Neuroscience at the University of Alabama. Her research interests include cultural differences in empathic behavior, personality and social development in adolescence, social neuroscience, and personality assessment. She is currently working on neural correlates of people's empathetic responses in social settings and evaluating the psychometric properties of psychological questionnaires. Behzad Mansouri is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Alabama. His research interests include socio-cultural basis of behavior, socio-cultural foundation of identity and agency, psycholinguistics, and cognitive neuroscience.
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Cross-Cultural Approach to Empathy
Authors Biographical Note:Parvaneh Yaghoubi Jmai is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology and Educational Neuroscience at the University of Alabama. Her research interests include cultural differences in empathic behavior, personality and social development in adolescence, social neuroscience, and personality assessment. She is currently working on neural correlates of people's empathetic responses in social settings and evaluating the psychometric properties of psychological questionnaires.Behzad Mansouri is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Alabama. His research interests include socio-cultural basis of behavior, socio-cultural foundation of identity and agency, psycholinguistics, and cognitive neuroscience.Stephen J Thoma is a Professor in Educational Psychology at the University of Alabama. His research interests include moral judgment development, moral education, and personality and social development in late adolescence and youth.Hyemin Han is an Assistant Professor in Educational Psychology and Educational Neuroscience at the University of Alabama. His research interests include moral development, moral education, social neuroscience, and educational interventions. The extent to which individuals with a variety of cultural backgrounds differ in empathic responsiveness is unknown. This paper describes the differences in trait empathy in one independent and one interdependent society (i.e., United States and Iran respectively). The analysis of data collected from self-reported questionnaires answered by 326 adults indicated a significant difference in the cognitive component of empathy concerning participants' affiliation to either egocentric or socio-centric society: Iranian participants with interdependent cultural norms, reported higher cognitive empathy compared to American participants who share independent cultural norms. In line with previous studies, gender differences were observed in all subscales of questionnaires except the Empathy Quotient. Female participants demonstrated more empathy than males in both samples. Implications for understanding the cross-cultural differences of various components of empathy are discussed.
areas. Accordingly, this volume would be of more value if it covered in an additional chapter or appendix in relation to teacher and learner training for technology use.Regardless of the preceding limitations, the book is still a very helpful resource for the improvement of writing assessment and feedback in and outside L2 school contexts. The volume is ideally suited to teachers of writing, teacher educators, and even L2 writing researchers. Chapter 9 'Technology in classroom L2 writing assessment and feedback' opens a new door for writing teachers and learners in EFL/ESL contexts. In comparison with other books on writing assessment and feedback (e.g., Bitchener & Storch, 2016;Brown, 2007;Ferris, 2014;McMillan, 1997), Classroom Writing Assessment and Feedback in L2 School Contexts provides more practical examples accompanied by implementation issues and guiding principles for classroom practices. The recommended references attached in each chapter may give readers new directions for future research in the field of L2 writing. For these reasons, Classroom Writing Assessment and Feedback in L2 School Contexts deserves a wide readership. Hb $126.89, ISBN: 978-0-56763274-6. 2016. London: Bloomsbury. vi + 318 pagesIn many EFL contexts, gaining a desirable outcome in high-stakes tests has turned into the ultimate goal of language learners. Undoubtedly, the results of national and international language tests play a significant role in test-takers' future life plans. Realizing the importance of this issue, educators in the field of language teaching are constantly trying to enhance their understanding of the pivotal factors in various aspects of assessment. As part of this initiative, Contemporary second language sssessment edited by Dina Tsagari and Jayanti Banerjee provides a platform of intriguing research articles where traditional issues such as test validation, washback, fairness, raters' impact, and language competencies are addressed and linked to current advancements in language assessment. The volume is organized in BOOK REVIEWS 501
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