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A selection of current and presumably future issues is addressed in four sections. The first section deals with the pervasive controversy between relativistic and universalistic orientations. In the second section, the authors discuss how the notion of culture is used in empirical studies, drawing attention to, among other things, the low emphasis on cross-cultural similarities that emerge from many data sets. The third section addresses three themes that may well become more important in the future, namely questions concerning the degree of coherence in cross-cultural data spanning larger ranges of behavior, the integration of findings from non-Western societies, and an increase in research on human development in cultural context. The fourth section emphasizes the responsibility of cross-cultural psychologists to apply their expertise, especially to problems of economic and social inequality, to contribute to human well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three models are presented that explain cross-cultural differences in the allocation of resources to various social categories. (1) Individualism-collectivism predicts, for all kinds of resources, a higher allocation in collectivistic than in individualistic societies to members of one's ingroup. (2) Kagitcibasi's model of family change makes a distinction between material and nonmaterial resources. Collectivistic value patterns should lead to higher allocation of nonmaterial resources than found in individualistic societies, but no such difference is expected for material investments. Both these models assume cross-cultural differences in value orientations at a high level of generality. (3) An alternative is proposed, predicting universal patterns of exchange with only context-specific crosscultural variations at a low level of generality. Hypotheses derived from the three models are tested with data from Greece and The Netherlands. It is concluded that the results are most compatible with the third model. Cet article presente trois modeles qui expliquent les differences interculturelles dans l'allocation des ressources a diverses categories sociales. (1) L'individualisme-collectivisme predit pour tous les types de ressources, une allocation superieure envers les membres du groupe d'appartenance dans les societes collectivistes que dans les societes individualistes. (2) Le modele du changement familial de Kagitcibasi etablit une distinction entre les ressources materielles et les ressources non materielles. Les patrons de valeurs collectivistes devraient entrainer une allocation superieure des ressources non materielles comparativement aux societes individualistes, mais il ne devrait y avoir aucune difference quant aux ressources materielles. Ces deux modeles postulent des differences interculturelles avec un haut niveau de generalisation dans les orientations des valeurs. (3) Cet article propose un modele alternatif qui predit des patrons universels d'echange et des variations interculturelles specifiques au contexte a un faible niveau de generalisation. Des hypotheses issues des trois modeles sont testees a l'aide de donnees recueillies en Grece et dans les Pays-Bas. Les resultats sont plus compatibles avec le troisieme modele. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the development of psychology as a science, and profession, in a cultural, and political sense in Europe. Probability of achieving a European psychologist regulation; Requirements for qualified psychologists; Advantages of the internationalization of psychology; Examination of the domains, and the applications in psychology.

The logic of comparison is taken as a starting point. It is argued that any cross-cultural comparison presupposes a comparison scale, i.e. a scale that is identical across the populations included in a study. Scale identity can be specified for various levels of measurement. In the second section a simple classification is presented for inferences about cross-cultural differences derived from psychological measurements. Two questions are asked for various categories of inferences, viz., whether they are logically feasible and whether they can be validated empirically. In the third section the statistical analysis of psychometric conditions for equivalence is discussed. The fourth section deals with the problem what alternatives for meaningful interpretation a researcher has if data turn out to be lacking in equivalence. In the fifth section a conceptual problem is raised, namely whether the basic assumption of this article is realistic that psychological concepts are identical across cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By means of pseudorandom procedures factor similarity indices are computed that come close in numerical values to those taken by H. J. Eysenck and associates as sufficient evidence for metric identity of EPQ scales across cultures. It is argued that considerable bias in the results by no means can be ruled out and that intercultural comparison of mean scores obtained on EPQ scales is unwarranted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Different meanings of the concept universality are distinguished and ordered according to the degree to which they are open to empirical control. Universality and specificity are considered as relative rather than absolute concepts. A relationship between the analysis of universality and the analysis of comparability or psychometric equivalence of data is established. An integrated approach to the analysis of universality and equivalence within the context of Generalizability Theory is outlined and illustrated with an example. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Responds to Cigdem Kagitcibasi's critique of an article on self-reported resource allocation of Greek and Dutch students. Criticisms of Kagitcibasi's arguments concerning the model of family change; Relevance of the data used to determine the student's self-reported resource allocation; Patterns of responses observed by the authors.

Introduces papers on the comparison of psychological data from different cultures, presented at the 24th International Conference of Psychology held in Sydney, New South Wales in 1988. Criticism of the notion of cross-cultural comparison; Validity of the methodology in the context of culture differences; Role of inequivalence in psychological measurement.

We comment on the argument by Welzel, Brunkert, Kruse and Inglehart (2021) that theoretically expected associations in nomological networks should take priority over invariance tests in cross-national research. We agree that narrow application of individual tools, such as multi-group confirmatory factor analysis with data that violates the assumptions of these techniques, can be misleading. However, findings that fit expectations of nomological networks may not be free of bias. We present supporting evidence of systematic bias affecting nomological network relationships from a) previous research on intelligence and response styles, b) two simulation studies, and c) data on the choice index from the World Value Survey (WVS). Our main point is that nomological network analysis by itself is insufficient to rule out systematic bias in data. We point out how a thoughtful exploration of sources of biases in cross-national data can contribute to stronger theory development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesian leadership characteristics were examined in three studies, using mixed methods. In the first, qualitative study 127 indigenous characteristics of Indonesian leadership were identified from interviews and focus group discussions with Indonesian managers and staff. In the second study, a questionnaire based on the characteristics found in the first study was administered to Indonesian managers to identify Indonesian leadership styles. Using factor analysis, two highly correlated dimensions were extracted, labelled benevolent paternalism and transformational leadership. In the third study, a questionnaire consisting of leadership characteristics from the GLOBE study, supplemented with a selection of 49 items from the Indonesian questionnaire, was administered to another sample of Indonesian managers. We found that Indonesian leadership has two components; the first involves a more local modernization dimension that ranges from (traditional) benevolent paternalism to (modern) transformational leadership, the second is a more universal person- versus team-oriented leadership dimension. We conclude that Indonesian leadership has both emic and etic aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical variables were examined for their empirical relevance as precursors of safer-sex behavior in 2,011 Mexican adolescents, most of whom were not sexually experienced. Using structural equation modeling, a good fit was found for a path model with (a) partner communication and intention to use condoms as outcome variables; (b) self-esteem, self-efficacy, and decision making as antecedent variables; and (c) perceived norms about sexual practices, attitudes toward condom use, and knowledge of HIV as mediating variables. A good fit also was found for a slightly elaborated model involving condom use as outcome variable that was fined in a subsample with 319 adolescents who reported sexual experience. Gender differences are discussed, as well as implications for intervention programs promoting safer-sex behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Arabic, there are two ways, differing in length, of pronouncing each digit. This feature of word pairs that are conceptually identical but of different length allows for a stricter test of the phonological loop hypothesis than has been reported previously. Libyan schoolchildren, both boys and girls, of two grades took part in a quasi-experimental study in which shorter and longer digits and shorter and longer words were presented in recall and pronunciation tasks. The results confirmed the validity of the phonological loop model in that memory span was longer for shorter stimuli. Analysis of the data with structural equation modeling showed that only 17% of the individual-level variation in memory span could be explained by pronunciation speed. In an analysis of covariance, it was determined that pronunciation speed could account for a substantial proportion of the variation found across age (8- year-olds vs. 10-year-olds), stimulus modality (digits vs. words), and stimulus length (short vs. long), but not for gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution presents a set of intervention programs in the area of reproductive health, sexuality, and life-skills education that are now widely used in Mexico and with Latin American populations elsewhere. First, the authors briefly indicate how a research-informed approach has been central to the development and implementation of these interventions. Thereafter they describe how the programs were initially designed, taking into consideration the Mexican cultural context and its implications for Mexican adolescents. They also mention subsequent evaluationbased extensions of the programs to reach other target populations, to broaden the range of issues addressed, to promote their dissemination, and to advocate society-wide sexuality and life-skills education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common tests of Spearman''s hypothesis, according to which performance differences between cultural groups on cognitive tests increase with their g loadings, confound cognitive complexity and verbal–cultural aspects. The present study attempts to disentangle these components. Two intelligence batteries and a computer-assisted elementary cognitive test battery were administered to 474 second-generation migrant and 747 majority-group pupils in the Netherlands, with ages ranging from 6 to 12 years. Theoretical complexity measures were derived from Carroll [Human cognitive abilities. A survey of factor-analytic studies. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press] and Fischer [Psychol. Rev. 87 (1980) 477]. Cultural loadings of all subtests were rated by 25 third-year psychology students. Verbal loading was operationalized as the number of words in a subtest. A factor analysis of the subtest loadings on the first principal component, the theoretical complexity measures, and the ratings of cultural loading revealed two virtually unrelated factors, representing cognitive (g) and cultural complexity (c). The findings suggest that performance differences between majority-group members and migrant pupils are better predicted by c than by g. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present study examined the question whether the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), which is one of the most widely used instruments to assess depression, can be used to measure differences in subjective well-being at national level. In order to establish the meaning of depression scores at country level, the functional equivalence (i.e., similarity of meaning) of depression scores at individual and country level was examined. Studies using the BDI in normal populations from 28 countries were collected. Depression showed the same correlates at individual and country level, which supports the functional equivalence of the BDI at the two levels. BDI scores and subjective well-being were then correlated with a number of country characteristics in order to test three theories of cross-national differences in subjective well-being. Livability theory stresses the importance of objective living conditions, comparison theory focuses on relative living conditions, and folklore theory states that cross-national differences can be explained by some national trait (e.g., beliefs and values concerning happiness). Cross-national differences in depression and subjective well-being could be explained by livability theory and folklore theory. BDI scores were negatively correlated with subjective well-being and other happiness-related variables. These findings suggest that depression had the same meaning at individual and country level and that depression is an adequate measure of (a lack of) subjective well-being at country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rarámuri Indians in Mexico use 1 word for guilt and shame. In this article, the authors show that the Rarámuri nevertheless differentiate between shame and guilt characteristics, similar to cultural populations that use 2 words for these emotions. Emotion-eliciting situations were collected among the Rarámuri and among rural Javanese and were rated on shame and guilt by Dutch and Indonesian students. These ratings were used to select 18 shame-eliciting and guilt-eliciting situations as stimuli. The Rarámuri (N = 229) and the Javanese (N = 213) rated the situations on 29 emotion characteristics that previously had been found to differentiate shame from guilt in an international student sample. For most characteristics, a pattern of differentiation similar to that found among the students was found for both the Javanese and the Rarámuri., ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved.)