Cross-Cultural Psychology

Unable to conform, unwilling to rebel? Youth, globalization and motivation in Japan', Frontiers in Cultural Psychology, 2 (Article 207)

by Tuukka Toivonen

Toivonen, Norasakkunkit & Uchida.

This paper investigates the effects of globalization on Japanese young adults from sociological and psychological... more This paper investigates the effects of globalization on Japanese young adults from sociological and psychological perspectives. While Japan’s socio-economic institutions have shown mainly resistant (or “hot”) reactions to globalization, individual-level adaptations remain oriented toward conformity to dominant life expectations, which remain largely unchanged, despite decreasing rewards. However, a socially withdrawn sub-group (the so-called hikikomori) appears to be unable to conform yet is also unwilling to rebel. The experimental evidence we review suggests such youth deviate from typical Japanese motivational patterns but have not necessarily become more Western. This poses serious problems in an interdependence-oriented culture, but the paralysis of this group seems to be an outcome of labor market change rather than a psychopathology. Finally, we also identify a contrasting group – whom we call the quiet mavericks – that adapts in creative and integrative (or “cool”) ways by negotiating conformist pressures tactfully. Our account sheds light on just how complex and painful the psychological and sociological effects of globalization can be for young people in conformist societies, with implications to policy and social sustainability.

Asylum_19.1Digital

by Anup Dhar

The effect of relational mobility on SNS user behavior : A study of Japanese dual-users of Mixi and Facebook

by Robert Thomson

The Journal of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies, 14 (2012): 3-22

Previous studies have shown clear cultural differences in how Japanese and American social network site (SNS) users... more Previous studies have shown clear cultural differences in how Japanese and American social network site (SNS) users interract with differing SNS platforms (see Barker and Ota, 2011; Fogg and Iizawa, 2008; Takahashi, 2010). In this study of 131 Japanese SNS users who use both Facebook and Mixi, self-disclosure, numbers of contacts, in-group numbers, and levels of perceived commitment on Mixi and Facebook were measured. The study found that such users showed a lower level of self disclosure, connected with fewer people and had fewer categories of contacts, and felt a higher degree of commitment on Mixi than on Facebook. It is suggested that these differences stem from differing responses to percieved relational mobility on each platform; Mixi being a socioecological environment which reflects low-relationally mobile Japanese society, and Facebook being a socioecological environment which reflects high relationally mobile North American social environments.

Enhancing Postsecondary Intergroup Relations at the University Through Student-Run ESL Instruction

by Lynne Ronesi

This case-study research examines the prosocial potential of a cooperative-learning, content-based English as a second... more This case-study research examines the prosocial potential of a cooperative-learning, content-based English as a second language program in which native-born and immigrant undergraduate pairs work to develop the immigrant students' academic English. Majority and immigrant student interpretations of their partnerships regarding status and stereotype confirmation/disconfirmation were investigated. Twelve informants comprised 6 pairs representing the program's 3 cooperative models. All 6 native-born informants were White women ages 18 to 26. Four male and 2 female participants, ages 20 to 36, were immigrants from Cambodia, Laos, Cape Verde, and Hong Kong. Data collection included interviews, document review, and observation during two semesters. The theoretical frameworks are cooperative learning, decategorization, and investment informed data analysis. This research found partners' personalized interaction instrumental in promoting status equalization and undermining category-based preconceptions. Interaction between the participants' activated identities and the contact's structural features influenced the development of stereotype-disconfirming and -confirming relationships.

Living at the Crossroads of Cultural Worlds: The Experience of Normative Conflicts by Second Generation Immigrant Youth

by Evelina Lou

Colic: A Culture-Bound Syndrome

by Bridget McGann

This paper discusses the evolutionary, physiological, and cultural dimensions of the long-evolved infant communication... more This paper discusses the evolutionary, physiological, and cultural dimensions of the long-evolved infant communication system, in particularly with regards to the tendency of Western infants towards excessive crying. Is there some kind of reason that millions of parents must lose so much sleep during their childbearing years? It draws on the work of Ronald Barr of the University of British Columbia, James McKenna of the University of Notre Dame, Sarah Hrdy of UC Davis and others to discuss how the development of the bipedal pelvis and the increasing size of the cranium resulted in a human infant that is uniquely vulnerable among mammals, and the adaptations that it developed in order to survive.  I explore the finely-tuned communication system wherein the infant regulates it's internal state by making noise (crying) to attract the attention of caregivers.  This particular adaptation has come into conflict with the Western lifestyle, manifesting itself as colic, which I believe to be not a pathological condition as it is considered by Western biomedicine, but a culture-bound system unique to that culture. Understanding infant behavior from an evolutionary perspective and applying more biologically appropriate caregiving strategies may be therapeutic for infants who are diagnosed with colic.  This research has implications in the field of Applied Anthropology, in the clinical practice of pediatricians and, possibly most importantly, aiding in the prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Strategising impression management in corporations: Cultural knowledge as capital

by Caroline Kamau

Kamau, C. (2010).

Impression management is a powerful psychological phenomenon with much unexplored potential in corporate settings.... more Impression management is a powerful psychological phenomenon with much unexplored potential in corporate settings. Employees or corporations can deploy impression management strategies in order to manipulate others’ perceptions of them. Cultural knowledge is powerful capital in impression management, yet this has not been sufficiently explored in previous literature. This chapter argues that impression-motivated employees or corporations need to perform a three-step knowledge audit: (i) knowing what their impression deficits are; (ii) knowing what impression management strategy is needed to address that deficit, based on the taxonomy of impression management strategies tabulated here; (iii) knowing what societal (e.g. collectivist culture or individualist culture) or organization-specific cultural adjustments are needed. A cultural knowledge base can thus be created through cross-cultural training of and knowledge transfer by expatriates. Multinational corporations can also benefit from utilising the knowledge presented in this chapter in their international public relations efforts.

Making the Decision to Move Out: Bicultural Young Adults and the Negotiation of Cultural Demands and Family Relationships

by Evelina Lou

The present study examined the impact of culture and family on the issue of moving out among bicultural young adults... more The present study examined the impact of culture and family on the issue of moving out among bicultural young adults with European, South Asian, and East Asian backgrounds (N = 299). Consistent with cross-cultural differences in autonomy ideals, South and East Asians were less motivated than Europeans to leave the family home. Cultural differences in moving out motivation were explained by East and South Asians having less parental approval for moving out before marriage and, additionally for South Asians, having a self-concept that is largely defined by the family (i.e., family allocentrism). Furthermore, the mediating effects of parental approval and family allocentrism were moderated by level of conflict within the family. Implications for understanding cultural demands and family relations with respect to the decision to move out are discussed.

Facial attractiveness and fertility in populations with low levels of modern birth control

by Antonio S. Silva

published in Evolution & Human Behavior, 2012

Evolutionary models of human mate choice generally assume that physical attractiveness has evolved through sexual... more Evolutionary models of human mate choice generally assume that physical attractiveness has evolved through sexual selection, i.e., it has been associated with higher mating opportunities and subsequent reproductive success across our evolutionary history. Here we investigate whether facial attractiveness is related to fertility in order to understand the extent to which selection can operate on attractive traits in modern populations. We used data from two populations where the prevalence of modern birth control methods is low and thus unlikely to disconnect mating opportunities from reproductive success: men and women from contemporary rural Senegal and men from the West Point Military Academy in the USA who graduated in 1950. We found that facial attractiveness negatively predicts age-specific reproduction in both sexes in Senegal and is independent from lifetime reproductive success in men from the USA. Overall, the results suggest that facial attractiveness is not under positive selection and raise questions about methodological approaches currently used to assess attractiveness.

Ancestor Worship in Japan: Dependence and the Resolution of Grief

by Dennis Klass

The perspective of host country nationals in socializing expatriates: The importance of foreign-local relations

by Geoffrey Leonardelli

Toh, S.M., DeNisi, A.S., & Leonardelli, G.J. (2012). The perspective of host country nationals in socializing expatriates: The importance of foreign-local relations. In C. Wanberg (Ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Socialization. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Failure to adapt is one of the most often cited reasons for the premature return of expatriate assignees. This chapter... more Failure to adapt is one of the most often cited reasons for the premature return of expatriate assignees. This chapter reviews and builds on research that suggests that the expatriate socialization process involves multiple stakeholders. We introduce new theory on the process of expatriate socialization by adopting the host country national’s perspective, and taking into consideration social cognitions and organizational practice as important interactive influences on host country coworkers’ decision to act as potentially important socializing agents for expatriate newcomers. We discuss the consequences for multiple stakeholders when the socializing potential of host country nationals is overlooked. Our research has significant implications for how organizations and expatriates should approach expatriate socialization, particularly that the host country nationals’ role in the process needs to be taken more seriously.

Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: an introduction to project GLOBE

by Paul Hanges

Culture specific and cross-culturally generalizable implicit leadership theories

by Paul Hanges

Contingency Planning and the Border Space

by Sergio Peña

Peña, S. (2007) Contingency planning and the border space. [Planificación para contingencias y el espacio fronterizo] Projections: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Student Journal of Planning, 6: 15-35

The following questions are the focus of this article: How have the U.S. and Mexico managed the risk of old and new... more The following questions are the focus of this article: How have the U.S. and Mexico managed the risk of old and new threats at the border? What is the process that contingency planning at the border has followed? What are the main challenges
that contingency planning faces at the border? It is argued that the U.S.-Mexico experience with crossborder planning best resembles an incremental approach to planning, where new institutions, in addition to the existing ones, emerge as a way to
respond and adapt to new circumstances, contexts, and societal values. Contingency planning is analyzed through a comparison of levels of analysis starting at highest level
of analysis, which is the global or transnational, then specifi c binational agreements, and, fi nally, national, state, and local efforts to implement crossborder contingency planning. It is concluded that the institutional framework is complex at border areas because borders add another layer of institutions (international), which makes the institutional design especially diffi cult and lengthy and raises transaction costs. Another conclusion is that risk management is more diffi cult when populations with different incomes, tastes, and preferences live side by side, as in the case of the U.S.- Mexico border. Therefore, defi ning and prioritizing risks and hazards around which plans can be developed is particularly diffi cult and complex. Finally, the border space and its resources need to be seen as a binational public good in which both countries
have a stake and, therefore, cooperation is seen as a necessary although not sufficient condition to successfully manage future natural and anthropogenic risks.

Aging and Wisdom: Culture Matters

by Igor Grossmann

Co-authored with Karasawa, M., Izumi, S., Na, J., Varnum, M. E. W., Kitayama, S., & Nisbett, R. E., published in 'Psychological Science', in press

Research indicates that cultures differ in the ways they approach social conflicts, with Japanese being more motivated... more Research indicates that cultures differ in the ways they approach social conflicts, with Japanese being more motivated to maintain interpersonal harmony and avoid conflicts than Americans. Such cultural differences have developmental consequences for reasoning about social conflict. We interviewed random samples of Americans from the Midwest in the U.S. and Japanese from the larger Tokyo area about the future developments of intergroup and interpersonal conflicts. Responses showed increased wisdom (e.g. recognition of multiple perspectives, compromise, and the limits of knowledge) with increasing age among Americans, but older age was not associated with wiser responses among Japanese. Younger and middle-aged Japanese showed greater use of wise reasoning strategies than younger and middle-aged Americans. This cultural difference was weaker for older participants for interpersonal conflicts and was actually reversed for intergroup conflicts. Implications of this research for the study of aging, cultural psychology, and wisdom are discussed.

Cross-National and Cross-Ethnic Differences in Attitudes: A Case of Luxembourg

by Miloš Kankaraš

Kankaraš, M. & Moors, G. (in press). Cross-National and Cross-Ethnic Differences in Political and Leisure Attitudes. A Case of Luxemburg. Cross-Cultural Research, Sage.

Minorities’ attitudes can be compared to attitudes of fellow citizen within the host country as well as to attitudes... more Minorities’ attitudes can be compared to attitudes of fellow citizen within the host country as well as to attitudes of the motherland. Given the heterogeneity of Luxembourg’s minority groups, this country is a relevant example case in which the comparison needs to involve answering a two-folded question. First we analyze the level of measurement equivalence, i.e. the extent to which different groups can be compared. Secondly, we examine whether ethnic-cultural groups within Luxembourg resemble citizens from their native country more than their country of residence. Using EVS-data from 2008 we demonstrate different types of outcomes. Results indicate that cultural background is more important than national context in the case of culturally more distant minorities to Luxembourg’s resident population, and that national setting is the prevailing factor when minorities are from neighboring countries. The effect of a common national setting is also important with regards to the issue of measurement equivalence, where it contributes to greater comparability of intra-national, cross-ethnic comparisons.

Existential Migration

by Greg Madison

published in Existential Analysis

A general paper outlining the major findings from a larger study into the experiences of voluntary migration - the... more A general paper outlining the major findings from a larger study into the experiences of voluntary migration - the stories of those people who chose to leave home to become foreigners in another culture. The paper looks at issues of home, homelessness, belonging, and the psychological effects of globalisation.

A Discussion on the Universality of Assimilation and Accommodation

by Amanda Studebaker

Family as Social Capital

by Amanda Studebaker

Cultural constraints on the emergence of women as leaders

by Geoffrey Leonardelli

Toh, S.M., & Leonardelli, G.J. (2012). Cultural constraints on the emergence of women as leaders. Journal of World Business.

Women, who have historically been less represented than men in leadership positions, emerge as leaders in some... more Women, who have historically been less represented than men in leadership positions, emerge as leaders in some societies more than others. Unlike previous cultural explanations for this effect (rooted in differences in values, practices, or gender roles), we argue that a culture’s tightness – its strength of norms and social sanctions – can provoke a resistance to change practices that historically placed men in leadership positions. Tighter cultures will yield fewer women represented among top leadership positions. Moreover, cultural tightness moderates the degree to which egalitarian practices – where individuals from both genders are treated equally – lead women to emerge as leaders. Specifically, differences in egalitarian practices are more likely to predict the emergence of women as leaders among tight rather than loose cultures because such practices are more strongly implemented in tight than weak cultures. Analysis of publicly available data reveals some preliminary support for predictions. This research concludes that loose cultures will be more receptive to changing existing cultural practices, but that tight cultures are more successful in implementing and sustaining such changes.