimate Relationships Across Ethnic Groups in the Netherlands

This study examined associations between emotional suppression, anger, and aggression in intimate (parent and friend) and non-intimate (boss and shop assistant) conflicts in a vignette study conducted among immigrants and majority group members in the Netherlands. The sample consisted of 456 Dutch majority group members, 445 immigrants from non-Western, and 477 immigrants from Western countries. Path analyses showed that anger fully mediated the emotion suppression-aggression relationship in a similar way across groups and conflicts with a parent, boss, and shop assistant (only in a conflict situation with a boss, emotional suppression and anger were both directly related to aggression). As expected, non-Western immigrants experienced less anger in these conflicts. However, no interethnic differences were found in the tendency to suppress anger and aggression in any conflict situation. We could not replicate earlier observed cross-cultural differences in obedience, hierarchy, and restriction of emotional expression among the samples. We concluded that non-Western immigrants do not seem to differ in management of anger in interpersonal conflict situations from Western groups