Vol.10,No.3 March,1995
- Title
- Cultural Views of Self and Psychological Processes(<Spcial Issue> Cross cultural psychology and cultural psychology)
- Author
- Shinobu KITAYAMA (Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University)
- Summary
- Cultures vary considerably in the views of self that are historically constructed and tacitly shared therein. In European-American cultures there is a strong belief in the independence of self from others, giving rise to a major life task of discovering, confirming, and expressing positively valued internal attributes of the self. By contrast, many Asian cultures do not value such independence. Instead, they emphasize the interdependence of self with others. A major life task of these cultures involves forming and maintaining a social relationship of which the self is seen as its meaningful part. In turn, these cultural views of self as independent or as interdependent shape the very nature of social psychological processes that have traditionally been assumed to be cross-culturally invariant. Within this theoretical framework, cross-cultural differences in a variety of psychological processes including cognition, emotion, and motivation are reviewed and integrated. Implications are discussed for future directions of social psychology in Japan.
- Key words
- culture, self, cognition, emotion, motivation
- Title
- Cross-Cultural Research Methodology and Approach : Implications for the advancement of Japanese social psychology(<Spcial Issue>Cross cultural psychology and cultural psychology)
- Author
- Uichol KIM (Chung-Ang University)
Susumu YAMAGUCHI (The University of Tokyo) - Summary
- This paper outlines a conceptual framework of cross-cultural research and its implications forthe advancement of Japanese social psychology. The cross-cultural approach represents an alternative scientific paradigm that supplements, complements, and extends existing theories and methodsin social psychology. While social psychology adopted the natural sciences approach in definingthe field, the cross-cultural psychology bridges the natural sciences tradition with cultural sciencesapproach. This integration closely parallels Wilhelm Wundt's original paradigmatic framework.Wundt articulated the need to integrate cultural level analysis or Volkerpsychologie (ethnopsychology) with the individual experimental analysis to formulate a holistic or ganzheit psychology. Japanese social psychology has been influenced by individualistic theories and methods developed in social psychology. Individualistic assumptions, methods, and goals are, however, incongruent with the relational and collective orientation of Japanese culture and people. The present authors will review the current research in individualism and collectivism to highlight the utility ofthe cross-cultural approach and its implications for developing an alternative research frameworkthat is rooted in Japanese cultural context.
- Key words
- cross-cultural psychology, indigenous psychology, Japanese social psychology, methodology, individualism-collectivism
- Title
- Making sense of the data in cross-cultural psychology(<Spcial Issue>Cross cultural psychology and cultural psychology)
- Author
- Saburo IWAWAKI (Showa Women's University)
- Summary
- This paper focuses on methodology issues in conducting a cross-cultural research. First, it examines functional equivalence which is a basic condition in a cross-cultural project. Second, it discusses that the conceptual equivalence is a necessary and sufficient condition for cross-cultural psychology. Third, it puts emphasis on the importance of translation and metric equivalences in cross-cultural research. Although back-translation procedure has been often employed to make certain of translation equivalence, it also carries a potential for misuse. Finally, issues related to the better effectiveness of sampling are discussed. Many of these problems can be handled to a great extent by careful design.
- Key words
- metric equivalence, translation equivalence, conceptual equivalence, sampling, cross-cultural research
- Title
- The relation between feelings and concept toward others during the adolescence
- Author
- Minori AOKI (Ochanomizu University)
- Summary
- In the present study, we examined whether or not positive and negative feelings towards others would have influence upon person perception. Subjects were 150 undergraduate students (48 male and 102 female). They were administered seven point scale questionaires (self-differential [SD] scales composed of 20 pairs of adjectives) to measure concepts of real self, ideal self, favoredothers, and unfavored others. The results were as follows: (1) The subjects perceived that the unfavored others were more different from their own real self-concepts than what the others actuallywere. (2) The subjects perceived that the favored others were more similar to their own real self-concepts than what the others actually were. (3) The subjects perceived that the favored otherswere more similar to their own ideal self-concepts than to their own real self-concepts.
- Key words
- self-concept, adolescence, person perception, feelings, gender difference
- Title
- Examining the effects of social support of Chinese students in Japan by an expanded matching hypothesis
- Author
- Yuh Huey JOU (Hirosima University)
- Summary
- The present study proposed an expanded matching hypothesis, based on the specificity hypothesis of Cohen & Mckay (1984) but assumed that support operated more than simply a stress buffer. Data obtained from 175 Chinese students were analysed. Items of perceived, actual, and needed support (coping requirements) from the Social Support Scale for Chinese students in Japan (Jou, 1993) and items of stressors, physical-mental health, and happiness were employed. The results suggested that (1) support showed not only direct or buffering effect but also other interactive effects. (2) The specificity of support did not usually show buffering effects. (3) Perceived support showed direct, buffering, and other interactive effects (limited and amplified effect), while actual support showed mainly directed effects. (4) The effect of stressor, support, or interaction between two differed according to physical-mental health and happiness.
- Key words
- expanded matching hypothesis, stressors, social support, Chinese students in Japan
- Title
- Attitudinal structure of Japanese medical doctors and registered nurses toward people with HIV/ AIDS
- Author
- Hirotada HIROSE (Tokyo Woman's Christian University)
Naoko NAKAUNE (Tokyo Woman's Christian University)
Hitomi NAKAMURA (Tokyo Woman's Christian University)
Yasue TAKANASHI (Tokyo Woman's Christian University)
Tomoichi ISHIZUKA (The National Center for University Entrance Examination) - Summary
- The present study reports the result of a national survey of medical doctors and registered nurses on their attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS. The survey was carried out in July and August of 1993 by mail. A questionnaire was administered to 646 doctors and 767 nurses. The collected data sets of doctors and nurses were applied to the path analysis separately. Parameters were estimated by using of the covariance structure analysis. Both doctors' causal model and nurses' one show statistical good fitness to their data. In each model the fear of HIV/AIDS increases the risk perception of occupational HIV infection, which in turn moves the attitude toward HIV/AIDS to more negative direction. Finally the resultant negative attitude strengthen the fear of HIV/AIDS. This vicious circle has the possibility to induce a panic among health care workers if the brakes from the outside environment are not applied properly.
- Key words
- HIV/AIDS, Health care workers, Risk Perception, Occupational HIV infection, Causal models
- Title
- The structure of social networks of married women in a local city
- Author
- Masao NOBE (Faculty of Education, Okayama University)
Koji TANAKA (Faculty of Education, Okayama University) - Summary
- A sample survey of 398 married women under 60 years of age was conducted in Okayama city in 1993. Analysis of their network ties has revealed the following; they were tied to 1.03 family members and 6.02 people outside their family on the average through receiving material and emotional support. Kinship and friendship were the principle sources of these ties. Their primary ties tended to form sparsely knit, spatially dispersed, ramifying structures. They maintained contact both by telephone and in person, at a wide range of time intervals. They thought family members and relatives to be the closest, and friends were closer than neighbours and workmates. Help in dealing with various matters was available from different kinds of their primary ties.
- Key words
- social networks, community question, social support, married women, Okayama city
