Employees' Well-being in Greater China: The Direct and Moderating Effects of General Self-efficacy

This study investigated the direct and moderating effect of general self-efficacy on the relationship between stressors and well-being in Chinese societies. Survey data were collected from 386 and 306 employees in Hong Kong and Beijing, respectively. The results consistently showed that general self-efficacy was positively related to mental well-being and physical well-being. A series of hierarchical regressions revealed that general self-efficacy moderated the relationship between stressors and mental well-being, yet did not moderate the relationship between stressors and physical well-being. Results verified that general self-efficacy plays an important role in employees' well-being in the collectivist society of China.
Cette recherche porte sur l'effet direct et régulateur de l'auto-efficience générale sur la relation entre les facteurs de stress et le bien-être dans les sociétés chinoises. Les données d'enquête ont été obtenues auprès de 386 salariés de Hong-Kong et 306 de Pékin. Les résultats montrent régulièrement que l'auto-efficience générale est positivement corrélée avec le bien-être physique et mental. Une succession de régressions hiérarchiques a révélé que l'auto-efficience générale régulait la relation entre les facteurs de stress et le bien-être mental, mais pas celle entre les facteurs de stress et le bien-être physique. Les résultats vérifient l'hypothèse selon laquelle l'auto-efficience générale joue un rôle important pour le bien-être des salariés dans la société collectiviste chinoise.     

When do primes prime? The moderating role of the self-concept in individuals’ susceptibility to priming effects on social behavior

Using cooperative behavior in economic decision-making settings, we predicted and found that people’s susceptibility to priming influences is moderated by two factors: people’s chronic accessibility to a behavioral repertoire and people’s self-concept activation. In Experiment 1, we show that individuals highly consistent in their social value orientation (SVO) assimilate their behavior to their dispositions rather than to the primes, whereas the opposite effect is obtained among individuals with a low consistent SVO. In Experiment 2, we show that low consistent SVO individuals become less susceptible to priming influences when their self-concept is activated. These studies shed new light on individuals’ susceptibility to priming influences on social behavior.     

Motivation to Manage in China and Hong Kong: A Gender Comparison of Managers

Although women comprise an important part of the labor force in Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China (PRC), they remain underrepresented and underutilized in managerial positions. This study investigates the applicability of role motivation theory in the Chinese culture and examines if lack of motivation to manage is a potential explanation for this underrepresentation. Data were collected from 127 Hong Kong (68 men and 59 women) and 175 mainland Chinese (128 men and 47 women) managers. As expected, Hong Kong managers possess significantly higher levels of motivation to manage than do their PRC counterparts. There are, however, no significant gender-based differences in levels of motivation to manage in either Hong Kong or the PRC. Lack of motivation to manage does not appear to contribute to the underutilization of Chinese women in management in Hong Kong and mainland China.     

Establishing the constructs of childhood behavioral disturbances in a Chinese population: A questionnaire study

The behavioral problems of Chinese children were examined in a questionnaire study of a representative sample of 3,069 seven-year-old Chinese schoolboys in Hong Kong using Rutter's questionnaires for completion by parents and teachers. Separate robust dimensions of hyperactivity, antisocial, and neurotic behaviors were evident. The correlations among different dimensions were similar to those reported in the West. Short-term longitudinal analysis suggested that these dimensions were stable over time and that antisocial behaviors might develop in hyperactive children. The finding highlights the necessity of differentiating the hyperactive domain from the antisocial one. A significant source effect was found in all three dimensions. Chinese schoolboys had nearly two times the level of questionnaire-rated hyperactivity compared with school boys in the West; but it is premature to conclude that hyperactivity is more common in Chinese schoolboys in Hong Kong. Cross-cultural differences in adults' expectations and tolerance remain a plausible explanation.This study was supported by the Croucher Foundation. We would like to thank the Education Department of Hong Kong for assistance in sampling. We are particularly grateful to the children, teachers, and parents who participated in this study.     

The Perception of Ideal Best Friends by Chinese Adolescents

This study examines the characteristics of ideal best friends endorsed by Chinese adolescents. A comprehensive measure of person perception was used in order to assess those dimensions of personality where gender, similarity, and complementarity might be related to the rating of ideal best friends. Results indicated that ideal female best friends were rated higher on the communal dimension of Helpfulness; ideal male best friends were rated higher on the agentic dimensions of Extroversion, Assertiveness, and Application. Similarity effects were found for Openness to Experience, Extroversion, and Emotional Stability; complementarity effects for Assertiveness. These results were explained in terms of Chinese gender stereotypes and the requirements for harmonious dyadic interaction.     

A posteriori information effects on culpability judgments from a cross-cultural perspective

A posteriori information about the moral attributes of the victim of a crime can affect an observer's judgment on the culpability of the actor of the crime so that negative moral attributes of the victim will lead to a lower judgment of culpability. The authors found this effect of a posteriori information among 118 American and 123 Chinese participants, but the underlying mechanisms were different between the two cultural groups. The Americans considered the psychological state of the actor during the crime, whereas the Chinese considered the morality of the actor during the crime. The authors discussed these results in light of the respondents' implicit theories of morality.     

The effects of symmetry and contour on recognition memory in children

Children in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and second grade were tested on a delayed match-to-sample task using abstract visual patterns. The patterns varied both in type of visual organization (unstructured, diagonally symmetrical, vertically symmetrical, and horizontally symmetrical) and in amount of contour. Following the initial memory task, we attempted to train half of the children at each grade by directing their attention to axes of symmetry; the other half of the children received a control task. Subsequently, the subjects were given a second delayed match-to-sample test. On both pre- and post-training trials, structure influenced performance, especially in the two younger groups. Vertical and horizontal symmetry generally facilitated performance in the prekindergarteners, while all three types of symmetry facilitated performance in the kindergarteners. In addition, children generally responded more accurately to patterns with lower levels of contour. They also made more like-contour than unlike-contour confusions, indicating that quantitative aspects of patterns were encoded. Group differences suggested that both processing capacity and memory increase during the age range studied. Finally, there was no indication that training improved performance at any age.     

The structure and prevalence of behavioral problems in Hong Kong preschool children

Nearly all 3-year-old Chinese children in Hong Kong attend preschool facilities, making it possible to study their behavior in a group learning situation based upon teachers' perception. The Preschool Behavior Checklist (PBCL), a teacher's questionnaire, was applied to a random sample of 851 Chinese children, ages 36 to 48 months. The factor structure of the PBCL was very similar to that obtained from its original British study, supporting its usage cross-culturally. Prevalence of behavior disorder was high as defined by the PBCL. This reflected specific cultural demands at school settings. Significant sex differences were also found in the overall rate of behavior disorder and symptom patterns. As in other studies, boys had more hyperactive, conduct, and speech problems. The results suggested a certain degree of universality of symptomatology for children at the preschool level.This project was funded by the Hong Kong Society for Child Health and Development. We are grateful to all the kindergartens and child care centers which participated in this project. Valuable assistance was provided by the Education Department and the Medical Health Department.     

Time perception and time perspective differences between adolescents and adults

The present experiment aimed to investigate the differences in time perception and time perspective between subjects representing two developmental stages, namely adolescence and middle adulthood. Twenty Chinese adolescents aged 15–25 and twenty Chinese adults aged 35–55 participated in the study. A time discrimination task and a time reproduction task were implemented to measure the accuracy of their time perception. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (Short-Form) was adopted to assess their time orientation. It was found that adolescents performed better than adults in both the time discrimination task and the time reproduction task. Adolescents were able to differentiate different time intervals with greater accuracy and reproduce the target duration more precisely. For the time reproduction task, it was also found that adults tended to overestimate the duration of the target stimuli while adolescents were more likely to underestimate it. As regards time perspective, adults were more future-oriented than adolescents, whereas adolescents were more present-oriented than adults. No significant relationship was found between time perspective and time perception.