World Views of Whbite American, Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and African Students

Abstract

Using an existential perspective, world views of White Americans, mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and Africans were investigated. Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and African international students differed from White American students in perceiving human relationships as lineal-hierarchical and collateral-mutual, human nature as evil, nature as controllable, and the doing modality as valuable. White Americans gave primacy to individual goals in interpersonal relationships and preferred the being modality. Some international students' world views were also different from traditional values of their respective cultures, reflecting possibly the changing perceptions of modernizing societies with changing political situations. Suggestions are made for a modernization model of world views across cultures. Implications for applied psychology are discussed.

The olive tree effect: Future time perspective when the future is uncertain

“…According to them, the linear progressive view of time enhances individualism, while alternative conceptions may THE OLIVE TREE EFFECT facilitate the contextualization of the personal life within a broader social context. Thus, students coming from non-Western cultures may be torn between the culture of origin and the Western-based educational provision (Jackson & Smith, 2001;Lundberg, 2007) The ambiguity of the empirical findings complicate the picture: whereas some research has reported cross-cultural differences on FTP (Meade, 1972;Metha, Sundberg, Rohila & Tyler, 1972;Seginer, 2008;Zaleski, 1994), other research into educational settings showed differences in the present and past time perspectives, but not for the future among American, Chinese, Taiwanese and African students (Sodowsky, Maguire, Johnson, Ngumba & Kohles, 1994), American, Japanese and Malawian students (Block, Buggie & Matsui, 1996), and Arab and American students Time orientation is a learned attitude which influences individual behaviour. We have discussed possible cultural differences concerning FTP; however, the first argument to explain the incoherence of the findings is that although important, culture may not be the only factor.…”

Exploration and Implication of Value Orientation Patterns in Social Policy-Practice with Ethnic Communities in Bangladesh

“…Cross-cultural researchers have argued that rural communities compared to urban ones are relatively stable, homogenous, and spontaneous in their cultural behavior related to VOPs (Gillin 1961;Groot and van den Born 2007;Klukhhohn and Strodbeck 1961;Sodowsky et al 1994). Following this argument, this study was conducted in villages of Rasulpur union of Naogaon district, Bangladesh.…”

“…It is interesting to note that there are wide subcultural variations in VOPs in the same geographical situation and national culture (Ben-Ari and Lavee 2004;Fogarty and White 1994;Gillin 1961;Groot and van den Born 2007;Klukhhohn and Strodbeck 1961;Sodowsky et al 1994). For example, Subjugation-to-nature: living in a total submission way with the natural/ super-natural forces Harmony-with-nature: living in a partial control or compromising with the natural/super-natural forces Mastery-over-nature: living in a total control over or in the natural/supernatural forces 2.…”

“…The Zuni preferred good and evil, doing, future, and mastery over nature, while the Navaho preferred harmony or compromise with the nature relationship, present in time, and collateral in human relation. Sodowsky et al (1994), studying the White American, Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and African students in the US, found that the White American and Taiwanese were mastery and control over nature, good and evil in human nature, future in time, doing in activity, and personal goal and achievement in human relation, while the Mainland Chinese and Africans were subjugation to nature, evil in human nature, present in time, being or being-in-becoming in activity, and linear-hierarchical and collateral in human relation. Based on interview method, Groot and van den Born ( 2007) explored visions of mastery over nature, stewardship in regard to creation, a partner, and a participant in the process of nature among the Christians, Muslims, Native Americans, Buddhists, and Secularists.…”

“…Relevant comparative studies in social and behavioral sciences have explored that VOPs and its social consequences vary not only across the societies (Sowell 1991;Schwartz 2003) but also vary among racial/ethnic groups (Klukhhohn and Strodbeck 1961;Sodowsky et al 1994) within a given society. Researchers in their studies argue that the racial/ethnic communities who are traditional-emotional in their VOPs rather than the rational-pragmatic ones are more likely vulnerable to solve their common human problems, to build up intercommunity relation, and to subjugate to man-environment relation.…”