Why do Cultural Differences So Often Trump Cross-Cultural Invariance?

In this roundtable discussion I will advocate balancing psychological invariance and cultural variation. There are large and evident differences between the behavior repertoires of human groups. Cross-cultural researchers have endeavored to explain such differences in terms of broad and inclusive sociocultural dimensions, styles and traits. Among other contributions to this roundtable, I will argue that psychological patterning of cross-cultural differences is much less coherent than our literature tends to suggest. Admittedly, this is a serious challenge; if correct, it implies that cross-cultural psychology tends to engage in cultural stereotyping

Gustav Jahoda:The art and science of constructive skepticism

In this essay, we consider Gustav Jahoda's contributions to empirical research and conceptual reflection in the fields of cross-cultural and social psychology. The first section draws attention to what we see as salient characteristics of his empirical research. The second section describes Jahoda's critiques of some iconic theoretical concepts and distinctions. The third section describes his historical interest in the development of the two fields, with cultural context as a focus. In the conclusion section, we mention why Jahoda's contributions need to be taken into account by current researchers and those to come.</p

Ongoing Themes in Psychology and Culture

Selected Papers from the Sixteenth International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2002, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. (c) 2004, International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychologyhttps://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/iaccp_proceedings/1007/thumbnail.jp

Acquiescent and Socially Desirable Response Styles in Cross-Cultural Value Surveys

The present chapter presents two studies examining the differential effects of acquiescence and social desirability on value scores across cultures. In the first study, culture-level acquiescence indexes were extracted from data in eight multinational surveys, and culture-level social desirability scores were obtained from a meta-analysis of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Both types of indexes were correlated with cultural value dimensions reported in the literature and with indicators of affluence. We found that affluence explains a substantial proportion of the variance in the association of response styles with value scores in all the surveys. The second study investigated effects of score standardization. This study was based on a large cross-cultural data set collected with the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS). We found that value score standardization had some effect on the correlations of acquiescence with various value types, but only limited effects on social desirability. We conclude that affluence affects the relationship of response styles and value scores. Implications for the interpretation of cross-cultural differences in response styles and value surveys are discussed

Concept and method in cross-cultural and cultural psychology:Conceptual and methodological issues in cross-cultural and cultural psychology

An overview is given of cross-cultural psychology and cultural psychology, focusing on theory and methodology. In Section 1 historical developments in research are traced; it is found that initially extensive psychological differences tend to shrink when more carefully designed studies are conducted. Section 2 addresses the conceptualization of “culture” and of “a culture”. For psychological research the notion “culture” is considered too vague; more focal explanatory concepts are required. Section 3 describes methodological issues, taking the notion of the empirical cycle as a lead for both qualitative and quantitative research. Pitfalls in research design and data analysis of behavior-comparative studies, and the need for replication are discussed. Section 4 suggests to move beyond research on causal relationships and to incorporate additional questions, addressing the function and the development of behavior patterns in ontogenetic, phylogenetic and historical time. Section 5 emphasizes the need for applied research serving the global village