Test anxiety in Indian children: a cross-cultural perspective

The present investigation examined test anxiety in Indian children from a cross-cultural perspective. Test anxiety has been studied extensively in western countries but much less so in eastern countries. Furthermore, the cross-cultural research conducted in eastern countries possesses significant limitations and continues to possess a western bias. The present research attempted to advance cross-cultural research on test anxiety by adopting Berry's imposed etic-emic-derived etic methodology. Participants included 231 schoolchildren. Qualitative data were collected to examine culture-specific variables (emic considerations) using structured focus groups and open-ended questions. Next, quantitative data were collected using translated and adapted versions of Spielberger's Test Anxiety Inventory and the FRIEDBEN Test Anxiety Scale. Qualitative data indicated culture-specific elements of test anxiety in Indian youth, including the high stakes associated with exam performance and future schooling as well as the role of somatization and social derogation in the phenomenological experience of test anxiety. Although quantitative findings failed to confirm the importance of high-stakes environments on test anxiety, the importance of somatization and social derogation was substantiated. Ongoing desensitization to test anxiety and enhanced coping responses were proposed as possible explanations for the obtained relations.     

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.     

A Cross-Cultural and Developmental Analysis of Self-Esteem in Chinese and Western Children

In this review, we examine the construct of self-esteem from a cross-cultural perspective in Chinese and Western children and adolescents. We also explore the role of childrearing practices in the development of self-esteem in these different cultures. In doing so, we first review the concepts of emic (i.e., variations in patterns of behavior within a given culture) and etic research (i.e., variations in common patterns of behavior or activities across cultures). Then, we invoke Berry's notions of “imposed-etic” and “derived-etic” approaches (J. Berry, 1989) in understanding crucial cross-cultural differences that are evident in the literature. We pose basic questions such as: (1) What does self-esteem “look” like in Chinese children? (2) How do childrearing practices in China influence the development of self-esteem in children? And, (3) what are the limitations of cross-cultural research in understanding a phenomenon such as self-esteem? We suggest that self-esteem does not “mean” the same things across these collectivist and individualistic cultures. We conclude our discourse with specific recommendations for clinical theory, research, and practice.     

Psychometric properties of the state-trait anxiety inventory for Asian/Pacific-islander adolescents

Anxiety disorders are said to be universal across all cultures and recent reviews have found relatively high prevalence rates across different countries. However, the experience and interpretation of anxiety are strongly influenced by cultural factors. Demonstrating cross-cultural equivalence of measures of anxiety is essential to assure that comparisons between cultures will result in meaningful interpretations. Despite the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory being the most researched of anxiety measures from a cross-cultural basis, there is a lack of empirical studies on the psychometric properties of the STAI with adolescent Asian/Pacific Islanders. The present study examined the STAI using a large sample of ethnically diverse high school students in Hawaii. In general, a four-factor model (State-Anxiety Absent, State-Anxiety Present, Trait-Anxiety Absent, and Trait-Anxiety Present) provided the best fit based on a series of confirmatory factor analyses. Indicators of internal consistency supported the reliability of the factors and subscales, and the inter-factor correlations reflected positively on the concurrent validity of the different STAI factor and subscale measures. This study suggested cautious use and interpretation of one particular item (Trait Item 14 = I try to avoid facing a crisis or difficulty ), and cautious application of the STAI to Filipino adolescents (particularly Filipino males). Domains for further research are discussed.     

Personal Values and Behavior: Taking the Cultural Context into Account

Taking a cross-cultural perspective, we review recent advancement in theory and empirical research on the relationships between personal values and behavior. Although personal values have been examined in many studies, systematic, theory-based, cross-cultural comparisons of the relations of personal values and behavior are rare. In this review, we offer suggestions for research within an integrative perspective that links culture, personal values, and behavior. People from different cultures vary in the extent to which they use their internal attributes to guide their behavior. Thus, the strength of the relationships between values and behavior differs across cultural groups. Culture also moderates the relationships between values and behavior by determining the repertoire of normative behaviors. Culture determines the meaning of behavior, so that seemingly similar behaviors may have different meanings in different cultures. Finally, we discuss the possible effect of the increasing heterogeneity of society on the relationship of values and behavior.     

Sex, ethnic, and social differences in test anxiety among Israeli adolescents

The effects of sex, ethnicity, and social class on levels of test anxiety were examined among a sample of 416 adolescent students in Israel. Significant sex differences in mean levels of test anxiety were found, with girls scoring consistently higher than boys across ethnic, social, and grade categories. Pupils of low socioeconomic status (SES) also scored consistently higher than pupils of high SES across grades. Nevertheless, this study provides little support for the commonly held view that sociocultural or sex group differences in school achievement are due, in any meaningful way, to differences in test anxiety. The group differences, though significant for SES and sex, were of negligible magnitude, and the correlation between test anxiety scores and grade point average was minimal for the group as a whole and nonsignificant for students of Eastern background, who have been purported to be particularly affected by high levels of test anxiety. The findings do support other cross-cultural studies, which have found only a modicum of shared variance between test anxiety and grades. It is concluded that test anxiety is not a particularly valid predictor of achievement or ability.     

Test Adaptation and Cross-Cultural Assessment From a Business Perspective: Issues and Recommendations

Test adaptation and cross-cultural assessment activities are skyrocketing as the demand for educational opportunities and personnel selection grow both within the United States and across the industrializing world. We chose a qualitative, case study approach to identify central themes encountered by ACT, a not-for-profit organization that has accumulated considerable experience in cross-cultural assessment and test adaptation. Based on 16 projects and 28 interviews, we present a cross-cultural assessment guide within the context of how business administration, marketing, and research and technical issues interplay. It is apparent that business expectations and cultural differences in client groups have an important influence on technical and research decisions during the test adaptation and validation processes of testing institutions. Recommendations for future research regarding this interplay of issues are discussed.     

Culture and the body: East-West differences in visceral perception

This research investigated cross-cultural differences in the accuracy of individuals' perceptions of internal visceral states. We conducted 4 studies to test the hypothesis that Asians are less sensitive to internal physiological cues relative to European Americans. Studies 1 and 2 assessed cultural differences in visceral perception via tests of misattributions of arousal: Study 1 involved false heart rate feedback during an emotionally evocative slideshow and examined subsequent self-reported affective changes; Study 2 manipulated apparent physiological arousal and measured its effects on attraction via an immersive virtual environment. Study 3 directly assessed visceral perception using a heartbeat detection task. All 3 studies found Asians to be less viscerally perceptive than European Americans. Study 4 examined one possible cultural mechanism for the observed difference and found evidence for contextual dependency as a mediator of the culture-visceral perception link.     

A cross-cultural study of the test anxiety levels in Iranian and Indian students

This study compared the test anxiety levels of Iranian (N = 160) and Indian (N = 160) school and college students. Significant main effects of Culture, Educational Level and Sex indicated that the Iranian students had higher Test Anxiety scores than their Indian counterparts, and females reported higher test anxiety than males. A significant Culture x Educational Level x Sex interaction revealed, however, that level of education had opposite effects within the Indian culture: Indian school females reported more test anxiety than their college counterparts; Indian college males had higher test anxiety than their school counterparts. Iranian school males and females both reported higher test anxiety than their college counterparts. Tricultural differences in the test anxiety levels of comparable student groups in Iran, India and the U.S. were interpreted as reflecting East-West cultural factors that influenced reactions to objective examinations, resulting in greater test anxiety in Eastern cultures.     

Dutch and Polish Perceptions of Leadership and Culture: The GLOBE Project

In this paper the objectives of a new international research project that focuses on the perception of leadership across cultures will be presented. The definition of leadership will be discussed in relation to cross-cultural leadership research. The ideas and theory on which the project is based will be introduced along with several of the hypotheses the project is designed to test. Besides testing the general hypotheses, results obtained in the GLOBE study can also be used for a more focused comparison between two countries. In this paper, differences in preferred leadership attributes and national culture dimensions in The Netherlands and Poland are presented. A total of 287 Dutch managers from six organizations and 277 Polish managers from six organizations filled out questionnaires. The results indicate that Dutch and Polish cultures differ strongly on power distance, uncertainty avoidance and future orientation. Regarding preferred attributes for outstanding leadership, Polish respondents score especially high on administrative skills, vision, and diplomacy, whereas Dutch managers emphasize integrity, inspirational behavior and vision. Polish respondents are also less negative about autocratic leadership.     

A multilevel analysis of the self-presentation theory of social anxiety: Contextualized, dispositional, and interactive perspectives

According to self-presentation theory, social anxiety is determined by impression motivation and impression efficacy. However, researchers have not evaluated the theory’s applicability from contextual and dispositional perspectives in an integrated manner, nor have they examined a fundamental interactive facet of the theory. In three studies, we examined these issues using hypothetical situations and experience sampling methodology. Results demonstrated the theory’s applicability at the contextual and dispositional level, providing insight into people’s general tendencies to experience social anxiety and their momentary experiences of social anxiety. Results also revealed the predicted interaction between impression motivation and impression efficacy - high impression efficacy weakens the association between impression motivation and social anxiety. These studies expand understanding of the personological and situational factors that drive social anxiety.     

The effects of personal and collective mortality salience on individualism: Comparing Australians and Japanese with higher and lower self-esteem

The cross-cultural generality of terror management theory was examined in Australia and Japan. Based on previous research suggesting that individualism is stronger in Australia than in Japan, mortality salience was predicted to enhance individualism in Australia, but to reduce it in Japan. The results supported this prediction. Consistent with the theory, the cultural pattern of worldview defense was found only among Australians and Japanese with low self-esteem. We also found preliminary evidence that collective mortality (death of one’s in-group) has a greater impact than personal mortality (personal death) in Japan. Although the cultural worldview and self-esteem may serve terror management functions in both cultures, there may be differences between cultures in the type of mortality that produces the greatest levels of anxiety and the manner in which a given worldview is used to cope with anxiety about mortality.     

Cultural contributions to constructing locus-of-control attributions

Locus of control attribution patterns have been demonstrated to predict a variety of behavioral and adaptational characteristics in a number of societies. As a consequence, questions concerning the comparability of those attributions across cultures have been of interest to social and personality theorists as well as to their more action-oriented colleagues. In the present study, the processes used by Indian college students to form those attributions have been studied and compared with those used by a similar sample in the United States. A structure-factor approach was used, because it allowed for a comparison of attribution patterns within and between cultures as well as the drawing of inferences about locus-of-control attributions that are theoretically and practically important. Results supported the utility of such an approach, identified culturally syntonic patterns in both samples, and also identified cross-cultural similarities and differences in locus-of-control attributions.     

Achievement Emotions: A Control-Value Approach

Emotions are ubiquitous in achievement settings. Apart from test anxiety research and attributional studies, psychological research has neglected these emotions. We argue that more research on the functions, origins, and regulation of achievement emotions is needed, addressing both outcome emotions related to success and failure, such as hope, pride, anxiety, shame, and hopelessness, and activity emotions such as the enjoyment and boredom experienced in achievement settings. Using Pekrun’s (2006) control-value theory of achievement emotions as a theoretical framework, we first outline a three-dimensional (object focus × valence × activation) taxonomy of achievement emotions. We then summarize research on the individual and social origins of these emotions, arguing that control appraisals, value appraisals, achievement goals, and related contextual factors are of specific relevance for achievement emotion arousal. Next, the importance of emotions for achievement behavior and performance is addressed. In conclusion, we discuss the regulation and modification of achievement emotions and their relative universality across genders, settings, and cultures.     

Perfectionism in Pediatric Anxiety and Depressive Disorders

Although perfectionism has been identified as a factor in many psychiatric disorders across the life span, it is relatively understudied in pediatric anxiety and depressive disorders. Furthermore, there exists little cohesion among previous research, restricting the conclusions that can be made across studies. In this review, research associating perfectionism with pediatric anxiety and depression is examined and a framework is presented synthesizing research to date. We focus on detailing the current understanding of how perfectionism develops and interacts with other developmental features characteristic of anxiety and depression in children and potential pathways that result in anxiety and depressive disorders. This includes: how perfectionism is measured in children, comparisons with relevant adult literature, the development of perfectionism in children and adolescents, mediators and moderators of the link between perfectionism and anxiety and depression, and the role of perfectionism in treatment and prevention of these disorders. We also present research detailing perfectionism across cultures. Findings from these studies are beginning to implicate perfectionism as an underlying process that may contribute broadly to the development of anxiety and depression in a pediatric population. Throughout the review, difficulties, limitations, and gaps in the current understanding are presented while offering suggestions for future research.     

The effects of different types of goal pursuit on experience and performance during a stressful social task

Researchers have recently suggested that anxiety research may benefit from the examination of motivational factors, such as the difference between approach and avoidance goals. This suggestion is consistent with the literature on self-regulation, which indicates that affect serves as feedback for goal pursuit, with anxiety primarily providing feedback regarding avoidance. However, no data are available on participant goals for a task that generates social anxiety. Data from 120 speech anxious participants who engaged in a public speaking task were used to test the following hypotheses: (1) avoidance goals would be more specific than approach goals; (2) goals regarding social anxiety would have a negative impact on public speaking experience and performance; and (3) participants would tend to organize approach and avoidance goals not as separate goals, but as opposite poles of the same overarching goal. Hypotheses (1) and (3) were fully supported and hypothesis (2) was partially supported. The results highlight the possibility that approach goals may be particularly important to anxiety reduction.     

Comments on R.M. Grieger's “contextual model of the ABCs of RET”

Grieger's (1985) contextual model of the ABCs of RET is examined and found to have many interesting and thought-provoking aspects. Its hypotheses in regard to emphasizing various therapeutic aspects of RET are evaluated and found to make good sense but sometimes to be stated in an extreme manner that may lead to questionable results.     

Piagetian Studies of Cognitive Development in India

The paper presents a review of studies on cognitive development of children in India inspired by Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Piaget’s theory is briefly introduced before examining its cross-cultural applications. Early studies of cognitive development, which focus on age-related changes in cognition, are described. These are followed by the studies of the last decades in which developmental contexts, such as those provided by ecology, culture, schooling, and various forms of training, are implicated. Studies of spatial cognition are discussed in some detail and points of convergence between findings of Indian studies and those reported by Piaget are critically examined. The issue of “performance” vs. “competence” is addressed and research evidence that considers performance difference as a matter of cognitive style is presented. Possible reasons for decline of research interest in Piagetian studies in recent years is examined and suggestion for future studies in this field are offered.     

跨文化心理学中的文化适应研究

文化适应（acculturation）的研究已经成为跨文化心理学研究的一个重要组成部分。近年来这方面的研究急剧增加,新的理论模型不断出现,其研究对西方国家移民政策产生了重要影响。文章从文化适应的定义出发,回顾了文化适应的理论发展和主要的研究范式,同时也指出了当前文化适应研究中存在的问题,最后对文化适应研究今后的发展趋势做出了展望。这一研究领域对我国流动人口的适应问题和民族融合等方面的研究也有重大的理论意义