A cross-cultural study of perceptual predominance in binocular rivalry.

Pairs of similar scenes, one Mexican and one from the United States, were presented stereoscopically to 12 Mexican Ss and 12 matched Ss from the United States. "Under these conditions of experimentally induced binocular rivalry,… scenes from the S's own culture tended to be perceptually predominant." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-cultural survey of some sex differences in socialization.

"A survey of certain aspects of socialization in 110 cultures shows that differentiation of the sexes is unimportant in infancy, but that in childhood there is, as in our society, a widespread pattern of greater pressure toward nurturance, obedience, and responsibility in girls, and toward self-reliance and achievement striving in boys. There are a few reversals of sex difference, and many instances of no detectable sex difference; these facts tend to confirm the cultural rather than directly biological nature of the differences. Cultures vary in the degree to which these differentiations are made; correlational analysis suggests some of the social conditions influencing these variations, and helps in understanding why our society has relatively small sex differentiation." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-cultural investigation of the relationship between ethnic prejudice, authoritarian ideology, and personality.

The studies done re the validation of the relationship between prejudice and authoritarianism on American Ss confounded ethnic prejudice and political attitude by the nature of the sample. An effort was made to investigate ethnic prejudice (as measured by the F Scale) independent of political (radical-conservatism) commitment by using Ss (Israeli students) demonstrating differential attitudes towards Arabs, but unanimity of feeling against Jewish immigrants from North Africa. The results provided a cross-cultural validation of the relationship between prejudice and authoritarianism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of musical preferences: A five-factor model.

Music is a cross-cultural universal, a ubiquitous activity found in every known human culture. Individuals demonstrate manifestly different preferences in music, and yet relatively little is known about the underlying structure of those preferences. Here, we introduce a model of musical preferences based on listeners' affective reactions to excerpts of music from a wide variety of musical genres. The findings from 3 independent studies converged to suggest that there exists a latent 5-factor structure underlying music preferences that is genre free and reflects primarily emotional/affective responses to music. We have interpreted and labeled these factors as (a) a Mellow factor comprising smooth and relaxing styles; (b) an Unpretentious factor comprising a variety of different styles of sincere and rootsy music such as is often found in country and singer–songwriter genres; (c) a Sophisticated factor that includes classical, operatic, world, and jazz; (d) an Intense factor defined by loud, forceful, and energetic music; and (e) a Contemporary factor defined largely by rhythmic and percussive music, such as is found in rap, funk, and acid jazz. The findings from a fourth study suggest that preferences for the MUSIC factors are affected by both the social and the auditory characteristics of the music. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shifting perceptions: Developmental changes in judgments of melodic similarity.

Musical melodies are recognized on the basis of pitch and temporal relations between consecutive tones. Although some previous evidence (e.g., Saffran & Griepentrog, 2001) points to an absolute-to-relative developmental shift in listeners' perception of pitch, other evidence (e.g., Plantinga & Trainor, 2005; Schellenberg & Trehub, 2003) suggests that both absolute- and relative-pitch processing are evident among listeners of all ages (infants, children, and adults). We attempted to resolve this apparent discrepancy by testing adults as well as children 5–12 years of age. On each trial, listeners rated how similar or how different 2 melodies sounded. The melodies were identical, transposed (all tones shifted in pitch by the same amount), different (same tones reordered, changing pitch relations between successive tones), or transposed and different. Listeners of all ages were sensitive to both changes, but younger listeners attended selectively to transpositions as a source of perceived differences. With increasing age, melodic differences played an increasingly important role, whereas transpositions became less relevant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A dynamic process model of forgiveness: A cross-cultural perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss cultural similarities and differences in the processes of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a complex construct without a consensual definition. Generally speaking, forgiveness is the process that involves a change in cognitions, emotions, motivations, and behaviors regarding the transgressor (R. D. Enright & R. P. Fitzgibbons, 2000). Scientific interest in forgiveness has rapidly increased in the recent years, but whether the conceptualizations and underling mechanisms of forgiveness are similar across cultures still remain unclear. A dynamic process model of forgiveness is proposed in this paper, which includes the sociocultural, cognitive, emotional, motivational, and behavioral aspects of forgiveness processes. Particular processes that are likely to differ across Eastern–Western cultures are identified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Feature modulation search: A novel memory search model that extends the perceptual interference effect to musical stimuli.

Although most research in the perceptual interference literature has used visual stimuli, recent experiments have replicated this effect using musical stimuli. Two experiments investigated whether musical and visual demonstrations of the effect are produced by a common mechanism by examining whether the provision of incorrect cues would impair melodic object identification in the perceptual interference paradigm. Whereas incorrect cues typically do not affect visual object identification, they reduced melody identification both when the subjects generated the cues and when the experimenter provided them. A novel model (feature modulation search) is presented to account for perceptual interference in musical stimuli. The model has potential applications for the larger perceptual interference literature and for related phenomena in which target-related information impairs cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-cultural analysis of the CPI Femininity scale.

The goal of the Femininity scale (Fe) of the CPI is to define a dimension of measurement which is functionally effective, conceptually clear, and cross-culturally valid. Validational evidence from U.S. work is encouraging, and information on the scale's utility in investigations of such matters as identification, sex-typing, etc., is accumulating. Inquiry into cross-cultural validity would appear to be warranted, and in fact indicated by the folk-concept theoretical basis of the inventory. 1388 males and 845 females in 4 countries (France, Italy, Turkey, and Venezuela) were tested; in each comparison the scale gave rise to significant differentiations between males and females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of Handedness in Modern Japanese: A Cohort Effect Shown by Re-administration of the H. N. Handedness Inventory After 20 Years.

The H. N. Handedness Inventory, originally administered to a sample of 1199 Japanese students in 1973, was administered to a new sample of 1700 Japanese students 20 years later. It was found that the population of left-handed and ambidextrous females had increased. The incidence of inverted left-hand writers was very small. Comparison of the two sets of data demonstrates the effects of non-biological factors upon lateral preference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross-cultural analysis of the demand-withdraw marital interaction: Observing couples from a developing country.

The authors used cross-cultural methodology to examine the demand-withdraw pattern of marital communication. In Western countries, women usually make more demands, whereas men are more likely to withdraw. But the recently advanced marital structure hypothesis suggests that this pattern can be altered by gender roles and beliefs, particularly in traditional marriages. To test such hypotheses, the authors conducted an observational study of marital communication across very different cultures, with varying levels of patriarchy (i.e., 50 White American couples, 52 Pakistani couples in Pakistan, and 48 immigrant Pakistani couples in America). Across cultures, demand-withdraw communication was related to marital distress, extending previous findings to new groups. However, the findings challenge the notion that demanding and withdrawing behaviors are inherently male or female; rather, the results point to the relevance of contextual factors, specifically gender power differences and acculturation, in understanding the demand-withdraw marital interaction pattern. Therapists working with foreign or immigrant couples must consider the cross-cultural generalizability of existing theories of marital communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Development of Color Categories in Two Languages: A Longitudinal Study.

This study unites investigations into the linguistic relativity of color categories with research on children's category acquisition. Naming, comprehension, and memory for colors were tracked in 2 populations over a 3-year period. Children from a seminomadic equatorial African culture, whose language contains 5 color terms, were compared with a group of English children. Despite differences in visual environment, language, and education, they showed similar patterns of term acquisition. Both groups acquired color vocabulary slowly and with great individual variation. Those knowing no color terms made recognition errors based on perceptual distance, and the influence of naming on memory increased with age. An initial perceptually driven color continuum appears to be progressively organized into sets appropriate to each culture and language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of the MMPI for cross-cultural personality study: A preliminary report on the German translation.

Structured personality tests have seldom been used in intercultural comparisons, but present certain advantages over other techniques. The first study using a German translation of the MMPI has been reported. German men and women attending a summer course at the University of Marburg in 1948 showed profiles significantly higher on most scales than American students. Since there is a mixture of factors which might have effects, interpretation of the results is not clear, but the method seems to merit serious attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is There a Universal Positivity Bias in Attributions? A Meta-Analytic Review of Individual, Developmental, and Cultural Differences in the Self-Serving Attributional Bias.

Researchers have suggested the presence of a self-serving attributional bias, with people making more internal, stable, and global attributions for positive events than for negative events. This study examined the magnitude, ubiquity, and adaptiveness of this bias. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 266 studies, yielding 503 independent effect sizes. The average d was 0.96, indicating a large bias. The bias was present in nearly all samples. There were significant age differences, with children and older adults displaying the largest biases. Asian samples displayed significantly smaller biases (d = 0.30) than U.S. (d = 1.05) or Western (d = 0.70) samples. Psychopathology was associated with a significantly attenuated bias (d = 0.48) compared with samples without psychopathology (d = 1.28) and community samples (d = 1.08). The bias was smallest for samples with depression (0.21), anxiety (0.46), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (0.55). Findings confirm that the self-serving attributional bias is pervasive in the general population but demonstrates significant variability across age, culture, and psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attending holistically versus analytically: Comparing the context sensitivity of Japanese and Americans.

Much research indicates that East Asians, more than Americans, explain events with reference to the context. The authors examined whether East Asians also attend to the context more than Americans do. In Study 1, Japanese and Americans watched animated vignettes of underwater scenes and reported the contents. In a subsequent recognition test, they were shown previously seen objects as well as new objects, either in their original setting or in novel settings, and then were asked to judge whether they had seen the objects. Study 2 replicated the recognition task using photographs of wildlife. The results showed that the Japanese (a) made more statements about contextual information and relationships than Americans did and (b) recognized previously seen objects more accurately when they saw them in their original settings rather than in the novel settings, whereas this manipulation had relatively little effect on Americans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing speed in the 1st year of life: A longitudinal study of preterm and full-term infants.

Processing speed was assessed at 5, 7, and 12 months in full-term and preterm infants (birthweight     

Culture, gender, and the self: Variations and impact of social comparison processes.

Psychological differences between women and men, far from being invariant as a biological explanation would suggest, fluctuate in magnitude across cultures. Moreover, contrary to the implications of some theoretical perspectives, gender differences in personality, values, and emotions are not smaller, but larger, in American and European cultures, in which greater progress has been made toward gender equality. This research on gender differences in self-construals involving 950 participants from 5 nations/cultures (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, and Malaysia) illustrates how variations in social comparison processes across cultures can explain why gender differences are stronger in Western cultures. Gender differences in the self are a product of self-stereotyping, which occurs when between-gender social comparisons are made. These social comparisons are more likely, and exert a greater impact, in Western nations. Both correlational and experimental evidence supports this explanation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of categorical color perception: A perceptual learning approach to the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

Color perception can be categorical: Between-category discriminations are more accurate than equivalent within-category discrimination. The effects could be inherited, learned, or both. The authors provide evidence that supports the possibility of learned categorical perception (CP). Experiment 1 demonstrated that observers' color discrimination is flexible and improves through repeated practice. Experiment 2 demonstrated that category learning simulates effects of "natural" color categories on color discrimination. Experiment 3 investigated the time course of acquired CP. Experiment 4 found that CP effects are acquired through hue- and lightness-based category learning and obtained interesting data on the dimensional perception of color. The data are consistent with the possibility that language may shape color perception and suggest a plausible mechanism for the linguistic relativity hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective dimensions of odor perception: A comparison between Swiss, British, and Singaporean populations.

Do affective responses to odors vary as a function of culture? To address this question, we developed two self-report scales in the United Kingdom (Liverpool: LEOS) and in Singapore (city of Singapore: SEOS), following the same procedure as used in the past to develop the Geneva Emotion and Odor Scale (GEOS: Chrea, Grandjean, Delplanque et al., 2009). The final scales were obtained by a three-step reduction of an initial pool of 480 affective terms, retaining only the most relevant terms to describe odor-related subjective affective states and comprised of six (GEOS) or seven affective dimensions (LEOS and SEOS). These included dimensions that were common to the three cultures (Disgust, Happiness Well-being, Sensuality Desire, and Energy), common to the two European samples (Soothing Peacefulness), and dimensions that were culture specific (Sensory Pleasure in Geneva; Nostalgia and Hunger Thirst in Liverpool; Intellectual Stimulation, Spirituality, and Negative Feelings in Singapore). A comparative approach showed that the dimensional organization of odor-related affective terms in a given culture better explained data variability for that culture than data variability for the other cultures, thus highlighting the importance of culture-specific tools in the investigation of odor-related affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is the genetic structure of human personality universal? A cross-cultural twin study from North America, Europe, and Asia.

This study examined whether universality of the 5-factor model (FFM) of personality operationalized by the Revised NEO Personality Inventory is due to genetic influences that are invariant across diverse nations. Factor analyses were conducted on matrices of phenotypic, genetic, and environmental correlations estimated in a sample of 1,209 monozygotic and 701 dizygotic twin pairs from Canada, Germany, and Japan. Five genetic and environmental factors were extracted for each sample. High congruence coefficients were observed when phenotypic, genetic, and environmental factors were compared in each sample as well as when each factor was compared across samples. These results suggest that the FFM has a solid biological basis and may represent a common heritage of the human species. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Synesthesia: A new approach to understanding the development of perception.

In this article, the authors introduce a new theoretical framework for understanding intersensory development. Their approach is based upon insights gained from adults who experience synesthesia, in whom sensory stimuli induce extra cross-modal or intramodal percepts. Synesthesia appears to represent one way that typical developmental mechanisms can play out by magnifying connections present in early life that are pruned and/or inhibited during development but persist in muted form in all adults. As such, the study of synesthesia provides valuable insights into the nature of intersensory development. The authors review evidence on the perceptual reality and neural basis of synesthesia, then summarize developmental models and evidence that its underlying mechanisms are universal in adults. They illustrate how evidence for consistent sensory associations in adults leads to predictions about toddlers' perception and present 3 bodies of work that have confirmed those hypotheses. They end by describing novel hypotheses about intersensory development that arise from this framework. Such intersensory associations appear to reflect intrinsic sensory cortical organization that influences the development of perception and of language and that may constrain the learning of environmentally based associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)