Language as a cultural vessel in online servicescapes: Its impact on consumers' perceived risk,attitudes, and behavioural intentions

Globalisation and the broader use of the Internet have led both academia and professionals to dedicate a great deal of attention to the analysis of the cultural differences that exist within a market and between different markets. Language emerges as a relevant issue in current marketing and communication management environments, especially in online servicescape. Following this premise, the current paper examines the role of language as a vessel of cultural values, namely, individualism and uncertainty avoidance, and its impact on consumer's perceived risk, attitudes, and behavioural intentions in online servicescape. To address this objective, an experimental design was performed. The sample comprised 491 Internet users from 2 different national cultures (British and Spanish). Users were asked to browse an experimental website in their native or first language, whereas the other half of the sample browsed in their second language (British subjects browsing in Spanish and vice versa). The unique contribution of this study lies in demonstrating that online information processing is moderated by the language by which users elaborate information and their cultural values in terms of the dimensions of individualism and uncertainty avoidance. The findings provide valuable insights into the role of language in international marketing strategies, as well as in multicultural and cross‐cultural integrated marketing communications. In this regard, marketers must acknowledge the symbolic cues of language and the competitive advantage that might derive from a strategic language choice to evoke emotions and forge attitudes that are consistent with brand and corporate values.     

“We have answered their prayer”: American Jewish old age homes as guardians of religious tradition

ABSTRACT

The old age home was the major American Jewish communal response to aged poverty during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first homes offered a self-conscious projection of their sponsors as socially progressive and compassionate in a new landscape. For a religious community increasingly distanced from formal hierarchies of traditional religious practice, the highly visible performance of good deeds under explicitly Jewish auspices became central to its communal identity. Acting on a combination of compassion and the perceived moral imperative of providing a Jewish environment, the founders and supporters of these homes recast Judaism and Jewish identity through an idealized image of aged piety.     

文化对个体风险感知的影响:文化认知理论的解释

文化认知理论旨在从个体层面研究与文化因素相关的个体风险感知差异。它以"格-群"维度划分文化世界观,"格"维度衡量社会的制度化程度,"群"维度衡量社会群体对个体的影响程度,由此编制文化认知量表以测量个体文化理念差异。目前已验证认同保护认知、偏见同化与群体极化、文化易得性、文化可信性、文化认同确认五种作用机制,并在情感启发式研究的基础上引入文化冲突模因作为中介变量建立理论模型。后续研究可推进文化认知测量工具的跨文化检验与本土化修订,并在具体风险主题研究的基础上探索切实可行的公共风险管理对策。     

互联网数据中的文化差异与文化变迁

互联网时代,人们在网络上留下了各种反映其心理过程与文化特征的信息。这些庞大多样的互联网数据为文化心理学研究提供了新视角。首先,当前文化心理学存在文化差异和文化变迁两种研究取向,互联网数据相较传统来源数据在这两种研究上均存在若干优势;其次,针对4种类型的互联网数据,文化心理学家利用文本分析、多媒体分析、社会网络分析和互联网使用行为分析的方法进行研究;再次,基于互联网数据及其分析方法,文化差异与变迁研究取得了丰硕的成果;最后,当前基于互联网数据的文化心理学研究存在效度、技术与理论局限,未来研究需通过合理抽样、检验新指标有效性、准因果分析、充分运用新技术、数据驱动等方法来提升方法效度、结果深度及理论多样性。     

Perceived interpersonal sources of life satisfaction in Chinese and American students: Cultural or gender differences?

This study evaluated cultural and gender differences in perceived interpersonal sources of life satisfaction between 341 Chinese and 222 American college students. Comparative analyses indicated overall lower life satisfaction in Chinese, than in Americans. However, Chinese, compared to Americans, reported greater life satisfaction derived from perceived sources involving the self, parents, teachers and peers. Results of regression analyses indicated that, for both Chinese and Americans, the self and parents were unique sources associated with life satisfaction. However, for Americans, close friends also emerged as an additional unique source. When gender differences were examined, additional nuances were found within each cultural group. Thus, some evidence for both cultural and gender differences in perceived interpersonal sources of life satisfaction across Chinese and Americans was found. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.     

Two faces of human happiness: Explicit and implicit life satisfaction

Evidence is provided for implicit aspects of life satisfaction. In study 1 the implicit life satisfaction measure (ILS): (i) showed moderate reliability as well as convergent and incremental validity; (ii) appeared to be affected by temporary mood and social desirability to a lesser extent than explicit measures; and (iii) showed cultural invariance in contrast to explicit measures that revealed cross-cultural differences, as found in previous research. Study 2 showed that the ILS replicated theoretically expected differences between those known to have encountered chronically negative life experiences (North Korean defectors) and those without such experiences (South Koreans). Implications of these findings for explicit and ILS are discussed.     

Perceived cultural distance and acculturation among exchange students in Russia

The relations of perceived cultural distance, personality, acculturation orientations and outcomes were studied among exchange students (N = 187) in Russia who came from various countries in Asia, sub‐Saharan Africa, Latin America and the former Soviet Union. The hypothesis was supported that a larger perceived cultural distance between mainstream and immigrant culture is associated with less psychological (homesickness and stress) and sociocultural (behaviour with Russian students and behaviour with co‐nationals) adjustment. The statistical relations between perceived cultural distance, personality and sociocultural adjustment were much stronger for host domain behaviour than for home domain behaviour. Adjustment was higher for participants with more cultural empathy, openmindedness and flexibility. Adjustment showed statistically stronger associations with cultural distance than with acculturation orientations. It is concluded that cultural distance may be more salient than acculturation orientations in studies of heterogeneous groups of immigrants. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

心理资本: 本土量表的开发及中西比较

开发了本土心理资本量表, 并将之与西方量表进行了比较。结果显示, 本土心理资本构念具有二阶双因素结构: 事务型心理资本(自信勇敢、乐观希望、奋发进取与坚韧顽强)与人际型心理资本(谦虚诚稳、包容宽恕、尊敬礼让与感恩奉献)。事务型心理资本与西方心理资本基本相似, 人际型心理资本则具有本土文化气息。本土量表具有良好的效标关联效度, 人际型心理资本、事务型心理资本和任务绩效、周边绩效、工作满意度、工作投入及组织承诺显著正相关, 人际型心理资本与传统性、相依我正向关系显著。相比西方量表, 本土量表的信效度更好, 对工作绩效有更强的解释能力, 尤其是对周边绩效。建议进行心理资本研究时应充分考虑中西文化差异, 对组织而言, 则应重视对雇员本土心理资本各要素的开发与管理。     

Assessing cognitive impairment in Indigenous Australians: Re‐evaluation of the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment in Western Australia and the Northern Territory

The Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA) was initially developed and validated as a culturally appropriate dementia screening tool for older Indigenous people living in the Kimberley. This paper describes the re‐evaluation of the psychometric properties of the cognitive section (KICA‐Cog) of this tool in two different populations, including a Northern Territory sample, and a larger population‐based cohort from the Kimberley. In both populations, participants were evaluated on the KICA‐Cog tool, and independently assessed by expert clinical raters blinded to the KICA scores, to determine validity and reliability of dementia diagnosis for both groups. Community consultation, feedback and education were integral parts of the research. for the Northern Territory sample, 52 participants were selected primarily through health services. Sensitivity was 82.4% and specificity was 87.5% for diagnosis of dementia, with area under the curve (AUC) of .95, based on a cut‐off score of 31/32 of a possible 39. for the Kimberley sample, 363 participants from multiple communities formed part of a prevalence study of dementia. Sensitivity was 93.3% and specificity was 98.4% for a cut‐off score of 33/34, with AUC = .98 (95% confidence interval: 0.97–0.99). There was no education bias found. The KICA‐Cog appears to be most reliable at a cut‐off of 33/39.     

Effects of trauma and the refugee experience on psychological assessment processes and interpretation

All psychological assessments occur in a cultural context, whoever the participants. When the participant being assessed is someone of refugee background, several contextual domains, both current and historical, require close attention. Those domains are the effects of torture, violence and traumatic loss; pre‐arrival hardships such as poor nutrition, inadequate shelter, lack of access to health services and disruptions to schooling; settlement stresses involving unfamiliarity with Australian systems and discrimination; and family functioning and fractures to family nurturance, maintained by ongoing separation from and dangers to significant others left behind. Given that the purpose of psychological assessment is to formulate appropriate interventions for promoting mental health, learning and wellbeing for individuals presenting with special needs, professional expertise demands a comprehensive analysis of the causes of identified problems.