Recent Development of Cognitive and Neuropsychological Assessment in Asian Countries.

There is a growing trend of research in neuropsychological assessment in Asia: The mean number of published studies increased from 1.8 in the 1980s to 16.0 in 2 recent years. About 40% of the studies reviewed concerned test development or adaptation, with the latter greatly outnumbering the former. To facilitate the test selection for clinical use, 36 clinical measures were evaluated based on some statistical criteria. The results showed that only 8 neuropsychological tests (5 Chinese. 2 Korean, and 1 Japanese) met the criteria. Given that Asian and Western populations differ on certain cognitive processes, future development of neuropsychological assessment measures in Asia should move from the adaptation of Western tests toward the construction of original tests with better ecological validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping With Stereotype Threat: Denial as an Impression Management Strategy.

Four experiments tested the hypothesis that people who are concerned with impression management cope with stereotype threat through denial. Consistent with this hypothesis, temporary employees threatened by a stereotype of incompetence (Study 1) and hostel-dwelling older adults (Study 2) were more likely to deny incompetence if they were high in impression management. African Americans (Study 3) showed a similar pattern of denying cognitive incompetence, which emerged primarily when they were interviewed by a White experimenter and had attended a predominantly Black high school. In Study 4, White students who expected to take an IQ test and were threatened by a stereotype of being less intelligent than Asians were more likely to deny that intelligence is important if they were high in impression management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal investigation of anxiety sensitivity in adolescence.

This investigation sought to expand existing knowledge of anxiety sensitivity in a sample of high school students (N = 2,365) assessed over 4 years. The stability of anxiety sensitivity levels across assessment periods was examined, and cluster analyses were used to identify different developmental pathways in levels of anxiety sensitivity. Groups of adolescents with stable low, stable high, and escalating anxiety sensitivity levels were identified. Adolescents with stable high or escalating anxiety sensitivity were significantly more likely to report experiencing a panic attack than individuals with stable low anxiety sensitivity. Results also indicated that Asian and Hispanic adolescents tended to report higher anxiety sensitivity but that their anxiety sensitivity was less strongly associated with panic than that of Caucasian adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Landscape, race and memory: biographical mapping of the routes of British Asian landscape values

In this paper the migration routes of British Asian women living in London are examined. It is shown that British Asians connect with a myriad of landscapes abroad, including East Africa, India and Pakistan. These connections to past landscapes are mapped and considered here as valued environments of British Asian women in Britain. Through the mapping of their biographies, it is apparent that memories of other landscapes are embedded in environmental practices in Britain, therefore contributing to making the landscape in Britain inclusive and meaningful in the context of the South Asian migration. The maps of migration show the heterogeneity of landscapes experienced by the British Asian women. Memories of other lands manifest themselves in the UK. The effect of these memories on the South Asian home itself in the process of shaping diasporic geographies of belonging and being within the UK is illustrated.     

Are positive emotions just as “positive” across cultures?

Whereas positive emotions and feeling unequivocally good may be at the heart of well-being among Westerners, positive emotions often carry negative associations within many Asian cultures. Based on a review of East-West cultural differences in dialectical emotions, or co-occurring positive and negative feelings, we predicted culture to influence the association between positive emotions and depression, but not the association between negative emotions and depression. As predicted, in a survey of over 600 European-, immigrant Asian-, and Asian American college students, positive emotions were associated with depression symptoms among European Americans and Asian Americans, but not immigrant Asians. Negative emotions were associated with depression symptoms among all three groups. We also found initial evidence that acculturation (i.e., nativity) may influence the role of positive emotions in depression: Asian Americans fell “in between” the two other groups. These findings suggest the importance of studying the role of culture in positive emotions and in positive psychology. The use of interventions based on promoting positive emotions in clinical psychology among Asian clients is briefly discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conversing across cultures: East-West communication styles in work and nonwork contexts.

Four experiments provided evidence that East-West differences in attention to indirect meaning are more pronounced in work settings compared with nonwork settings as suggested by prior research on Protestant relational ideology. Study 1 compared errors in interpreting indirect messages in work and nonwork contexts across three cultures. Studies 2 and 3 examined differences in self-reported indirectness with coworkers versus nonwork acquaintances across three cultures controlling for variation in individualism- collectivism. Study 4 examined self-reported indirectness in bicultural managers, and experimentally manipulated the salience of Western versus Eastern culture. The results showed that Americans, but not East Asians, were less attentive to indirect cues in work than nonwork settings and that East-West differences in indirectness were greater in work than nonwork settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the MMPI-2 With Asian Populations.

Psychological tests developed in the United States are being widely adapted into other languages and cultures around the world. This article examines the generalizability and utility of personality assessment instruments across cultures and addresses methodological issues related to using personality questionnaires in countries different from the one in which they were developed. This article specifically highlights the application of objective psychological tests in Asia with special emphasis on the most widely used and internationally adapted personality instrument, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Effective strategies for translating, adapting, and standardizing questionnaires in languages and cultures different from their country of origin are reviewed. The history of several successful adaptations of the original MMPI and MMPI-2 is surveyed to illustrate the extensive research base for the test in Asia. Current research is summarized, and recommendations for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture and Social Support: Who Seeks It and Why?

Are Asians and Asian Americans more or less likely to seek social support for dealing with stress than European Americans? On the one hand, the collectivist orientation of Asian countries might favor the sharing of stressful problems; on the other hand, efforts to maintain group harmony might discourage such efforts. In 2 studies, Koreans (Study 1) and Asians and Asian Americans in the United States (Study 2) reported using social support less for coping with stress than European Americans. Study 3 examined potential explanations for these effects and revealed that relationship concerns accounted for the cultural differences in use of support seeking. Discussion centers on the potential benefits and liabilities of seeking social support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Abilities and Achievements of Orientals in North America.

Reviews the book The Abilities and Achievements of Orientals in North America (1982) by Philip E. Vernon. The main purpose of this book (as the title suggests) is to bring together in one place all the relevant psychological research concerning the abilities and achievements of Orientals (mainly Chinese and Japanese) in Canada and the United States. At times, reference is also made to other peoples of (part) oriental descent, including Hawaiians, Thais, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Innuit, and Amerindians. And implicit in this overview there are also comparisons with Americans of African and European background. This compilation is a major achievement and is a credit to the passion for work which Vernon continues to show. But such a book is an overwhelming one, and at times it does overwhelm the reader. Herein lies the major problem with the book: despite useful summaries at the end of some chapters, and despite the author's own warning that there will be an information overload, the reader is left without a "bottom line," without a synthesis after all the data and analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural variation in affect valuation.

The authors propose that how people want to feel ("ideal affect") differs from how they actually feel ("actual affect") and that cultural factors influence ideal more than actual affect. In 2 studies, controlling for actual affect, the authors found that European American (EA) and Asian American (AA) individuals value high-arousal positive affect (e.g., excitement) more than do Hong Kong Chinese (CH). On the other hand, CH and AA individuals value low-arousal positive affect (e.g., calm) more than do EA individuals. For all groups, the discrepancy between ideal and actual affect correlates with depression. These findings illustrate the distinctiveness of ideal and actual affect, show that culture influences ideal affect more than actual affect, and indicate that both play a role in mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)