Cross-cultural differences in temperament in the first year of life: United States of America (US) and Russia

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 316-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria A. Gartstein ◽  
Helena R. Slobodskaya ◽  
Irina A. Kinsht

Cross-cultural differences in temperament were evaluated for Russian ( N = 90) and US ( N = 90) samples of infants. Significant differences in levels of temperament characteristics, and the structure of temperament, were anticipated. Age and gender differences evaluated for the Russian sample were expected to be consistent with those reported for US infants. The Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, a recently developed parent-report assessment tool, was utilised with both samples. Differences between these cultures were evaluated for 14 dimensions of temperament: activity level, smiling/laughter, fear, distress to limitations, duration of orienting, soothability, vocal reactivity, high and low intensity pleasure, falling reactivity, affiliation/cuddliness, perceptual sensitivity, sadness, and approach. Significant differences between Russian and US infants emerged for six of the IBQ-R scales. Parents of infants in the US reported higher levels of smiling/laughter, high and low intensity pleasure, perceptual sensitivity, and vocal reactivity, whereas Russian infants’ scores were higher for distress to limitations. Correlation matrix comparison procedure and exploratory factor analysis indicated differences in the structure of temperament for the two cultural groups. Age differences observed for the Russian infants were generally consistent with those reported for a US sample; gender differences did not emerge in this study.

2009 ◽  
pp. 2644-2654 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gefen ◽  
Nitza Geri ◽  
Narasimha Paravastu

In the ITC cross-cultural literature, we often talk about the differences among peoples and how their respective culture and history may affect their adoption and preference usage patterns of ITC. However, do we really need to look that far to find such cross-cultural differences? Considering language is one of the major defining attributes of culture, this article takes a sociolinguistic approach to argue that there is also a cross-cultural aspect to ITC adoption within the same culture. Sociolinguists have claimed for years that, to a large extent, the communication between men and women, even within the supposedly same culture, has such characteristics because men and women communicate with different underlying social objectives and so their communication patterns are very different. This article examines this sociolinguistic perspective in the context of online courses. A key finding is that although the stage is set to smother cultural and gender differences if participants wish to do so through ITC, gender based cultural patterns still emerge. These differences were actually strong enough to allow us to significantly identify the gender of the student, despite the gender neutral context of the course discussions. Implications for ITC, in general, in view of this Vive la Différence, are discussed.


Author(s):  
David Gefen ◽  
Nitza Geri ◽  
Narasimha Paravastu

In the ITC cross-cultural literature, we often talk about the differences among peoples and how their respective culture and history may affect their adoption and preference usage patterns of ITC. However, do we really need to look that far to find such cross-cultural differences? Considering language is one of the major defining attributes of culture, this article takes a sociolinguistic approach to argue that there is also a cross-cultural aspect to ITC adoption within the same culture. Sociolinguists have claimed for years that, to a large extent, the communication between men and women, even within the supposedly same culture, has such characteristics because men and women communicate with different underlying social objectives and so their communication patterns are very different. This article examines this sociolinguistic perspective in the context of online courses. A key finding is that although the stage is set to smother cultural and gender differences if participants wish to do so through ITC, gender based cultural patterns still emerge. These differences were actually strong enough to allow us to significantly identify the gender of the student, despite the gender neutral context of the course discussions. Implications for ITC, in general, in view of this Vive la Différence, are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 355-372
Author(s):  
Rachel Karniol

Abstract The purpose of the current research was to examine strategies of persuasion used by Arabic-speaking and Hebrew-speaking boys and girls to determine the relative contributions of culture and gender in determining communication styles. Children were asked to write a letter to a male or female peer asking for a gender-stereotyped or a gender-neutral gift. Four meta-categories were identified: formality, self-focus, other-focus, and gift-focus. For each meta-category except gift-focus, there were significant main effects and interactions. Language group was significant for formality and other-focus but not for self-focus. Importantly, there were several interactions between participant gender, target gender, and gender-stereotypy of gift, but these did not interact with language group. The results were discussed in the context of children’s socialization to the ethos of musayara and dugri in Arabic-speaking and Hebrew-speaking culture.


1999 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunio Shiomi ◽  
Robert Loo

The Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) has been a widely-used measure including use in cross-cultural and cross-national studies over the past 20 years. However, researchers have generally neglected the issue of cross-cultural response styles and simply accepted differences in KAI scores as indicators of real cross-cultural differences. The present study examined the KAI scores of Canadian and Japanese samples to identify any cross-national and gender differences in response styles. Overall, the results of analyses at the subscale and itemlevel suggest possible differences in cross-national response styles but not to any substantial degree. It is suggested that cross-cultural and gender differences in response styles may be diminishing, at least, in the industrialized nations. Several recommendations are presented to facilitate future study on this issue with the KAI.


1996 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 723-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuntufye S. Mwamwenda

The purpose of this study was to assess the scores of 161 African (97 girls and 64 boys) and 190 Canadian students (107 girls and 83 boys) on Eysenck's social desirability scale which indicates the extent to which one is Likely to describe his personality favourably. Analysis showed South African students scored higher than Canadian students, both boys and girls, but there were no gender differences between African or Canadian boys and girls. Cross-cultural differences may be attributable to cultural and child-rearing practices of South Africans and Canadians.


Author(s):  
Tomasz Frąckowiak ◽  
Agata Groyecka-Bernard ◽  
Anna Oleszkiewicz ◽  
Marina Butovskaya ◽  
Agnieszka Żelaźniewicz ◽  
...  

Despite relatively clear physiological indicators of old age, little is known about cross-cultural differences in psychological perceptions of the transition to old age. Although recent studies suggest consistency between modern countries, the subjective perception of old age onset in traditional societies remains poorly explored. Therefore, we compared the perception of timing of old age between a traditional tribe of hunter-gatherers (the Hadza) and a Polish sample representing a modern, industrialized population. The results indicate that the Hadza perceive old age onset as being significantly earlier than do the Poles. Furthermore, we found between-gender differences in the Polish sample: men set a lower threshold of old age onset than women. The Hadza showed no between-gender difference. Although the samples were matched for age, a larger proportion of Hadza considered themselves old. We discuss these findings from cultural and demographical perspectives.


1997 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Hurme

Partial results from a larger Finnish-Polish study on the relations between grandchildren, parents, and grandparents are presented here. The results are based on a content analysis of essays written by 731 Finnish and Polish adolescents between eleven and twenty-one. Older children used more abstract descriptions, girls mentioned more personality features and feelings than boys, and grandmothers, especially maternal grandmothers were described in the most positive terms. The central new finding was that there are highly significant cross-cultural differences in the descriptions of grandparents: the Poles describe them in more abstract terms even after controlling for age and gender. Polish adolescents make more mention of their feelings, their personality, and their skills as well as of emotional/intellectual input from them; they use more positive terms than do the Finns, but make less mention of activities and appearance. These differences between the two cultures are mediated by contact frequency, which through its working on the proximal level enables co-construction of the relationship and the transmission of interactional styles.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huilin Xiao ◽  
Zhenzhong Ma

Purpose – This paper aims to explore cross-cultural differences in perceived ethicality of negotiation strategies among China, Taiwan and Canada by examining five categories of strategies often used in business negotiations. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a survey method to investigate a group of over 600 business students’ opinions on the ethicality of a variety of negotiation strategies often used during the bargaining process. Findings – The results show that the Chinese both from the mainland and from Taiwan consider it more appropriate to use ethically questionable negotiation strategies than Canadians. In addition, significant gender differences are found for Canadians, in that male Canadians are more likely to consider it appropriate to use ethically questionable strategies in all five categories than females, while no gender differences are found for mainland Chinese in all but one category, with a moderate level of gender differences found for the Taiwanese. Practical implications – The findings of this paper help explain why there are different understandings toward what is ethical and what is not in negotiations, which can be used to better equip practitioners to accurately label and understand negotiation strategies they may otherwise deem unethical. A better understanding of cross-cultural differences in business ethics can also help practitioners avoid the feelings of anger and mistrust toward their opponents and thus avoid using tactics that might incite more anger and hatred from the other party. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the cross-cultural literature on ethical attitudes and behaviors and helps us better understand cross-cultural differences in business ethics in a negotiation context. This paper narrows this gap by empirically validating some of the Western findings in China and Taiwan. The results also provide support for a set of commonly accepted strategies to be used in business negotiation.


1992 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 332-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuntufye S. Mwamwenda

This study was done to assess gender and cultural differences on neuroticism as a dimension of personality among both Canadians and Black South Africans. No statistically significant cross-cultural differences were observed. However, statistically significant gender differences emerged among both Canadian and African men and women, with the latter scoring higher on neuroticism than the former.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Del Giudice

Abstract The argument against innatism at the heart of Cognitive Gadgets is provocative but premature, and is vitiated by dichotomous thinking, interpretive double standards, and evidence cherry-picking. I illustrate my criticism by addressing the heritability of imitation and mindreading, the relevance of twin studies, and the meaning of cross-cultural differences in theory of mind development. Reaching an integrative understanding of genetic inheritance, plasticity, and learning is a formidable task that demands a more nuanced evolutionary approach.


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