Gender Schema and Social Judgments: A Developmental Study of Children from Hong Kong

The purpose of the study was to examine inferences and judgments of gender schematic and aschematic children. Kindergarten, third grade, and sixth grade Hong Kong Chinese children (n = 196) were categorized into schematic and aschematic groups on the basis of their reaction times to gender-stereotypic and counterstereotypic items. The children were then asked to make several inferences and judgments about four male and female targets behaving gender-stereotypically or counterstereotypically. Both age and gender schematicity were related to the children's inferences. Older children and gender-schematic children relied more on individuating information and younger children relied more on the gender label. The results are discussed within the framework of gender-schema theories.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Personal Gender Discrimination: A Study of Solicitors in Hong Kong

Informed by social identity theory, we developed a model to examine the antecedents and consequences of perceptions of personal gender discrimination. In the model, gender, gender identity, and perceived gender bias against women are considered as salient predictors of perceived personal gender discrimination, and organizational commitment and intentions to leave are considered as the outcome variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data collected from a sample of practicing solicitors in Hong Kong. We found that (a) women perceived more personal gender discrimination and gender bias against women than did men, (b) gender moderated the relationship between perceived gender bias against women and perceived personal gender discrimination, (c) the positive effect of gender bias against women on gender discrimination was more strongly positive for women than for men, and (d) perceived personal gender discrimination affected organizational commitment and intentions to leave. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Cultural Differences in Newcomer Feedback Seeking: A Comparison of the United States and Hong Kong

Les travaux sur la recherche de feedback de la part des nouveaux arrivants peuvent s’appuyer sur des présupposés qui ne sont pas universellement valides, à savoir que les nouveaux arrivants font preuve d’auto‐affirmation, qu’ils jugent leur patron accessible (faible distance hiérarchique) et qu’ils doivent faire preuve d’initiative pour obtenir l’information dont il ont besoin, ce qui relève d’un processus de socialisation individuelle et informelle. Dans cette étude sur les nouveax arrivants, les Americains signalèrent plus de demandes de feedback que les gens de Hong Kong. Cette divergence est à rapporter aux différences culturelles dans l’auto‐affirmation et la distance hiérarchique. Ces résultats suggèrent que certains des présupposés implicites concernant la recherche de feedback de la part des nouveaux arrivants peuvent voir leur validité remise en cause en debors des Etats‐Unis. En particulier, les nouveaux arrivants vivant dans des sociétés communautariste et à grande distance hiérarchique sont moins susceptibles de faire appel à la rétroaction centrée sur le supérieur pour réduire l’incertitude et gérer leur efficacité professionnelle. Research on newcomer feedback seeking may be based on assumptions that are not universally valid: that newcomers are self‐assertive, that they perceive their boss as approachable (low power distance), and that they need to be proactive to obtain the information that they need (informal, individual socialisation process). In this study, individuals from the United States reported more newcomer feedback inquiry than individuals from Hong Kong. This difference was related to cultural differences in self‐assertiveness and power distance. These results suggest that some of the implicit assumptions about newcomer feedback seeking may be less valid outside of the US. In particular, newcomers within low‐individualism and high power distance societies may be less likely to rely on supervisor‐focused feedback inquiry for reducing uncertainty and managing their performance.     

A whole-school approach to guidance: Hong Kong teachers' perceptions

This qualitative study involving 30 teachers, followed by a survey of 895 teachers, investigated Hong Kong teachers' perception of a whole-school approach to guidance and its practice. Findings revealed that teachers perceived a whole-school approach as fostering student development and as a system of management. Teacher dedication, communication, and team spirit were considered as facilitating factors for its implementation. Findings also revealed an overall mismatch between teachers' beliefs about a whole-school approach and their perceived school reality, and that a wholeschool approach was not seen as practised in the majority of schools. There was a close relationship between schools' guidance focus and their implementation of a whole-school approach. Schools implementing a whole-school approach were considered to have both a preventive and developmental guidance focus and practice. Implications for the implementation of guidance are discussed.     

Counseling Psychology in Hong Kong: A Germinating Discipline

Cet article décrit la psychologie du counseling comme discipline émergente à Hong Kong. L'analyse SWOT a été utilisée pour examiner les forces et les faiblesses internes, les opportunités et les menaces externes de cette profession. A partir de cette matrice, des questions stratégiques relatives à l'accroissement et au développement de la psychologie du counseling sont identifiées et discutées. Une vision de la psychologie du counseling à Hong Kong dans la prochaine décade est présentée.
This article describes the emerging counseling psychology discipline in Hong Kong. A SWOT analysis was used to examine internal strengths, internal weaknesses, external opportunities, and external threats confronting the counseling psychology profession. Through this process a number of strategic issues central to the growth and development of counseling psychology are identified and discussed. A vision of the counseling psychology discipline in Hong Kong for the next decade is presented.     

中国大陆、香港和美国大学生主观幸福感比较

采用量表法对中国大陆、香港和美国三个地区的大学生被试的主观幸福感(SWB)进行了比较。差异检验表明,在总体SWB水平上,三个地区没有表现出显著差异,但在生活满意感、积极情感和消极情感维度上差异都显著。分层回归的结果发现,经济状况、社会关系和外在价值变量对三个地区大学生的生活满意感和积极情感都作出了增值贡献;外在准则变量对三个地区的消极情感作出了增值贡献。     

Effects of Gender and Profession Type on Definitions of Violence Against Women in Hong Kong

This study investigated the criteria chosen by male and female Chinese public servants (clinical psychologists, social workers, police officers, physicians, nurses, teachers, and lawyers) in Hong Kong to classify and define violence against women. Data were gathered via questionnaires completed by 2589 (686 male) public servants from 10,476 polled (response rate 24.7%). The questionnaires included a 14-item check-list of various behaviors constituting violence against women and a 10-item check-list of criteria that could be used to categorize behavior as violence against women. It was found that for this population, use of physical force and lack of consent were the main determinants of violence against women. Only half of respondents considered murder a form of violence against women, the rest categorized it as a crime that was "not merely violence." Most respondents defined sexual harassment, rape, and unwanted physical contact as forms of violence against women. The female public servants were more likely to define behaviors as violence against women and to use more criteria to define violence against women. Public servants who worked with the law enforcement and legal system were more likely than others to choose narrow definitions and rigid criteria.     

Social Studies and Ideological Beliefs in Mainland China and Hong Kong

Research in the West suggests that social science education enables students to become more liberal and less prejudiced in their outlook towards other people. This is the first study to test this thesis – the enlightenment thesis – in Chinese societies. Data were collected from 1,221 college students in Mainland China and 1,174 students in Hong Kong enrolled in a total of 29 institutions. The results show that though social science students showed significantly less interest in individualistic explanation and gender role traditionalism than other students, they did not gain from longer stays in college. These findings do not support the enlightenment thesis in Chinese societies. Instead, the findings that Mainland students favored nationalism significantly more and authoritarianism and individualist explanation significantly less than did Hong Kong students are consistent with the dominant ideology thesis.     

From Posttrauma to Gender and Back: A Gender Motivation Theory-Explanation of Gender Differences in Trauma Exposure,Symptoms, Diagnosis,and Implications

This article proposes the “gender motivation theory” as a potential starting point for the study of gender differences in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Grounded in evolutionary and sociological theories, the gender motivational theory argues that men are generally motivated by status enhancement, whereas women are motivated by risk reduction. Accordingly, the theory considers these differing motivations as the core factor differentiating men and women in challenging situations regarding their perception, meaning, experience, and behavior. The theory refers to PTSD as a subjectively perceived failure fulfilling gender motives. Applying this theory to trauma victims enables expanding and increasing gender sensibility for an understanding of PTSD and its various consequences. It also allows a broader and deeper understanding of gender beyond normative boundaries. The article examines the validity of the gender motivation theory in view of the cumulative empirical evidence of gender differences in the study of PTSD as well as other fields of knowledge. Additionally, the proposed theory offers a coherent perspective and guidelines for further examination and practical applications in PTSD research.     

Avoiding Disappointment or Fulfilling Expectation: A Study of Gender,Academic Achievement,and Family Functioning among Hong Kong Adolescents

This paper explores the relationship between gender, academic achievement, and family functioning in a Chinese cultural background. Primary and secondary school students (n?=?1597) in Hong Kong participated in a survey questionnaire. Two competing hypotheses are derived and empirically tested based on the idea that parents are likely to have higher expectations toward their sons. First, when boys perform well academically, their parents might not feel particularly overjoyed because their sons simply achieved what they were expected to, which would not affect the parents’ attitudes within the family and thus the boys’ perceptions of the family. Second, when parents have such high expectations for their sons, they would feel particularly satisfied when the outcome fulfills their high expectations. The results indicated that boys did well academically to prevent their parents from potential disappointment, whereas parents were actually happier if their daughters overachieve because they have lower initial expectations. Such differences affected parents’ attitudes, family functioning, and thus adolescents’ view of family. The results of this study carry implications for the study of family functioning and parenting among Chinese families. In particular, parents should avoid having gender-based expectations toward their children, which could adversely affect how boys view their family.     

Dimensions of Success and Motivation Needs Among Managers

In this study, we examined the relationship between needs for achievement (n Ach) and power (n Pwr) and the importance of six dimensions of life success among a sample of 454 managerial women and men in southeastern Florida. Results showed that n Ach was significantly correlated with all four work-related success dimensions: status/wealth, personal fulfillment, and professional fulfillment (positively), and with security (negatively). N Ach was not correlated with either of the two nonwork-related success dimensions of family relationship and social contribution. N Pwr was significantly correlated with all the same work-related success dimensions except professional fulfillment; it was also correlated significantly with the non work-related dimension of social contribution but not with family relationships.     

香港中学生人格特质的性别差异及其发展性分析

本文报告了新近发展的跨文化（中国人）个性测量表－青少年版（CPAI-A）对香港中学生人格特征的性别差异评估结果。CPAI-A是在CPAI-2（成人版）基础上发展而来的。研究发现性别是影响香港中学生人格特质的关键因素,并且性别差异在不同年龄组之间存在明显的延续性和发展性趋势。结合对已有研究的比较分析,文章从发展角度讨论了人格特质的性别差异特性在青少年不同年龄组之间的情形。文章还基于CPAI-2中国人常模的数据,比较分析了青少年与成人之间人格特征性别差异的特点。文章最后认为性别差异特征是体现人格特质在青少年期的不同年龄阶段,以及从青少年到成人阶段的发展性与稳定性的重要内容     

A Systems Approach to the Social Difficulties of Transsexuals in Hong Kong

This paper identifies social difficulties commonly faced by a group of forty-two Hong Kong transsexuals who had applied for sex reassignment surgery. It describes the use of a systems perspective to conceptualize their problems and a structural family therapy approach to social work intervention.     

凯利的个人建构理论:在香港与中国大陆教学中的问题

本文讨论了在香港和内地文化背景下 ,进行凯利的个人建构理论教学中发现的一些问题。在介绍凯利的思想时 ,中国学生通常倾向于借助具体的术语来理解理论 ,用定量化的方法来看待数据。这种情况似乎与建构主义心理学的精神相背离。但是 ,这种情况也表现出一些改变的迹象 ,更广义地讲 ,这是普通心理学主流的一部分 ,即定性的方法是富有吸引力的。作者认为 ,更多地考虑凯利理论的哲学假设和定性思想的价值 ,将能赢得更多的学生热衷于该理论在广为不同的实际情景中的应用前景。当然 ,凯利的理论中有一些术语还存在着翻译的问题 ,但这是可以解决的。     

Suicide and occupation in Hong Kong

Suicide rates were highest among Service workers and the lowest in Agriculture workers and fisherfolk in Hong Kong.     

Weather and homicide in Hong Kong

No seasonality was discovered in homicide in Hong Kong. Weather variables were not associated with homicide rates.     

The Satir Model and Cultural Sensitivity: A Hong Kong Reflection

This paper addresses cultural sensitivity in applying the Satir model in the Hong Kong Chinese cultural setting, focusing on congruent communication. The authors contend that Satir was sensitive to the demands of culture. Her focus on individuality, equality, and freedom responds aptly to the egalitarian individualist ethos of the United States. In Hong Kong the family is generally dominated by hierarchical collectivist values. Applying the Satir model as it is being practiced in the United States totally ignores prevailing cultural conditions. Following the spirit of Satir, the authors propose the adoption of an emic approach, drawing inspiration and resource from traditional Chinese culture and maintaining continuity with hierarchical collectivism while protecting individual quests for equality, freedom, and independence.     

A Comparison on Inclusive Practices for Children with Special Needs in Faith-Based Kindergartens in Hong Kong

This qualitative study aimed to examine the inclusive practices implemented in three faith-based kindergartens in Hong Kong. A questionnaire was used to collect information about school backgrounds, students’ special needs, teacher training, special education services, curriculum design, school policy, parental involvement, and challenges faced by these schools when implementing their inclusive practices. The primary focus of this study was the influence of faiths on the provision of inclusive services for children with special needs. The results indicated that faiths, along with other factors, have played a significant role in contributing to the inclusive education services provided to children in these schools.