Week 5

Question 1

when examining well-being across cultures, we must consider equivalence. briefly define the 4 types of equivalence.

Answer 1

Conceptual: equivalence in the meaning of theoretical frameworks (ex. what happiness is).

Methodological: aspects of the research method must be similar (ex. procedural, sampling)

Measurement: measures used to collect data in are equally valid and reliable (ex. linguistic, psychometric)

Interpretational: extent to which inferences made reflect actual differences across cultures (ex. research designs, response bias)

Question 2

any source of non-equivalence introduces ____

Answer 2

measurement error

Question 3

what did Suh et al’s study about LS and affect reveal?

Answer 3

correlations bw LS + affect stronger in individualistic cultures and lower in collectivist cultures

(emotion plays a greater role in LS for individualistic nations than collectivistic nations)

Question 4

what did Suh et al’s Study 2 reveal about LS and affect?

Answer 4

for individualist/neutral groups, emotions explained more of LS

for collectivist groups, emotions & norms both explained LS

Question 5

describe Schimmack et al’s Culture As A Moderator model

Answer 5

• extraversion positively correlated w hedonic balance
• neuroticism negatively correlated w hedonic balance
• culture moderated relationship bw hedonic balance and life satisfaction

Question 6

describe the two studies that investigated cultural differences in goals

Answer 6

Oishi & Diener:
European American: fun and enjoyment goal achievement
Asian americans & Japanese: other’s happiness goal achievement

Mesquita & Karasawa:
Japanese: relational concerns
European Americans: self-concerns

Question 7

is self-enhancement universal?

Answer 7

yes, but only in culturally valued domains

Question 8

are self-serving attributions universal?

Answer 8

yes, but size varies across collectivistic cultures

Question 9

difference bw dialectical and synthetic thinking

Answer 9

dialectical:
- eastern
- based on: principle of contradiction (opposites can coexist), change (universe constantly changing), and holism (everything connected)

synthetic:
- western
- based on: law of identity (if A is true, A is always true), noncontradiction (A cannot = B), excluded middle (no middle-grounds)

Question 10

Spencer-rodgers et al found that dialectical thinking may lead to (5)

Answer 10

• greater tendency to accept both positive and negative self-aspects
• greater recognition of positive experiences as relatively brief and intermittent
• greater experience of affective balance
• greater expectation and acceptance of negative experiences
• greater ambivalence

Question 11

describe Spencer-rodgers et al’s study

Answer 11

Study 1 & Study 2: measured positive and negative self-evaluations, attitudinal ambivalence. found greater ambivalence at both group and individual levels among dialectical cultures than synthesis-oriented cultures

Study 3: measured naïve dialecticism, self-evaluations, self-concept stability, attitudinal ambivalence, PA, NA, LS and replicated findings from studies 1 & 2

Study 4: manipulated dialecticism and measured self-esteem, ambivalence, life satisfaction, naïve dialecticism and replicated findings from studies 1 & 2.

chinese scored higher on naïve dialecticism and ambivalence, lower on self-esteem and life satisfaction

Question 12

how did Spencer-Rodgers et al unpackage culture?

Answer 12

1. ensure equivalence & demonstrated that cultural differences are really there
   (previous research; convergent validity across 4 studies– cultural differences in ambivalence, self-esteem, subjective well-being (SWB), and relation between self-esteem and SWB)
2. isolate, based on theory, what is the cultural construct that explains the differences observed in #1
   (naïve dialecticism: dialectical vs. synthetic thinking explains the cultural differences + ambivalence: greater ambivalence leads to lower self-esteem & swb)
3. Establish that the cultures really do differ on the theoretical cultural construct (determined that there are cultural differences in Naïve dialecticism which leads to differences in thinking & ambivalence)
4. Empirically demonstrate that the reason why you observed the difference #1 is because of #2 (naïve dialecticism explains cultural differences in ambivalence, which explains the cultural differences in self-esteem, swb, and the relation between self-esteem & swb)