Cultural challenges for adapting behavioral intervention frameworks: A critical examination from a cultural psychology perspective

We introduce the bias and equivalence framework to highlight how concepts, methods, and tools from cultural psychology can contribute to successful cultural adaptation and implementation of behavioral interventions. To situate our contribution, we provide a review of recent cultural adaptation research and existing frameworks. We identified 68 different frameworks that have been cited when reporting cultural adaptations and highlight three major adaptation dimensions that can be used to differentiate adaptations. Regarding effectiveness, we found an average effect size of zr = 0.24 (95%CI 0.20, 0.29) in 24 meta-analyses published since 2014, but also substantive differences across domains and unclear effects of the extent of cultural adaptations. To advance cultural adaptation efforts, we outline a framework that integrates key steps from previous cultural adaptation frameworks and highlight how cultural bias and equivalence considerations in conjunction with community engagement help a) in the diagnosis of behavioral or psychological problems, b) identification of possible interventions, c) the selection of specific mechanisms of behavior change, d) the specification and documentation of dose effects and thresholds for diagnosis, e) entry and exit points within intervention programs, and f) cost-benefit-sustainability discussions. We provide guiding questions that may help researchers when adapting interventions to novel cultural contexts.

Does the Pro-Environmental Behavior of Household PV Installation Contribute to the Shaping of Users' Green Purchasing Behavior?-Evidence from China

In order to achieve the "dual carbon goal", the Chinese government is actively encouraging the adoption of household photovoltaic (PV) systems. While there has been considerable research on residents' inclination to install PV, limited attention has been given to understanding how the installation and utilization of PV systems influence pro-environmental behaviors. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the potential impact of pro-environmental behavior resulting from household PV installation on users' green purchasing behavior. Based on the "learning by doing" theory, a survey was conducted with 1249 participants, and the generalized structural equation model was employed as our analytical approach. The findings of this research indicate that the adoption and utilization of household photovoltaic (PV) systems have a positive impact on green consumption. The test results demonstrate that the overall effect coefficient is 0.03, indicating that current PV promotion policies have an indirect impact on green consumption. Moreover, economic incentive policies have a more substantial influence than environmental publicity policies, with total indirect effect coefficients of 0.005 and 0.002, respectively. Based on the findings above, the following recommendations are proposed: (1) It is recommended to maintain stable economic incentives to promote the adoption of household PV systems. (2) Emphasizing the dissemination of knowledge and skills for promoting environmental protection should be prioritized. (3) Efforts should be made to align personal interests and societal interests with low-carbon policies.

Comprehensive rehabilitation outcome measurement scale (CROMS): development and preliminary validation of an interdisciplinary measure for rehabilitation outcomes

INTRODUCTION

Comprehensive and interdisciplinary measurement of rehabilitation outcome is an essential part of the assessment and prognosis of a patient. Thus, this requires substantial contributions from the patient, their family and the rehabilitation professional working with them. Moreover, the measurement tool should be comprehensive and must consider the cultural compatibility, cost efficiency and contextual factors of the region.

METHODS

The Comprehensive Rehabilitation Outcome Measurement Scale (CROMS) was developed through consensus and followed the Delphi process incorporating inputs from various rehabilitation professionals. The domains and items were finalized using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The tool was validated in two native languages and back-translated considering the semantic equivalence of the scale. Intra-class correlation coefficient was performed to determine the agreement between the therapist and patient-reported scales.

RESULTS

The final CROMS carries 32 comprehensive items that can be completed by the person with disability and the professional team. CROMS compares well to similar items on FIM (l ICC of 0.93) and has good internal consistency with a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.92 for both patient and therapist reported measures.

CONCLUSIONS

The 32 item CROMS is a tool that can potentially be used to evaluate the functional independence of various patient populations, predominantly patients with neurological disabilities.

Unpackaging cultural variability in behavioral phenotypes

We need better understanding of functional differences of behavioral phenotypes across cultures because cultural evolution (e.g., temporal changes in innovation within populations) is less important than culturally molded phenotypes (e.g., differences across populations) for understanding gene effects. Furthermore, changes in one behavioral domain likely have complex downstream effects in other domains, requiring careful parsing of phenotypic variability and functions.

Principles and Practices of Methodology and Methods in Cross-Cultural Psychology

Principles of methodology in (cross-)cultural psychology are discussed and how these work out in practice. We propose that the frequently mentioned contrasts between context-specificity and universality of psychological functioning, and between qualitative and quantitative research traditions can be transcended by an empirical cycle in which both qualitative methods geared to exploration and quantitative methods geared to testing of hypotheses are acknowledged. We note issues in research due to non-random sampling, lack of psychometric equivalence of data, and nesting of individuals in populations. We argue that concerns about poor reproducibility in psychology cannot be ignored in cross-cultural psychology and make suggestions how research can be improved by treating this not as a threat but as an opportunity to expand cooperation.

Servant leadership and employee wellbeing: A crosscultural investigation of the moderated path model in Canada, Pakistan, China, the US, and Brazil

Drawing on samples from Canada, Pakistan, China, the US, and Brazil comprising over 800 employees, we examined whether servant leaders (SL) - characterized as putting the needs of others above their own - promote employees’ well-being via autonomous motivation, accounting for employees’ power distance and collectivism values as moderating variables. Autonomous motivation, a type of self-regulation, sustains one’s well-being. Personal values facilitate one’s work behaviors cross-culturally. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results confirmed matrix invariance of all the measures. The path and moderation analyses result using multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) supported the positive direct and indirect paths among SL, autonomous motivation, and psychological well-being across the five cultures; Collectivistic value negatively moderated the relationship between servant leadership and autonomous motivation across the Chinese and US samples. In addition, with only a limited number of items, measurements of SL and vitality achieved scalar invariance. ANOVA test results also confirmed the significant comparative differences in these two variables among the cultural groups. Findings in this research provided robust and empirical support for the motivational effects of the servant leadership theory across the globe. Theoretical and practical implications for evidence-based cross-cultural management practices and future directions for leadership training in diverse cultural contexts are discussed.

Family care prior to the admission of the elderly in a nursing home and continuity in family care: A comparative study of Colombia and Spain

This study examined the background before admission to a nursing home and the conditions for the continuity of care, of the relatives of older adults of Colombia and Spain. The study sample comprised 546 participants: 278 and 268 from Colombia and Spain, respectively. Structured interviews were conducted with the older adults’ relatives. Sociodemographic similarities predominated, although in the Colombian sample there were significantly more unrelated people. Similarities in previous and current care conditions also predominated too. Cluster 1 included all the cases of Colombian low-resource nursing homes, and Cluster 2 included all the relatives of Colombian high-resource nursing homes and all the Spanish centers. The type of nursing home was the variable more important to identify the abovementioned clusters. Conclusions: Family members from Colombia and Spain continue to care for the elderly admitted to geriatric homes. The type of geriatric center is what establishes the differences in the users.

•

Spanish and Colombian family caregivers continue to provide care to the elderly after their admission to the residence.

•

There are more similarities than differences between Spanish and Colombian family caregivers.

•

Reconciling work-family implies a difficult balance, especially among women, who are more overloaded.

•

The deterioration of the health of the elderly was the most frequent reason for admission.

•

There are differences between relationships and provision of care in the elderly living in low-income residences in Colombia with respect to the rest of the Colombian and Spanish sample.

Spelling out some unaddressed conceptual and methodological challenges in empirical lifespan research

The importance of taking a lifespan approach to describe and understand human development has long been acknowledged (e.g., Baltes, 1987). Nevertheless, theoretical or empirical research that actually encompasses the entire lifespan, that is, from early childhood to old age, is rare. This is not surprising given the challenges such an approach entails. Many of these challenges (e.g., establishing measurement invariance between age groups) have been addressed in the previous literature, but others have not yet been sufficiently considered. The main purpose of this article is to present several examples of such largely unaddressed conceptual and methodological challenges and reflect upon possible ways to address them. We discuss the usefulness of a lifespan approach and the generalization of the challenges to other research comparing different groups, such as gender, culture, or species.

Dialectical Versus Linear Thinking Shapes People's Anticipation of Climate Change

Dialectical thinking refers to a constellation of beliefs that consist of expectation of change, tolerance of contradiction, and holism. The current research explored whether dialectical thinking would affect people’s anticipation of climate change, which has been propagated globally. Study 1 compared the responses between Chinese participants, representing people from cultures that promote dialectical thinking, and North American participants, representing people from cultures that promote linear thinking. The results showed that Chinese participants demonstrated a stronger non-linear pattern regarding the anticipation of climate change as compared with American participants, in which Chinese participants were more likely to anticipate a stable trend but less likely to anticipate an increasing trend for global warming. Study 2 with a manipulation of dialectical and linear thinking was conducted and provided some generally supportive evidence for the causal relation between dialectical beliefs and the anticipation of climate change. Implications for cross-cultural environmental research and international climate change education programs were discussed.

God's mind on morality

Most research on cognition behind religious belief assumes that understanding of other minds is culturally uniform and follows the Western model of mind, which posits that (a) others' thoughts can be known and (b) action is best explained by mental state inference. This is potentially problematic if, as a growing body of evidence suggests, other populations view minds differently. We recruit Indigenous iTaukei Fijians who hold (a) a model of mind that discourages mental state inference and (b) co-existing Christian (Western) and traditional supernatural agent beliefs. Study 1 (N = 108), uses free-listing to examine how Western and local models of mind relate to beliefs. The Christian God cares about internal states and traits (aligning with the Western model of mind). Study 2 tests whether evoking God triggers intent focus in moral reasoning. Instead, God appears to enforce cultural models of mind in iTaukei (N = 151) and North Americans (N = 561). Expected divine judgement mirrors human judgement; iTaukei (N = 90) expect God to emphasise outcome, while Indo-Fijians (N = 219) and North Americans (N = 412) expect God to emphasise intent. When reminded to think about thoughts, iTaukei (N = 72) expect God to judge outcomes less harshly. Results suggest cultural/cognitive co-evolution: introduced cultural forms can spread new cognitive approaches, while Indigenous beliefs can persist as a reflection of local institutions.

All Human, yet Different

Abstract. Only little social psychological research is conducted outside so-called WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic societies) cultures (e.g., in the “Global South”). Although cross-cultural replication of social psychological theorizing and findings is thus essential for higher external validity of the field, valid cross-cultural replications are not straightforward to do. Indeed, they require more than “copy-and-pasting” the same research design in different countries. To facilitate valid cross-cultural replications, we present a collection of concrete recommendations that integrate emic and etic approaches: (1) establishing an egalitarian and respectful partnership with representatives of the local community, (2) examining whether constructs carry the same meaning are relevant in and across contexts, and (3) preparing culture-sensitive research materials and procedures. These recommendations aim to inform and improve purely “etic” approaches.

Navigating cross-cultural research: methodological and ethical considerations

The intensifying pace of research based on cross-cultural studies in the social sciences necessitates a discussion of the unique challenges of multi-sited research. Given an increasing demand for social scientists to expand their data collection beyond WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) populations, there is an urgent need for transdisciplinary conversations on the logistical, scientific and ethical considerations inherent to this type of scholarship. As a group of social scientists engaged in cross-cultural research in psychology and anthropology, we hope to guide prospective cross-cultural researchers through some of the complex scientific and ethical challenges involved in such work: (a) study site selection, (b) community involvement and (c) culturally appropriate research methods. We aim to shed light on some of the difficult ethical quandaries of this type of research. Our recommendation emphasizes a community-centred approach, in which the desires of the community regarding research approach and methodology, community involvement, results communication and distribution, and data sharing are held in the highest regard by the researchers. We argue that such considerations are central to scientific rigour and the foundation of the study of human behaviour.

Assessing the Similarity of Injunctive Norm Profiles Across Different Social Roles: The Effect of Closeness and Status in the United States and China

Do social roles affect injunctive norms for behavior and more so in Chinese than American cultural contexts? We use mixed methods to analyze open-ended data describing appropriate behavior within social roles that differ in interpersonal closeness and relative status. American ( N = 401) and Chinese ( N = 392) participants provided descriptions of ideal behavior of two actors in one of 16 role dyads. The 2,219 (American) and 1,466 (Chinese) behavior descriptions were coded into 71 content categories, forming profiles of appropriate behavior for six social roles (Close/Distant × Low/Equal/High status). First, we adapt a method for assessing profile similarity in personality psychology to quantitatively evaluate how closeness and status affect similarity between the six social roles. By separating profiles into normative (average behavior) and distinctive (behavior specific to a particular social role) components, we find that distinctive behavioral profiles for specific social roles vary systematically by closeness/status in both American and Chinese data; we also find a larger effect of closeness in Chinese data. Second, we qualitatively analyze the content of the distinctive behavioral profiles through the lens of the rapport management model, showing how rights and obligations associated with each role vary, and finding cultural differences in which behaviors appropriately manage these expectations. Quantitative findings emphasize the cross-cultural importance of interpersonal situations for determining appropriate behavior, with some evidence for a greater effect in Chinese culture; qualitative results reveal the culturally specific ways in which relational situations direct expectations for behavior.

A Primer to (Cross-Cultural) Multi-Group Invariance Testing Possibilities in R

Psychology has become less WEIRD in recent years, marking progress toward becoming a truly global psychology. However, this increase in cultural diversity is not matched by greater attention to cultural biases in research. A significant challenge in culture-comparative research in psychology is that any comparisons are open to possible item bias and non-invariance. Unfortunately, many psychologists are not aware of problems and their implications, and do not know how to best test for invariance in their data. We provide a general introduction to invariance testing and a tutorial of three major classes of techniques that can be easily implemented in the free software and statistical language R. Specifically, we describe (1) confirmatory and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, with extension to exploratory structural equation modeling, and multi-group alignment; (2) iterative hybrid logistic regression as well as (3) exploratory factor analysis and principal component analysis with Procrustes rotation. We pay specific attention to effect size measures of item biases and differential item function. Code in R is provided in the main text and online (see https://osf.io/agr5e/), and more extended code and a general introduction to R are available in the Supplementary Materials.

Work engagement and task performance within a global Dutch ICT-consulting firm: The mediating role of innovative work behaviors

The information and communication technology (ICT) sector within the Netherlands is a major driver of globalization, the country’s economic growth and innovation. The Dutch ICT sector’s performance is increasingly becoming dependent upon employee driven innovations in order to address the needs of the sectors they service. In other words, the ICT sector within the Netherlands is largely dependent upon the performance and innovative capacity of its employees; both of which are functions of employee engagement. Given the high demand, and low supply of talent within this sector, ICT organizations need to develop innovative ways to enhance the performance capacities of its people. Developing an engaged and highly innovative workforce seems to be an efficient way to activate employees’ performance. As such, the aim of this paper was to investigate the mediating function of employee driven innovative work behaviors in the relationship between work engagement and task performance within the a Dutch ICT consulting firm. A cross-sectional survey-based research design, employing a census-based sampling method, was employed to obtain data from a global ICT consulting firm within the Netherlands (n = 232). The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Innovative Work Behavior Scale and the Task Performance Scale was used to assess the associative subjective experiences of ICT employees. The results showed that work engagement is a significant driver for innovative work behaviors, which in turn affects the task performance of employees. Further, innovative work behaviors are therefore important to translate the engaging energies of employees into performance. This paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Towards a Cultural Psychology: Meaning and Social Practice as Key Elements

Several prominent scholars in the Social Sciences have defended the need for a new way of studying the relationship between culture and the individual. Over the last three decades, it has been common to find studies under the heading of Cultural Psychology (CP), which have focussed on the role of culture in historical and ontogenetic development. However, among the defenders of CP, there have been specific disagreements over theoretical and methodological aspects of the project. This lack of agreement is revealed by the different conceptions of the role of meaning and social practice in human psychological functioning. This paper aims is to analyze some different approaches to CP, and the role of meaning plays in its constitution. For us, the central claim of CP is that the human mind should be seen as inter-penetrated by intentional worlds that are culturally and historically situated, and this psychology must to study the ways psyche and culture; person and context, self and other, practitioner and practice live together, and jointly make each other up. In addition, CP has also identified the symbolic mediation of mind and culture as its analytical focus. Finally, we defend that culture and mind are to be treated as forms of culturally differentiated meaning practices. To make possible this enterprise, we propose the necessity to develop the notion of mediated and situated actions as a unit of analysis of Cultural Psychology.

Social Value Orientation and Endorsement of Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism: An Exploratory Study Comparing Individuals From North America and South Korea

Individuals' cultural tendencies of horizontal/vertical individualism and collectivism interact with their dispositional traits and contextual factors to shape social interactions. A key dispositional trait is social value orientation (SVO), a general tendency toward competition (proself) vs. cooperation (prosocial) in social exchanges. The present study (N = 1032) explored the relationship between SVO and personal cultural tendencies of horizontal/vertical individualism and collectivism in two different cultural settings, the United States (a vertical individualist setting) and South Korea (a vertical collectivistic setting). We hypothesized that each value orientation would be associated with the congruent personal cultural tendency across settings. We further hypothesized that this association would be specific to the context, so that SVO would play a more relevant role where the cultural theme was less dominant. Results indicated that, across contexts, proself individuals endorsed vertical individualistic values more strongly than prosocial individuals. Conversely, prosocial individuals endorsed horizontal collectivistic values more strongly than proself individuals. In addition, the effect of SVO was different in the two cultural contexts. Compared to proself individuals, prosocial individuals endorsed horizontal collectivism more strongly in the United States context, and horizontal individualism less strongly in the Korea context. Theoretical implications and limitations of the findings, as well as directions for future work are discussed.

Cultural Collectivism and Tightness Moderate Responses to Norm Violators: Effects on Power Perception, Moral Emotions, and Leader Support

Responses to norm violators are poorly understood. On one hand, norm violators are perceived as powerful, which may help them to get ahead. On the other hand, norm violators evoke moral outrage, which may frustrate their upward social mobility. We addressed this paradox by considering the role of culture. Collectivistic cultures value group harmony and tight cultures value social order. We therefore hypothesized that collectivism and tightness moderate reactions to norm violators. We presented 2,369 participants in 19 countries with a norm violation or a norm adherence scenario. In individualistic cultures, norm violators were considered more powerful than norm abiders and evoked less moral outrage, whereas in collectivistic cultures, norm violators were considered less powerful and evoked more moral outrage. Moreover, respondents in tighter cultures expressed a stronger preference for norm followers as leaders. Cultural values thus influence responses to norm violators, which may have downstream consequences for violators' hierarchical positions.