Does forgiving in a collectivistic culture affect only decisions to forgive and not emotions? REACH forgiveness collectivistic in Indonesia

According to some theorising, in collectivistic societies, forgiveness is mainly enacted to maintain relationships, not engender emotional transformation. This present study was designed to explore whether forgiveness affects decisional and emotional forgiveness in Indonesia, a country categorised as collectivistic. The evidence-based REACH Forgiveness psychoeducational group intervention was adapted to collectivistic culture (REACH forgiveness collectivistic; REACH-FC), and its efficacy was assessed in a randomised controlled trial. Undergraduates in Indonesia (N = 97; 24 male; 73 female; ages 16–21) were randomly assigned within a 2 × 3(S) quasi-experimental repeated-measures design comparing immediate treatment (IT) and waiting list (WL) conditions [Condition (IT, WL) × Time ([S] 3 time points). Harmonious value, a personality variable assessing the strength of participants' desire for group harmony, was the covariate. The condition × time (S) interactions for both decisional and emotional forgiveness were significant, challenging some previous literature. Clearly, not all forms of collectivism have similar effects when individuals and communities deal with transgressions.     

A China–New Zealand comparison of forgiveness

The present study examined the practice of forgiveness among participants from China (N = 172) and New Zealand (N = 91). We tested a theoretical model describing the relationships between collectivism, individualism, and forgiveness. Participants from China were more collectivistic and less individualistic than were participants from New Zealand. Overall, participants from New Zealand were more forgiving than were participants from China. Collectivism was positively related to decisional forgiveness in Chinese participants. Decisional forgiveness independently predicted conciliatory behaviour among participants from China, but this was not the case for participants from New Zealand. Thus, the hypothesized model received qualified support.     

Beyond social exchange: Collectivism’s moderating role in the relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behaviour

Perceived organizational support plays an important role in the social exchange relationship between the employee and the organization. We propose that individual differences in collectivism affect the extent to which employee–organization relationships are based on social exchange, and that therefore collectivism moderates the relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behaviour. Results of a survey (N = 293) assessing perceived organizational support, collectivism, and supervisor ratings of organizational citizenship behaviour supported this hypothesis. We conclude that organizational citizenship behaviour originates from social exchange processes only among employees who construe the self in relatively individualistic terms.     

Why do employees engage in counterproductive work behaviours? Cultural values and white-collar employees in China

This study examines the role of cultural values in influencing counterproductive work behaviours (CWBs). In particular, it focuses on the cultural values of power distance, long-term orientation and collectivism (both horizontal and vertical collectivism) as well as the Confucian values of guanxi and harmony. In line with recent approaches in moral psychology and sociology, we consider how Confucian values become moral triggers or inhibitors for employees to engage in CWB. In addition, we consider the moderating effects of guanxi and harmony on the relationships between the cultural values of power distance, long-term orientation, collectivism and CWB. The results from a survey of 489 white-collar employees in China confirmed the importance of cultural values in influencing CWB. Specifically, our findings indicate that guanxi moderates the relationship between cultural values and CWB and acts as a moral trigger for an employee to engage in CWB. With the exception of horizontal collectivism, we also found that harmony moderates the relationship between cultural values and CWB. Specifically, harmony acts as a moral inhibitor for an employee to engage in CWB. Lastly, we discuss the implications of the findings for theory and practice in the context of managing an increasingly global workplace and business environment.

     

Cultural Background and Individualistic–Collectivistic Values in Relation to Similarity, Perspective Taking, and Empathy

A path model testing antecedents and consequences of perceived similarity was examined for Asian and European Australian participants ( N  = 240). Cultural background and values were measured, and participants read scenarios describing a target in distress acting according to individualistic or collectivistic values. Consistent with past research, feeling similar to the target was linked to perspective taking and empathy. Moreover, Asian participants were more collectivistic, and collectivistic values were linked to higher empathy. In the present data, however, both endorsed higher levels of collectivism than individualism; individualism scores were equal; and the two values were positively correlated. Moreover, neither cultural background nor values were consistently linked to similarity. Implications are discussed for research on cultural background, values, and social interactions.     

Is moral elevation an approach-oriented emotion?

Two studies were designed to test whether moral elevation should be conceptualized as an approach-oriented emotion. The studies examined the relationship between moral elevation and the behavioral activation and inhibition systems. Study 1 (N = 80) showed that individual differences in moral elevation were associated with individual differences in behavioral activation but not inhibition. Study 2 (N = 78) showed that an elevation-inducing video promoted equally high levels of approach orientation as an anger-inducing video and significantly higher levels of approach orientation than a control video. Furthermore, the elevation-inducing stimulus (vs. the control condition) significantly promoted prosocial motivation and this effect was sequentially mediated by feelings of moral elevation followed by an approach-oriented state. Overall the results show unambiguous support for the proposal that moral elevation is an approach-oriented emotion. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Social values priorities and orientation towards individualism and collectivism of Greek university students

The study aimed to explore the value priorities of Greek young adults and their orientation towards individualism and collectivism and to investigate for possible relationships between value types and individualism and collectivism. Greek undergraduate students (n = 484) completed the Social Values Survey, the Auckland’s Individualism and Collectivism Scale and a form of demographic information. Benevolence, self-direction and hedonism were found to be the most highly rated value types for both males and females. In the case of individualism and collectivism participants scored higher on collectivism. Males and science and technology students scored higher on value types regarding openness to change and self-enhancement. Females and social and humanities students scored higher on conservation and self-transcendence value types. Religiosity was associated to collectivism and to value types regarding conservation and self-transcendence. Regression analysis revealed a direct association between individualism and openness to change and self-enhancement. Collectivism was found to be associated with conservation and self-transcendence.     

Cultural Values in Intergroup and Single-Group Social Dilemmas

Do cultural values influence the manner in which people cooperate with one another? This study assessed cultural characteristics of individuals and then related these characteristics to cooperative behavior in social dilemmas. Participants were assessed for their degree of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism, cultural values identified by Triandis (1995). They made choices in either a single-group or an intergroup social dilemma. The single-group dilemma entailed a three-person dilemma; the intergroup dilemma was identical but added subgroup competition, i.e., an opposing three-person group. The results indicated an interaction between cultural characteristics and type of dilemma for cooperation. The single-group versus intergroup effect reported by Bornstein and Ben-Yossef (1994) was replicated, but only for vertical individualists. The vertical individualists were least cooperative in the single-group dilemma but were more cooperative in the intergroup dilemma-where cooperation with the group maximized personal outcomes. The vertical collectivists were most cooperative in the single-group dilemma but were less cooperative in the intergroup dilemma- where group defection resulted in maximum group outcomes. The horizontal individualists and collectivists exhibited an intermediate level of cooperation, with no differences in cooperation between the single-group and intergroup dilemmas. Taken together, the results suggest that the relationship between cultural values and cooperation, in particular with reference to vertical and horizontal components of individualism and collectivism, is more complex than has been suggested in past research. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

The effects of individualistic‐collectivistic value orientations on non‐fatal suicidal behavior and attitudes in Turkish adolescents and young adults

This study aimed at investigating the effects of individualistic‐collectivistic value orientations on non‐fatal suicidal behavior and attitudes in Turkish adolescents and young adults. A questionnaire containing measures of individualism, collectivism (INDCOL), non‐fatal suicidal behaviors and suicidal attitudes was used to collect the data. The results showed that both suicidal ideation and attempts were significantly more frequent in participants classified as individualist than those who were classified as collectivist on the basis of INDCOL scale scores. Participants with individualistic tendencies displayed more permissive attitudes toward suicide than those with collectivistic tendencies but collectivists believed to a greater extent than the individualists that people should communicate suicidal problems to others. Participants with collectivistic tendencies showed more accepting and helping reactions to an imagined suicidal friend than those with individualistic tendencies. Suicidal ideation and attempts were more common among adolescents than young adults. The findings suggest that individualistic and collectivistic value orientations and developmental status specific stressors play a role in the distribution of nonfatal suicidal behavior and the nature of suicidal attitudes.     

Maternal mind-mindedness: stability over time and consistency across relationships

Maternal mind-mindedness has been described both as a cognitive-behavioural trait and as a relational construct. This study assessed stability over time and consistency across relationships of maternal mind-mindedness in relation to preschool and primary school siblings and compared representational and interactional mind-mindedness. Mothers with two children between 2½ and 10 years were assessed twice, nine months apart (N = 32 at Time 1; N = 30 at Time 2). Representational mind-mindedness for a partner/friend was also assessed twice. Mothers’ representational mind-mindedness showed temporal stability but was inconsistent across relationships with two children and a partner/friend. Conversely, mothers’ interactional mind-mindedness was stable and highly consistent across relationships with two children. This supports the possibility that mothers’ interactional mind-mindedness is trait-like, while findings are equivocal for representational mind-mindedness. Representational mind-mindedness and interactional mind-mindedness were unrelated in this preliminary study, suggesting that these measures of maternal mind-mindedness were not equivalent for this age group.     

Collectivistic Self‐Construal and Forgiveness

This study tested a theoretical model of the relationship between collectivism and forgiveness. Participants (N= 298) completed measures of collectivistic self‐construal, forgiveness, and forgiveness‐related constructs. A collectivistic self‐construal was related to understanding forgiveness as an interpersonal process that involved reconciliation. Individuals with more collectivistic views reported higher trait forgivingness, which predicted the tendency to respond to specific offenses with decisional rather than emotional forgiveness. Individuals with a more collectivistic self‐construal may place more value on interpersonal harmony, reconciliation, and decisions to forgive rather than emotional peace. Implications suggest that counselors understand issues of conflict, hurts, and forgiveness within an assessment of clients’ self‐construal.     

Volume 21, 2012 - List of Contents,Author Index,and List of Reviewers

We examined how culture influences perceptions of applicant attributes when assessing employment suitability. In two studies (N = 408), we compared members from a collectivistic society (Singapore) to two samples from individualistic societies (the United States and Australia) on their perceptions of applicant attributes across job contexts. For each job, participants either chose between candidates with different attribute profiles or created ideal candidates by allocating a fixed amount of percentile points across different attributes. More often than Australians, Singaporeans chose the candidate with higher levels of the trait (e.g., openness to experience) uniquely associated with the job (e.g., graphic designer). More so than either Americans or Australians, Singaporeans prioritized having the trait most associated with each job. Members from collectivistic societies may require higher levels of the traits most associated with different jobs than members from individualistic societies, who prefer more well-rounded individuals for each job. As discussed, the study of lay perceptions may have implications for training hiring professionals and managers.     

Can harmful intergroup behaviors truly represent the self?: The impact of harmful and prosocial normative behaviors on intra-individual conflict and compartmentalization

This research investigates how group members subjectively feel about their prosocial vs. harmful intergroup behaviors, and whether these behaviors can represent who they are more globally as a person. Three experiments tested how group norms (pro-merit/parity vs. pro-discrimination) and congruence with these norms predicted compartmentalization of these intergroup behaviors in the self and intra-individual conflict. Experiment 1 (N = 122) revealed that participants who conformed to a pro-discrimination norm reported compartmentalizing this behavior to a greater extent than participants who conformed to a pro-merit norm. Experiments 2 (N = 149) and 3 (N = 222) replicated and extended these findings in real and conflictual intergroup settings, also over and above the effect of relevant superordinate norms. Mediated moderation analyses also revealed that following discriminatory norms was associated with more intra-individual conflict, and that this conflict in turn predicted higher compartmentalization.     

Humility attenuates negative attitudes and behaviors toward religious out-group members

Humility is marked by the regulation of selfish impulses for the sake of others, including holding a modest view of one’s beliefs (and their relative strengths and weaknesses). In three studies, we evaluated the extent to which humility attenuates negative attitudes, behavioral intentions, and behaviors toward religious out-group members. In Study 1 (N = 159), humility regarding religious beliefs was associated with positive attitudes toward religiously different individuals. In Study 2 (N = 149), relational and intellectual humility were associated with less aggressive behavioral intentions in a hypothetical situation in which their cherished beliefs were criticized. In Study 3 (N = 62), participants implicitly primed with humility administered significantly less hot sauce (a behavioral measure of aggression) to a religious out-group member who criticized their cherished views relative to participants in the neutral prime condition. We highlight the importance of humility in promoting positive attitudes and behaviors toward religious out-group members.     

Authenticity as a eudaimonic construct: The relationships among authenticity,values, and valence

The construct of authenticity is thought of as an expression of individuality and eudaimonic well-being. Yet, previous research has related state authenticity more to positive affect and pleasant behavior. We examine the extent to which feeling authentic is a reflection of personally held standards of worth (values) and authenticity’s relationship with affective states. We also examine whether feelings of authenticity are facilitated by dispositional authenticity. Study 1 had participants debate benevolent behavior (N = 199). In study two (N = 124) and three (N = 146), participants described memories where they acted in concordance or against their values, in both pleasant and unpleasant contexts. We found a relationship between acting in accordance with one’s values and experiencing authenticity, thus demonstrating that authenticity is a form of eudaimonic well-being, which is closely related to, but distinct from, affective states. We found less consistent associations between dispositional authenticity and momentary authentic feelings.     

Delivering your daily dose of well-being to the workplace: a randomized controlled trial of an online well-being programme for employees

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a newly developed brief, cost-effective, flexible, and broadly accessible online programme designed to enhance employee well-being. Considering the demands of the working world, the development of the positive intervention (PI) programme was based on empirical findings and latest theoretical advances from the field of positive psychology, namely the PERMA model of well-being. The new PERMA-based programme’s effectiveness to increase employee well-being was evaluated with a longitudinal field experiment, including a wait list control group and an already established PI programme (i.e., gratitude programme) for comparison (three-armed randomized controlled trial; n = 303, N_male = 99, N_female = 203, M_age = 41.16, SD = 12.26). Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) supported that on average, participants of the gratitude programme and the PERMA-based programme reported significant increases in employee well-being after the intervention, as compared to no increases in the wait list control group. The significant increases yielded small effect sizes for general subjective well-being and medium effect sizes for work-related subjective well-being. Post-hoc analyses controlling for baseline well-being also supported the efficacy of the PIs. Contrary to the prediction of the PERMA-based programme’s superiority, participants of both online PI programmes reported similar gains in employee well-being components. Practical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.     

Affect Regulation and Decision Making: Risk as a Social Constraint

The social constraints model of affect regulation is applied to decision making involving varying levels of risk in two studies. In Study 1 (N = 46) participants indicated a desire to attenuate both positive and negative induced moods when faced with a high-risk decision but not a low-risk decision. Study 2 (N = 64) provided evidence that attenuated affect helps individuals better identify decision-irrelevant information. Participants who were first made to feel happy or sad and then read a story that was incongruent with their mood were better at identifying decision-irrelevant information than participants who read a story that was congruent with their mood.     

Understanding of moral emotions and social exclusion in pre-schoolers and third graders

Abstract

This study examined whether children use information about moral emotions when judging peer exclusion. Japanese pre-schoolers and third graders (N = 110) listened to stories featuring characters who felt happy or sad after engaging in immoral behaviour or avoiding immoral behaviour (pushing a child off a swing and stealing another child’s doughnuts). In study 1, participants judged the extent to which characters who felt happiness, guilt, and pride would be socially excluded. In study 2, participants judged whether characters who felt guilt, no guilt, pride, and no pride would be socially excluded. Participants believed that characters would be socially excluded based on moral emotions. Characters who did not feel guilt or pride were excluded more frequently relative to those who did; however, children found it easier to judge exclusion based on guilt rather than pride, especially in the case of pre-schoolers. Moreover, pre-schoolers had difficulty explaining their reasoning.     

The benefits of self-forgiveness on mental health: Evidence from correlational and experimental research

Previous research on self-forgiveness is mixed. Some argue self-forgiveness may have a salutary influence on mental health problems following an offense, whereas others suggest it may provide an excuse to reoffend. In two studies, we provide correlational and experimental evidence for the salutary effects of self-forgiveness following an offense. In Study 1 (N = 100), self-forgiveness was associated with lower levels of disordered eating behavior. In Study 2 (N = 462), participants recalled a drinking-related transgression, and were randomly assigned to a self-forgiveness or neutral priming condition. Results revealed that participants in the self-forgiveness condition reported significantly more self-forgiving beliefs and fewer feelings of remorse and self-condemnation than participants in the neutral priming condition to the degree that participants believed their drinking was the cause of the offense. These findings highlight the salutary effects of self-forgiveness.     

Cultural value orientation and authoritarian parenting as parameters of bullying and victimization at school

The purpose of the present study was to examine the existing association between cultural value orientation, authoritarian parenting, and bullying and victimization at school. The participants (N = 231) were early adolescents, randomly selected from 11 different schools in urban and rural areas of Cyprus. Participants completed self reports measuring cultural value orientation, authoritarian parenting, bullying, and victimization. These instruments were the following: the Cultural Value Scale (CVS), the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), and the Revised Bullying and Victimization Questionnaire (BVQ‐R). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine mediation effects. It was found that vertical individualism acted as a mediator between authoritarian parenting and bullying. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between authoritarian parenting and the vertical dimensions of both cultural value orientations (individualism and collectivism), but not with the horizontal dimensions of either cultural orientation. Further, authoritarian parenting was also positively associated with bullying and victimization at school. The main contribution of the present study is the finding that vertical individualism significantly mediates the relationship between authoritarian parental style and bullying propensity.