行为的文化差异:几头大象还是一群蚂蚁?

本文综述了关于行为与文化之间关系的研究.综述分为如下几个部分:第一部分介绍了跨文化/文化心理学自20世纪中叶创立以来,在人类行为的共同性、差异性以及心理功能在多大程度上存在文化特异性的问题上的持续争论.第二部分探讨文化差异的魅力,论证为什么迄今的研究往往偏向于寻找行为的差异而不是跨文化的不变性.第三部分简要概述跨文化比较研究中的文化偏误、缺乏等价性等问题及其对数据解释的影响.第四部分重点阐述本文题目中的主题,即跨文化差异的心理组织.这部分内容对目前文化心理学研究中存在的倾向,即从宽泛的维度或笼统的心理功能角度来组织和解释行为差异提出了挑战.第五部分则通过跨文化心理学的历史回顾,以几个重要的传统研究领域为代表来具体说明这种过度泛化的倾向及近期的研究发展,其中也包括了中国研究人员贡献越来越大的文化神经科学领域.最后对跨文化心理学的前景与展望进行了讨论.     

Bias and equivalence in cross-cultural assessment: an overview

In every cross-cultural study, the question as to whether test scores obtained in different cultural populations can be interpreted in the same way across these populations has to be dealt with. Bias and equivalence have become the common terms to refer to the issue. Taxonomy of both bias and equivalence is presented. Bias can be engendered by the theoretical construct (construct bias), the method such as the form of test administration (method bias), and the item content (item bias). Equivalence refers to the measurement level at which scores can be compared across cultures. Three levels of equivalence are possible: the same construct is measured in each cultural group but the functional form of the relationship between scores obtained in various groups is unknown (structural equivalence), scores have the same measurement unit across populations but have different origins (measurement unit equivalence), and scores have the same measurement unit and origin in all populations (full scale equivalence). The most frequently encountered sources of bias and their remedies are described.     

Factorial Structure of the Family Values Scale From a Multilevel-Multicultural Perspective

In cross-cultural research, there is a tendency for researchers to draw inferences at the country level based on individual-level data. Such action implicitly and often mistakenly assumes that both the measuring instrument and its underlying construct(s) are operating equivalently across both levels. Based on responses from 5,482 college students sampled from 27 countries, we took a structural equation modeling approach to addressing this issue of level equivalence. Purposes of the study were: (a) to validate the hypothesized two-factor structure of the Family Values Scale (FV Scale; Georgas, 1999) within a multilevel framework that took individual- and country-level information into account; (b) to test equivalence of the FV Scale across individual and country levels; and (c) to evaluate relations between the FV Scale and three possibly important covariates—gender at the individual level, and affluence and religion at the country level. Implications of findings and importance of multilevel equivalence in cross-cultural research are discussed.     

AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF MEASUREMENT EQUIVALENCE WITH THE INDCOL MEASURE OF INDIVIDUALISM AND COLLECTIVISM: IMPLICATIONS FOR VALID CROSS-CULTURAL INFERENCE

The INDCOL measure of individualism and collectivism ( Singelis et al., 1995 ) has been used increasingly to test complex cross-cultural hypotheses. However, sample differences in translation, culture, organization, and response context might threaten the validity of cross-cultural inferences. We systematically explored the robustness of the INDCOL, for various statistical uses, in the face of those 4 threats. An analysis of measurement equivalence using multigroup mean and covariance structure analysis compared samples of INDCOL data from the United States, Singapore, and Korea. The INDCOL was robust with regard to the interpretability of correlations, whereas differences in culture and translation pose an important potential threat to the interpretability of mean-level analyses. Recommendations regarding the interpretation of the INDCOL and issues in the analysis of measurement equivalence in cross-cultural research are discussed.     

An Evaluation of Equivalence in Body Dissatisfaction Measurement Across Cultures

We evaluated gender-based and cross-cultural equivalence of the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the Body Change Inventory in a sample of 4,005 adolescents from 7 cultures that represent diverse body image ideals and response styles. Results of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated equivalence of the scale across gender but not across cultures. Follow-up analyses identified small but significant cross-cultural differences in response styles (specifically, acquiescence and middle response option endorsement) as the source of this noninvariance. We recommend use of this scale for gender-based comparisons but caution that researchers should evaluate the presence of response biases before making substantive conclusions about cross-cultural differences in body dissatisfaction.     

An evaluation of equivalence in body dissatisfaction measurement across cultures

We evaluated gender-based and cross-cultural equivalence of the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the Body Change Inventory in a sample of 4,005 adolescents from 7 cultures that represent diverse body image ideals and response styles. Results of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated equivalence of the scale across gender but not across cultures. Follow-up analyses identified small but significant cross-cultural differences in response styles (specifically, acquiescence and middle response option endorsement) as the source of this noninvariance. We recommend use of this scale for gender-based comparisons but caution that researchers should evaluate the presence of response biases before making substantive conclusions about cross-cultural differences in body dissatisfaction.     

Personality in Cultural Context: Methodological Issues

Methodological issues in cultural and cross-cultural personality research are described. A taxonomy of these studies is presented, based on whether a study is exploratory or tests hypotheses, and whether or not contextual information is measured. Core methodological issues are bias and equivalence: a taxonomy and a brief overview of statistical procedures to examine equivalence are presented, with a focus on procedures for assessing structural equivalence (i.e., similarity of meaning of an instrument across cultures). Examples are given of studies in which cultural and cross-cultural approaches, often seen as antithetical, have been fruitfully integrated. Finally, multilevel models are described in which personality characteristics are examined at individual and cultural level.     

Personality dimensions across cultures

In order to generalize the dimensional structure of personality-relatively independent groups of covarying traits-across languages and cultures, a large number of cultures must be studied. Until recently only a few worldwide personality datasets have been available. The first large-scale studies indicate that the pattern of covariation between personality traits is universal and is relatively easily generalizable across languages and cultures. In contrast to the structure of personality, the comparison of the mean trait scores across cultures is much more problematic because cross-cultural differences turned out to be very small in their magnitude, about one-third of the magnitude of individual differences within culture. More integral (e.g., the similarity between personality profiles) or subtle (e.g., the disparity between positively and negatively worded items) measures can reveal more systematic relationships with relevant socioeconomic and geographic variables than the mean scores themselves. Relatively modest sizes of cross-cultural differences in the mean values may imply that a reasonable scalar equivalence can be achieved, and all individuals, irrespective of their language and culture, can be represented in a common metric.     

Bilingual comparison of Mandarin and English cognitive bias tasks

Most research into cognitive biases has used Western samples, despite potential East-West socio-cultural differences. One reason is the lack of appropriate measures for non-Westerners. This study is about cross-linguistic equivalence which needs to be established before assessing cross-cultural differences in future research. We developed parallel Mandarin and English measures of interpretation bias and attention bias using back-translation and decentering procedures. We assessed task equivalence by administering both sets of measures to 47 bilingual Mandarin-English speakers. Interpretation bias measurement was similar and reliable across language versions, confirming suitability of the Mandarin versions for future cross-cultural research. By contrast, scores on attention bias tasks did not intercorrelate reliably, suggesting that nonverbal stimuli such as pictures or facial expressions of emotion might present better prospects for cross-cultural comparison. The development of the first set of equivalent measures of interpretation bias in an Eastern language paves the way for future research investigating East-West differences in biased cognition.     

Psychological universals: what are they and how can we know?

Psychological universals, or core mental attributes shared by humans everywhere, are a foundational postulate of psychology, yet explicit analysis of how to identify such universals is lacking. This article offers a conceptual and methodological framework to guide the investigation of genuine universals through empirical analysis of psychological patterns across cultures. Issues of cross-cultural generalizability of psychological processes and 3 cross-cultural research strategies to probe universals are considered. Four distinct levels of hierarchically organized universals are possible: From strongest to weakest claims for universality, they are accessibility universals, functional universals, existential universals, and nonuniversals. Finally, universals are examined in relation to the questions of levels of analysis, evolutionary explanations of psychological processes, and management of cross-cultural relations.     

THE SKILL OF PICTORIAL PERCEPTION: AN INTERPRETATION OF CROSS-CULTURAL EVIDENCE*

A theoretical framework is proposed for understanding perceptual skills in their functional context. Pictorial perception is construed as a functionally specialised skill whose pervasive importance in modern education derives from the proliferation of pictorial materials in Western culture. Drawing on cross-cultural research, the major components of the skill are identified as (1) detection of appropriate contexts for its application, (2) selection of a limiting frame of reference, (3) use of conventional criteria of fidelity to recognise depicted items, (4) sensitivity to impoverished depth cues, (5) an expectation of finding in the picture most of the information necessary for its disambiguation, and (6) various assumptions about the range of cognitive inferences that may legitimately be made ‘beyond the information given’. Training studies are interpreted as suggesting that the skill can be enhanced through guided experience.     

Accessing distant premise information: how memory feeds reasoning

According to current psychological models of deduction, people can draw inferences on the basis of information that they receive from different sources at different times. In 3 reading-comprehension experiments, the authors demonstrated that premises that appear far apart in a text (distant) are not accessed and are therefore not used as a basis for logical inferences (Experiment 1), unless the premises are reinstated by a contextual cue (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, the authors investigated whether these deductions are then integrated into the reader's situation model of the text. The results are interpreted in terms of a collaboration between memory-based text processing and higher level schema-driven logical reasoning.     

寻求专业性心理帮助的预测因素研究的综述

在日常生活中,一些人在产生了自己难以解决的心理问题时,不寻求专业性心理帮助,以致使心理问题变得更加严重,这一问题已经引起了国内外不少学者的关注。他们运用各种问卷和访谈的方式,从分析求助者个人心理特点入手,并通过跨文化研究,揭示了人格特质和社会文化对心理求助的预测作用以及与心理咨询工作者有关的因素。该文概述并讨论了国内外关于此课题的研究成果,以期为我国的心理健康教育提供有价值的资料。     

IMPOSED ETICS—EMICS—DERIVED ETICS: THE OPERATIONALIZATION OF A COMPELLING IDEA

There is a tension between two research traditions in cross-cultural psychology: working intensively within a single culture in order to understand indigenous psychological phenomena and how they are related to cultural context; and working comparatively across cultures in order to understand broad patterns of relationships between behavioural and cultural variables. This tension can be resolved, and the two approaches integrated, by the adoption of the emic and etic concepts of Pike, and by the elaboration of a set of concrete research steps rooted in these concepts. This paper outlines a conceptual and operational framework for the pursuit of both the indigenous and comparative goals, using examples from research on intelligence and attitudes.     

Exploring social and personal relationships: The issue of measurement invariance of non‐independent observations

In social psychology, some research questions address a comparison of individuals belonging to different social or relational contexts. As measurement invariance literature has indicated, before comparing two or more groups (gender, cultures, and relationship types), the question of whether a measurement of the construct used for the comparison is invariant must be verified. Measurement invariance helps to assure the validity of the measurement and the construct equivalence across groups. However, when non‐independent data are used for comparison (the same individual provides data for his or her different relationship types), the standard multigroup analyses for testing measurement invariance are not accurate. The current study presents a modified correlated uniqueness model that may be applied in these specific cases. As an example, we analyzed the invariance of the Intimate Disclosure scale and the Conflict scale in mother–child, father–child, and romantic relationships of young adults. Results indicate a partial invariance: only configural invariance, factor loading invariance, and factor covariance invariance were found. The consequences for validity of the measurement are then discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

DEVELOPMENT OF A GLOBAL MEASURE OF PERSONALITY

A common practice among practitioners and researchers doing cross-cultural work is to transport personality inventories developed in one country to another country of interest. This transport process is done with varying degrees of rigor and success. This paper describes the development of the Global Personality Inventory (GPI). The development process involved cross-cultural input from psychologists around the world following best practices that have been identified to date for each step of the development of a cross-cultural measure of personality. Construct validity studies including data from 11 countries and 10 languages are reported. Initial criterion-related validity evidence for inferences made from the GPI about job performance is presented. Examples of challenges and best practices are illustrated in the areas of construct development, item writing, item selection, translation, and data analysis.