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In 2020 a petition from students and recent graduates of dance/movement therapy (DMT) programs was sent to the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA). This petition brought forward concerns and critical questioning of movement observation frames, including a desire to bring a critical and anti-oppressive lens to the access of all bodies within larger psychological theories, DMT theories, and movement observation systems. The petition included a request for a "true" and "comprehensive" history of Rudolf Laban. The Education Committee of the ADTA charged one of three working groups to examine Laban's history. This paper is the culmination of the history working groups' exploration. It focuses on how histories are constructed and raises questions about the truth and comprehensiveness of any single account. It is divided into two sections. Laban's controversial period in Germany (1919–1937) is highlighted first with a comparison of the historical narratives constructed by different scholars. The second part briefly describes the last two decades of Laban's life (1938–1958) when he expanded his work outside of dance. It follows that no single story, including the ones constructed by this committee, can claim to be "true" and "comprehensive" histories. This history working group recommends integrating a full history of Laban in the teaching of dance therapy courses, engaging in intentional discussions about the cultural limitations of the system due to how it was developed, integrating and encouraging research by non-European dance therapists, and purposefully encouraging and sustaining diverse student bodies to continue the diversification of the DMT field. Decentering characteristics of the dominant culture will not be a quick fix, but a journey which requires the acknowledgement of Laban's contributions to the discipline, while holding him accountable for his choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the determinants of stated individual support towards environmental action. The analysis is realized by means of an original Partial Least Squares Path model of Environmental Awareness-Social Capital-Action and it is based on survey data provided in the fifth wave of the World Values Survey (2005–2009) regarding 34.612 individuals from 42 different countries. Besides the global estimates obtained on the whole set of countries, the paper proposes a subsample analysis for developed and developing countries, as well as country analyses for four major economies: China, India, Germany and the United States. We find that environmental awareness and trust in not-for-profit organizations are important determinants of individual action in support of environmentally friendly policies. In general, trust in science and technology does not crowd-out individual support towards the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: End-of-life decision making constitutes a major challenge for bioethical deliberation and political governance in modern democracies: On the one hand, it touches upon fundamental convictions about life, death, and the human condition. On the other, it is deeply rooted in religious traditions and historical experiences and thus shows great socio-cultural diversity. The bioethical discussion of such cultural issues oscillates between liberal individualism and cultural stereotyping. Our paper confronts the bioethical expert discourse with public moral attitudes.Methods: The paper is based on a qualitative study comprising 12 focus group discussions with religious and secular persons in the USA, Germany, and Israel (n = 82). Considering the respective socio-political and legal frameworks, the thematic analysis focuses on moral attitudes towards end-of-life decision making and explores the complex interplay between individual preferences, culture, and religion.Results: Our findings draw attention to the variety and complexity of cultural and religious aspects of end-of-life decision making. Although there is local consensus that goes beyond radical individualism, positions are not neatly matched with national cultures or religious denominations. Instead, the relevance of the specific situatedness of religious beliefs and cultural communities becomes visible: Their status and role in individual situations, for example, as consensual or conflicting on the level of personal perspectives, family relationships, or broader social contexts, e.g., as a majority or minority culture within a political system.Conclusions: As the group discussions indicate, there are no clear-cut positions anchored in "nationality," "culture," or "religion." Instead, attitudes are personally decided on as part of a negotiated context representing the political, social and existential situatedness of the individual. Therefore, more complex theoretical and practical approaches to cultural diversity have to be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern psychiatry was first introduced to mainland China around 1900 by Western missionaries. By 1949 the field had developed gradually as a result of contact with Western psychiatry and especially its American practitioners. This paper analyses the role played by key individuals and events in this process in the years prior to 1949. It argues that modern psychiatry was introduced to China through a process of cultural adaptation in which the USA served as a bridge for German thought., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

This paper explores the history of the isolation and industrial production of aluminium in France, from the work of Henri Sainte-Claire Deville in the 1850s to the latter part of the twentieth century, focusing on the relationships between academic research and industrial exploitation. In particular, it identifies a culture and organisation of research and development, "learning-by-doing," that emerged in the French aluminium industry following the establishment of the first electrolytic production facilities in the late 1880s by Paul Héroult, who, along with the American Charles Hall, patented the electrolytic method of producing the metal. This French method of R&D was a product both of a scientific culture that saw a continuity between scientific research and industrial application, and of a state policy that, unlike in Germany or the United States, was late to recognise the importance of fostering, on a large scale, the relations between academic chemistry and industry. It was only after World War II that the French state came fully to recognise the importance of underpinning industry with scientific research. And it was only from the 1960s, in the face of intensifying global competition, the risks of pollution, and the cost of energy, that the major aluminium firm Pechiney et Cie was able to replace a culture of "learning-by-doing" by one that integrated fundamental science with the production process.

Corporate governance systems develop as a result of cultural underpinnings, legal structures and different forms of financing business. This paper describes these factors in the US and UK, two examples of strong shareholder ownership patterns of financing, and Germany, a country with a tradition of strong creditor financing. Recommendations are made for best practices in governance. Although enhanced governance mechanisms is a sound goal to pursue, the results may be meaningless unless internal controls are strengthened and top management and the board of directors establish an ethical tone at the top. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extending research on determinants of preparations for old age across adulthood, we examined the relationship between well-being, perceived control, and preparations for old age over time, along with variation in the strength of these relationships depending on domains of functioning, cultures, and age. We analyzed longitudinal data from the Ageing as Future study assessing changes in well-being, perceived control, and preparations in four different life domains (social relations, finances, work, and health) across a five-year period collected from adults aged from 30 to 85 years in Germany (N = 623), Hong Kong (N = 317), and the USA (N = 315). Positive feelings about one's current situation predicted greater perceived control five years later, and vice versa. Also, perceived control and preparations were positively associated over time, with only a few exceptions within each domain. For example, high control beliefs were related to subsequent greater preparations and well-being within the domain of social relations and finances, with weak effects of culture. These results suggest that current well-being may promote adaptive behaviors in later life, with the accumulated effects over time. Thus, focusing on how to improve our well-being may promote engagement in preparations for old age. Our results also indicate that these relations in our model vary by contexts, highlighting the importance of variability in age-related processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meeting lateness—that is, meetings starting past the pre-scheduled time—can be viewed as a disruption to the temporal pacing of work. Previous research in the United States indicates that late meetings produce less optimal outcomes, but empirical insights concerning the extent to which experiences of meeting lateness are similar or different across different cultures remain sparse. While prior work suggests differences in how individuals from different cultures experience time-related phenomena, globalization trends suggest increasing similarities in employees' work experiences, and potentially similar experiences of meeting lateness across different cultural settings. We explore this idea in a cross-cultural study of meeting lateness in China, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States. We empirically establish the cross-cultural relevance of meeting lateness and their generally negative outcome. We show how meeting lateness relates to perceptions of impaired meeting processes, meeting outcomes, and group-related attitudes across cultures. We discuss these findings in light of extending meeting science to different cultures as well as contributions to the debate between cross-cultural differences versus globalization tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The differences in the assessment of good and poor listening behavior varies across different situations, perceived levels of listener status, and cultures are investigated using a paper-pencil questionnaire and different scenarios to collect data. A total of 134 students were sampled in the US and in Germany. Results show that participants' accounts for good and poor listening behavior is subject to significant inter- and intra- cultural variation due to relevant situational factors which determine the character of a listening episode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a survey of over 4,000 respondents from ten manufacturing companies in two Western countries (the US and Germany), and four countries of the former Soviet Union (Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic). The study is using Hofstede's framework and instrumentation, and explores work-related culture dimensions of managers and employees in the ten companies. The study results point to within and between country variation in cultural dimensions, differences between managers and their subordinates, and the influence of demographic factors on culture. This is one of the first studies to address work-related cultural values in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic, and one of few studies that allow inferences about the degree of variation within and between countries of the former Eastern Bloc and the countries of the West. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The usage of smartphones and apps to communicate, retrieve information, locate places, and entertain is a norm today. However, to this day, many users are unaware of, or indifferent to, how smartphones (and other mobile devices such as tablets, fitness trackers, or smartwatches) could possibly breach their mobile privacy. This case study investigates and compares mobile privacy behavior and attitude of library and information science students from the School of Communication and Information, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, U.S.A., with library and information science students from the Berlin School of Library and Information Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Qualitative ethnographic research methods such as interviews, participant observation, and an experiment were conducted between 2017 and 2018 both in Germany and the U.S.A. The findings reveal that there are nearly no cultural differences in mobile privacy behavior and attitude between participants. In fact, this study discovers and discerns different mobile privacy typologies. These typologies, ranging from "mobile privacy objection" to "mobile privacy learned helplessness" reveal how they impact German and American students' privacy behavior and attitude in a similar fashion. The lack of significant differences between German and American library and information science students suggests that more could be done to raise privacy awareness, especially for mobile computing and emergent technologies such as facial recognition and A.I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Preparation for age-related changes has been shown to be beneficial to adjustment in later life. However, an understanding of the factors that influence such preparations is rather limited. This study examines whether perceived control and future-self views (FSV) influence preparations for old age, and if this influence varies across ages, domains of functioning, and cultures. Methods Assessments of perceived control, FSV, and preparations for old age in each of four different life domains (social relationships, finances, work, and health) were obtained from 1,813 adults (ages 35–85) from Germany, Hong Kong, and the United States. Results Future-self views partially mediated the relationship between perceived control and preparation for old age across both domains of functioning and cultures. With one exception, the association between perceived control and preparations increased with advancing age across contexts. Evidence for similar age-related moderation of the indirect effect of control through FSV was more limited. Discussion These results suggest that perceived control that is not necessarily related to aging affect FSV, which in turn influence preparing for old age. Further, our results indicate that such relationships are context- and age-specific, highlighting the importance of considering the salience and diversity of life domains and cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research activities related to social informatics (SI) are expanding, even as community fragmentation, topical dispersion, and methodological diversity continue to increase. Specifically, the different understandings of SI in regional communities have strong impacts, and each has a different history, methodological grounding, and often a different thematic focus. The aim of this article is to connect three selected perspectives on SI—intellectual (regional schools of thought), methodological, and thematic—and introduce a comparative framework for understanding SI that includes all known approaches. Thus, the article draws from a thematic and methodological grounding of research across schools of thought, along with definitions that rely on the extension and intension of the notion of SI. The article is built on a paralogy of views and pluralism typical of postmodern science. Because SI is forced to continually reform its research focus, due to the rapid development of information and communication technology, social changes and ideologies that surround computerization and informatization, the presented perspective maintains a high degree of flexibility, without the need to constantly redefine the boundaries, as is typical in modern science. This approach may support further developments in promoting and understanding SI worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When and how do social movements form to mobilize action across national boundaries? In the context of the 2015 movement to support Syrian refugees, we develop an integrative model of transnational social movement formation shaped by pre‐existing world‐views (social dominance orientation and right‐wing authoritarianism) and social media exposure to iconic events, resulting in an emergent group consciousness ("we are", "we believe", "we feel"). Group consciousness is, in turn, the proximal predictor of solidarity with refugees. Participants were from six countries: Hungary (N = 267), Romania (N = 163), Germany (N = 190), the United Kingdom (N = 159), the United States (N = 244) and Australia (N = 344). Multi‐group structural equation models confirmed that group consciousness, shaped by individual differences and exposure to events through social media, was the proximal predictor of solidarity. The subjective meaning of group consciousness varied across samples, reflecting national differences. Results support the importance of considering individual and national differences, and group processes in understanding emergent social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Quantitative survey research findings reveal that Western countries have lower rates of public stigma surrounding mental illness than other nations. However, qualitative media research across selected Western countries reports differences in stigmatising messages. Here, we take an in-depth look at country-level data exploring both similarities and differences in this stigma across three countries. Specifically, we use previous findings on global differences in public stigma and media to examine whether there is a correspondence between themes in newspaper reporting and variations in attitudes across seven stigma dimensions. Methods: The Stigma in Global Context – Mental Health Study provides nationally representative data from Iceland (N=1033; response rate=71%), Germany (N=1255; response rate=63.16%) and the USA (N=1425; response rate=67.31%). We limit analyses to respondents who received a vignette describing an individual meeting clinical criterion for schizophrenia or depression. Exploratory data analyses are used to examine overall patterns and cross-national differences. Results: Graphical analyses show patterned similarities, especially for more individuals endorsing social distance as contact becomes more intimate. However, results also corroborate cross-national differences documented in media research. More Americans endorse evaluations of dangerousness, to both self and others. Fewer Icelanders report exclusionary tendencies, whilst Germans report the most consistently moderate levels of stigma. Conclusions: While Western nations tend to report similar, lower levels of stigma globally, they each have unique areas of concern. Anti-stigma programs must take note of both similarities and differences to tailor their efforts to the local context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study which examines large-scale observational evidence of cross-cultural differences in facial behavior using advanced in computer science. Topics discussed include the automated facial coding used, the reliability of the facial action unit detection algorithms across different testing subsets, multilevel regression estimates predicting each facial action's base rate percentage.

Exploring the construct of social-responsibility orientation across three Asian and two Western societies (Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and the United States), we show evidence that top-level executives in these societies hold fundamentally different beliefs about their responsibilities toward different stakeholders, with concomitant implications for their understanding and enactment of responsible leadership. We further find that these variations are more closely aligned with institutional factors than with cultural variables, suggesting a need to clarify the connection between culture and institutions on the one hand and culture and social-responsibility orientations on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous research has theorized about team interaction differences between the German and U.S. cultures, actual behavioral observations of such differences are sparse. This study explores team meetings as a context for examining intercultural differences. We analyzed a total of 5,188 meeting behaviors in German and U.S. student teams. All teams discussed the same task to consensus. Results from behavioral process analyses showed that German teams focused significantly more on problem analysis, whereas U.S. teams focused more on solution production. Moreover, U.S. teams showed significantly more positive socioemotional meeting behavior than German teams. Finally, German teams showed significantly more counteractive behavior such as complaining than U.S. teams. We discuss theoretical and pragmatic implications for understanding these observable differences and for improving interaction in intercultural teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-cultural experiment examined the effectiveness of three health message characteristics to foster or inhibit selective exposure to health information. An online magazine was created with eight articles about various health risks. Four articles were manipulated regarding (1) severity of the described health threat (low versus high), (2) suggested efficacy to avoid or minimize negative consequences (low versus high) and (3) type of evidence presented (statistical information versus exemplar information). Respondents from the U.S. and from Germany (n = 301/298) browsed through the magazine while selective exposure was unobtrusively logged. Findings reveal country-specific exposure patterns. A positive main effect of severity was only found for U.S. respondents. Independent of respondents' country, significantly more time was spent with low-severity/high-efficacy messages and high-severity/low-efficacy messages than with articles featuring the often-recommended high-severity/high-efficacy message combination. Respondents generally read more exemplar messages than those with statistical evidence, especially when high efficacy was suggested. Implications of these exposure patterns for the real-life effectiveness of health messages are discussed and an improved theoretical conceptualization of message effectiveness is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examines the potential role of morality subcultures in mediating the relationship between one's nationality and the preferences for three movie (drama, action, horror) and three TV (comedy, news, sports) genres in a sample of US and German students ( N = 453). Morality subcultures were derived from research on Moral Foundation Theory (MFT), which conceptualizes morality as being shaped by first intuitive processes and later moral reasoning. We proposed a dual mediation model with two latent domains of morality: individualizing foundations indicative of a more liberal perspective and binding foundations indicative of a more conservative outlook. Although direct effects of one's nationality on media genre preference were found, moral salience of these two moral foundations partially mediated this relationship for the genres action, drama, news, and sports. These data support emerging research on the importance of using morality subcultures to understand the appeal of various forms of media entertainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information from various aspects of the field of international serials and electronic resource management. Abstracts for several research articles are included on topics such as scholarly electronic books (e-books) and open source data in academic publishing. Additionally, awards and grants presented by the American Library Association (ALA) in 2011 are highlighted along with notes on the reorganization of the United Kingdom Serials Group (UKSG). Brief information regarding the 2012 conference for the UKSG and a list of online resources related to serials librarians are also included.

We explored the everyday experiences of 18- to 36-month-old toddlers at two study sites and the influence of adaptation to the host culture on the everyday experiences of children from migrant families. First- and second-generation Puerto Rican families in Connecticut, USA, first- and second-generation Turkish families in Bochum, Germany, as well as families of the respective majority cultures were sampled (N = 161). We interviewed mothers to obtain detailed descriptions of a 24-hour period of a weekday. Study results focused on the activities children engaged in and the social context. The results indicated significant differences between the two sites. Despite site differences, we found parallel processes of adaptation across both sites. Everyday experiences of children of first-generation mothers differed in important aspects (e.g. self-feeding) from those of children of the majority cultures. Children of second-generation mothers were in an intermediate position on most variables, primarily linear pattern of acculturation. Overall, our data suggests that the opportunities and constraints of the physical and social environment of the receiving country as well as the migration experience influence the everyday experiences of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from three countries that differ economically, culturally, and geographically, this study examines the role of Prospect Theory's reflection effect, a psychological factor, in combination with Uncertainty Avoidance (UA), a cultural factor, on the choice of mortgage products. Experiments were conducted using business professionals in the United States, Germany, and Japan. The results suggest that risk-averse people tend to become more risk seeking, leaning more toward adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) when choosing a mortgage type, and that this psychological effect may underlie the mortgage choices of people who tend to choose ARMs, even across countries with different cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a model of entrepreneurial risk-taking behavior in different cultural settings. Young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship students in Germany and the United States were tested by means of an experimental design to evaluate the underlying model and to identify cultural differences in the decision to start a company. The central research question states: How does the cultural context influence the decision-making and risk-taking behavior of entrepreneurs? The overall result of the international sample indicates that the significant differences between entrepreneurs and nonentrepreneurs in risk-taking behavior are culturally driven. Thus, this study extends earlier US studies that distinguish between risk propensity and risk perception in respect of entrepreneurs’ risk behavior within an international, intercultural sample. Furthermore, the survey researches the influence of the personal traits overconfidence and worry. From a managerial perspective, “would-be entrepreneurs” can use the conducted experiment as an individual diagnostic instrument, making it possible to identify individual anomalies in risk and decision-making behavior and, consequently, contribute to a better understanding of suitable entrepreneurial behavior as well as to reveal discrepancies between self-assessment and actual behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Cross Cultural Management is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examined relationships at the individual level of analysis between work group collectivism and work centrality and pride in work, and the moderating effects of nations on these relationships. Participants from Ecuador, Germany, India, Mexico, and the United States completed questionnaire measures of the constructs of interest. Multiple-groups confirmatory factor analyses were performed to evaluate and control for psychometric nonequivalence in the measurement of latent constructs, prior to multiple-groups structural equation modeling analyses of the relationships between work group collectivism and work centrality and pride in work. Results showed positive relationships between collectivism and work centrality and work pride in each country, and non-significant differences between countries in these relationships. Tests of mean differences at the nation level of analysis also showed somewhat higher work centrality and pride in work among countries that scored higher in work group collectivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using ‘general trust in institutions’ and ‘concepts of nature’ as examples, the article analyzes the influence of cultural factors on sense-making of food biotechnology and the resulting public attitudes in the USA and Germany. According to the hypotheses investigated, different levels of trust and appreciation of nature explain part of the well-known differences in attitudes between both countries. The analysis of a cross-cultural survey of the general population shows that appreciation of nature is a predictor of attitudes in both countries. The higher appreciation of nature in Germany partly explains why attitudes towards food biotechnology are more negative in Germany than in the USA. The relationship between trust and attitudes is more complex than expected, however. Institutional trust is a moderate predictor of attitudes towards food biotechnology in the USA but not in Germany. To explain the varying effectiveness of trust in resolving innovation-related uncertainty we refer to differences in issue framing in both countries and to the higher degree of universalism and individualism in the USA. We conclude that the higher relevance of trust and the lower appreciation of nature make the U.S. culture more apt to assimilate technical innovations than the German culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologie is the property of Amsterdam University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In order to put a lens on the issue of international security cooperation after 11 September 2001, this article examines the question of how collective action in International Relations becomes possible. The author maintains that a fair amount of inter-state collective action can be understood, even explained, by analysing the culture of the international system. Using discourse analysis as a tool, the analysis addresses the underlying ideas, norms and identities that constitute the relationship between the United States and Japan, on the one hand, and Germany and the United States, on the other, as it has evolved since September 2001. The method exposes how some ideas are privileged over others, how norms are maintained, reformulated and abandoned, how identity is constructed and how power is legitimized in the ‘war on terror’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goals of the study were to examine whether fundamentalism and authoritarianism could be distinguished by the Big Five factors of personality in American, Romanian and German samples, and to determine whether fundamentalism and authoritarianism could be distinguished by factor analysis in any of the three cultures. The results in all three cultures indicate that fundamentalism and authoritarianism have virtually identical personality correlates. In all three cultures, the two constructs were indistinguishable via exploratory factor analysis and could only be distinguished via confirmatory factor analysis, although direction-of-wording effects dwarfed the differences between fundamentalism and authoritarianism. The findings suggest that researchers should view fundamentalism as religious authoritarianism, and should therefore be cautious when making inferences about religiosity from research on fundamentalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the German-American theater in New York City during 1890. Importance of the concept of legitimacy for hybrid public cultures; Theatrical geography; Potential conflict within the German American constituency; Significance of immigrants of lower cultural and social status.

Studying the unknown involves leaving the familiar. Leaving is prerequisite to transcending self and society, whether studying a far-away culture or the neighborhood culture. However, leaving also enables a different and deeper understanding of what we left at home. In this exploration I will interweave the two very human states of being at home and being away, both in the literal sense of studying one's "own" and the "other" culture, and in the metaphorical sense of studying the known and the unknown within the field of the ethnographic endeavor. The look back home emerges as a chance to practice self-reflexivity. I will relate scientific approaches to the experience of being home versus being away with my personal experiences of leaving my home-country (Germany) and immersing myself in another culture (the United States) to open up various dimensions of meaning. My contribution includes: (a) the etymology of home and away; (b) cultural psychology of home and away; (c) Fernweh versus Heimweh; and (d) central auto-ethnographic questions and "Journeys Back Home" that illustrate the possibilities auto-ethnography opens up as yet another piece of the puzzle in attempting to understanding ourselves and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American children living on an Army post in Germany, American children living off the post, and German children were tested for their ability to interpret and to transmit gestures most frequently used by a group of children in the Midwestern United States. It was found accurate use of these gestures could not be predicted from the amount of exposure to an American culture that the three groups had experienced. Socioeconomic differences were found to be important in gestural accuracy in a previous study and appeared to be important in the present study as well. Both the American and German children who had been exposed to both cultures learned the gestures of both cultures. There were no sex differences in gestural accuracy obtained for any of the three groups observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study which focuses on stereotyped attitudes toward the aged in West Germany and the United States. It has also been noted that the attitudes of old and young toward aging are interrelated and that cultural rejection results in self-rejection of the old, with its concomitants of personality disorganization and regression. Although respect for the elderly has been traditionally high in Germany, a steady decline in patriarchal sentiments beginning in the postwar years suggests that the actual relations between old and young in West Germany may be far more disharmonious and similar to those in the United States than has generally been acknowledged. Agreements and disagreements in the attitudes toward old people were assessed with a German translation of the Golde-Kogan Sentence Completion Procedure. This instrument, consisting of 20 incomplete sentences dealing with various aspects of old people's lives and the subjects personal experience with elderly persons, was administered to 67 older and 73 younger females of comparable intelligence and social background in three medium-sized West Germany cities.