Exploring cross-cultural variations in the development of executive function for preschoolers from low and high socioeconomic families

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara A. Schmitt ◽  
Irem Korucu ◽  
David J. Purpura ◽  
Shawn Whiteman ◽  
Chenyi Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Differential Growth ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Preschool Period ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Children

This study investigated cross-cultural variation in the development of executive functioning (EF) across the preschool period for United States and Chinese children from low and high socioeconomic families using a longitudinal design. Participants included 216 preschool children ( n = 125 from the US; n = 91 from Shanghai and Jiangxi, China). On average, children were approximately 4 years old. In the US sample, 56% were female, and in the Chinese sample, 54% were female. Results from multi-level models varied slightly with regard to specific EF domains, but generally indicated that Chinese children experienced greater gains in EF during the preschool period compared to US children. Cross-cultural differences in EF growth did not vary by socioeconomic status. These findings highlight cultural variability in the development of EF and provide a foundation for additional research exploring factors that may help explain differential growth in EF for Chinese children compared to US children during the preschool period.

scholarly journals Actual and Perceived Motor Competence Levels of Belgian and United States Preschool Children

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (s2) ◽  
pp. S320-S336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Brian ◽  
Farid Bardid ◽  
Lisa M. Barnett ◽  
Frederik J.A. Deconinck ◽  
Matthieu Lenoir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
United States ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Motor Competence ◽  
Actual Object ◽  
Object Control ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Children

Purpose: The present study examined the motor competence of preschool children from Belgium and the United States (US), and the influence of perceived motor competence on actual motor competence. A secondary objective was to compare the levels of motor competence of Belgian and US children using the US norms of the Test of Gross Motor Development, Second Edition (TGMD-2). Methods: All participants (N = 326; ages 4–5 years) completed the TGMD-2 and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children. Results: Belgian children performed significantly higher on actual object control and locomotor skills than US children. However, both Belgian and US children scored significantly worse on the TGMD-2 when compared to the US norm group from 1997–1998. Furthermore, perceived motor competence was significantly related to actual object control skills but not locomotor skills. Conclusion: The present study showed cross-cultural differences in actual motor competence in young children. The findings also indicate a secular downward trend in childhood competence levels, possibly due to a decrease in physical activity and increase in sedentary behavior. Future research should consider conducting an in-depth exploration of physical activity contexts such as physical education to better understand cross-cultural differences in motor competence.

scholarly journals The origins of the shape bias: Evidence from the Tsimane'

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Jara-Ettinger ◽  
Roger Philip Levy ◽  
Jeanette Sakel ◽  
Tomas Huanca ◽  
Edward Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Natural Kinds ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
The Novel ◽  
New Words ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Shape Bias ◽  
Bolivian Amazon ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Children

In the US, children often generalize the meaning of new words by assuming that objects with the same shape have the same name. We propose that this shape bias is influenced by children’s exposure to objects of different categories (artifacts and natural kinds), and language to talk about them. We present a cross-cultural study between English speakers in the US and Tsimane’ speakers in the Bolivian Amazon. We found that US children and adults were more likely to generalize novel labels by shape rather than by material or color, relative to Tsimane’ participants. Critically, Tsimane’ children and adults systematically avoided generalizing labels to objects that shared no common features with the novel referent. Our results provide initial evidence that the relative exposure to objects of different kinds and language to talk about them can lead to cross-cultural differences on object name learning.

scholarly journals The Life History of Learning Subsistence Skills among Hadza and BaYaka Foragers from Tanzania and the Republic of Congo

Human Nature ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheina Lew-Levy ◽  
Erik J. Ringen ◽  
Alyssa N. Crittenden ◽  
Ibrahim A. Mabulla ◽  
Tanya Broesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Republic Of Congo ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Republic

AbstractAspects of human life history and cognition, such as our long childhoods and extensive use of teaching, theoretically evolved to facilitate the acquisition of complex tasks. The present paper empirically examines the relationship between subsistence task difficulty and age of acquisition, rates of teaching, and rates of oblique transmission among Hadza and BaYaka foragers from Tanzania and the Republic of Congo. We further examine cross-cultural variation in how and from whom learning occurred. Learning patterns and community perceptions of task difficulty were assessed through interviews. We found no relationship between task difficulty, age of acquisition, and oblique transmission, and a weak but positive relationship between task difficulty and rates of teaching. While same-sex transmission was normative in both societies, tasks ranked as more difficult were more likely to be transmitted by men among the BaYaka, but not among the Hadza, potentially reflecting cross-cultural differences in the sexual division of subsistence and teaching labor. Further, the BaYaka were more likely to report learning via teaching, and less likely to report learning via observation, than the Hadza, possibly owing to differences in socialization practices.

Gender and National Differences in Attitudes toward Same-Gender Touch

1994 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 1027-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank N. Willis ◽  
Vicki A. Rawdon
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
The Other ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
National Differences ◽  
The Us ◽  
Same Gender

Women have been reported to be more positive about same-gender touch, but cross-cultural information about this touch is limited. Male and female students from Chile (n = 26), Spain (n = 61), Malaysia (n = 32), and the US (n = 77) completed a same-gender touch scale. As in past studies, US women had more positive scores than US men. Malaysians had more negative scores than the other three groups. Spanish and US students had more positive scores than Chilean students. National differences in attitudes toward particular types of touch were also noted. The need for new methods for examining cross-cultural differences in touch was discussed.

scholarly journals Job insecurity: cross-cultural comparison between Germany and China

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Christina Roll ◽  
Oi-ling Siu ◽  
Simon Y.W. Li ◽  
Hans De Witte
Keyword(s):  
Work Engagement ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Safety Outcomes ◽  
Indirect Relationship

Purpose – The recent economic crisis gave rise to job insecurity and had a seemingly greater effect on western than eastern countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine cross-cultural differences of the influence of job insecurity on employees’ wellbeing, innovative work behaviour (IWB) and safety outcomes in the form of attention-related cognitive errors (ARCES) in Germany as compared to mainland China. Design/methodology/approach – Samples from both Germany and China rate their job insecurity, work engagement, burnout, IWB and ARCES in a survey. Findings – For both German and Chinese employees there was an indirect relationship between job insecurity and ARCES through burnout. In the German sample, there was an indirect relationship between employees’ job insecurity and IWB through work engagement. In contrast, the Chinese sample only showed the direct relationship between quantitative job insecurity and IWB, but not a mediation effect. Practical implications – For organizations to be effective and their employees to work safely, it is essential to understand the nature and process of job insecurity in different national contexts. Originality/value – The present research is unique by relating job insecurity to employee’ innovation on the one hand and safety outcomes on the other. Furthermore, these relationships are examined in the cultural contexts of Germany and China, contributing to the gap of research carried out in eastern contexts.

The role of social eye-gaze in children’s and adults’ ownership attributions to robotic agents in three cultures

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Kanngiesser ◽  
Shoji Itakura ◽  
Yue Zhou ◽  
Takayuki Kanda ◽  
Hiroshi Ishiguro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Social Gaze ◽  
Social Attributions ◽  
Human Participants

Young children often treat robots as social agents after they have witnessed interactions that can be interpreted as social. We studied in three experiments whether four-year-olds from three cultures (China, Japan, UK) and adults from two cultures (Japan, UK) will attribute ownership of objects to a robot that engages in social gaze with a human. Participants watched videos of robot-human interactions, in which objects were possessed or new objects were created. Children and adults applied the same ownership rules to humans and robots – irrespective of whether the robot engaged in social gaze or not. However, there was cultural variation in the types of ownership rules used. In Experiment 3, we removed further social cues, finding that just showing a pair of self-propelled robot-arms elicited ownership attributions. The role of social gaze in social attributions to robots and cross-cultural differences in ownership understanding are discussed.

scholarly journals Enhanced Cognitive Flexibility in the Seminomadic Himba

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Pope ◽  
Joël Fagot ◽  
Adrien Meguerditchian ◽  
David A. Washburn ◽  
William D. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cognitive Set ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Solution Strategy ◽  
Viable Option ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences

Through codified rule-use, humans can accurately solve many problems. Yet, mechanized strategies can also be costly. After adopting a solution strategy, humans often become blind to alternatives, even when those alternatives are more efficient. Termed cognitive set, this failure to switch from a familiar strategy to a better alternative has been considered universally human. Yet, our understanding of this phenomenon is derived almost exclusively from Western subjects. In this study, we used the nonverbal Learned Strategy–Direct Strategy (LS-DS) touchscreen task in which subjects are presented with an opportunity to use either a learned strategy or a more efficient, but novel, shortcut. We found that the remote, seminomadic Himba of northern Namibia exhibited enhanced shortcut-use on the LS-DS task, challenging the claim that cognitive set affects humans universally. In addition, we found that altering subjects’ conceptualization of the shortcut as a viable option significantly enhanced its subsequent use in Western but not Himba participants. We discuss how other aspects of cultural variation, namely, environmental uncertainty and educational background, might contribute to the observed cross-cultural differences in flexible strategy-use.

Cross-cultural differences in children's emotional reactions to a disappointing situation

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia T. Garrett-Peters ◽  
Nathan A. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Negative Behaviors ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Social Monitoring ◽  
Statistical Trends

Cross-cultural differences in emotional expressions following disappointment were examined in 59 Chinese American (CA) and 58 European American (EA) children. Children aged four or seven participated in a disappointing gift situation. Dimensions of expressive behaviors following disappointment were coded and included positive, negative, social monitoring, and tension behaviors. Significant main effects emerged for ethnicity and age, with EA children and older children demonstrating more positive behaviors than CA children and younger children, respectively. Younger children also demonstrated significantly more negative behaviors than older children. This main effect was qualified by a nearly significant age by ethnicity interaction, indicating developmental differences in the negative expressions for the EA group, but not for the CA group. Among the CA group, child adaptation of Western values was inversely associated with negative expressions, and a positive trend was found for positive expressions. Statistical trends were also found in which boys demonstrated more negative behaviors than girls and in which EA children demonstrated more total expressive behaviors than CA children. Implications of these findings are discussed with regard to cultural and familial processes, as well as cultural variation in children's cognitions about emotions.

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