The Younger Generation of Culture Scholars and Culture-studies in Russia Today

I consider the main problem areas within theacademic project ``The 1990s: The Semantics ofRussian Culture,' undertaken by researchers,recent graduates, and the first post-graduatesof the Moscow Institute for European Cultures.The areas include new figures on the publicscene; new forms of communication; newinstitutions; current processes in culture andsociety. I examine the social and historicalframework of the formation of culture studiesas an academic discipline in contemporaryRussia, the alternative perspectives and tasksof the sociology of culture in Russian today.     

Educational Theory as a Writerly Practice

Educational theory does not oppose educational practice, as manyseem to think; instead it is a form of practice and the action oftheory exists at two levels. At a cultural level theory ischaracterized by linguistic forms of action and at a social level it is characterized by the day to day practices thatorganize and reward the work of producing educational philosophy.While the social practices that govern the production ofphilosophy certainly beg for ethnographic attention,any consideration anthropologists or philosophers giveit will eventually find its way to the page and hence tothe cultural forms of linguistic action that are thesubject of this paper. Focusing on how educationalphilosophers see the things that they do, as opposedto what they see, I will suggest that the wayeducational philosophy is fashioned is an importantpart of what is fashioned. Ironically, as I will show,the ``way' of educational philosophy can flow with oragainst the ``what' of it – an author, that is, can saythat they are for or against this or that, but their stylized way of saying it can contradict the literalmeaning of their words.     

Coping Resources, Perceived Stress, and Life Satisfaction Among Turkish and American University Students

This study investigated coping resources (Coping Resources Inventory for Stress), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), and life satisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale) among American and Turkish university students. Results support the use of transactional stress constructs in studying life satisfaction with students in both countries. American and Turkish students did not differ significantly in regard to perceived stress, life satisfaction, or an overall measure of coping resources; however, they did differ significantly regarding specific coping resources. Variables entering regression models for predicting life satisfaction differed for students in the two countries and for the sexes within countries, and these models accounted for between 30% and 62% of variance. Social support and a sense of financial freedom were particularly useful in predicting life satisfaction. Coping resources accounted for 54% of variance in perceived stress. There were significant sex differences for both countries, generally favoring males, in regard to specific coping resources.     

论心理学文化品性

长期以来,关于心理学性质的理解一直存有争论,人们总是以自己的哲学观、心理观和理智背景来认识和解说心理学性质.从文化哲学视角来分析和探讨,会揭示出心理学对象、心理学者研究立场、心理学概念、心理学知识基础、心理学思维方式等诸要素与一定的价值立场和文化传统之间有着内在关联,其背后是强大的文化支持系统,这从整体上凸显了心理学的文化品性.探讨心理学文化品性旨在发现和建构心理学新的话语实践,使之成为重新解读心理学立论依据.     

A comparison of normative data for the Trail Making Test from several countries: equivalence of norms and considerations for interpretation

The Trail Making Test may not be equivalent across cultures, i.e., differences in the scores across different cultures may not reveal real differences in the ability of the subjects on the construct being measured. In order to assess this hypothesis, normative samples from ten different countries were compared. Age decade subgroups across samples were ranked based on mean time taken to complete each part of the task. Large Z scores differences were found between these samples when comparing the first with the second, and the last in the rank. These differences were significant even when age and education were comparable across samples. Following Van de Vijver & Tanzer (1997), several possible sources of bias were identified. Incomparability of samples and administration differences were the most likely factors accounting for differences. Because of the lack of validity studies in the countries considered, no firm conclusions could be obtained regarding construct bias. Although the TMT may be measuring visual scanning, psychomotor speed and mental flexibility, normative data from different countries and cultures are not equivalent which might lead to serious diagnostic errors.     

Creating Cultural Meaning in Products and Brands: A Psychological Perspective

R. Batra (2019) and S. Fournier and C. Alvarez (2019) provide many substantive perspectives related to the questions about creating cultural meaning in products and brands. This commentary organizes their views and thoughts under five broadly categorized questions and identifies additional relevant perspectives and questions for future research.     

Trauma Recovery in the Transgender and Gender Diverse Community: Extensions of the Minority Stress Model for Treatment Planning

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) populations, including those that do not identify with gender binary constructs (man or woman) are increasingly presenting for treatment of posttrauma sequelae. Providers who offer services for trauma survivors including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment should be knowledgeable about evidence-based care and have some cultural familiarity with TGD experiences. Indeed, the Minority Stress Model suggests that the combination of distal and proximal minority stressors can combine to produce increased mental health symptoms as compared with cisgender peers, though this model has yet to be fully tested. Clients often present with a complicated picture of experiences, which include a variety of minority stressors, microaggressions, discrimination, and traumatic events that can all be related to their identity. However, conceptualizations of trauma treatment in the context of extensive minority stress are lacking. This paper summarizes the existing literature and offers guidance to mental health providers who are well positioned to address stigma, discrimination, violence, and related symptoms that arise from micro-, mezzo- and macro-level spheres of TGD individuals’ experience.     

The development of children's preferences for equality and equity across 13 individualistic and collectivist cultures

A concern for fairness is a fundamental and universal element of morality. To examine the extent to which cultural norms are integrated into fairness cognitions and influence social preferences regarding equality and equity, a large sample of children (N 2,163) aged 4–11 were tested in 13 diverse countries. Children participated in three versions of a third‐party, contextualized distributive justice game between two hypothetical recipients differing in terms of wealth, merit, and empathy. Social decision‐making in these games revealed universal age‐related shifts from equality‐based to equity‐based distribution motivations across cultures. However, differences in levels of individualism and collectivism between the 13 countries predicted the age and extent to which children favor equity in each condition. Children from the most individualistic cultures endorsed equitable distributions to a greater degree than children from more collectivist cultures when recipients differed in regards to wealth and merit. However, in an empathy context where recipients differed in injury, children from the most collectivist cultures exhibited greater preferences to distribute resource equitably compared to children from more individualistic cultures. Children from the more individualistic cultures also favored equitable distributions at an earlier age than children from more collectivist cultures overall. These results demonstrate aspects of both cross‐cultural similarity and divergence in the development of fairness preferences.     

An extension of the dark triad and five‐factor model to three Asian societies

The aim of this study is to test the external validity of the short dark triad (SD3) and see whether the dark triad (DT) framework is replicable in Asian societies. In three independent studies involving 443 participants from South Korea, China, and the Philippines, we extend short measures of the DT and the big five framework as well as conduct confirmatory factor analysis to test various models of the SD3 in each country. We also test for measurement invariance, report intercorrelations, alpha coefficients, and gender differences within each sample. Except for Machiavellianism, all models failed configural invariance. Despite failing configural invariance across all three countries, males consistently reported higher means on all DT traits, with psychopathy the lowest, and DT constructs were significantly intercorrelated with each other across all three samples, demonstrating a pattern of consistency with previous DT literature and findings. As the DT continues to gain in popularity and is beginning to surface in cross‐cultural research, we contribute to discussions concerned with the construct's external validity. Our study's findings question what, if any, meaningful interpretations can be made from extending Western‐based personality instruments to Asian (foreign) societies. Limitations and contributions of this study are outlined, and recommendations for future research are summarized.