Cross-cultural differences in vocational interests: Between-group differences on the Strong Interest Inventory.

Orientation: The use of personality tests for selection and screening has been consistently criticised resulting from the risk of socially desirable responding amongst job applicants. Research purpose: This study examined the magnitude of culture and language group meanscore differences amongst job applicants and the moderating effect of race on the relationship between social desirability and cognitive ability. Motivation for the study: The influence of cognitive ability and potential race and ethnic group differences in social desirability scale scores, which can lead to disproportional selection ratios, has not been extensively researched in South Africa. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative, cross-sectional research design, based on secondary datasets obtained from the test publisher, was employed. The dataset consisted of 1640 job applicants across industry sectors. Main findings: Moderated multiple regression analyses revealed that the relationship between social desirability and general reasoning was moderated by culture and language, with group differences in social desirability being more pronounced at the low general reasoning level. This suggests that social desirability scales may be an ambiguous indicator of faking as the scales may indicate tendency to fake, but not the ability to fake, that is likely to be connected to the level of cognitive ability of the respondent.Practical/managerial implications: Individual differences in social desirability are not fully explained by cognitive ability as cultural differences also played a role. Responding in a certain manner, reflects a level of psychological sophistication that is informed by the level of education and socio-economic status. In relation to selection practice, this study provided evidence of the potentially adverse consequences of using social desirability scales to detect response distortion. Contribution/value-add: The exploration of cross-cultural differences in the application of social desirability scales and the influence of cognitive ability is seen as a major contribution, supported by possible explanations for the differences observed and recommendations regarding the practice of universal corrections and adjustments.

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Cultural Differences in Face Recognition and Potential Underlying Mechanisms

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.627026 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Caroline Blais ◽

Karina J. Linnell ◽

Serge Caparos ◽

Amanda Estéphan

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Cultural Differences ◽

Face Processing ◽

Visual Information ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Group Differences ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Cross Cultural Differences ◽

Visual Processes ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

The ability to recognize a face is crucial for the success of social interactions. Understanding the visual processes underlying this ability has been the focus of a long tradition of research. Recent advances in the field have revealed that individuals having different cultural backgrounds differ in the type of visual information they use for face processing. However, the mechanisms that underpin these differences remain unknown. Here, we revisit recent findings highlighting group differences in face processing. Then, we integrate these results in a model of visual categorization developed in the field of psychophysics: the RAP framework. On the basis of this framework, we discuss potential mechanisms, whether face-specific or not, that may underlie cross-cultural differences in face perception.

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The Structure of Vocational Interests in Iceland: Examining Holland's and Gati's RIASEC Models

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027//1015-5759.18.1.85 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 85-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Sif Einarsdóttir ◽

James Rounds ◽

Stefanía Ægisdóttir ◽

L.H. Gerstein

Keyword(s):

Career Counseling ◽

Vocational Interests ◽

Randomization Test ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Strong Interest Inventory ◽

Directed Search ◽

Interest Inventory ◽

Holland's Theory ◽

Cross Cultural Study ◽

Counseling Clients

Summary: The applicability of Holland's and Gati's RIASEC models and translated measures was tested in Iceland. The participants were 449 career counseling clients who responded to the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) and 438 university students who responded to the Self-Directed Search (SDS). The randomization test ( Hubert & Arabie, 1987 ) was used to test Holland's and Gati's RIASEC models separately for men and women. Multidimensional scaling was applied to the RIASEC matrices to evaluate the structure of vocational interests in Iceland. The results indicate that Holland's and Gati's models both fit well in Icelandic and US samples. Compared to the SDS, the SII showed greater structural fidelity. Implications for continuing use of Holland's theory and interest measures in Iceland and the importance of the cross-cultural study of vocational interests are discussed.

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Gesture frequency is linked to story-telling style: evidence from bilinguals

Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/langcog.2018.25 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 641-664 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

ELENA NICOLADIS ◽

JAYA NAGPAL ◽

PAULA MARENTETTE ◽

BRANDON HAUER

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Cultural Differences ◽

First Language ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Group Differences ◽

Story Telling ◽

Cross Cultural Differences ◽

Language Groups ◽

Representational Gestures ◽

Gesture Production

abstractIndividuals differ in how frequently they gesture. It is not clear whether gesture frequency is related to culture, since varied results have been reported. The purpose of this study was to test whether the frequency of representational gestures is linked with story-telling style. Previous research showed individual and cross-cultural differences in story-telling style, some preferring to tell a chronicle (how it happened) or an evaluative story (why it happened). We hypothesized that high gesture frequency might be strongly associated with using a chronicle style, since both rely on visuospatial imagery. Four groups of bilinguals, English as their second language (L2) participated. Their first language (L1) was one of: Mandarin, Hindi, French, or Spanish. Participants watched a cartoon and told the story, once in English, once in L1. The results showed group differences in the rate of gesture use: the Chinese and Hindi L1 participants gestured less frequently than the French and Spanish L1 participants. The participants from Asian cultures were more likely to tell an evaluative story and the Romance-language L1 participants a chronicle. We conclude that these culture/language groups differ in story-telling style. A chronicle style is associated with more gesture production than an evaluative style.

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Structure of vocational interests for diverse groups on the 2005 strong interest inventory

Journal of Vocational Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.jvb.2010.06.003 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 193-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Neeta Kantamneni ◽

Nadya Fouad

Keyword(s):

Vocational Interests ◽

Strong Interest Inventory ◽

Interest Inventory ◽

Strong Interest ◽

Diverse Groups

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Cognitive gadgets: A provocative but flawed manifesto

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19001134 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marco Del Giudice

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Cultural Differences ◽

Twin Studies ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Evolutionary Approach ◽

Genetic Inheritance ◽

Double Standards ◽

Cross Cultural Differences ◽

Cherry Picking ◽

Dichotomous Thinking

Abstract The argument against innatism at the heart of Cognitive Gadgets is provocative but premature, and is vitiated by dichotomous thinking, interpretive double standards, and evidence cherry-picking. I illustrate my criticism by addressing the heritability of imitation and mindreading, the relevance of twin studies, and the meaning of cross-cultural differences in theory of mind development. Reaching an integrative understanding of genetic inheritance, plasticity, and learning is a formidable task that demands a more nuanced evolutionary approach.

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