The effect of cross-cultural contact.

Tested the hypothesis that greater cross-cultural contact would result in greater generalized cross-cultural role-taking ability and more favorable attitudes toward ethnic groups in general. 11th graders in schools with a high proportion of New Canadians were compared with students in a matched group of schools having a relatively low proportion of New Canadians on tests devised to measure cross-cultural role-taking ability, tolerance for diversity in society, and on performance on the Prisoner's Dilemma game. A total of 1,323 Ss were tested. Both Canadian and New Canadian students in high density schools scored higher than comparable students in low density schools on the cross-cultural role-taking test. There was no support for the hypothesis from results of the Prisoner's Dilemma game. (French summary) (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mexican Americans' bilingual ability, counselor bilingualism cues, counselor ethnicity, and perceived counselor credibility.

In a completely crossed, factorial design, 186 Mexican American college students were exposed to a counselor introduction that identified her as either Mexican American or Canadian American, followed by an audiotape-recorded bogus counseling session in which the counselor either spoke English only or English combined with cues of Spanish-speaking ability. After listening to the tape-recorded counseling session, participants rated the counselor's credibility and cross-cultural competence. No effect was found on ratings for counselor language or counselor ethnicity. However, ratings of both counselor credibility and cross-cultural competence were found to be a function of participants' bilingual ability. Combined with evidence of a similar relationship between generation since immigration and ratings of the counselor, these findings suggest that, as Mexican Americans acculturate, their perceptions of counselor credibility and cross-cultural competence diminish. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of abstract behavior in a non-Western culture.

The question was raised whether tests of abstract ability were valid for cross-cultural comparisons. The first group of Ss consisted of 27 boys, about 15 years of age, from the Accra urban area, all of whom received the Goldstein-Scheerer Cube Test. The second group consisted of 317 boys who received the Raven Progressive Matrices Test on three successive weeks. The third group consisted of 32 boys who took the Kohs Block Design Test, administered and scored according to McConnell. The results showed that the cube Test performance is affected by environmental influences, and that the Progressive Matrices is susceptible to practice effects. Paradoxically the third group did about as well as McConnell's Ss on the Kohs Blocks who were shown to perform at a level comparable to Wechsler's standardization group. It was concluded that tests of abstract ability are no more "culture-free" than tests of intelligence. 30 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Normal intelligence with severe insulin-like growth factor I deficiency due to growth hormone receptor deficiency: a controlled study in a genetically homogeneous population

Superior school performance was reported for 52 Ecuadorian probands with severe deficiency of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) due to GH receptor deficiency (GHRD) resulting from homozygosity for the E180 splice mutation of the GHR. In contrast, subnormal intelligence was reported in a study of 18 genetically heterogeneous Israeli patients, attributed to frequent hypoglycemia or IGF-I dependence of brain development. This study is the first controlled evaluation of the intellectual ability of patients with GHRD. We compared the intelligence of 18 patients of school age (mean +/- SD age, 11.5 +/- 2.8 yr), 42 of their relatives (11.5 +/- 2.8 yr), and 28 community controls (10.0 +/- 0.8 yr), using a battery of intelligence tests that have been validated in cross-cultural research, designed to minimize the effects of physical size, motor coordination, and cultural background. Because all patients had the same GHR mutation, for which the carrier state could be determined, this study also investigated whether heterozygosity for mutation of the GHR among unaffected relatives is associated with intelligence. The intellectual ability of the patients with GHRD was not significantly different from that of their relatives (P > 0.05) on the psychometric tests of intelligence and was comparable to that of the community controls on the chronometric tests. Homozygosity or heterozygosity for the mutation in the GHR gene common to Ecuadorian patients was unrelated to intelligence (P > 0.05). These results indicate that the gene defect causing GHRD is not related to intelligence in the Ecuadorian population. They also indicate that GH-induced IGF-I production is not required for normal brain growth in utero or for postnatal intellectual development.     

The Effects of Personality and Acculturation on the Adjustment of North American Sojourners in Taiwan.

As more North Americans sojourn abroad in the emerging global marketplace, it is important to understand the factors related to successful cross-cultural adjustment. This study explores how personality factors and acculturation influence the cross-cultural adjustment process of North Americans sojourning in Taiwan. The results reveal that greater psychological adjustment to life in Taiwan was related to less neuroticism, greater agreeableness, greater conscientiousness, and being more acculturated to Taiwanese culture. More successful sociocultural adjustment was associated with being male, being more extraverted, and being more acculturated to Taiwanese culture. The results suggest the importance of distinguishing between psychological and sociocultural cross-cultural adjustment processes, as well as viewing acculturation as a multidimensional construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-cultural consensus in personality judgments.

Building on recent research demonstrating consensus and accuracy in interpersonal perception based on minimal information, the present studies examined American and Chinese participants' within- and cross-cultural judgments. In Study 1, the authors used the zero-acquaintance paradigm in the People's Republic of China and found consensus on all personality dimensions. In Study 2, Chinese and American participants judged each other on the basis of photographs, and consensus was found among Americans' judgments of Chinese and Chinese participants' judgments of Americans. Further, by correlating target effects based on within-culture zero-acquaintance judgments and cross-cultural photographic judgments, the authors found agreement in the judgments of individuals by members of their own culture and the other culture for both Chinese and Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lay theory of race affects and moderates Asian Americans' responses toward American culture.

People may hold different understandings of race that might affect how they respond to the culture of groups deemed to be racially distinct. The present research tests how this process is moderated by the minority individual's lay theory of race. An essentialist lay theory of race (i.e., that race reflects deep-seated, inalterable essence and is indicative of traits and ability) would orient racial minorities to rigidly adhere to their ethnic culture, whereas a social constructionist lay theory of race (i.e., that race is socially constructed, malleable, and arbitrary) would orient racial minorities to identify and cognitively assimilate toward the majority culture. To test these predictions, the authors conducted 4 studies with Asian American participants. The first 2 studies examine the effect of one's lay theory of race on perceived racial differences and identification with American culture. The last 2 studies tested the moderating effect of lay theory of race on identification and assimilation toward the majority American culture after this culture had been primed. The results generally supported the prediction that the social constructionist theory was associated with more perceived similarity between Asians and Americans and more consistent identification and assimilation toward American culture, compared with the essentialist theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of subjective culture in organizations: A review and directions for future research.

Reviews cross-cultural research on micro-organizational behavior conducted during the past decade and introduces a conceptual framework for classifying the studies. It is argued that much of the current research fails to specify "culture" adequately, and because the cultures studied are often "targets of opportunity," pancultural theories of organizational behavior have not emerged. Methodologically, although an improvement over the literature reviewed in K. H. Roberts (1970) is evident, there remains an inadequate concern for the culture-specific nature of behavior, for alternative hypotheses that might also explain findings, and for achieving proper equivalence in translation. It is proposed that future researchers examine more carefully their rationale for doing cross-cultural research, commit themselves to theory, adopt a more rigorous concern for suitable methodologies, and form multicultural teams to achieve these ends. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Twelve Practical Suggestions for Achieving Multicultural Competence.

Multicultural competence can be defined as the ability to understand and constructively relate to the uniqueness of each client in light of the diverse cultures that influence each person's perspective. Because the complexity of culture is often overlooked, multicultural research often inadvertently strengthens the stereotypes that it is intended to thwart. To avoid stereotypic thinking, clinicians must critically evaluate cross-cultural research and be thoughtfully creative in applying it to clinical practice. Twelve suggestions are offered for the use of multicultural research as a source of questions that enhance respect for clients' cultural identities rather than as answers that foreclose it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture and basic psychological processes--Toward a system view of culture: Comment on Oyserman et al. (2002).

D. Oyserman, H. A. Coon, and M. Kemmelmeier (2002) (see record 2002-00183-001) provide a most comprehensive review of empirical studies that used attitudinal surveys to capture cultural variations in individualism and collectivism. In the present article, the author suggests that the cross-cultural validity of attitudinal surveys can no longer be taken for granted. Moreover, the meta-theory underlying this literature (called the entity view of culture) is called into question. The author presents an alterative meta-theory (called the system view of culture) and discusses its implications for future work in cultural and cross-cultural psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-cultural psychology as a scholarly discipline: On the flowering of culture in behavioral research.

A history of cross-cultural psychology shows it to be an increasingly important part of modern psychology. Despite widespread agreement that culture is an indispensable component in the understanding of human behavior, there are noteworthy conceptual differences regarding the ways in which culture and behavior interrelate. Perspectives include absolutism and relativism, each with methodological consequences for such contemporary research concerns as values (including individualism-collectivism), gender differences, cognition, aggression, intergroup relations, and psychological acculturation. Societal concerns relating to these topics are briefly described. When all of psychology finally takes into account the effects of culture on human behavior (and vice versa), terms like cross-cultural and cultural psychology will become unnecessary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The study of culture, ethnicity, and race in American psychology.

The study of culture and related concerns, such as ethnicity and race, in American psychology are examined. First, the conceptual confusion and ways in which culture, ethnicity, and race are used as explanatory factors for intergroup differences in psychological phenomena are discussed. Second, ways in which to study culture in mainstream psychology and to enhance hypothesis testing and theory in cross-cultural psychology are illustrated. Finally, the importance of examining sociocultural variables and considering theory in ethnic minority research is addressed. In general, it is proposed that by including theory, conceptualizing, and measuring cultural and related variables, mainstream, cross-cultural, and ethnic research can advance the understanding of culture in psychology as well as the generality of principles and the cultural sensitivity of applications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing Cross-Cultural Communication Skills

Engineers have traditionally focused on hard-skill knowledge acquisition, but the increasingly multicultural work practices of professional engineers now demand better soft-skill proficiency, such as foreign language ability, communication confidence, and cross-cultural experience. Students and staff within a university engineering department were surveyed to identify how cross-cultural language use potentially impacted academic and communication performance. The results indicate that engineering faculties may be concentrating on subject content at the expense of facilitating the development of soft skills. The findings suggest that students do experience problems with communication skills that may be exacerbated when studying in a second language. Lecturers need to become more energized to introduce innovative curriculum schemes, more proactive in developing challenging learning approaches, and more willing to integrate cross-cultural, language, and communication skills training into traditional engineering contexts. This case study has implications for any university engineering department where students are taught either partially or solely in a second language and where issues of communication and culture are recognized as impacting the professional development of engineers for the global workplace.     

Validating a cognitive ability testing protocol with Lao children for community development applications.

The emergence of the sociocultural perspective in cross-cultural psychology has discouraged the adaptation of standardized tests in nonindustrialized settings. Yet, cognitive assessments are needed for monitoring the effects of nutritional, health, and educational interventions. Forty-seven Lao children 5 to 12 years of age completed the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), the Tactual Performance Test (TPT), and the computerized Tests of Variables of Attention (TOVA). TPT performance measures were related to physical (nutritional) development, whereas the K-ABC global cognitive ability indicators were sensitive to parental education and quality of home environment. TOVA performance was related to K-ABC global performance and TPT memory, suggesting that these measures are at least partially undergirded by attentional ability. Sociocultural concerns aside, these findings suggest that validated neuropsychological and cognitive assessments can be adapted that effectively tap basic and universal brain-behavior traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal attributions, expectations, and task performance.

College students' performance on each of 2 chemistry tests (n?=?253 on the 1st test and 233 on the 2nd test) was classified as a success (or failure) if it met (or failed to meet) a minimum criterion of success that each S set prior to taking each test. Using a paired-comparison technique, Ss attributed their performance on each test to ability, effort, luck, and task difficulty. Among Ss who succeeded on the tests, expected and actual future performance were positively related to attributions to high ability and negatively related to attributions to good luck. Among Ss who experienced failure, expected performance was positively related to attributions to low effort and negatively related to attributions to low ability. Results of these analyses are related to D. T. Hall's (1976) model of psychological success. In addition, although expectations were strongly related to subsequent performance, the relationship was substantially weakened when prior performance and ability attributions were held constant. The implications of this finding for understanding expectancy perceptions are discussed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nonverbal expression of pride: Evidence for cross-cultural recognition.

The present research tests whether recognition for the nonverbal expression of pride generalizes across cultures. Study 1 provided the first evidence for cross-cultural recognition of pride, demonstrating that the expression generalizes across Italy and the United States. Study 2 found that the pride expression generalizes beyond Western cultures; individuals from a preliterate, highly isolated tribe in Burkina Faso, West Africa, reliably recognized pride, regardless of whether it was displayed by African or American targets. These Burkinabe participants were unlikely to have learned the pride expression through cross-cultural transmission, so their recognition suggests that pride may be a human universal. Studies 3 and 4 used drawn figures to systematically manipulate the ethnicity and gender of targets showing the expression, and demonstrated that pride recognition generalizes across male and female targets of African, Asian, and Caucasian descent. Discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for the universality of the pride expression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educational uses of tests with disadvantaged students.

Presents a report, written in response to a manifesto by the Black Psychological Association asking for a moratorium on the use of psychological tests with students from disadvantaged backgrounds, which attempts to clarify the nature of psychometric tests, their uses, and their abuses, and propose some alternatives for standardized assessments. Possible causes for Blacks' lower performances on verbal and nonverbal intelligence tests are considered in relation to social attitudes. It is noted that test use makes no causal assumptions about the effects of heredity or environment. Other topics in the report include (a) a comprehensive definition of abilities, particularly general intelligence; (b) some common classes of misuse and misinterpretation; (c) an account of the kinds of statistical information needed to use a test effectively; and (d) a discussion of existing alternatives to ability tests. The need for more diagnostic and mastery tests, tests which measure important qualities other than intelligence, more regression comparisons and normative data, and more adequate studies of moderator variables is examined. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive coaching in a cross-cultural context.

Many executive coaches today find themselves working with leaders from a variety of cultural backgrounds, as well as coaching leaders who work with culturally diverse teams. It is therefore increasingly important that coaches understand the role of culture in their work. This article begins with an overview of several ways that culture plays a role in coaching, including an exploration of how assumptions about culture can positively or negatively impact a coach's approach and their ultimate success with a given individual. A second section provides three general principles for coaching across cultures, emphasizing the importance of using cross-cultural knowledge as a way to customize coaching to each person. The third section focuses on five essential conditions for learning--insight, motivating, capabilities, real-world practice, and accountability--and how cultural differences can influence various steps in the coaching process. A variety of examples for each condition highlight specific tools and techniques that coaches can use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test of the cultural bias hypothesis: Some Israeli findings.

The major aim of this study was to examine the cross-cultural validity of the test bias contention, with particular concern for possible sociocultural group differences in the construct and predictive validity of college entrance scholastic aptitude tests in Israel. The analyses were based on the test scores of 1,538 Israeli college student candidates of varying ethnic group membership, applying for admission to a major Israeli campus. The psychometric properties of the test battery were compared by ethnic group via a variety of internal (factor structure, reliability, etc.) and external (predictive validity, homogeneity of regression, etc.) test bias criteria. On the whole, the data provided little evidence for differential construct or predictive validity of aptitude test scores as a function of ethnic group membership, thus lending a greater deal of generality to previous research on test bias, generally negating the cultural bias hypothesis. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)