Social Axioms Mediate Gender Differences in Gender Ideologies Among Guatemalan University Students

Gender role ideologies are embedded in cultural values and assumptions about life. Women’s greater endorsement of egalitarian beliefs may stem from gender differences in world views as indexed by social axioms. The purpose of this study was to examine potential mediators of gender differences in gender ideologies among university students in Guatemala, a country where traditional views are prevalent. Participants, 2,134 university students from nine campuses in different regions of Guatemala (43% male, 85% emerging adults), completed a Social Axioms Scale, along with three culturally relevant measures of gender ideology: the Historic-Sociocultural Premises Scale (HSCP) and the Machismo Measure that taps both traditional machismo and caballerismo (gentlemanliness). Consistent with previous research in other countries, men held more traditional attitudes about gender and the family than did women on all measures. Gender differences on all scales were mediated by cynicism and religiosity. Fate control mediated the gender differences in traditional machismo and the HSCP. These findings suggest that Guatemalan women and men through socialization, cultural demands, and life experiences develop gender-specific ways of viewing the world, and their attitudes about gender roles are shaped by those worldviews. The achievement of gender equality, a U.N. sustainable development goal, may require attention to the underlying world views of women and men.

Culture and attitudes towards contraception of women in subsistence markets: the role of values and social axioms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of culture on attitudes to contraception by rural-based women in a developing economy. Design/methodology/approach Based on data collected from 395 rural women in Eastern Zimbabwe, this study examines the hypothesized relationships between values (resultant conservation, resultant self-enhancement), social axioms (reward for application, social cynicism, religiosity, social complexity, fate control and Ubuntu) and contraceptive attitudes, considering the moderating effects of age and education. Findings Using covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling and Multi-Group Analysis, this study found that resultant self-enhancement, fate control, the reward for application and religiosity significantly relate to attitudes to contraception whilst resultant conservation, social complexity, Ubuntu and social cynicism, did not produce significant correlations. Age and education moderate the significant relationships. Research limitations/implications The study's findings suggest that contraception social marketers, non-governmental organizations and health practitioners should develop marketing strategies to neutralize the negative impact of these beliefs held by rural contraceptive consumers to increase contraceptive awareness and uptake in such subsistence markets. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence on the role of Ubuntu as a new culture construct in African markets. Originality/value Despite being limited to a single developing economy, this paper extends prior research on consumer culture and attitudes on contraception use by exploring the role of values and social axioms, an imperative issue for rural women health and general subsistence market well-being.

The social axioms of populism: Investigating the relationship between culture and populist attitudes

Populism is on the rise with various movements having electoral breakthroughs. Most social-science research on populism has focused primarily on party tactics and rhetoric, and a definition for the term itself; only recently has populism emerged as a psychological construct. We contribute to this growing literature with two studies (n = 456 and n = 5,837) that investigated the cultural worldviews underpinned in populist attitudes. Using the social axioms model, an etic framework for assessing people’s generalized social expectations, we linked populist attitudes to universal dimensions of culture. We found that higher levels of social cynicism and social flexibility, and to a lesser extent, lower levels of fate control and reward for application predicted populist attitudes. These findings indicate that people who endorse populist attitudes, across a range of contexts, are cynical regarding the social world, believe in alternative solutions to social dilemmas, but may also perceive a world that is difficult to control and potentially unfair. The discussion focuses on the cultural forces that may drive or facilitate populist attitudes across context and time.

Social Values and Education: A Brief Comparative Approach from Schwartz to White’s and Hand’s Theories

This paper aims to present in brief the main researches about the prediction of social behavior through values and social axioms, to suggest their utilization in the field of philosophy and sociology of education and also to highlight the significant contribution of the educator in the moral edification of a person. Initially, it is being held a brief reference to Schwartz’s theory of values and social axioms in order to show the important role they play in social behavior. Then, Schwartz's study of intercultural values as well as their outcomes is outlined in detail. The ensuing report refers to researches which took place both intercultural and in Greece about social axioms and dimensions that have been found. It is being accomplished an approach about researches that have been made intercultural and aimed at predicting the social behavior with the help of values and social axioms. In parallel, there is a brief survey of Michael Hand’s theory about moral education and its criticism. By the literature review is being proved that there is a semantic correlation between values and social axioms, but there isn’t a significant combination of social behavior. From their roots, both values and social axioms seem to affect social behavior.

Social Axioms: A Traditional Literature Review

The study was conducted to perform a comprehensive overview of the available documented studies on social axioms to identify the relevant literature and research gaps in the field of social axioms. The empirical studies carried out in the different countries that have been classified by publication years, research designs, and methods of studies. The paper presents a review of 72 published articles in journals of the different countries during 2002 to date, thus, an exploration reveals that social axioms play a considerable role in social behaviors and health of individuals, and they function differently in different cultures. This review would be helpful for the future researchers to direct their work towards the significance of social axioms in the different domains of life. Implications of this review have been discussed.