Work Motivation in the United States, Russia, and the Republic of China (Taiwan): A Comparison

This study evaluated aspects of work motivation across three cultures. In a replication of earlier research comparing the ranking of ten motivational factors by management and workers, this study used comparison data for current United States, Russian, and Chinese (Taiwan) samples. The results indicate an improved relationship between perceptions of managers and workers in the United States, a strong discrepancy in the Russian sample between expectations of management and workers, and a reasonable match for the Taiwan sample. Differences in motivational factor importance are explored between the three samples and the implications for multinational management issues are explored.     

A comparison between the development of the appearance-reality distinction in the People's Republic of China and the United States

A study of the appearance-reality distinction in American 3- to 5-year-olds was replicated with Chinese 3- to 5-year-olds. The error patterns, age changes, and absolute levels of performance were similar in the two samples. It was speculated that the acquisition of this distinction may be a universal, possibly age-linked development that is probably fueled by experiences with appearance-reality discrepancies that are available in all cultures.     

No Postmaterialists in Foxholes: Postmaterialist Values,Nationalism, and National Threat in the People's Republic of China

In this article, I present findings from a survey experiment in which Chinese university students exposed to a treatment designed to increase feelings of national threat were—based on their responses to the four‐item postmaterialism values‐priority battery—significantly more likely to be classified as “pure materialists.” These findings are presented in support of the proposition that perception of a hostile international environment may tend to exaggerate citizens' authoritarian and nationalistic sentiments at the expense of more democratically favorable value orientations. Media and political figures in the West who rail against the evils of China's authoritarian leadership might believe that they are championing and encouraging democratic aspirations among the Chinese people, but might instead be inciting impulses and attitudes that are far less “democracy‐friendly.”     

Identity Distress During the Era of Globalization: A Cross-National Comparative Study of India,China, and the United States

In recent decades, globalization has become a growing concern for developing countries. Eastern countries in particular, who have traditionally adhered to group-focused interests and the development of an interpersonal sense of identity, have endured sweeping changes as Western values, opinions, and attitudes begin to pervade its younger generations. With the ease of connection that technological advances such as the Internet provides, late adolescents and emerging adults must negotiate between adopting an identity that is based on the traditional viewpoints of their local culture and adopting an identity that is consistent with the values of a global culture. In this study, the identity distress reported by 422 late-adolescent college students in India, China, and the United States was compared as it relates to the endorsement of individualistic and collectivistic value systems. Identity distress was found to significantly vary by country, with participants from China and India scoring significantly higher than those in the United States. Collectivism was associated with less identity distress in India and more distress in China. Reasons for this disparity are explored and questions for future research are discussed.     

A family therapist in the People's Republic of China

The author, a psychiatrist, recently visited the People's Republic of China, and reports some impressions about the status of the Chinese family, Chinese psychiatry, and the current use of the family model.     

Cancer Metaphors: Taiwan and the United States

The Cancer Metaphors Test, a measure of the imagery of cancer, was administered to a sample of 138 Taiwanese college students and 167 United States college students, equated on age and gender, and presumed not to be different on academic achievement and socioeconomic level. A factor analysis of the Taiwanese protocols replicated the factor structure previously found on the CMT for United States respondents. Significant differences were obtained on two of the four CMT factors, with Taiwanese students scoring higher on both Terminal Pessimism and Future Optimism. Such differences are discussed in terms of differential coping strategies.     

Basic Human Values and Their Contexts: A Multilevel Analysis of Support for the Use of Armed Drones in the United States,United Kingdom,and Turkey

Armed drones are now a key component of military strategy; however, little empirical research has explored the phenomenon in terms of psychological processes. Previous research has emphasized the importance of basic human values for structuring understandings of and opinions towards foreign policy issues. Using a social representations approach, we used a multilevel modeling approach to explore the link between values and support for the use of armed drones in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Turkey. In line with our predictions, high priority of self-transcendence values negatively predicted, and high priority of conservation values positively predicted, support for armed drones. Furthermore, given our theoretical framework, we specified that values should be conceptualized as prioritized or devalued within a particular context, and when values were specified as country-level, as well as individual predictors, this led to an increase in model fit. These findings are discussed in light of a developing line of research on meta-representations and their consequences for political opinion, and directions for future research are advanced.     

Influence of Efficacy and Resilience on Problem Solving in the United States,Taiwan, and China

This study explores factors that influence problem‐solving coping style across cultures. There was no significant difference in applying problem solving across U.S., Taiwanese, and Chinese samples. The effective predictors of problem solving in the U.S. and Chinese samples were self‐efficacy and trait resilience, respectively. In the Taiwanese sample, predictors were self‐efficacy and trait resilience. Trait resilience was found to mediate the effect of self‐efficacy on problem solving in the Taiwanese and Chinese samples. Practical implications are discussed. Este estudio explora factores que influyen en el estilo de afrontamiento a la resolución de problemas aplicado a distintas culturas. No se halló una diferencia significativa en la aplicación de resolución de problemas entre muestras estadounidenses, taiwaneses y chinas. Los predictores efectivos de la resolución de problemas en las muestras estadounidense y china fueron respectivamente la autoeficacia y los rasgos de resiliencia. En la muestra taiwanesa, los predictores fueron las autoeficacia y los rasgos de resiliencia. Se halló que los rasgos de resiliencia mediaron el efecto de la autoeficacia sobre la resolución de problemas en las muestras taiwanesa y china. Se discuten las implicaciones prácticas.     

Attitude Transference and Deviant Behavior: A Comparative Study in Japan and the United States

Attitude transference is the term that has come to be used to refer to a key process by which one's personal attitudes approving or disapproving of certain behavior reflect those of his or her primary groups and in turn affect his or her conforming or deviant behavior. Cross-cultural comparisons on this and other issues afforded by previous studies, however, have been limited primarily to examining findings that have used different samples and instructions. Drawing on previous literature on cultural variability in individualism, the present study directly tests the hypotheses that although attitude transference operates similarly across cultures, the effects of parental and peer attitudes toward deviance on one's own attitudes should be weaker and stronger, respectively, in Japan compared to the United States. The analysis of identical survey data from college students in the two societies provides mixed support for the hypotheses.     

Survey article: Christianity in the People's Republic of China

Jeppe Sinding Jensen and Luther H. Martin (eds), Rationality and the Study of Religion. Acta Jutlandica LXXII: 1, Theology Series 19. Aarhus, Aarhus University Press, 1997, 221 pp., n.p., ISBN 87 7288 692 7).

Phillip Blond (ed.), Post-Secular Philosophy. London, Routledge, 1998, xiii+376 pp., £50, $85 (hardback) ISBN 0 415 09777 0, £15.99, $24.99 (paperback) ISBN 0 415 09778 9.

Peter and Linda Murray, The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1998, xii+596 pp., £15.99 (paperback) ISBN 0 19 860216 2.

Andrew Rawlinson, The Book of Enlightened Masters: Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions. La Salle, IL, Open Court, 1997, xix+650 pp., $34.95, £31.50 (paperback) ISBN 0 812 69310 8.

C. G. Jung, Jung on Synchronicity and the Paranormal, edited and selected by Roderick Main. New York and London, Routledge, vi+177 pp., $69.95, £45 (hardback) ISBN 0 415 15509 6, (paperback) $18.95, £14.99 ISBN 0 415 15508 8.

Rosalind Hackett, Art and Religion in Africa. Religion and the Arts Series. London, Cassell, 1996, 240 pp., 113 drawings and black-and-white photographs, four colour plates, n.p. ISBN 0 304 33752 8.

Schubert M. Ogden, Is There Only One True Religion or Are There Many? Dallas, Southern Methodist University Press, 1992, iii+114 pp., $12.95 (paperback) ISBN 0 87074 329 5.

N. Ross Reat and Edmund F. Perry, A World Theology: The Central Spiritual Reality of Humankind. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1991, iii+314 pp., $65.00, £45.00 ISBN 0 521 33159 5.     

Muslims in the United States: An Exploratory Study of Universal and Mental Health Values

The authors surveyed the universal and mental health values of 121 Muslims in the United States and their counseling preferences. The respondents were generally well educated and highly religious. They responded high in the universal values of benevolence and conformity; low in power, hedonism, and stimulation; and high in many humanistic mental health values. A comparison with typical counselor values showed both similarities and differences. A substantial minority indicated a willingness to go to a non-Muslim counselor but most would want a counselor with an understanding of Islam. Implications for counseling practice and future research are discussed.     

中美高等医学教育结构比较研究

高等医学教育结构合理化是衡量医学教育发展水平的重要指标, 是研究和制定医学教育发展战略的科学依据。优化高等医学教育结构对促进社会经济发展、提高教育经济效益具有重要作用。对中美高等医学教育结构进行比较, 旨在发现, 两国医学教育结构存在的差异。通过比较发现, 我国高等医学教育存在布局不合理、专业设置紊乱、专业层次结构偏低等问题。需要加强国家宏观规划和监督, 发展西部医学教育, 调整医学教育布局, 优化专业层次结构, 提升医学人才综合素质的培养。     

中美医疗损害责任制度改革之比较研究

医疗损害责任已成为现代社会普遍的医疗法律问题。中美两国医疗损害责任制度改革正朝着相反的方向发展。诉讼机制在美国医疗损害责任中的作用由强变弱,医疗诉讼起诉由易变难,医疗损害赔偿由不限制到相对限制,行政管理式的医疗过错责任制度由无到逐渐提议。我国医疗损害责任制度改革恰恰相反,即诉讼制度的作用由弱变强、医疗损害起诉由难到易,医疗损害赔偿由相对限制到不限制、行政管理式的医疗过错责任制度从有到无。我国医疗损害责任制度的改革趋势值得反思。建议借鉴美国医疗损害责任制度改革的经验。