281 research outputs found
The Nature and Scope of Intra-Cultural Variation on Psychological Dimensions
No full textMuch of the research in cross-cultural psychology is done using countries (national cultures) as main units of comparison, disregarding other important characteristics of the participants such as their ethnicity, language, religious or territorial affiliation. Thus, despite the fact that there exist clearly distinguishable sub-cultures within many countries or national cultures, they are often regarded as uniform and homogenous entities in cross-cultural research. In many cases, as we will argue in this paper, such approach is rather justifiable. In doing so, however, one should always be aware of large intra-cultural diversity which can be found in many countries all around the world. This chapter is an attempt to demonstrate that intra-cultural variation is an inevitable part of cultural variation in general and that the intra-cultural differences are, as a rule, larger than differences between various cultures. Studies of intra-cultural cognitive, behavioral, or attitudinal diversity are essential for understanding cross-cultural differences as they often provide important insights into processes of development and many other theoretical problems
The Influence of the Weather on Affective Experience
No full text This study examined the relationship between affective experiences and weather variables using an experience-sampling method. The moderating effects of personality and age on the relationship were also investigated. Two age groups of participants (students and elderly people) recorded their moods when signalled during 14 consecutive days on 7 randomly determined occasions per day. Hourly weather data (temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and luminance) for the same period were obtained from the local weather station. Previously participants had completed the Estonian versions of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory ( Kallasmaa, Allik, Realo, & McCrae, 2000 ) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ( Allik & Realo, 1997 ). Multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses showed that momentary ratings of positive and negative affect were weakly related to temperature, positive affect was also related to sunlight. However, momentary ratings of fatigue showed a distinct tendency for greater incidence of sleepiness in the cold and dark. Age group was one of the most important moderators of the weather-emotion models. The influence of weather on emotions interacted with being outdoors. Personality traits also explained a small portion of variance in the influence of weather on affective states. </jats:p
Realo A. Individualism-collectivism and social capital at the individual level. Trames
No full textAbstract. Contrary to a widely held belief, a strong positive association between individualism and social capital can be observed at the cross-national level of analysi
History of the Diagnosis of a Sexually Transmitted Disease is Linked to Normal Variation in Personality Traits
No full textIntroduction. Stable individual differences in personality traits have well-documented associations with various aspects of health. One of the health outcomes that directly depends on people's behavioral choices, and may therefore be linked to personality traits, is having a sexually transmitted disease (STD).Aim. The study examines the associations between a comprehensive set of basic personality traits and past STD history in a demographically diverse sample.Methods. Participants were 2,110 Estonians (1,175 women) between the ages of 19 and 89 (mean age 45.8 years, SD = 17.0). The five-factor model personality traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) and their specific facets were rated by participants themselves and knowledgeable informants. Sex, age, and educational level were controlled for.Main Outcome Measure. History of STD diagnosis based on medical records and/or self-report.Results. History of STD diagnosis was associated with higher Neuroticism and lower Agreeableness in both self- and informant-ratings. Among the specific personality facets, the strongest correlates of STD were high hostility and impulsiveness and low deliberation.Conclusions. Individual differences in several personality traits are associated with a history of STD diagnosis. Assuming that certain personality traits may predispose people to behaviors that entail a higher risk for STD, these findings can be used for the early identification of people at greater STD risk and for developing personality-tailored intervention programs. Mottus R, Realo A, Allik J, Esko T, and Metspalu A. History of the diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease is linked to normal variation in personality traits. J Sex Med 2012;9:2861-2867.</p
Towards meaningful comparisons of personality in large-scale cross-cultural studies
No full textOne of Jüri Allik’s major, pioneering contributions to psychology is the assessment of personality across numerous cultures. His contributions have inspired many other large collaborations of international researchers to move beyond early work confirming the Five Factor Model cross-culturally to assessing the reliability and validity of a broad range of personality traits. Cross-cultural comparisons of personality traits may be problematic if mea ures have unique meanings in different cultural contexts that influence how individuals respond to items. In this chapter we present a new and relatively simple method for assessing the comparability of measures in large-scale cross-cultural studies, and illustrate the method using responses to the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) from 15,368 participants in 63 countries participating in the International Situations Project
The relationship between adolescents’ social capital and individualism-collectivism in Estonia, Germany, and Russia
No full textThe present study examines the relationship between adolescents’ social capital and individualism-collectivism using data from the Value of Children Study (Trommsdorff and Nauck, 2005) from Estonia (N=228), Germany (N=278), and Russia (N=280). Two social capital indexes for adolescents (measuring parental social capital and peer-group social capital) were developed for the analysis. The COLINDEX Scale (Chan 1994) was used to measure individualistic and collectivistic values. In all three countries collectivistic values predicted parental social capital whereas individualistic values predicted peer-group social capital. There were also a few country-specific relationships between the constructs, with collectivism and peer-group social capital being positively related in Estonia and individualism and parental social capital signif- icantly negatively correlated in Russia. The current analysis suggests that during the adolescence, collectivistic values are more likely to be related to higher levels of parental social capital and individualistic values to higher levels of peer-group social capital. Therefore, it seems that at the individual level and for adolescents the individualism and collectivism are related to different forms of social capital in the different manner
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