Exploring posttraumatic growth in Tamil children affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004

Few studies explore posttraumatic growth (PTG) in children from Eastern cultures. To help address this gap, the present study examined PTG among 177 South Indian children aged 8–17 years who were affected by the 2004 Tsunami. The study identifies the underlying factor structure of the Tamil version of the Revised Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children (PTGI‐C‐R), and aims to explore the prevalence of PTG, the relationship between distress and growth, and gender and age differences in PTG. The results of the principal component analysis indicated a two‐factor structure with an interpersonal and a person‐centred dimension of growth. The total scores of the Tamil PTGI‐C‐R were positively associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and age. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between age and the person‐centred growth subscale. Non‐parametric tests found no gender differences in perceived growth. The role of socio‐cultural factors on the nature of PTG is discussed.     

Clinical interventions and prevention for Asian American children and families: Current status and needed research

The current status of clinical interventions and prevention for Asian American children and/or adolescents and their families was assessed through a review of the literature on conceptual frameworks, cultural variables and related issues, and empirical studies. Five proposed approaches to treatment or prevention were examined. Some factors that might account for the slow progress of treatment research in this area were also discussed. These included conceptual and methodological issues; the paucity of data on psychopathology in this population; their low service-utilization rates; and societal images, values, and needs. Some needed directions for future research are suggested.     

Whether highly curious students thrive academically depends on perceptions about the school learning environment: A study of Hong Kong adolescents

The present study tested whether the perceived academic values of a school moderate whether highly curious students thrive academically. We investigated the interactive effects of curiosity and school quality on academic success for 484 Hong Kong high school students. Chinese versions of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory, Subjective Happiness Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem scales were administered and shown to have acceptable measurement properties. We obtained Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) scores (national achievement tests) from participating schools. Results yielded Trait Curiosity × Perceived School Quality interactions in predicting HKCEE scores and school grades. Adolescents with greater trait curiosity in more challenging schools had the greatest academic success; adolescents with greater trait curiosity in less challenging schools had the least academic success. Findings were not attributable to subjective happiness or self-esteem and alternative models involving these positive attributes were not supported. Results suggest that the benefits of curiosity are activated by student beliefs that the school environment supports their values about growth and learning; these benefits can be disabled by perceived person-environment mismatches.

Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson as Cultural Icons of U.S. Foreign Policy

The conventional account of American diplomacy in the modern era is marked by a cultural tension between realist and idealist themes symbolized by the statecraft of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. However, a revisionist account has emerged to challenge and even reverse the conventional account of Roosevelt and Wilson. This poses an intriguing empirical puzzle that is essentially psychological, as it pertains to the belief systems of these two presidents. In order to investigate this puzzle and its implications for U.S. strategic culture, we employ an automated content analysis of the public statements by the two leaders regarding their operational code beliefs about the nature of the political universe and the best approach to effective political action. The results reveal similarities and differences in their belief systems and illustrate how psychological models can provide insights into the psychocultural origins of U.S. diplomacy that remain relevant to the present day.     

Cultural and environmental influences on footedness: cross-sectional study in urban and semi-urban Malawi

The present study was designed to assess cultural and environmental pressure against left-foot preference in urban and semi-urban Malawi. The findings demonstrated that, when compared to handedness, footedness appeared to be less biased behavioral laterality in culturally restrictive communities. The percentage of responders with negative views on left-foot preference was lower than that on left-hand preference (57% vs. 75%) and a smaller proportion of volunteers suggested that left-footers should be forced to change the foot (63.5% vs. 87.6%). In total, mobilizing and stabilizing tasks scored similar proportions of negative responses. Expectation of inferior performance of the left foot than the right one was the major reason for negative views on left-foot preference. Gender and driving experience had significant but weak effect on the view on left-foot preference. Most of the responders (74%) suggested that left-footers should change the foot in early family environment.     

Cultivating human nature

Evolutionary psychology claims to offer a unified perspective on human nature and culture, which can serve to further the integration of psychology and the social sciences. I describe four approaches to evolutionary psychology, and note increasing attention to the agency of the individual in constructing the biological and cultural environment. These approaches, however, share a problematic conception of culture as information. I explore the possibility of using Latour's concept of mediation to analyse the relation between human nature and culture without restricting the latter to information, and collect a number of recent studies and essays that illustrate the way individuals mediate nature and culture.     

Culture-contingent signs of trust in emergent relationships

This study develops a culture-contingent model of trust formation in emergent relationships by comparing how trust-warranting signs shape attributions of trustworthiness to unfamiliar trustees in collectivist versus individualist cultures. We predict and find that the effectiveness of dispositional and contextual signs varies systematically depending on trustors’ national culture. Collectivists tend to rely less on dispositional signs and more on situational signs than individualists. This difference fosters distinct trust-building pathways. Individualists bestow trust based on a trustee’s perceived ability and integrity, collectivists’ trusting choices depend to a greater extent on predictable, benevolent interactions with a potential partner. These findings suggest that, in cross-cultural encounters, signs aligned with trustors’ cultural expectations hasten trust production. Mismatched signs are impotent, even off-putting.     

朱谦之与"南方文化运动"

20世纪30年代,抗日救亡成为时代的主题,朱谦之为“文化救国”、“科学救国”计,大力倡导“南方文化运动”。朱先生的理由在于南方文化有自己的优越性:“科学的文化”、“产业的文化”、“革命的文化”。朱先生还用“文化的地理分布理论”对其进行了论证。“南方文化运动”实质上是一场关于文化的现代化运动,它除了对当时的抗日救亡运动有重要贡献外,对促进近代以来南方文化的觉醒,对中国文化现代化的探讨,也有鲜明的启示作用。     

Are Asians forgetful? Perception, retention, and recall in episodic remembering

Cross-cultural studies have shown that Asians exhibit less accessibility to episodic memories than Euro-Americans. This difference is often attributed to differential cognitive and social influences on memory retention, although there have been no empirical data concerning the underlying mechanism. Three studies were conducted to examine encoding and retention processes that may underlie the cultural difference in episodic recall. While Asians recalled fewer personal event episodes than Euro-Americans across different retention intervals, the two groups showed similar forgetting functions over time (Study 1). Asians also recalled fewer episodes of fictional events than Euro-Americans when the retention interval was kept to a minimum (Study 2). Finally, Asians perceived fewer discrete episodes than Euro-Americans when reading events in a narrative text (Study 3). Collectively, these findings suggest that the cultural difference in episodic recall may not be a mere consequence of memory retention but culture-specific perceptual processing and encoding. They have great theoretical, developmental, and clinical relevance.     

La compréhension des causes biologiques de la maladie par les enfants

This article reviews research on the extent to which children can and do understand the biological basis for illness transmission. Recent studies demonstrate that even preschoolers can grasp the invisible nature of microbial contamination. However, they may not readily identify germs as organisms that reproduce and multiply and that require an incubation period to produce symptoms of illness. Moreover, the acceptance of purification techniques that reverse the effects of contamination is strongly influenced by culture. For example, Indian children, compared to their American counterparts, often judge that the contamination of liquids cannot be reversed even with boiling and cooling. Work in developing countries suggests that early experience with biological explanations for illness is important for adults’ understanding of illness transmission.