Shared Knowledge Matters: Culture as Intersubjective Representations

The intersubjective representation approach to culture focuses on cultural members’ shared knowledge representations about the culture that they are in. Members of the same culture tend to share certain knowledge representations of the central characteristics of the culture. These shared cultural representations are established and perpetuated through dynamic communicative processes. Recent empirical research has provided support for the incremental value of intersubjective cultural representations in research on cultural identity, social cognition, and behaviors. The intersubjective representation approach complements extant research on culture as self and external artifacts. In doing so, it allows for a more comprehensive understanding of culture’s role in social and personality psychological processes.     

Practical recommendations for considering culture,race, and ethnicity in personality psychology

Personality science is the study of the individual. It aims to understand what makes people similar to others, different from some, and unique to themselves. However, there is room for research in personality to more thoughtfully consider culture, race, and ethnicity in order to better understand individual differences in people’s patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. High impact personality journals rarely include such factors into the interpretation of results, and cross-cultural and ethnic minority publications are limited within the discipline. This article offers a brief, non-exhaustive overview of how culture, race, and ethnicity are examined in relation to personality, showing that: (1) social structures continue to be neglected in the research, (2) we can learn from research being conducted in neighboring areas, and (3) valuable work is already being done within personality psychology. We offer recommendations that emphasize community based participatory research methods, combined etic-emic approaches, and contextualizing research findings to improve the consideration of culture, race, and ethnicity in personality research.     

A Social Psychology of Cultural Dynamics: Examining How Cultures Are Formed,Maintained, and Transformed

Social psychological research on culture has mainly focused on differences in psychological processes between cultural groups. However, in the globalizing world today, a complementary approach to culture, a social psychology of cultural dynamics, is emerging as a critical research program. Adopting a neo‐diffusionist meta‐theory of culture, it regards culture as emerging from the processes of cultural transmission in situated social activities, and examines the dynamics involved in the formation, maintenance, and transformation of culture over time. The paper reviews recent research on culture in this perspective and makes suggestions about future directions.     

Japanese‐American confinement and scientific democracy: Colonialism,social engineering,and government administration

During World War II, the U.S. Indian Service conducted social science experiments regarding governance among Japanese Americans imprisoned at the Poston, Arizona, camp. Researchers used an array of techniques culled from anthropological culture and personality studies, psychiatry, psychology, medicine, and public opinion research to probe how the personality traits of the confined Japanese‐Americans and camp leaders affected the social interactions within each group and between them. The research drew on prior studies of Indian personality in the US Southwest, Mexico's Native policies, and indirect colonial rule. Researchers asked how democracy functioned in contexts marked by hierarchy and difference. Their goal was to guide future policies toward US “minorities“ and foreign races in post‐war occupied territories. We show how researchers deployed ideas about race, cultural, and difference across a variety of cases to create a universal, predictive social science, which they combined with a prewar romanticism and cultural relativism. These researchers made ethnic, racial, and cultural difference compatible with predictive laws of science based on notions of fundamental human similarities.     

Self-construal and social anxiety: Considering personality

Self-construal has been identified as a potential means to explain cultural differences in social anxiety. Yet, research findings suggest that self-construal is an individual difference as much as a cultural difference. We tested for mediation and moderation regarding self-construal, social anxiety, and other primary individual difference constructs. Our results indicated that the relation of extraversion and neuroticism to social anxiety was partially mediated by independent self-construal. In addition, the relationship between social anxiety and interdependent self-construal was moderated by neuroticism. These results suggest that personality traits play an important role in the relationship between social anxiety and self-construal. Clinical interventions that consider the interplay between self-construal and personality may be helpful in decreasing social anxiety.     

Current Controversies in the Study of Personality across Cultures

Research on culture and personality is thriving. In this article, I address several prominent controversies, including: (a) alternative perspectives on the relationship between culture and personality; (b) the cross‐cultural universality versus specificity of personality structure; (c) whether comparisons of mean inventory profiles reveal valid cultural differences in trait levels; and (d) the importance and role of the trait concept across cultures. Greater consensus regarding the relationship between culture and personality will likely be achieved if researchers clarify which aspects of personality they are addressing (e.g., basic tendencies vs. characteristic adaptations). Recent lexical and indigenous studies have weakened consensus regarding the universality and comprehensiveness of the Five‐Factor Model. The validity of cultural mean profiles remains unresolved. Research on the importance of traits across cultures provides support for both trait and cultural psychology perspectives, although more culture‐comparative studies of consistency and predictive validity are needed. Suggestions for research are offered.     

Personality and culture,the Social Science Research Council,and liberal social engineering: The Advisory Committee on Personality and Culture, 1930–1934

The field of personality and culture was given a significant impetus during the 1930s with the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Personality and Culture (1930–1934) by the Social Science Research Council. This committee provided an early formulation of personality and culture that emphasized the interdisciplinary focus on the processes of personality formation within small‐scale social settings. The committee's formulation also coupled personality and culture with a liberal social engineering approach geared toward cultural reconstruction. Major social scientists and clinicians were involved in the activities of the committee, including Edward Sapir, W. I. Thomas, E. W. Burgess, E. A. Bott, Robert S. Woodworth, Harry Stack Sullivan, C. M. Hincks, and Adolf Meyer. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Extending Traditional Psychological Disciplines to Positive Psychology: A View from Subjective Well-being

This article reviews how research from traditional psychological disciplines has been extended and applied to the area of positive psychology (PP), specifically in the area of subjective well-being (SWB). Moving from a universal to cultural perspective, then to a group, and finally an individual perspective, this article draws theories from evolutionary, cultural, social, and personality psychology. The evolutionary perspective that negative emotions (i.e. evolved psychological mechanisms) are an impediment to positive psychology’s goal of building positive experiences has been extended and modified. Research in PP now recognizes the pitfalls of excessive positive emotions and happiness, and how negative emotions can contribute to optimal human functioning. The cultural approach investigates cultural variations in conceptualizations of SWB and highlights that the benefits and detrimental effects of positive and negative emotions are not universal. Theories on social dynamics further our understanding of how evaluative judgments influence well-being, and address a fundamental question in PP: Is the goal of increasing people’s well-being viable? Finally, personality theories explain individual differences in well-being and the practice of PP. In sum, the recognition that PP encapsulates the negative, and growing awareness of the importance of culture, social context, and the individual, heralds the evolving conceptualization of PP.     

Culture and Stereotyping Processes: Integration and New Directions

Stereotyping is one of the largest and most enduring research areas in social and personality psychology; many of the processes by which stereotypes are formed, maintained, and applied are now well understood. Yet, little is known about the degree to which stereotyping processes apply outside of North American and Western European contexts. This theoretical paper aims to serve as a starting point for researchers interested in the intersection of culture and stereotyping. We review the nascent literature documenting similarities and differences in intergroup perception across cultural groups and note areas in which the cross-cultural and stereotyping literatures have explored common mechanisms that could be profitably integrated. Finally, we offer suggestions for future research that will greatly improve our understanding of how culturally influenced cognitive tendencies influence the perception of social groups and their members.     

中国区域跨文化心理学理论探索与实证研究

中国区域跨文化心理学是以文化学、社会学、人类学、人文地理学、社会心理学、跨文化心理学等学科理论为基础, 比较研究中国城乡区域、地理区域、历史区域、行政区域、生态区域等文化区域居民的个体心理和群体心理共同性和差异性的学科。采用系列问卷, 在2004年和2009年先后三次对甘肃省河西、河东汉族为主的地级市属各个县市区城乡居民以及蒙拢、湘拢的跨省域居民进行抽样调查。结果表明, 区域文化同一性和差异性以及具体的生态环境、生活方式、经济发展、政治体制、社会结构、教育水平、风俗习惯、风土人情等差异, 是影响区域居民心理健康、性格特质、社会态度、刻板印象等心理机能的重要变量。今后研究将着力进行学科理论完善和省际、县际比较研究, 更好地运用田野工作等方法, 揭示区域文化与心理行为之间的相互关系和作用机制, 形成理论模型, 为建设和谐社会提供理论依据。     

人格结构的中西方差异与中国人的人格特点

该文旨在通过对中西方人格结构的比较和分析揭示文化与人格结构的关系,并探寻中国人人格结构的文化意义。根据词汇学假设进行的中西方人格结构的研究结果表明,人格结构的形成是建立在对行为归类的基础之上的,中西方人格结构的差异最直接的原因就在于中西方对行为归类的差别。中国文化比较强调整体性、联系性以及评价性是造成中国人与西方人行为归类差异的原因,而更深层次的原因则是中西方文化中对人性看法的差异。中国人人格量表有着比较理想的预测效度,而且与西方大五人格量表相比更高的预测效度,这些均表明中国人人格结构的合理性。文中还提出了进一步研究的展望     

The Psychology of Nice People

Popular culture often describes being nice as a social disadvantage. However, research repeatedly finds that being agreeable is associated with a number of advantages. Literature noting the positive benefits of being agreeable is reviewed. The paper also addresses how agreeableness, one of the Big Five personality dimensions, is linked with higher-quality friendships, successful parenting, better academic and career performance, and health. The case is made that being agreeable is not equated to being easily influenced nor is it an artifact because of social desirability. Finally, cultural and gender differences related to agreeableness are addressed. Based on the review of the literature, it is postulated that being agreeable may be the path to enduring interpersonal relationships, happiness, success, and well-being.     

Trait Psychology and Culture: Exploring Intercultural Comparisons

Personality traits, studied for decades by Western personality psychologists, have recently been reconceptualized as endogenous basic tendencies that, within a cultural context, give rise to habits, attitudes, skills, beliefs, and other characteristic adaptations. This conceptualization provides a new framework for studying personality and culture at three levels. Transcultural research focuses on identifying human universals, such as trait structure and development; intracultural studies examine the unique expression of traits in specific cultures; and intercultural research characterizes cultures and their subgroups in terms of mean levels of personality traits and seeks associations between cultural variables and aggregate personality traits. As an example of the problems and possibilities of intercultural analyses, data on mean levels of Revised NEO Personality Inventory scales from college age and adult samples (N = 23,031) of men and women from 26 cultures are examined. Results showed that age and gender differences resembled those found in American samples; different subsamples from each culture showed similar levels of personality traits: intercultural factor analysis yielded a close approximation to the Five-Factor Model; and factor scores were meaningfully related to other culture-level variables. However, mean trait levels were not apparent to expert raters, casting doubt on the accuracy of national stereotypes. Trait psychology can serve as a useful complement to cultural perspectives on human nature and personality.     

文化与人格研究中的几个问题

“文化与人格”包含着“文化中的人格”和“人格中的文化”两个命题。当今人格与文化研究中存在几个问题:人格特质的跨文化普遍性问题;人格与文化研究中的文化问题;人格与文化的作用机制问题。要解决这些问题:1.将主位研究与客位研究结合起来;2.将文化看作动态的过程;3.考虑到文化与人格之间起作用的中间机制;4.加强人格心理学与其它学科的联系。     

The Emergence of Narrative Identity

This paper reviews the current research on narrative identity. Narrative identity is quickly becoming accepted as a promising process approach to self‐development in a variety of fields, including developmental, clinical, cultural, personality, and social psychology. This paper reviews factors surrounding the emergence of narrative identity in adolescence, relations between narrative patterns and age and personality, as well as factors that are important to developing a coherent narrative identity, such as the emotional valence of experience, storytelling, and culture. Finally, new and emerging issues are raised for those interested in the study of narrative identity, with a particular focus on narratives that are difficult to tell and may violate cultural norms.     

Brand Personality Structures in the United States and Korea: Common and Culture‐Specific Factors

The symbolic meaning of commercial brands (often called brand personality) can represent the values and beliefs of a culture. When a set of global brands were rated on the same personality attributes in the United States and Korea, 6 common dimensions of brand personality and 2 factors unique to each culture were observed. The 2 culture‐specific factors in Korea (Passive Likeableness and Ascendancy) support our general hypothesis that Korean brand personality structure carries cultural meaning, reflecting the importance of Confucian values in Korea's social and economic systems. Although their cultural meaning is less clear, the 2 unique factors (White Collar and Androgyny) that emerged in the U.S. sample suggest changing cultural values associated with occupational status and gender roles.     

Thinking chickens: a review of cognition,emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken

Domestic chickens are members of an order, Aves, which has been the focus of a revolution in our understanding of neuroanatomical, cognitive, and social complexity. At least some birds are now known to be on par with many mammals in terms of their level of intelligence, emotional sophistication, and social interaction. Yet, views of chickens have largely remained unrevised by this new evidence. In this paper, I examine the peer-reviewed scientific data on the leading edge of cognition, emotions, personality, and sociality in chickens, exploring such areas as self-awareness, cognitive bias, social learning and self-control, and comparing their abilities in these areas with other birds and other vertebrates, particularly mammals. My overall conclusion is that chickens are just as cognitively, emotionally and socially complex as most other birds and mammals in many areas, and that there is a need for further noninvasive comparative behavioral research with chickens as well as a re-framing of current views about their intelligence.     

什么是“中国人”的个性？——《中国人个性测量表CPAI-2》的分组差异

《中国人个性测量表CPAI-2》是一套本土化发展而成的个性量表,涵盖包括中国文化独有以及在大多数文化共有的性格维度。该文认为结合文化特定与文化共通的研究方法能全面地反映心理现实,亦能加深我们对跨文化心理学的理解。该研究分析了CPAI-2常模的几个子组别,以展示在同一文化之内,性格特质的差异及连续性。性别及年龄组别间的平均分差异均符合相应的社化过程及人生发展阶段所预期的结果。而中国香港及中国不同地区在平均分的差异上则没有特定的模式。文化内及跨文化的差异展示了个人性格差异的连续性,以及文化特定与文化共通概念的相互关系。     

From Emic to Etic: Exporting Indigenous Constructs

The study of culture differs by methodology. This article distinguishes etic (global) and emic (focal) approaches to cross-cultural research, and uses empirical studies in personality and social psychology as examples to illustrate the pros and cons of these two approaches and examine their relationships. Then, the article reviews origins and trends of research on several culturally derived constructs, including face, harmony, filial piety, and modesty. The import and export processes of pan-cultural and indigenous constructs reveal that generalization and indigenization are interrelated, complementary. It is suggested that cultural similarities and differences be better conceptualized as malleable and dynamic, and that etic and emic approaches can be integrated to form a unified system, balancing universality and distinctiveness.     

The Moderating Influence of Personality and Culture on Social Loafing in Typical versus Maximum Performance Situations

The current paper combines research from personality, cultural, social, and work‐ and organizational psychology. More precisely, it addresses the motivating effects of situations that either foster or inhibit social loafing under typical vs maximum performance conditions. It further tests how these effects are moderated by the three individual difference variables of conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience, and the two cultural dimension variables of collectivism and power distance. Results reveal positive main effects for inherently motivating situations, maximum performance conditions, conscientiousness, agreeableness and collectivism, as well as a significant interaction between the degree to which the situation invites social loafing and the typical vs maximum performance condition. These findings thus confirm a possible overlap between the theories of social loafing and of typical vs maximum performance. Finally, power distance showed a number of surprising interactions that may, in part, account for cultural differences found in the social loafing literature. Implications for theory building, empirical research and practice are discussed.