scholarly journals In Search of a Theory: The Interpretative Challenge of Empirical Findings on Cultural Variance in Mindreading

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Gut ◽  
Robert Mirski
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Parenting Practices ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Relational Systems ◽  
Social Communicative

Abstract In this paper, we present a battery of empirical findings on the relationship between cultural context and theory of mind that show great variance in the onset and character of mindreading in different cultures; discuss problems that those findings cause for the largely-nativistic outlook on mindreading dominating in the literature; and point to an alternative framework that appears to better accommodate the evident cross-cultural variance in mindreading. We first outline the theoretical frameworks that dominate in mindreading research, then present the relevant empirical findings, and finally we come back to the theoretical approaches in a discussion of their explanatory potential in the face of the data presented. The theoretical frameworks discussed are the two-systems approach; performance-based approach also known as modularity-nativist approach; and the social-communicative theory also known as the systems, relational-systems, dynamic systems and developmental systems theory. The former two, which both fall within the wider modular-computational paradigm, run into a challenge with the cross-cultural data presented, and the latter - the systemic framework - seems to offer an explanatorily potent alternative. The empirical data cited in this paper comes from research on cross-cultural differences in folk psychology and theory-of-mind development; the influence of parenting practices on the development of theory of mind; the development and character of theory of mind in deaf populations; and neuroimaging research of cultural differences in mindreading.

Cognitive gadgets: A provocative but flawed manifesto

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Del Giudice
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Evolutionary Approach ◽  
Genetic Inheritance ◽  
Double Standards ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Cherry Picking ◽  
Dichotomous Thinking

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.

Risk factors for suicidal behavior in adolescents from European countries with different suicidal rates: The possible role of cross-cultural differences

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1613-1613
Author(s):  
N. Sedlar ◽  
L. Sprah ◽  
S. Rosker ◽  
H. Jericek Klanscek ◽  
M. Dernovsek
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Health Related

IntroductionAdolescence is a time of developmental shifts that may leave young people especially vulnerable to suicidal behaviour. Suicidal rates in different European countries differ, which may be due to many factors, including cross-cultural differences.AimsWe aimed to explore differences in risk factors for suicidal behaviour (poor subjective health and low life satisfaction, health-related behaviours, including alcohol drinking habits, family and peer factors) between European countries with different suicidal rates.MethodsThe data were collected through questionnaires in the survey ‘Health Behaviour in School-aged Children’, 2005/2006, using nationally representative samples of 15 year old students (N = 11,093) from 7 countries (Lithuania, Finland, Ireland, Slovenia, Norway, Italy, Greece).ResultsPrincipal component analyses were used to characterize how selected risk factors for suicide cluster together into factors. Differences for these factors were compared between 3 groups of countries: countries with low, average and high magnitude of suicidal rates (SDR; suicide death rate per 100 000, 15–29 years). Between group differences on first two factors, loaded by items measuring health-related behaviours, were significant and medium-sized and indicated cultural differences in alcohol use. Youth from Northern European countries - with high SDR, reported greater number of drunkenness occasions, whereas frequency of alcohol intake was greater for youth from Southern European countries - with low SDR.ConclusionsResults indicated a possible association of suicidal behaviour and different drinking cultures, arising from different geographical locations and socio-cultural environments. Therefore research and preventive measures should consider specific socio-cultural context.

Moderation of Doing and Mastery orientations in relationships among justice, commitment, and trust

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Jiang ◽  
Paul J. Gollan ◽  
Gordon Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Justice Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how two individual value orientations – Doing (the tendency to commit to goals and hold a strong work ethic) and Mastery (an orientation toward seeking control over outside forces) – moderate: the relationship between organizational justice and affective organizational commitment, and the mediation role of organizational trust in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – The authors collected data from 706 employees working in 65 universities across China, South Korea, and Australia. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses were employed to examine the cross-cultural equivalence of the measures. Hierarchical regressions were performed to test moderating effects of the two cultural value orientations. Findings – Results from the full sample showed that Doing and Mastery moderated the distributive justice-commitment relationship and the procedural justice-trust relationship. Comparisons between countries demonstrated limited cross-cultural differences. Practical implications – The present study adds to the understanding of the impact of individual and cultural differences on the relationship between justice and commitment, helping managers understand how employees’ reactions to justice are influenced by cultural value orientations. Originality/value – This study is a pioneer in empirically integrating the value orientation framework (e.g. Doing and Mastery orientations) and justice research in a cross-cultural context based in the Asia Pacific region. It also advances cross-cultural justice research through using a mediation-moderation combination.

The Tipping Point

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-39
Author(s):  
Soo Kwang Oh ◽  
Seoyeon Hong ◽  
Hee Sun Park
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Current Shift ◽  
Perceived Relationships

While previous researchers have addressed motivations to join and continue using social media, this paper focuses on why users quit certain social media and change their favorite platforms, such as the current shift from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram and Snapchat. Furthermore, this exploratory study seeks to build an understanding of social media usage and motivations for switching from a cross-cultural perspective by comparing findings from Korean and U.S. users. Findings from 19 focus group sessions (n = 118) highlight influences regarding modes of usage, user control, commitment, addiction, privacy, perceived relationships, self-construals, and social/cultural trends. Findings are further analyzed and compared in light of relevant theoretical frameworks and cultural differences.

scholarly journals Cross-Cultural Consumer Acceptability for Ethnic Fermented Sauce Products: Comparisons among Korean, UAE, and US Consumers

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1463
Author(s):  
Mi-Ran Kim ◽  
Seo-Jin Chung ◽  
Koushik Adhikari ◽  
HyeWon Shin ◽  
Hana Cho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Sweet Taste ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Consumer Acceptability ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Soybean Paste ◽  
Contextual Appropriateness

The present study investigated the drivers of liking ethnic sauces in a cross-cultural context. Experiments were conducted to understand the acceptance of salad dressings and dipping sauces developed from Korean fermented seasonings among consumers with different ethnic backgrounds, including: South Korean, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and American. The samples of interest included four types of salad dressings made from fermented soybean paste (doenjang) and four types of spicy dipping sauces made from fermented chili pepper paste (gochujang). The salad dressings were preferred by Korean and US consumers. Koreans liked the nutty-flavored salad dressings, whereas UAE and American consumers commonly liked the spicy type. There was a stronger cross-cultural agreement in liking dipping sauces rather than salad dressings. Both Korean and American consumers liked spicy dipping sauces that elicited a sweet taste. UAE consumers tended to prefer the less spicy dipping sauce samples. Consumers in all three countries generally liked spicy dipping sauces more than salad dressings. Cultural differences were observed between the responses depending on the presence and level of spiciness in the two different food types. For product development with ethnic fermented flavors or chili spices, the contextual appropriateness and consumer familiarity with the corresponding flavor should be taken into account.

A cross-cultural analysis of the modes and effectiveness of collaborative production of knowledge on Quora

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumeng Peng ◽  
Xiang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Production Of Knowledge

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to investigate how cross-cultural elements such as cultural difference and stereotype are integrated into collaborative modes and actions and to explore their corresponding effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of the quantitative content analysis is drawn from the posts with the topic of China on Quora. A collaborative case, where two users have a question-and-answer interaction, is taken as the unit of analysis. The effectiveness of collaboration is operationalized as the extent to which a collaboratively produced answer is visited and favorably reviewed, using the feedback index (the number of upvotes*1,000/views). One of the sampled collaborative cases is further analyzed qualitatively to see how cultural differences, stereotypes and other factors are incorporated into users' interaction.FindingsThis content analysis reveals nine modes of collaborative production of knowledge on Quora: initial questioning, pointed answering, raising doubts, responding to others, agreeing with others, correcting mistakes, enriching content, further questioning and extending issues. Diversity of the cross-cultural acts of collaborative production, particularly two of often-used collaborative actions, correcting stereotypes and supplementing cultural differences, helps to enhance overall collaborative effectiveness.Practical implicationsThis paper offers new perspectives and ideas for strategies to change socially problematic stereotypes, e.g. to correct stereotypes where necessary and use more convincing resources such as reliable images as collaborative actions to bridge cultural differences. It also calls on social Q&A website developers to create more international users-friendly design by providing various channels for users with diverse cultural backgrounds to interact with each other.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to investigate online collaborative knowledge production within a broader cross-cultural context. Specifically, cultural factors and cross-cultural collaborative actions have been innovatively integrated into this research, enriching the dimensions that can be used for collaboration classification. It is helpful for users from different countries to actively adopting different strategies to overcome cultural differences, preconceptions and other negative factors that are not conducive to communication and knowledge acquisition.

Holism in a European Cultural Context: Differences in Cognitive Style between Central and East Europeans and Westerners

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 321-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Varnum ◽  
Igor Grossmann ◽  
Daniela Katunar ◽  
Richard Nisbett ◽  
Shinobu Kitayama
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
East Asians ◽  
North Americans ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Holistic Cognition

AbstractCentral and East Europeans have a great deal in common, both historically and culturally, with West Europeans and North Americans, but tend to be more interdependent. Interdependence has been shown to be linked to holistic cognition. East Asians are more interdependent than Americans and are more holistic. If interdependence causes holism, we would expect Central and East Europeans to be more holistic than West Europeans and North Americans. In two studies we found evidence that Central and East Europeans are indeed more holistic than Westerners on three tasks, one of which examined categorization and two of which measured patterns of visual attention. These studies support the argument that cross-cultural differences in cognition are due to society level differences in independence/interdependence.

Religious Schema within a Muslim Ideological Surround

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima Ghorbani ◽  
P. J. Watson ◽  
Mahmood Amirbeigi ◽  
Zhuo Job Chen
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Psychological Adjustment ◽  
Psychosocial Functioning ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Interreligious Dialogue ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
The West ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences

With Religious Schema Scales in the West, Truth of Texts and Teachings correlates negatively with the commitment to interreligious dialogue recorded by Xenosophia. This measure of fundamentalism also predicts problematic religious and psychosocial functioning. The present project examined Religious Schema Scales in university students and Islamic seminarians in the Muslim cultural context of Iran. Truth of Texts and Teachings correlated positively rather than negatively with Xenosophia and predicted religious and psychological adjustment. The adaptive implications of Truth of Texts and Teachings were especially evident in Islamic seminarians. These results supplemented previous Religious Schema data from India and Malaysia in suggesting that fundamentalism may have more positive implications outside the West. Cross-cultural differences in fundamentalism more generally support arguments of an Ideological Surround Model that the incommensurability of religious and other social rationalities requires careful research attention.

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