bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Dynamics of Hostile Activity and the Prediction of War
Authors: Zinnes Dina A. , Muncaster Robert G.
Published: March 2007

In an earlier article (Muncaster and Zinnes, 1983) a dynamic model was presented that linked hostile interaction, protracted conflict, and war. The key variables in the model included interaction, grievance, fear of war, and a pull to war. The present article extends the first model by including the amount of hostile activity. Given this additional factor it is possible to predict not only the time at which a war will occur, but also the level of hostility in the system necessary for war to occur. The model further indicates why some hostile interactions cycle in extended protracted conflict patterns while others shoot off to war.
Corporate Ombudsman and Organization Conflict Resolution
Authors: Kolb Deborah M.
Published: March 2007

The position of corporate ombudsman is intended to serve as a voice-giving mechanism for employees. The broad guidelines of the ombudsman's job and the novelty of this function mean that ombudsmen have considerable latitude to structure the forms this dispute-processing mechanism takes. This article, based on interviews with ombudsmen in six organizations, using case-based data, describes some of the ways this role is enacted. The ombudsman's role has inherent tension built into it between the desires to help claimants and to protect the organization. Ombudsmen resolve this tension by emphasizing one facet of the role, both in their approach to cases and in the type of cases they get. “Helping” ombudsmen invent individualized solutions to the problems people present, whereas “fact-finding” ombudsmen investigate whether proper procedures were followed and if there are plausible explanations for a complaint. Whether ombudsmen help or fact-find seems to be related to their embeddedness in the organization. The ombudsman's function and the helping and fact-finding forms suggest a quiet and harmonizing approach to organization conflict resolution.
A Nonlinear Dynamical Model of the Impact of SDI on the Arms Race
Authors: Saperstein Alvin M. , Mayer-Kress Gottfried
Published: March 2007

We present numerical results from a nonlinear dynamical model with discrete time that simulates the implications of ballistic missile defense systems (SDI) on the arms race between the two superpowers. As dynamical variables we introduce the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), antiballistic missile systems (ABMs) and anti-ABM systems such as antisatellite weapons (ASAT) of each of the two sides. The time evolution of these systems (arms race) is simulated numerically under various parameter assumptions (scenarios). The a priori unpredictability of human decisions is simulated through random fluctuations of the buildup parameters. The results of our idealized model indicate that for most parameter combinations, the introduction of SDI systems leads to an extension of the offensive arms race rather than a transition to a defense-dominated strategic configuration. A reduction in the number of offensive weapons, that is, an approach to a defense-dominated strategy, was observed if either the number of reentry vehicles per ICBM (MIRV) is limited to much smaller values than presently realized or if the accuracy of offensive weapons is significantly reduced. For the case of a strongly accelerated arms buildup (either offensive or defensive), we observe a loss of stability of the solutions that we interpret as a transition to unpredictable chaos. We also incorporate a discussion of economic and risk parameters, both of which also tend to increase with the introduction of SDI systems.
Lebensraum
Authors: Simon Julian L.
Published: March 2007

Population growth may progressively reduce one of the motives for making war. Namely, population growth threatens shortages of resources, and especially land. Impending shortages cause a search for ways to mitigate the shortages. The discoveries eventually produce greater availability of resources than if population growth and pressure on resources had never occurred. The argument runs as follows: (1) Rhetoric about resource scarcity induced by population density has often contributed to international conflict, even if economics has not been the main motive in making war. (2) In the pre-modern era, war to obtain land and other natural resources may sometimes have been an economically sound policy. (3) Politicians and others in industrially developed nations believe resources may still be a casus belli. (4) Land and other productive resources are no longer worth acquiring at the cost of war.
Escalation and Cooperation in Conflict Situations
Authors: Leininger Wolfgang
Published: March 2007

We present a new game-theoretic analysis of an abstract auction game that captures essential strategic aspects of escalation phenomena. Two competitive adversaries commit resources irreversibly in order to win an indivisible prize; the winner will take the prize while both winner and loser incur the cost of their bids (investments). Following O'Neill (1986), we first reexamine a discrete version of the game and emphasize some strategic considerations that give rise to new bidding strategies of players. These new strategies, however, confirm O'Neill's result qualitatively: Rational players should not bid against each other. We then introduce a more general model of the game and show that escalatory competitive bids are compatible with equilibrium play. Equilibria with escalating bidding eventually realize a “draw”: Initial firmness (leading to escalation) is followed by conciliatory behavior that eventually implements a common commitment level.
Provision of Step-Level Public Goods
Authors: Erev Ido , Rapoport Amnon
Published: March 2007

Groups of five players participated in a social dilemma game in which each player receives a monetary endowment and then chooses whether to contribute it to a monetary public good. The good is provided to all group members if at least three contributions are made; it is not provided, otherwise. Experiment 1 showed that the simultaneous protocol of play—where decisions are made privately and anonymously—is significantly less effective in solving the dilemma than the sequential protocol—where decisions are made sequentially with complete information about previous decisions in the sequence. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and, in addition, showed that the sequential protocol with only information about previous noncooperative choices is significantly more effective in solving the dilemma than the sequential protocol with only information about previous cooperative choices.
Threshold Effects and the Decline of Cooperation
Authors: Schuessler Rudolf
Published: March 2007

Game-theoretical analyses of the n-person Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) and of group production have largely ignored the impact of threshold effects on the evolution of cooperation. This article introduces a model where uncooperative action cannot be detected as long as it does not exceed a certain level. The resulting breakdown of cooperation parallels the backward induction effect of a finitely repeated PD and might illustrate pessimistic social theories like Olson's “institutional sclerosis.” But surprisingly, cooperation remains at an intermediate level if simple random variations of population size occur. This hints at the possibility that the mentioned pessimism is an often overrated position.
Foreign Policy and Presidential Popularity
Authors: Marra Robin F. , Ostrom Charles W. , Simon Dennis M.
Published: March 2007

Variations in public support for the president have been explained in three different ways. First, approval has been viewed as controlled by the law of inevitable decline. Second, public support has been characterized as a function of an “environmental connection” between chief executives and macrofeatures of the political and economic landscape. Finally, some view “political drama” (e.g., speeches, trips, diplomatic agreements, and so on) as an important role in determining the popularity of the president. The present analysis offers a comprehensive model of public support for the president which draws on all three explanations and partitions the presidentially relevant factors into domestic and foreign policy subsets. The comprehensive model is operationalized and estimated using 573 Gallup presidential approval polls from January 1949 through December 1984. Empirical analysis demonstrated that factors derived from all three explanations contribute to the prediction of public support. In addition, the analysis evaluated the relative impact of domestic and foreign influences and located potential levers that presidents might pull to influence this popular support.
The “Long Peace”—
Authors: Saperstein Alvin M.
Published: March 2007

One of the reasons advanced for the absence of a major war between the two superpowers during the forty-five years of their enmity since World War II is that the world system in which they functioned was essentially bipolar and hence, presumably, inherently more stable than previous multipolar worlds. Given the recent decline in the power of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. relative to the rest of the world, it is important to test the validity of this presumption. A nonlinear mathematical model of international competition is presented in which the transition from predictable laminar to unpredictable turbulent flow is the model manifestation of the transition from cold to hot war in the world system being modelled. The model is a tripolar competition which arises continuously from a bipolar system as a coupling parameter is varied. Thus the realm of nonchaotic, stable, competition can be examined as a function of the coupling parameter. It is found that the regime of stability decreases as the system complexity increases. Thus the simple model lends credence to the presumption that a tripolar world is inherently less stable than the corresponding bipolar world.
Domestic Structure, Decisional Constraints, and War
Authors: Morgan T. Clifton , Campbell Sally Howard
Published: March 2007

It has often been argued that democracies are less war-prone than other forms of government because the people, who must bear the costs of war in lives and resources, will restrain the aggressive impulses of their leaders. Most empirical studies addressing this hypothesis have produced results indicating that democracies fight as often as other states. The authors argue that previous studies have misspecified the theoretical argument. The argument the authors propose and the test they design focus directly on specific mechanisms by which the decisions of leaders are constrained, rather than on composite conceptual and operational definitions of democracy. The authors also control for the opportunity leaders have to decide for war. Their results suggest that for major powers, higher levels of decisional constraints lead to a lower probability that conflicts will escalate to war, as the authors' theoretical argument predicts. The relationship does not hold for minor powers, however, and may even be reversed.
Richardson, Rationality, and Restrictive Models of Arms Races
Authors: McGinnis Michael D.
Published: March 2007

Richardson's simple arms race model inspired an extensive (and still growing) body of research by scholars in many disciplines. Unfortunately, much of this work follows Richardson's lead by paying scant attention to domestic politics and decision-making processes. Despite the use of increasingly sophisticated formal models, empirical measures, and statistical methods, progress has been stymied by continued reliance on rigid models and literal interpretations of statistical tests, especially regarding the relative potency of external and internal factors. A new approach to modeling is required if we are to understand the underlying dynamics of resource allocation that sustain an arms race. The author argues that the substantive complexities of arms rivalries can be implicitly encompassed by simple rational models considerably less restrictive than Richardson's model.
Negotiating Through an Agent
Authors: Lax David A. , Sebenius James K.
Published: March 2007

Agents often bargain on behalf of their principals. In many common negotiating situations, especially where ex post ratification of the agent's agreement is required (e.g., union contracts, treaties), an agent faces inherent uncertainty about the terms that are minimally acceptable to the principal (the principal's “reservation price”). In fact, the agent's entire payoff function may be uncertain. We study bargaining behavior in these circumstances and show that the agent's minimum demands unambiguously increase with increases in uncertainty about the principal's reservation price, with increases in uncertainty about the payoff function, and with increases in the agent's degree of risk aversion. We then fashion these results about an individual agent's behavior into conclusions about the difficulty of reaching agreement in the overall negotiations. Using Axelrod's measure of the “conflict of interest” in a game, optimal insistence prices in a one-shot bargaining situation, and two equilibrium concepts in a common commitment game, we show that the inherent uncertainty of agency bargaining can frequently make disagreement more likely.
Determinants of Readiness for Contact with Jewish Children among Young Arab Students in Israel
Authors: Yogev Abraham , Ben-Yehoshua Naama Sabar , Alper Yael
Published: March 2007

Organized encounters between Arab and Jewish students as a means of education for coexistence are questioned vis-à-vis the recent politicization of Arabs who are Israeli citizens, and the subsequent shift in their self-identity from “Israeli Arabs” to Palestinians. A survey of 268 seventh grade Arab students in seven segregated and mixed Jewish-Arab communities reveals that their perceptions of Jews and of their own deprivation are determined by their political self-identity rather than by earlier contact with Jews. These perceptions further influence their readiness to associate with Jewish children. Concluding that the contact hypothesis may not enhance interethnic relations in situations of political conflict, we suggest that the school system shift its focus from students' encounters to curricular programs dealing directly with the conflict issues.
Alliance Building versus Independent Action
Authors: Saperstein Alvin M.
Published: March 2007

An important international security question is whether nations in an anarchic competitive world system are more likely to ensure their security by pursuing policies of complete independence or of alliance building. The question is addressed using the paradigm that “strong chaos” in an arms-race model is equivalent to crisis instability and war in the international system being modeled. Nonlinear recursion relation models of competitive arms procurement are constructed for independent arming and for alliance building policies in a world system of three symmetric nations. The results are that alliance building always preserves a peaceful world from perturbations in the relationships between the competing member states whereas independent courses of action may allow such perturbations to build up to strong chaos and presumably war.
Government Coercion of Dissidents
Authors: Gupta Dipak K. , Singh Harinder , Sprague Tom
Published: March 2007

The dynamic effect of government coercion on dissident activities has been a controversial issue. It is contended that this relationship is significantly altered when different control variables such as regime type, ideological orientation, and economic performance are employed. Time series data based on 24 countries is used to estimate the net effect of government coercion on two types of dissident activities: protest demonstrations and deaths from domestic group violence. It is shown that in democratic nations, government sanctions provoke a higher level of protest demonstrations. However, in nondemocratic countries, at the extreme, severe sanctions can impose an unbearable cost, resulting in an inverse relationship between sanctions and political deaths. The nature of the regime influences not only the dynamics of the relationship between government coercion and dissident activities, but also the qualitative character of opposition response.
When and How Do Domestic Constraints Matter?
Authors: Iida Keisuke
Published: March 2007

Recent studies of uncertainty in international relations treat nation-states as unitary actors, but it may be more realistic to suppose that uncertainty also arises from domestic decision-making processes. By formalizing Putnam's theory of two-level games, this article attempts to integrate the studies of uncertainty and the “second image.” The distinction between domestic and international asymmetric information turns out to be subtle yet important. When there is complete information and international asymmetric information, domestic constraints may or may not enhance bargaining power; but they do not make successful ratification difficult. On the other hand, when there is incomplete domestic information, successful ratification is not guaranteed although the expected payoffs of the constrained negotiators may be still greater than without domestic constraints.
Integrative Complexity and British Decisions during the Munich and Polish Crises
Authors: Walker Stephen G. , Watson George L.
Published: March 2007

This study addresses the impact of crisis management strategies, stress, and groupthink conditions on the integrative complexity of British decision makers in 10 decision-making episodes during two Anglo-German crises in 1938 and 1939. A systematic random sample of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's statements during British cabinet deliberations in the intragovernmental arena and British messages to Germany in the intergovernmental arena during the acute phase of each crisis was scored for integrative complexity. An ANOVA of integrative complexity for crisis, arena, and episode demonstrated a significant independent relationship between strategy and integrative complexity plus a significant interaction effect between strategy and arena on integrative complexity. There were also significant differences in Chamberlain's integrative complexity between early and later episodes of the Polish conflict in the intragovernmental arena; no significant differences occurred between episodes in either arena during the Munich conflict. These results support the hypotheses that associate low integrative complexity with the implementation of a competitive strategy in the intergovernmental arena and with high stress in the intragovernmental arena.
Principal Rivalries
Authors: Thompson William R.
Published: March 2007

The largely unanticipated end of the cold war and the consequent difficulties in explaining its demise underline the need to understand better the phenomenon of rivalries in world politics. There is, however, much more at stake than the history of the Soviet-American relationship because a respectable proportion of international conflict is embedded within the contexts of specific dyadic feuds with specific pasts and futures. To ignore these contexts may seriously distort the entire analytic undertaking of international relations. This article makes a case for identifying rivalries in terms of decision maker perceptions as opposed to the number of disputes over some period of time in which states engage. A second argument is that predominately positional and predominately spatial rivalries should be differentiated as two basic types. Finally, a third argument is advanced for categorizing positional rivalries with respect to their geopolitical milieu: dyadic, regional, global, and global-regional.
Violence and Uncertainty in Transitions
Authors: Crescenzi Mark J. C.
Published: March 2007

This article develops a model of the strategic interaction between a regime and its domestic opposition. The author formally explores the strategic nature of the decision to pursue a transition. Specifically, the model incorporates the notion of uncertainty in the sense that the opposition does not know whether hard-liners or soft-liners control the regime. Liberalization then becomes a signal to the opposition, which may or may not convey meaningful information about the regime's type. An important result of the analysis is that in a scenario in which the opposition seeks a transition but wishes to avoid violence, conflict between the opposition and the regime can still occur. The model also provides an explanation for the occurrence of pacted transitions (negotiated transitions without violence) as well as why some transition opportunities do not materialize even when conditions are ripe for a peaceful transition. In addition, the model explains why and under what circumstances regimes liberalize. Empirical analysis of the Hungarian revolt of 1956 and pretransition Brazil during the late 1970s lends support to the model.
Malaysian Community Mediation
Authors: Wall James A. , Callister Ronda Roberts
Published: March 2007

This study investigates the mediations of 127 village leaders ( ketua kampungs) and 52 religious leaders ( imams) in Malaysia. These mediators rely heavily on techniques of meeting with disputants (separately and together), listening to the disputant's side, information gathering, and calling for concessions. They also use three distinct strategies: a “meet separately” strategy, an assertive strategy, and a strategy based on information gathering. The imams rely more on prayer, moral principles, listening, and third-party advice and call less often for concessions. Imams use a unique “meet together” strategy and prayer strategy.
Behavioral Issues of Rationality in International Interaction
Authors: Langlois Catherine C. , Langlois Jean-Pierre P.
Published: March 2007

The behavioral pointers of rationality discussed by Langlois and Langlois are used to scan the World Events Interaction Survey data on U.S.-China and U.S.-Soviet relations for evidence of rational behavior in the interaction between states. The null hypothesis that the interaction between states is not compatible with subgame perfect equilibrium play in all cases examined is rejected: states react to each other's past moves; if deviations from equilibrium play are significant in explaining player moves, they determine positive inducement effects; and implied payoff structures reveal a need for strategic management of the relationship. With payoff structures estimated to be prisoner's dilemmas for all players, both bilateral relations begin with the widest tolerance of the other's behavioral choice and the adoption of countervailing strategies. Over time, these nations' strategic interaction evolves toward a sharpening of the bounds they envision for their relationships.
The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Authors: Kim Uichol , Park Young-Shin , Park Donghyun
Published: March 2007

This article outlines the indigenous psychologies approach within the context of three research traditions in cross-cultural psychology: the universalist, contextualist, and integrationist approaches. The first section outlines the limitations of the universalist and contextualist approaches. The second section overviews the two integrationist approaches: the derived etics approach and the indigenous psychologies approach. In comparison to the former approach, the indigenous psychologies approach advocates a bottom-up, model-building paradigm that examines generative capabilities of human beings. It investigates human actions that occur in meaningful context. In this transactional approach, human consciousness, intentions, and goals are central aspects of the research design.
Validity Ofvertical and Horizontal Individualism and Collectivism in Singapore
Authors: Soh Star , Leong Frederick T. L.
Published: March 2007

The cross-cultural construct validity of vertical and horizontal individualism (VI and HI) and horizontal and vertical collectivism (HC and VC) at the individual level of analysis is examined across 180 U.S. and 184 Singapore students. The findings showed that the four-factor structure was invariant for a 16-item attitudinal measure (although one item did not fit well), the U.S. students were more HI and the Singapore students were more VC, and the constructs had culture-general and culture-specific associations with values and interests. Although the cross-cultural validity of the structure and individualism-collectivism dimension of the constructs were supported, the precision of the operationalization of the vertical-horizontal dimension by the 16-item measure is called into question because the expected correlations were not found.
Interrelationships among Vertical and Horizontal Collectivism, Modesty, and Self-Enhancement
Authors: Kurman Jenny , Sriram N.
Published: March 2007

The study investigated the relationship among self-enhancement, modesty, and vertical and horizontal collectivism-individualism. High school participants from three groups were surveyed: A Singaporean sample ( n = 130), high on vertical collectivism; an Israeli kibbutz sample ( n = 163), high on horizontal collectivism; and an urban individualist Israeli control sample ( n = 144). Self-report of modesty was highest and self- enhancement was lowest among Singaporeans, whereas kibbutz and urban Israelis showed no differences on these measures. Path analyses revealed that modesty was positively related to vertical collectivism, which emphasizes group over self needs. Modesty was negatively related to horizontal individualism, which emphasizes development of a unique self-identity. Horizontal collectivism was not related to modesty or self- enhancement. Modesty was the strongest predictor of academic self-enhancement, other significant predictors being cultural origin and vertical individualism. Modesty was the strongest predictor of self-criticism and other significant predictors included cultural origin and vertical individualism and collectivism.
Micro- and Macro-Justicein the Allocation of Resources between in-Group and Out-Group Members
Authors: Murphy-Berman Virginia , Cukur Cem Safak , Berman John J.
Published: March 2007

Respondents from Turkey and the United States solved micro- and macro-justice dilemmas requiring them to allocate scholarships and governance board memberships. Recipients were either groups or individuals who were members of respondents’in-groups or out-groups. Turkish respondents showed a stronger preference than U.S. respondents for macro deservingness only when recipients were from their in-groups and, in general, preferred in-group over out-group recipients. Both U.S. and Turkish respondents used macro principles more with group versus individual recipients.
The Role of Symmetry in Pattern Reproduction by Zambian Children
Authors: Deregowski Jan B.
Published: March 2007

Twenty-four Zambian schoolchildren (mean age 11. 8) were required to reconstruct simple geometrical dot patterns which were exposed for as long as the Ss desired, but the reproduction of which could only begin ten seconds after the Ss' inspection. As many inspec tion periods as the Ss felt necessary were allowed. Five types of stimuli were used: symmetrical about the vertical axis, symmetrical about the horizontal axis, vertically repeated, horizontally repeated, and random. The only significant difference found was that in number of errors between the symmetrical about the vertical axis and vertic ally repeated stimuli. It is argued that the results obtained probably do not differ qualitatively from those obtained in studies in Western cultures.
An Item and Factor Analysis of Danish, Lebanese and United States College Students' Responses to the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale
Authors: Consalvi Conrad
Published: March 2007

Arabic, Danish and English versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale were administered to college students in Lebanon, Denmark and the United States. There were 200 Lebanese, 150 Danes and 200 Americans, each group divided evenly on the basis of sex. The mean raw scores of the Danes, Americans and Lebanese were 9.59, 12.45 and 19. 11, respectively. Separate item analyses yielded a total of 27 common items which correlated significantly with total score in all three groups. Correlations between item rankings across groups ranged from. 53 to. 79 with considerable agreement in the placement of items in the extreme ranks. The factor analyses produced factors which were only moderately similar across groups. It was inferred that the overall findings of the study support the use of the Marlowe-Crowne scale for estimating social desirability with both Danish and Lebanese college students. Sampling limitations, however, mitigate against the uncritical use of the scale within these cultures without further study.
Aggressive Responses to the Holtzman Inkblot Technique by Indian and White Alcoholics
Authors: Query William T. , Query Joy M.
Published: March 2007

Interview, Holtzman Inkblot data, and aggressive behavior records were obtained for 18 American Indian and 21 white hospitalized alcoholics to determine whether cultural differences were present. No differences were found between groups on either behavioral or projective test indices, thus contradicting commonly held stereotypes of alcoholic Indian aggression. Evidence suggests that non-movement-hostile fantasy substitutes for actual aggression among Indians and oral dependence as purported to be measured by "water responses" is more characteristic of them; this may be an etiological factor, especially related to economic and social deprivation.
An Analysis of "Polyphasic Pictorial Perception"
Authors: Deregowski Jan B. , Munro Don
Published: March 2007

African (Rhodesian and Zambian) and Western (Canadian) subjects were asked to describe simple pictures in order to assess their tendency to interpret pictures as representing a sequence of events, and the extent to which such tendency is fostered by background cues and arrangement of figures. The samples tested showed that such a tendency was more common in the African sample. The results also suggest that it is probably erroneous to describe the phenomenon as perceptual, since the responses appeared to be affected by the extent to which subject's interpretation was "stimulus-bound." Only the background cues were found to affect subjects' responses.
The Relationship of Acculturation to Cognitive Style among Mexican Americans
Authors: Ramirez Manuel , Castaneda Alfredo , Herold P. Leslie
Published: March 2007

Tests of cognitive style were administered to Mexican-American children and their mothers in three communities in southern California. Questionnaires on socialization practices and Mexican-American family values were also administered to the mothers. Subjects from the "traditional" community-in which members were most identified with the sociocultural system of Mexican culture-scored in a field-dependent direction. Subjects from the "atraditional" community, whose members are most influenced by mainstream American middle-class values, were most field-independent in cognitive style. Children and mothers of the community influenced by both cultures-the "dualistic" community-obtained scores between those of the other two groups. Mothers from the traditional community were most frequently in agreement with items reflecting indicators of the field-dependent "socialization" cluster, and also with items reflecting the sociocultural system of Mexican-American culture.
Recognition of Happy and Sad Facial Expressions among Baganda and U.S. Children
Authors: Kilbride Janet E. , Yarczower Matthew
Published: March 2007

The recognition of happy and sad expressions by U.S. children and by Baganda children and adults was assessed using schematic drawings. Developmental and cultural differences and similarities in this ability were found. The happy expression was more easily identified by the young children than the sad expression. When stimuli potentially contradictory to the facial expression (e.g., red dress on a sad girl, tears on a happy face) were added to the drawings, many African and U.S. children changed their previous judgments. In several cases, only the Baganda children changed their judgments; the American children were unaffected. Socioeconomic factors and certain cultural values may have been responsible for yielding cross-cultural differences.
Cognitive Ability Assessment with Two New Zealand Ethnic Groups
Authors: Brooks I. R.
Published: March 2007

A battery of verbal and nonverbal tests of cognitive ability was administered to 110 four-year-old Maori and Pakeha children in New Zealand. Socioeconomic status was controlled by means of an SES scale based on level of income and education. Results indicated that when SES was controlled few significant differences emerged between the two groups, with verbal tests yielding the largest differences. Socioeconomic status was found to be related to test performance, with higher SES subjects scoring significantly higher on five of the nine tests. Finally, a sex difference vws observed and found to be related to ethnicity. In the Pakeha sample, males tended to obtain higher scores whereas in the Maori group, females ware the high scorers.
The Influence of Formal Education on Rule Learning and Attribute Identification in a West African Society
Authors: Ciborowski Tom
Published: March 2007

Groups of formally educated and of uneducated rural Kpelle tribesmen and children of Liberia, West Africa were given rule learning and attribute identification problems. On a wide variety of measures, rule learning proved easier than attribute identification for a conjunctive rule but not for a disjunctive rule. Education proved to have no significant effect on rule learning for either a conjunctive or a disjunctive rule. The influence of formal education was restricted to the superior performance of the educated subjects on the conjunctive attribute identification problems. These findings were interpreted as indicating that formal education exerts its influence primarily on the way in which known conceptual rules are used in a testing situation, exerting little (if any) influence on the actual learning of such rules.
Dimensionality of Rotter's I-E Scale in a Society in the Process of Modernization
Authors: Nagelschmidt Anna M. , Jakob Roberto
Published: March 2007

A factor analysis is presented of the responses of 170 Brazilian women to a Portuguese version of Rotter's l-E scale. The analysis suggests the existence of two main independent factors, one which could be said to correspond to the original meaning intended for the scale and the other to the concept of fatalism. These results are compared to previous ones, and suggestions are offered to explain differences between the present findings and those of other authors. The importance of prior validation of a measuring device used in research involving cross-cultural comparisons is emphasized.
Judgment of Emotion
Authors: Boucher Jerry D. , Brandt Mary E.
Published: March 2007

Thirty American subjects accurately identified emotions from 96 situations which American and Malay informants stated to be antecedent to specific emotions. These results are considered in terms of the proposition that the underlying meanings of antecedent events are the stimuli for the experience of emotion, and that these meanings can be inferred across cultural boundaries.
Personality Impressions Elicited by Accented English Speech
Authors: Gallois Cynthia , Callan Victor J.
Published: March 2007

Eighty students, 40 male and 40 female, listened to tapes of male and female speakers from Australia, Britain, France, Greece, Italy, and Vietnam reading a short English passage. The aim of the study was to determine the impressions of an Australian-born audience to accented English speech and its effect upon judgments of the speakers' personalities. Factor analysis of the personality ratings revealed evaluative and dynamism dimensions. Results indicated an interaction between sex and nationality of speaker on both dimensions. Discussion focused on the combined influence of nationality and sex of speaker in eliciting impressions based on accented voices.
Dimensionality of Rotter's I-E Scale in Sri Lanka
Authors: Niles F. Sushila
Published: March 2007

Research on Rotter's I-E Scale has shown that the scale does not measure a unidimensional trait. It is also argued that differences in the populations to which this scale is administered affect the factor structure obtained. The present study examines the structure of locus of control when applied to a sample of school-going adolescents in an urban region in Sri Lanka. A two-factor structure consisting of "Fatalism" and "Powerlessness" dimensions supports the claim for multidimensionality of the concept. It also supports Nagelschmidt and Jakob's (1977) argument that there are cultural differences in the way in which societies respond, especially in an East-West context.
Effects of Culture and Response Format on Extreme Response Style
Authors: Hui C. Harry , Triandis Harry C.
Published: March 2007

Do cultural and ethnic groups differ in their extreme response style? To answer this question, Hispanic and non-Hispanic subjects were asked to respond to a questionnaire on 5-point or 10-point scales. As predicted, Hispanics were found to exhibit a stronger tendency for extreme checking (about half the time, on the average) than non-Hispanic, but only when the 5-point scales were used. Use of 10-point scales reduced the extreme responses of the Hispanics to the level of non-Hispanics. Extreme responses of non-Hispanics were not affected by the scales. Implications of the findings for social research are discussed.
Male Dominance, Role Segregation, and Spouses' Interdependence in Conflict
Authors: Wagner Wolfgang , Kirchler Erich , Clack Felicia , Tekarslan Erdal , Verma Jyoti
Published: March 2007

The experience of purchasing conflict between spouses was tested in four cultures: Austria, India, Turkey, and the USA. Spouses had to complete an interdependence matrix-type questionnaire, assessing their well-being in situations of conflict and agreement. Differences between well-being scores in situations of conflict and agreement were interpreted as reflecting the degree of spouses' interdependence. It was found that spouses in Western countries depend on each other more in personal decisions than do spouses in more traditional, non-Western countries. Specifically, spouses from traditionally patriarchal families in India and Turkey depended least upon each other. This was expected, due to culturally and historically prescribed differences in the degree of role segregation between spouses. The stronger the role-segregation in traditional societies, the less spouses depend upon each other in personal matters. It was also found that husbands are more autonomous in their decisions than wives, specifically in male-dominated Western families. Male dominance in Western families appears to be based on different mechanisms than patriarchy in traditional non-Western marriages.
The Perception of Environmental Risks among Ethnically Diverse Groups
Authors: Vaughan Elaine , Nordenstam Brenda
Published: March 2007

Social science theories and empirical data on perceptions of environmental risk have focused almost exclusively on factors related to frequently occurring disagreements between the lay population and technical experts. Discussions of variability within the nonexpert population itself are uncommon, even though theories of risk and culture, as well as empirical evidence, suggest that significant differences in judgments may occur within a diverse population such as that in the United States. Perceptions of risk are influenced, in part, by characteristic ways in which situations of uncertainty are framed and interpreted. Because culturally based attitudes and values can influence general orientation toward risk and uncertainty, it is reasonable to expect that factors differentiating individuals on the basis of shared experiences, values, and beliefs relevant to risk evaluation will be associated with nonequivalent perceptions in many situations. One such variable, ethnicity, is examined for its association with variability in perceptions of environmental risk. The authors review available evidence indicating when ethnic differences in risk perceptions have been observed, and consider three hypotheses that could explain why ethnicity would be predictive of dissimilarities in judgments for many environmental risks. Possible explanations for an ethnicity effect include differences in prior experiences with or exposure to various hazards, dissimilar general beliefs about risk and uncertainty, and differences on various qualitative dimensions that influence nonexpert assessments of risk.
Effects of Urban Size, Urgency, and Cost on Helpfulness
Authors: Hedge Alan , Yousif Yousif H.
Published: March 2007

The effects of urban size, urgency, and cost on helpfulness in the United Kingdom and the Sudan were compared. The first study examined the return rates of letters that were either unmarked or marked urgent and that were dropped face up either close to or distant from a mailbox. Analysis of return rates showed main effects of urban size, urgency, and cost, but no significant difference between countries. The second study investigated responses to requests for a street interview made under different urgency and cost conditions. Main effects of urban size, urgency, and cost were found, but there was no significant effect of country. In both countries, people were less helpful in the city, when the situation was not urgent, and when helping entailed high personal cost.
An Etic-Emic Analysis of Individualism and Collectivism
Authors: Triandis Harry C. , McCusker Christopher , Betancourt Hector , Iwao Sumiko , Leung Kwok , Salazar Jose Miguel , Setiadi Bernadette , Sinha Jai B.P. , Touzard Hubert , Zaleski Zbignew
Published: March 2007

An analysis of the responses of 1,614 subjects from 10 cultures shows that the Leung Bond procedure provides illuminating ways of extracting both strong (Separation From In-Groups, Independence, and Personal Competence) and weak (Task Orientation) eticsrelevant to individualism, and weak etics (Dependence on Others, Sociability) relevant to collectivism. Additional richness in the available information is provided when intracultural factor analyses are carried out in each culture. It appears that the most complete picture is obtained when both etics and emics are examined.
Cross-Cultural Differences in the Self Concept
Authors: Bochner Stephen
Published: March 2007

Twenty-six Malaysian (Collectivist), 32 Australian, and 20 British (Individualist) subjects completed ten statements beginning with "I am." The responses were coded according to whether they were idiocentric, group, or allocentric self-references. The scores were then weighted according to the rank order in which they appeared on the questionnaire. As predicted by Hofstede's model, people from the collectivist culture produced significantly more group and fewer idiocentric self-descriptions than did people from the individualist cultures. The data support a pan-cultural model of the self in which cross-cultural variations in the self-concept are not treated as categorically different, but as reflecting the relative salience of the self's constituent components.
Identity Formation in Turkish and American Late Adolescents
Authors: Taylor Ronald D. , Oskay Gulter
Published: March 2007

This study compared the association of family decision making, identity formation, and self-esteem in Turkish and American late adolescents. Turkish adolescents differed from Americans in reporting more authoritarianism by their parents in managing the family. American adolescents attained the higher identity statuses (identity achievement and moratorium) than their Turkish counterparts. They were also higher in the foreclosure status than Turkish respondents. For American adolescents, controlling family experiences and conflict with parents over personal autonomy were positively related to identity diffusion. This sense of personal autonomy was negatively related to identity diffusion. For Turkish adolescents, conflict with parents over autonomy and personal decision making was positively related to moratorium. In both groups, controlling family environments and conflict with parents over issues of autonomy were associated with low self-esteem, whereas personal autonomy was related to high self-esteem. For both groups, self-esteem was positively associated with identity achievement and negatively associated with identity diffusion. For Americans self-esteem was negatively related to moratorium and foreclosure.
Eating Attitudes among Japanese and American Elementary Schoolgirls
Authors: Mukai Takayo , Mccloskey Laura A.
Published: March 2007

This study examined familial and peer correlates of eating attitudes in American and Japanese preadolescent girls. Using the Japanese translation of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test and the Demographic and Dieting Questionnaire, Japanese girls were compared to American girls. Correlates of eating attitudes shared by American and Japanese girls were self-perception of being overweight, the number of friends on a diet, and the frequency of talking with the mother about food and diet. The Japanese girls were influenced more greatly by familial eating attitudes and practices than were American girls. Implications for future cross-cultural research are discussed.
The Effects of Work Environment and In-Group Membership on the Leadership Preferences of Anglo-Australians and Chinese Australians
Authors: Casimir Gian , Keats Daphne
Published: March 2007

The effects of in-group membership and work environment on the leadership preferences of Anglo-Australians and Chinese Australians were examined. Leadership styles were based on Misumi's PM theory. Subjects were sixty Anglo-Australian and sixty Chinese Australian males, all of whom were full-time white-collar employees in large organizations. Leadership profiles, vignettes describing different work environments, and in-group/out-group membership scenarios were constructed. Although PM-type leadership was clearly the most popular style of leadership with both cultural groups, the leadership preferences of the Chinese Australians were more affected by the work environment than were those of the Anglo-Australians. The in-group/out-group effect on leadership preferences was not significant for both cultural groups. There were cultural differences in the rank orderings of the four leadership styles. A significant in-group/out-group effect was found for the rank orderings of both cultural groups. Despite clear cultural differences in leader selection and rank orderings, Bontempo's INDCOL Scale did not detect cultural differences in individualism-collectivism.
Cultural Differences in Perceptions of Allocators of Resources
Authors: Berman John J. , Murphy-Berman Virginia A.
Published: March 2007

It was hypothesized that people draw different dispositional inferences about decision makers who allocate resources according to equity, equality, or need and that this difference varies depending on culture and whether the allocation is positive or negative. Results from college students in the United States and Germany revealed the following. First, reactions to allocators form two clusters: intelligent/strong/logical and warm/nice. Second, when giving a positive resource, American allocators are in a real dilemma: If they give on the basis of merit, they are rated high on the first cluster but low on the second; if they favor the needy, reactions reverse. No such dilemma exists for German allocators or in negative allocation situations where everyone approves of a need allocation. Third, Americans evaluate equality allocators quite highly, especially in the negative allocation condition. Fourth, allocators who have bonuses to distribute are evaluated more positively-another example of the fundamental attribution error.