| 1. |
- Allik, Jüri, et al.
(author)
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Individualism-Collectivism and Social Capital
- 2004
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In: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. - : SAGE Publications. - 0022-0221 .- 1552-5422. ; 35:1, s. 29-49
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many social scientists have predicted that one inevitable consequence of modernization is the unlimited growth of individualism, which poses serious threats to the organic unity of society. Others have argued that autonomy and independence are necessary conditions for the development of interpersonal cooperation and social solidarity. We reanalyzed available data on the relationship between individualism-collectivism and social capital within one country (the United States) and across 42 countries. In America, the states with a high level of social capital (higher degree of civic engagement in political activity, where people spend more time with their friends and believe that most people can be trusted) were found to be more individualistic. A correspondingly strong association between individualism and social capital was observed in the comparison of different countries. These results support Durkheim’s view that when individuals become more autonomous and seemingly liberated from social bonds, they actually become even more dependent on society.
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| 2. |
- Allik, Jüri, et al.
(author)
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Personality development from 12 to 18 years of age : changes in mean levels and structure of traits
- 2004
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In: European Journal of Personality. - : SAGE Publications. - 0890-2070 .- 1099-0984. ; 18:6, s. 445-462
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Estonian NEO-FFI was administered to 2,650 Estonian adolescents (1,420 girls and 1,230 boys) aged from 12 to 18 years and attending 6th, 8th, 10th, or 12th grade at secondary schools all over Estonia. Although the mean levels of personality traits of Estonian adolescents were quite similar to the respective scores of Estonian adults, there was a developmental gap in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Three of the five personality dispositions demonstrated a modest cross-sectional change in the mean level of the trait scores: the level of Openness increased and the levels of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness decreased between 12 and 18 years of age. Although the five-factor structure of personality was already recognizable in the sample of 12-year-old children, it demonstrated only an approximate congruence with the adult structure, suggesting that not all children of that age have developed abilities required for observing one's own personality dispositions and for giving reliable self-reports on the basis of these observations. The self-reported personality trait structure matures and becomes sufficiently differentiated around age 14-15 and grows to be practically indistinguishable from adult personality by the age of 16. Personality of adolescents becomes more differentiated with age: along with the growth of mental capacities the correlations among the personality traits and intelligence become smaller.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Mõttus, René, et al.
(author)
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Comparability of self-reported conscientiousness across 21 countries
- 2012
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In: European Journal of Personality. - : SAGE Publications. - 1099-0984 .- 0890-2070. ; 26:3, s. 303-317
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In cross-national studies, mean levels of self-reported phenomena are often not congruent with more objective criteria. One prominent explanation for such findings is that people make self-report judgements in relation to culture-specific standards (often called the reference group effect), thereby undermining the cross-cultural comparability of the judgements. We employed a simple method called anchoring vignettes in order to test whether people from 21 different countries have varying standards for Conscientiousness, a Big Five personality trait that has repeatedly shown unexpected nation-level relationships with external criteria. Participants rated their own Conscientiousness and that of 30 hypothetical persons portrayed in short vignettes. The latter type of ratings was expected to reveal individual differences in standards of Conscientiousness. The vignettes were rated relatively similarly in all countries, suggesting no substantial culture-related differences in standards for Conscientiousness. Controlling for the small differences in standards did not substantially change the rankings of countries on mean self-ratings or the predictive validities of these rankings for objective criteria. These findings are not consistent with mean self-rated Conscientiousness scores being influenced by culture-specific standards. The technique of anchoring vignettes can be used in various types of studies to assess the potentially confounding effects of reference levels.
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| 5. |
- Mõttus, René, et al.
(author)
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The effect of response style on self-reported conscientiousness across 20 countries.
- 2012
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In: Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin. - : SAGE Publications. - 0146-1672 .- 1552-7433. ; 38:11, s. 1423-1436
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rankings of countries on mean levels of self-reported Conscientiousness continue to puzzle researchers. Based on the hypothesis that cross-cultural differences in the tendency to prefer extreme response categories of ordinal rating scales over moderate categories can influence the comparability of self-reports, this study investigated possible effects of response style on the mean levels of self-reported Conscientiousness in 22 samples from 20 countries. Extreme and neutral responding were estimated based on respondents’ ratings of 30 hypothetical people described in short vignettes. In the vignette ratings, clear cross-sample differences in extreme and neutral responding emerged. These responding style differences were correlated with mean self-reported Conscientiousness scores. Correcting self-reports for extreme and neutral responding changed sample rankings of Conscientiousness, as well as the predictive validities of these rankings for external criteria. The findings suggest that the puzzling country rankings of self-reported Conscientiousness may to some extent result from differences in response styles.
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| 6. |
- Realo, Anu, et al.
(author)
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Mind-reading ability : Beliefs and performance
- 2003
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In: Journal of Research in Personality. - 0092-6566 .- 1095-7251. ; 37:5, s. 420-445
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Every adult possesses and uses to a various extent, a powerful tool, a theory of mind. The ability to recognize emotions, intentions, and thoughts of others is an important component of social competence. The use of personality questionnaires implies that people are aware of their personality traits, experienced emotions, values, and attitudes. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that a normal adult is aware of his or her mind-reading abilities and can estimate, in relation to the others, how good he or she is at judging other person’s traits, states of mind, emotions, and intentions. In this study we have demonstrated that a person’s beliefs about their own mind-reading ability forms a single and unitary dimension. If a person believes that he or she is competent in forming judgments about another person’s personality traits then he or she has a relatively high opinion of their abilities to read another person’s thoughts and emotions. However, the results of our research show that the self-reported mind-reading ability was not correlated with actual performance. Those who believe that they are good at reading others’ minds are generally neither (1) significantly better than the others in recognition of emotions expressed in face or speech, nor (2) superior in their estimation of the personality traits of a stranger. The self-reported mind-reading ability was correlated with personality traits but not with psychometrically measured intelligence. On the contrary, the actual mind-reading performance was correlated with IQ scores. It is discussed why individuals are relatively accurate in estimation of their own personality but lack metaknowledge about their mind-reading abilities.
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| 7. |
- Realo, Anu, et al.
(author)
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The relationships between collectivist attitudes and elementary forms of human relations : Evidence from Estonia
- 2004
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In: Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. - : SAGE Publications. - 0265-4075 .- 1460-3608. ; 21:6, s. 779-794
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examined the extent to which collectivist attitudes predict preference for the basic models of social relations. According to Fiske (1991), all social relations can be reduced to four basic forms – communal sharing (CS), authority ranking (AR), equality matching (EM), and market pricing (MP) – that guide people’s social initiatives and help them to understand and respond appropriately to the social actions of others. The preference for basic forms was studied using a set of questions about everyday hypothetical situations in which the four different models can be alternatively applied. We observed that EM is the dominant principle in distributing (received) benefits: everyone should get equal shares (regardless of their needs or position) and nobody should have an advantage over another. In those situations in which people were asked to contribute, the respondents were inclined to think in terms of cost and benefit, insisting that the contributions should be made according to MP. CS relationships were mostly limited to family-related situations. Although people scoring high on collectivism showed an inclination to use CS and avoid MP relationships more frequently in family situations, the association between the collectivist attitudes and elementary forms of sociality was fairly small. It is concluded that the relationships between the use of the relational models and the collectivist attitudes are modest.
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| 8. |
- Swami, Viren, et al.
(author)
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The Attractive Female Body Weight and Female Body Dissatisfaction in 26 Countries Across 10 World Regions : Results of the International Body Project I
- 2010
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In: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. - : Sage Publications. - 0146-1672 .- 1552-7433. ; 36:3, s. 309-325
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.
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