CiteULike: dokodemodoor's library [41 articles]

Preferences Versus Strategies as Explanations for Culture-Specific Behavior

Yamagishi — 2008-06-13T19:04:22-00:00

Psychological Science, Vol. 19, No. 6. (June 2008), pp. 579-584.

Cross-Cultural Differences in Relationship- and Group-Based Trust

Masaki Yuki — 2008-04-03T02:18:26-00:00

Pers Soc Psychol Bull, Vol. 31, No. 1. (1 January 2005), pp. 48-62.

Two experiments explored differences in depersonalized trust (trust toward a relatively unknown target person) across cultures. Based on a recent theoretical framework that postulates predominantly different bases for group behaviors in Western cultures versus Eastern cultures, it was predicted that Americans would tend to trust people primarily based on whether they shared category memberships; however, trust for Japanese was expected to be based on the likelihood of sharing direct or indirect interpersonal links. Results supported these predictions. In both Study 1 (questionnaire study) and Study 2 (online money allocation game), Americans trusted ingroup members more than outgroup members; however, the existence of a potential indirect relationship link increased trust for outgroup members more for Japanese than for Americans. Implications for understanding group processes across cultures are discussed. 10.1177/0146167204271305

U.S. Southern and Northern Differences in Perceptions of Norms About Aggression: Mechanisms for the Perpetuation of a Culture of Honor

Joseph Vandello — 2008-03-07T12:12:53-00:00

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 2. (1 March 2008), pp. 162-177.

This article explores one reason why norms for male honor-related aggression persist in the U.S. South, even though they may no longer be functional. The authors suggest that, in addition to cultural differences in internalized honor-related values, southerners are more likely than northerners to perceive peer endorsement of aggression norms. Study 1 found that southern males were especially likely to overestimate the aggressiveness of their peers. Study 2 tested the hypothesis that southerners would be more likely to actively encourage aggressive behavior in others, but no support was found. However, Study 3 found that southern men were more likely than northern men to perceive others as encouraging aggression when witnessing interpersonal conflicts. Together, these studies suggest that southern males are more likely than their northern counterparts to assume their peers endorse and enforce norms of aggression that can lead to the perpetuation of norms for honorable violence above and beyond any differences in internalized values. 10.1177/0022022107313862

Mapping Expressive Differences Around the World: The Relationship Between Emotional Display Rules and Individualism Versus Collectivism

David Matsumoto — 2008-01-29T10:13:54-00:00

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 1. (1 January 2008), pp. 55-74.

Despite the importance of the concept of cultural display rules in explaining cultural differences in emotional expression and despite the fact that it has been more than 30 years since this concept was coined, there is yet to be a study that surveys display rules across a wide range of cultures. This article reports such a study. More than 5,000 respondents in 32 countries completed the Display Rule Assessment Inventory. The authors examined five hypotheses concerning the relationship between display rules and individualism-collectivism (IC). The findings indicated the existence of several universal effects, including greater expression toward in-groups versus out-groups, and an overall regulation effect. Individualistic and collectivistic cultures differed on overall expressivity endorsement and in norms concerning specific emotions in in-group and out-group situations. 10.1177/0022022107311854

Evolution of spite through indirect reciprocity.

RA Johnstone — 2006-12-14T15:45:37-00:00

Proc Biol Sci, Vol. 271, No. 1551. (22 September 2004), pp. 1917-1922.

How can cooperation persist in the face of a temptation to 'cheat'? Several recent papers have suggested that the answer may lie in indirect reciprocity. Altruistic individuals may benefit by eliciting altruism from observers, rather than (as in direct reciprocity) from the recipient of the aid they provide. Here, we point out that indirect reciprocity need not always favour cooperation; by contrast, it may support spiteful behaviour, which is costly for the both actor and recipient. Existing theory suggests spite is unlikely to persist, but we demonstrate that it may do so when spiteful individuals are less likely to incur aggression from observers (a negative form of indirect reciprocity).

Food Sharing Among Ache Foragers: Tests of Explanatory Hypotheses [and Comments and Reply]

Hillard Kaplan — 2008-01-02T08:41:56-00:00

Current Anthropology, Vol. 26, No. 2. (1985), pp. 223-246.

This paper aims to describe and explain aspects of food sharing among Ache hunter-gatherers of eastern Paraguay. Food sharing has been widely held to be a fundamental feature of the hunting and gathering way of life and has been hypothesized to have played a major role in the evolution of language, intelligence, and the sexual division of labor. The very general question that guided the research is: What factors are responsible for the evolution of food sharing among adult conspecifics, and how can we account for the variation among groups in the extent to which food is shared? Five alternative hypotheses concerning the evolution of adult-adult food sharing are reviewed and analyzed in terms of the competing predictions they generate. These hypotheses invoke (1) kin selection, (2) tolerated theft, (3) temporal reciprocity, (4) cooperative acquisition of food resources, and (5) conservation of resources. For meat and honey, the resources the Ache share most, the data conform to the predictions of the tolerated-theft and temporal-reciprocity hypotheses, with some qualifications. Long-term differences in productivity between foragers suggest that reciprocity is not completely balanced. The implications of these results for a general theory of food sharing are discussed.

Indigenous Psychologies: Asian Perspectives

David Ho — 2007-12-31T07:22:26-00:00

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 29, No. 1. (1 January 1998), pp. 88-103.

To clarify the arguments for and against indigenization, the author constructs a metatheory of cross-cultural comparisons between theories, theorists, and cultures. This metatheory makes clear that cross-cultural psychology encompasses both indigenous and exotic theories; accordingly, indigenous psychologies may be regarded as a subdomain of cross-cultural psychology. The case for indigenization rests on acknowledging a critical point: The conceptualization of psychological phenomena is a psychological phenomenon in itself and is, therefore, subject to investigation. Illustrations are provided on how indigenous theorizing derived from Filipino and Confucian heritage cultures makes a conceptual and methodological contribution. To go beyond indigenization, methodological relationalism is explicated as a conceptual framework originating from Asia toward the realization of a universal psychology. 10.1177/0022022198291005

Friendship as a Voluntary Relationship: Evidence from National Surveys

Bartolomeo Palisi — 2007-12-31T06:56:32-00:00

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 4, No. 3. (1 August 1987), pp. 243-259.

This paper focuses on voluntary friendships. Drawing from Fischer's (1975) subcultural theory of urbanism, it is hypothesized that voluntary interaction with friends will be characteristic of individuals who live in urban areas. Friendship is also expected to be characteristic of high-SES, young, unmarried and childless individuals. An underlying rationale is that friendship occurs when individuals are relatively free from obligatory ties, duties and other constraints on their free choices. NORC data from 1974-83 are used to test the hypotheses. In the analysis, a distinction is made between involvement with friends outside the neighbourhood and social involvement with neighbours. The findings indicate that income, age, marital status and number of children significantly influence voluntary friendships. In addition, interaction analyses (product term) suggest that combinations of the independent variables produce the greatest effect on friendship. 10.1177/026540758700400301

Acquiescent Response Bias as an Aspect of Cultural Communication Style

Peter Smith — 2007-12-20T05:53:47-00:00

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 35, No. 1. (1 January 2004), pp. 50-61.

Estimates of acquiescent response bias derived from previously published, large-scale cross-cultural surveys that used Likert-type response scales are compared. Substantial evidence for convergent validity is found, particularly in relation to the surveys that measured value preferences. High bias in responses to personally relevant items is found in nations that are high on family collectivism and on a preference for increased uncertainty avoidance. High bias in responses to descriptions of others is found in nations low in uncertainty avoidance. These findings suggest that national indicators of acquiescence have substantive cultural meaning and should not be eliminated from nation-level analyses but rather built into analyses of cultural dynamics. 10.1177/0022022103260380

Effects of Culture and Response Format on Extreme Response Style

Harry Hui — 2007-12-20T05:45:59-00:00

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 20, No. 3. (1 September 1989), pp. 296-309.

Do cultural and ethnic groups differ in their extreme response style? To answer this question, Hispanic and non-Hispanic subjects were asked to respond to a questionnaire on 5-point or 10-point scales. As predicted, Hispanics were found to exhibit a stronger tendency for extreme checking (about half the time, on the average) than non-Hispanic, but only when the 5-point scales were used. Use of 10-point scales reduced the extreme responses of the Hispanics to the level of non-Hispanics. Extreme responses of non-Hispanics were not affected by the scales. Implications of the findings for social research are discussed. 10.1177/0022022189203004

Hostage Posting as a Mechanism of Trust: Binding, Compensation, and Signaling

Werner Raub — 2007-12-19T06:58:55-00:00

Rationality and Society, Vol. 16, No. 3. (1 August 2004), pp. 319-365.

We study voluntary hostage posting - pledging a bond - as a commitment mechanism promoting trust, including trust in economic exchange. A hostage can promote trust by binding the trustee through reducing his incentives for abusing trust, by providing compensation for the trustor in case trust is abused, and by serving as a signal for the trustor about unobservable characteristics of the trustee that are related to the trustee's opportunities and incentives for abusing trust. We provide an integrated model that allows for a simultaneous analysis of how hostages promote trust through binding, compensation, and signaling. We model hostage posting as a mechanism of trust using a game with incomplete information and uncertainty. Our theorems provide conditions for equilibria such that a hostage is posted by the trustee and induces the trustor to place trust that is subsequently honored by the trustee. The article shows that equilibrium selection problems are not severe: the equilibria are unique or there are only few other equilibria with less appealing properties. Hence, the results can be used for predictions on trust based on hostage posting among rational actors. 10.1177/1043463104044682

Maintenance Strategies and Romantic Relationship Type, Gender and Relational Characteristics

Laura Stafford — 2007-12-19T06:25:08-00:00

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 8, No. 2. (1 May 1991), pp. 217-242.

This study examines the manner in which perceptions of relational maintenance strategies used in romantic dyads vary according to relationship type (married, engaged, seriously dating and dating) and gender. Additionally, this study investigates how perceptions of partners' maintenance behaviors differentially affect the relational characteristics of control mutuality, commitment, liking and satisfaction. Research assumptions were cast within a developmental framework. Five maintenance strategies were derived through factor analyses: positivity, assurances, openness, sharing tasks and social networks. Results indicate that relationship type moderately affected perceptions of partner maintenance strategies and gender weakly affected perceptions of maintenance behaviors. The findings also reveal that positivity, assurances and sharing tasks were consistent and strong predictors of control mutuality, commitment, liking and satisfaction. 10.1177/0265407591082004

Remaining in an Abusive Relationship: An Investment Model Analysis of Nonvoluntary Dependence

Caryl Rusbult — 2007-12-19T04:47:35-00:00

Pers Soc Psychol Bull, Vol. 21, No. 6. (1 June 1995), pp. 558-571.

Rusbult's investment model is used to understand the conditions under which individuals are likely to remain in abusive relationships. Analyses of data from intake interviews at a shelter for battered women provided good support for model predictions. Consistent with hypotheses, feelings of commitment were greater among women who had poorer-quality economic alternatives, were more heavily invested in their relationships (e.g., were married), and experienced lesser dissatisfaction (e.g., reported less severe abuse). Also consistent with hypotheses, commitment was strongly linked to stay/leave behavior, significantly distinguishing between women who returned to their partners immediately on leaving the shelter and women who did not. Causal modeling analyses suggested that commitment may mediate the effects of alternatives, investments, and satisfaction on stay/leave decisions. Implications for our knowledge of nonvoluntary dependence, as well as for social policy regarding family violence, are discussed. 10.1177/0146167295216002

Costly Signaling and Cooperation

Herbert Gintis — 2005-10-12T19:17:35-00:00

Journal of Theoretical Biology, Vol. 213, No. 1. (7 November 2001), pp. 103-119.

We propose an explanation of cooperation among unrelated members of a social group in which cooperation evolves because it constitutes an honest signal of the member's quality as a mate, coalition partner or competitor, and therefore results in advantageous alliances for those signaling in this manner. Our model is framed as a multi-player public goods game that involves no repeated or assortative interactions, so that non-cooperation would be a dominant strategy if there were no signaling benefits. We show that honest signaling of underlying quality by providing a public good to group members can be evolutionarily stable, and can proliferate in a population in which it is initially rare, provided that certain plausible conditions hold, including a link between group-beneficial signaling and underlying qualities of the signaler that would be of benefit to a potential mate or alliance partner. Our model applies to a range of cooperative interactions, including unconditionally sharing individually consumable resources, participating in group raiding or defense, and punishing free-riding or other violations of social norms.

The evolution of norms.

FA Chalub — 2007-05-28T05:48:46-00:00

J Theor Biol, Vol. 241, No. 2. (21 July 2006), pp. 233-240.

We develop a two-level selection model in the framework of evolutionary game theory, in which fitness selection at different levels is related to different games. We consider an archipelago of communities, such that selection operates at an individual level inside each community and at a group level whenever evolution of communities is at stake. We apply this model to the evolution of social norms, an open problem of ubiquitous importance in social science. Extensive statistical analysis of our results lead to the emergence of one common social norm, of which the evolutionary outcomes in different communities are simple by-products. This social norm induces reputation-based cooperative behavior, and reflects the evolutionary propensity to promote simple, unambiguous norms, in which forgiveness and repent are welcome, while punishment is implacable.

Trust Building via Risk Taking: A Cross-Societal Experiment

Karen Cook — 2005-06-10T09:26:00-00:00

Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 68, No. 2. (June 2005), pp. 121-142.

The Provision of a Sanctioning System in the United States and Japan

Toshio Yamagishi — 2007-01-30T19:36:40-00:00

Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 3. (1988), pp. 265-271.

Yamagishi's (1986a) experiment, which tested hypotheses derived from the structural goal/expectation approach to the problem of social dilemmas, was replicated using North American subjects. The results of the current experiment, using 48 same-sex, four-person groups, replicated the major findings of the original study. In addition, American subjects had a higher level of trust and cooperated more in the absence of a sanctioning system than did Japanese subjects. On the other hand, the predicted difference between American and Japanese subjects in the contribution to the provision of a sanctioning system did not emerge.

Intergroup Comparison versus Intragroup Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Social Identity Theory in North American and East Asian Cultural Contexts

Masaki Yuki — 2007-05-28T04:28:49-00:00

Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 2. (2003), pp. 166-183.

A review of the theoretical and empirical literature suggests that social identity theory does not account well for collectivistic behaviors among East Asians. I hypothesize that the central theme of East Asian group behavior is cooperation within a group; this is represented cognitively as an interpersonal network among the members, with the emphasis on the relational self. Results of a survey of 122 Japanese and 126 American respondents largely supported this hypothesis. For Americans, in-group loyalty and identity with their small and large in-groups were correlated positively with perceived in-group homogeneity and in-group status. No such correlation was found for Japanese respondents, however. Instead, Japanese in-group loyalty and identity were predicted by respondents' knowledge of the relational structure within the group, knowledge of the individual differences between members of the group, and feelings of personal connectedness with in-group members. I discuss the meaningfulness of comparing group processes in different cultural contexts.

Culture and Cultural Worldviews: Do Verbal Descriptions about Culture Reflect Anything Other Than Verbal Descriptions of Culture?

M Matsumoto — 2007-05-28T04:19:55-00:00

Culture and Psychology, Vol. 12, No. 1. (2006)

In this paper I delineate the difference between cultural worldviews, cultural practices and actual behaviors, and suggest that verbal descriptions and narratives that are used to extract cultural worldviews and folk theories may not describe actual cultural practices or behaviors that occur in real life. I discuss five types of evidence to support this claim: (1) limitations in the use of selectively chosen verbal statements and (2) some kinds of culture-related literature; (3) the large variability in individual within-culture variance relative to between-culture differences, and the limitations of attitude-based measures to predict actual behaviors; (4) the fact that cultural differences in individual-level measures of psychological culture may not exist when socially appropriate responding is statistically controlled for; and (5) the boundaries of knowledge that can be gleaned from cultural studies of emotion based on verbal descriptions and narratives. Culture researchers who use individual-level measures of culture or other verbal descriptions of culture need to be aware of the theoretical and empirical differences between verbally reported consensual cultural worldview ideologies and real-life behaviors. The former may not be reflective of the latter.

Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution (The Roundtable Series in Behavioral Economics)

Samuel Bowles — 2007-05-28T04:05:05-00:00

(16 January 2006)

In this novel introduction to modern microeconomic theory, Samuel Bowles returns to the classical economists' interest in the wealth and poverty of nations and people, the workings of the institutions of capitalist economies, and the coevolution of individual preferences and the structures of markets, firms, and other institutions. Using recent advances in evolutionary game theory, contract theory, behavioral experiments, and the modeling of dynamic processes, he develops a theory of how economic institutions shape individual behavior, and how institutions evolve due to individual actions, technological change, and chance events. Topics addressed include institutional innovation, social preferences, nonmarket social interactions, social capital, equilibrium unemployment, credit constraints, economic power, generalized increasing returns, disequilibrium outcomes, and path dependency.Each chapter is introduced by empirical puzzles or historical episodes illuminated by the modeling that follows, and the book closes with sets of problems to be solved by readers seeking to improve their mathematical modeling skills. Complementing standard mathematical analysis are agent-based computer simulations of complex evolving systems that are available online so that readers can experiment with the models. Bowles concludes with the time-honored challenge of "getting the rules right," providing an evaluation of markets, states, and communities as contrasting and yet sometimes synergistic structures of governance. Must reading for students and scholars not only in economics but across the behavioral sciences, this engagingly written and compelling exposition of the new microeconomics moves the field beyond the conventional models of prices and markets toward a more accurate and policy-relevant portrayal of human social behavior.

Culture and self: An empirical assessment of Markus and Kitayamas theory of independent and interdependent self-construals

David Matsumoto — 2007-05-28T04:07:24-00:00

Asian Journal Of Social Psychology, Vol. 2, No. 3. (1999), pp. 289-310.

In this paper, I critically evaluate the logic underlying Markus and Kitayama's (1991) theory of independent and interdependent self-construals, and examine the evidence that directly tests its major assumptions. On the basis of my review of the studies they cite, and literature from three other sources, I conclude that the evidence severely challenges the validity of their theoretical framework for explaining observed national differences in psychological phenomena. I offer some ideas about alternative methodologies for research in this important area of psychology that may aid in developing and testing theories of culture and self in the future.

Cultural variation: considerations and implications.

D Cohen — 2007-05-28T04:02:23-00:00

Psychol Bull, Vol. 127, No. 4. (July 2001), pp. 451-471.

Cultural systems vary widely across the world. Partly this is due to different cultures' occupying different ecological and environmental niches. But partly it is due to similar circumstances giving rise to multiple stable equilibriums, each with a distinct cultural form. Using insights and examples from various fields, this article illustrates the way that multiple equilibriums can emerge and the forces that push a culture toward one equilibrium point or another. Considerations of game theory principles, mutual interdependence, historical circumstance, dependence on initial conditions, and crucial choice points are highlighted in discussing the ways humans create and re-create their culture. Cultural traits develop within physical, social, intracultural, and intercultural niches, and implications of this for how culture might be studied and the benefits of combining an "equilibrium" perspective and a "meaning" perspective are discussed.

Cultural differences

Jane Qiu — 2006-07-21T19:08:00-00:00

Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Vol. 7, No. 8. (12 July 2006), pp. 596-597.

Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms

Elinor Ostrom — 2007-05-19T08:27:59-00:00

The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 14, No. 3. (2000), pp. 137-158.

Understanding Institutional Diversity

Elinor Ostrom — 2005-09-22T19:23:13-00:00

(01 October 2005)

The analysis of how institutions are formed, how they operate and change, and how they influence behavior in society has become a major subject of inquiry in politics, sociology, and economics. A leader in applying game theory to the understanding of institutional analysis, Elinor Ostrom provides in this book a coherent method for undertaking the analysis of diverse economic, political, and social institutions. Understanding Institutional Diversity explains the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, which enables a scholar to choose the most relevant level of interaction for a particular question. This framework examines the arena within which interactions occur, the rules employed by participants to order relationships, the attributes of a biophysical world that structures and is structured by interactions, and the attributes of a community in which a particular arena is placed. The book explains and illustrates how to use the IAD in the context of both field and experimental studies. Concentrating primarily on the rules aspect of the IAD framework, it provides empirical evidence about the diversity of rules, the calculation process used by participants in changing rules, and the design principles that characterize robust, self-organized resource governance institutions.

Public health experts concerned about "hikikomori".

J Watts — 2007-01-26T17:08:39-00:00

Lancet, Vol. 359, No. 9312. (30 March 2002)

Strategic Interaction in the Sex Market

John Morrow — 2007-01-29T00:12:19-00:00

Working Paper (30 January 2006)

What sustains cultural diversity and what undermines it? Axelrod and beyond

Andreas Flache — 2006-09-07T01:39:42-00:00

(25 Apr 2006)

We relax a simplification of Axelrod's (1997) model of cultural dissemination that has not yet been studied, the assumption that all cultural states are nominal. We integrate metric states into the original model. Computational experiments demonstrate that metric states undermine cultural diversity, even without noise, by creating sufficient overlap between agents for mutual influence. We then show how adding "bounded confidence" - a recent innovation in models of social influence - allows cultural diversity to persist. However, further experiments reveal that the solution is fragile. Diversity can be sustained only with a relatively small number of metric states, low levels of noise or narrow confidence intervals.

Where (who) are collectives in collectivism? Toward conceptual clarification of individualism and collectivism.

MB Brewer — 2007-03-23T12:28:26-00:00

Psychol Rev, Vol. 114, No. 1. (January 2007), pp. 133-151.

In psychological research on cultural differences, the distinction between individualism and collectivism has received the lion's share of attention as a fundamental dimension of cultural variation. In recent years, however, these constructs have been criticized as being ill-defined and "a catchall" to represent all forms of cultural differences. The authors argue that there is a conceptual confusion about the meaning of ingroups that constitute the target of collectivism. Collectives are rarely referred to in existing measures to assess collectivism. Instead, networks of interpersonal relationships dominate the operational definition of "ingroups" in these measures. Results from a content analysis of existing scales support this observation. To clarify and expand the individualism-collectivism distinction, a theoretical framework is proposed that draws on M. B. Brewer and G. Gardner's (1996) conceptualization of individual, relational, and collective selves and their manifestation in self-representations, beliefs, and values. Analyses of data from past studies provide preliminary support for this conceptual model. The authors propose that this new theoretical framework will contribute conceptual clarity to interpretation of past research on individualism and collectivism and guide future research on these important constructs.

The role of attraction in cultural evolution

Claidiere — 2007-04-05T15:42:43-00:00

Journal of Cognition and Culture, Vol. 7, No. 1-2. (2007), pp. 89-111.

Evolution of an obligate social cheater to a superior cooperator

Francesca Fiegna — 2006-05-17T19:31:48-00:00

Nature, Vol. 441, No. 7091. (18 May 2006), pp. 310-314.

Toward a New Generation of Cross-Cultural Research

Matsumoto — 2006-08-31T22:36:24-00:00

Perspectives on Psychological Science, Vol. 1, No. 3. (September 2006), pp. 234-250.

Exit from the group as an individualistic solution to the free rider problem in the United States and Japan

Toshio Yamagishi — 2006-12-13T08:05:46-00:00

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 24, No. 6. (November 1988), pp. 530-542.

Group members faced with the free riding problem may exit from the group as an individualistic solution to the problem. The prediction that group members, especially those whose contributions to the group task are high, would exit from the group more often as the cost for exit becomes smaller was successfully tested in an experiment using 40 three-person task groups. In addition, the effects of cultural collectivism on the exit response were predicted and tested by comparing American and Japanese subjects. It was argued that cultural collectivism among the Japanese is sustained by the system of mutual monitoring and sanctioning among group members so that free riding would be a more serious problem among the Japanese when mutual monitoring and sanctioning is removed. This leads to a prediction, which is opposite to the notion of strong group orientation of the Japanese, that Japanese subjects would exit from the group more often in the experimental group lacking opportunities for mutual monitoring and sanctioning. The results of the experiment supported this prediction.