Recent Journal Articles

It is frequently necessary to assess children with little or no schooling to determine their level of cognitive functioning, especially in developing countries. It is not possible, however, to assume that assessments will hold equal validity for children with and without the experience of schooling. The authors, therefore, set out to create a battery of tests suitable for both schooled and unschooled children. They assessed 973 schooled and 645 unschooled children in rural coastal Kenya using culturally adapted cognitive tests. Significant effects of age and schooling were found on all tests. On some tests (verbal knowledge, speeded figure matching, and pattern copying), unschooled children did not improve as much with age as schooled children. The effects of length of exposure to schooling and of age were greater than that of initial enrollment in school. The authors conclude that it is possible to assess unschooled children, but test batteries must be carefully constructed and standardized.

The Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) is a measure of two potentially beneficial (affiliative and self-enhancing) and two potentially detrimental (self-defeating and aggressive) humor styles. Validation of the Arabic translation of the HSQ in the Lebanese culture, in which the self is construed as interdependent and in-group relatedness is seen as the primary determinant of well-being, indicates that four humor styles exist in the Lebanese context but that aggressive humor is less clearly distinct in this case, that self-defeating humor may be less clearly maladaptive for the interdependent self of the Lebanese, and that the four humor styles are not as strong predictors of psychological and social well-being in the Lebanese context as they are in the West. The findings suggest conceptual rethinking of humor styles in cultural contexts in which the self is construed as interdependent.

This article outlines an exploratory comparative study of the vocal expression of emotions in Chinese versus Italian cultures. Given a strong relationship between voice and emotion, it is of special interest to analyze whether and how this connection may covariate with cultural influences in shaping emotions. Forty-eight undergraduates (29 Chinese and 19 Italian) are asked to read aloud short stories inducing different emotions (joy, sadness, anger, fear, contempt, pride, guilt, and shame) within a scenario approach. Subsequently, acoustic (sonographic) analysis is carried out on the recorded readings. On the one hand, the results confirm that different emotions may be expressed via variations in the modulation of vocal cues, in both cultures; on the other hand, differences in the specific patterns of vocal cues in expressing emotions are identified between Chinese and Italian participants. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

The authors examine the dependence of organizational commitment on satisfaction with job characteristics that are valued differently in 29 nations. Evidence is found for the moderating effects of national culture. Satisfaction with job characteristics that are highly valued in individualistic cultures has an increasingly strong effect on commitment as national individualism increases, while satisfaction with collectivist job characteristics has an increasingly weaker effect. Similarly, satisfaction with job characteristics that are highly valued in masculine cultures has an increasingly strong effect on commitment as national masculinity increases, while satisfaction with feminine job characteristics has an increasingly weaker effect. These findings show that the sources of organizational commitment are culturally conditioned and that their effects are predictable from Hofstede's value dimensions. The authors discuss the practical implications of these findings and suggest that cultural differences in the psychological contract may also affect the relationships between job satisfaction and commitment.

Prior cross-cultural studies indicate that the self-serving attributional bias is more prevalent in Western cultures than in Eastern cultures. There is, however, a dearth of research looking into cross-cultural differences in attributional patterns that is based on publicly available archival data. This study tries to fill that lacuna. It reports the results based on a content analysis of corporate annual reports from U.S. and Japanese companies. The results reported in this study demonstrate that cross-cultural differences found in experimental settings are not necessarily observed in naturalistic settings. Specifically, this study reveals that both U.S. as well as Japanese companies explain company results in a self-serving fashion. Overall, the results support the notion that the nature of the relationship affects the extent to which cross-cultural differences in attributional patterns emerge.

Personality differences between Asian American (N = 320) and European American men (N = 242) and also among Asian American ethnic groups (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and mixed Asian) are examined on the Big Five personality dimension. Personality structures for Asian Americans and European Americans closely replicate established norms. However, congruence is greater for European American and highly acculturated Asian American men than for low acculturated Asian American men. Similar patterns are found for the construct loss of face (LOF). Asian American men with a high concern for LOF are less similar in their personality structure to European American men than Asian American men with low LOF concern. Mean differences are also found among Asian American and European American men, who differ significantly on Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Neuroticism. Results indicate that acculturation and LOF are significantly associated with these four personality dimensions for both Asian American and European American men.

This study examines the cultural and socioeconomic differences in the regulation strategies of Euro-American and Turkish mothers. Participants are interviewed about how they would manage their children's problem behaviors under hypothetical scenarios. American mothers are found to rely more extensively on appeals to their own authority and on rules, whereas Turkish mothers employ appeals to consequences and other-oriented strategies to a greater degree. Higher socioeconomic status (SES) mothers use strategies that emphasize decision-making capacities more frequently.

It is frequently necessary to assess children with little or no schooling to determine their level of cognitive functioning, especially in developing countries. It is not possible, however, to assume that assessments will hold equal validity for children with and without the experience of schooling. The authors, therefore, set out to create a battery of tests suitable for both schooled and unschooled children. They assessed 973 schooled and 645 unschooled children in rural coastal Kenya using culturally adapted cognitive tests. Significant effects of age and schooling were found on all tests. On some tests (verbal knowledge, speeded figure matching, and pattern copying), unschooled children did not improve as much with age as schooled children. The effects of length of exposure to schooling and of age were greater than that of initial enrollment in school. The authors conclude that it is possible to assess unschooled children, but test batteries must be carefully constructed and standardized.

The Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) is a measure of two potentially beneficial (affiliative and self-enhancing) and two potentially detrimental (self-defeating and aggressive) humor styles. Validation of the Arabic translation of the HSQ in the Lebanese culture, in which the self is construed as interdependent and in-group relatedness is seen as the primary determinant of well-being, indicates that four humor styles exist in the Lebanese context but that aggressive humor is less clearly distinct in this case, that self-defeating humor may be less clearly maladaptive for the interdependent self of the Lebanese, and that the four humor styles are not as strong predictors of psychological and social well-being in the Lebanese context as they are in the West. The findings suggest conceptual rethinking of humor styles in cultural contexts in which the self is construed as interdependent.

This article outlines an exploratory comparative study of the vocal expression of emotions in Chinese versus Italian cultures. Given a strong relationship between voice and emotion, it is of special interest to analyze whether and how this connection may covariate with cultural influences in shaping emotions. Forty-eight undergraduates (29 Chinese and 19 Italian) are asked to read aloud short stories inducing different emotions (joy, sadness, anger, fear, contempt, pride, guilt, and shame) within a scenario approach. Subsequently, acoustic (sonographic) analysis is carried out on the recorded readings. On the one hand, the results confirm that different emotions may be expressed via variations in the modulation of vocal cues, in both cultures; on the other hand, differences in the specific patterns of vocal cues in expressing emotions are identified between Chinese and Italian participants. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

The authors examine the dependence of organizational commitment on satisfaction with job characteristics that are valued differently in 29 nations. Evidence is found for the moderating effects of national culture. Satisfaction with job characteristics that are highly valued in individualistic cultures has an increasingly strong effect on commitment as national individualism increases, while satisfaction with collectivist job characteristics has an increasingly weaker effect. Similarly, satisfaction with job characteristics that are highly valued in masculine cultures has an increasingly strong effect on commitment as national masculinity increases, while satisfaction with feminine job characteristics has an increasingly weaker effect. These findings show that the sources of organizational commitment are culturally conditioned and that their effects are predictable from Hofstede's value dimensions. The authors discuss the practical implications of these findings and suggest that cultural differences in the psychological contract may also affect the relationships between job satisfaction and commitment.

Prior cross-cultural studies indicate that the self-serving attributional bias is more prevalent in Western cultures than in Eastern cultures. There is, however, a dearth of research looking into cross-cultural differences in attributional patterns that is based on publicly available archival data. This study tries to fill that lacuna. It reports the results based on a content analysis of corporate annual reports from U.S. and Japanese companies. The results reported in this study demonstrate that cross-cultural differences found in experimental settings are not necessarily observed in naturalistic settings. Specifically, this study reveals that both U.S. as well as Japanese companies explain company results in a self-serving fashion. Overall, the results support the notion that the nature of the relationship affects the extent to which cross-cultural differences in attributional patterns emerge.

Personality differences between Asian American (N = 320) and European American men (N = 242) and also among Asian American ethnic groups (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and mixed Asian) are examined on the Big Five personality dimension. Personality structures for Asian Americans and European Americans closely replicate established norms. However, congruence is greater for European American and highly acculturated Asian American men than for low acculturated Asian American men. Similar patterns are found for the construct loss of face (LOF). Asian American men with a high concern for LOF are less similar in their personality structure to European American men than Asian American men with low LOF concern. Mean differences are also found among Asian American and European American men, who differ significantly on Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Neuroticism. Results indicate that acculturation and LOF are significantly associated with these four personality dimensions for both Asian American and European American men.

This study examines the cultural and socioeconomic differences in the regulation strategies of Euro-American and Turkish mothers. Participants are interviewed about how they would manage their children's problem behaviors under hypothetical scenarios. American mothers are found to rely more extensively on appeals to their own authority and on rules, whereas Turkish mothers employ appeals to consequences and other-oriented strategies to a greater degree. Higher socioeconomic status (SES) mothers use strategies that emphasize decision-making capacities more frequently.