Tracking the civil rights and women's movements in the United States

Membership in civil rights and women's liberation organizations in the United States was tracked over a period of 22 years. Men's social and fraternal organizations were also tracked as a comparison group. Systematic fluctuations in membership suggest that this criterion would be useful for identifying the developmental stages of a movement. In addition, peaks in membership were correlated with historical events. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Experimenter language choice and ethnic affirmation by Chinese trilinguals in Hong Kong

When communicating with a member of his or her ethnic in-group, a multilingual typically uses his common first language. If, however, the multilingual uses a common second or third language, we believe this choice will indicate his or her endorsement of attitudes believed to be held by that language out-group. An audience will respond to this implicit statement by a shift in its ethnically relevant altitudes either towards or away from the position of the speaker. Convergence is assumed to occur if relations between the language communities are harmonious, ethnic affirmation if relations are hostile. To explore this reasoning, experimenters addressed Chinese trilinguals in their first language of Cantonese, their second language of English, or their third language of Mandarin. When instructed in Mandarin, subjects assumed their experimenter held more traditional Chinese beliefs and they themselves completed a measure of traditional Chinese beliefs in a more Western direction. Although most Hong Kong students at university are ambivalent about their colonial status under Great Britain, they oppose Hong Kong's reversion to China in 1997 and are threatened by this prospect. Consequently, we believe that they responded to an experimenter speaking the Mandarin language of China by affirming a more Western identity.     

The effects of economic development and modernization in resolving traditional-modern attitudinal conflict

Experts point out that development changes societies in ways so profound that they cannot be anticipated by the participants in the experience. This article analyses the effects of rapid economic development on traditional life styles and the resolution of ensuing attitudinal conflict. Previous studies of traditional-modern (T-M) problems encountered in the process of modernization are reviewed and modernization theories and methodological problems are discussed. Evidence is presented for a T-M model based on studies in West Africa, Australian aborigines, Hong Kong Chinese, Japanese, and Alaskan Eskimo, identifying certain independent variables which are held to influence modernization: the nature of traditional ecologies, e.g., agricultural, pastoral, or hunting/fishing societies, the severity of socialization and the nature of traditional authority systems. The analysis confirmed that development does change societies in profound ways, uprooting cultures, altering environments and modifying individuals physically and psychologically. However, it was also postulated, based on T-M research, that hunting, fishing and the main pastoral societies are generally more highly resistant to change, do not want change and may be better off without it. In contrast, most agricultural and mixed agricultural-pastoral societies are not only more susceptible to modern change, they can usually derive the most benefit from it and also in most cases want change.     

Images of life in America: The impact of American T.V. in Israel

The present study sets out to uncover young Israelis' perceptions of the American reality using the postulates and methodology of the cultivation analysis approach to mass communication. The comparison of the perceptions of “light” and “heavy” T.V. viewers with measures of the actual reality reveals that heavy viewers demonstrate a strong and consistent tendency to paint a rosier picture of life in the U.S., in terms of wealth and standard of living, even when other factors (age, gender, residence and ethnic group) are held constant. The findings of this study have methodological implications concerning the study of media effects as well as theoretical implications regarding the ongoing debate on “media imperialism.”     

Ethnic identity and close friendship in Chinese-American college studentsL'identité ethnique et l'amitié intime chez les étudiants chinoisaméricainsIdentidad etnica y amistad intima entre estudiantes chino-americanos

This article reports an empirical study on the relationship between ethnic identity and close friendship communication patterns in Chinese-American students. The friendship communication variables were: proximity, network size, frequency of interaction, perceived similarity, and degree of intimacy between subjects and close friends. Several hypotheses in this study were confirmed. Generation difference was a reliable predictor of ethnic identity on the 1st and 2nd generation subjects. Proximity was found to be a crucial factor that influenced the ethnicity of subjects' close friendship networks. All friendship variables were related on the zero-order correlation analyses. However, the relationship between ethnic identity and the ethnicity of subjects' friendship networks was not supported. This was explained in terms of sample bias, and the variable of friendship as a universal relational bond that transcends culture. The paper concludes with a set of research questions for future work on ethnic identity and cross-cultural friendship communication.     

Collaborative issues in cross-national research

Although the topic of research collaboration receives infrequent comment, a well functioning collaborative process is crucial to the substantive success of intercultural research enterprises. The present report addresses this topic and focuses on two major sets of collaborative issues, the personal/ personnel and the structural/organizational. The issues are organized around the phases of the project at which they optimally should be considered and resolved.     

Hyperactivity among Hong Kong Chinese children

Hyperactivity has been claimed to be predominantly an American phenomenon. The present study used Conners' Abbreviated Teacher Rating scale to rate 506 normal Chinese children in Hong Kong as well as 167 children independently diagnosed as hyperactive. Sex differences similar to American findings were noted, although the ratings for Chinese girls were much lower. Overall decrease in hyperactive symptoms towards adolescence was also found. The possible influence of cultural factors on incidence of hyperactivity is discussed.     

International conferences: Significant measures of success

This article reviews the literature on evaluating international conferences identifying significant factors which contribute to measured success. Extensive previous research over the last twenty years has identified criteria for evaluating success which continue to be ignored as international conferences repeat the same mistakes. More systematic research is needed. A framework of 25 evaluation measures is described for future research on the assessment of international conferences.Responses to three items of a questionnaire sent out by the East-West Culture Learning Institute as part of a project studying international conferences are also discussed, relating to evaluation measures, problems of evaluation and potential benefits of evaluation. Guidelines and suggestions are provided synthesizing the available research toward planning more successful international conferences in the future. In conclusion, six issues are identified for further clarification in future research on international conferences.     

Media and criticism in China: The case of the “cultural revolution”

This paper analyzes the role of the media in China during the cultural revolution 1966–1976. In particular, the authors examine the two elements that contributed to the ease with which the “Gang of Four” subverted the media to their own political ends. They contend that the media's history and culture were the two principal elements which allowed the “Gang of Four” to usurp both media and state power. Criticism represented a special cultural genre that established the legitimacy of one group to remove another from power. The authors demonstrate the inherent possibility of usurpation of the media when truth is dominated by personality.     

Culture and counseling in the Philippines

An examination of experiences as a counselor in the Philippines suggests at least three important domains of difference in the counseling process: the content of problems, modes of relationships and presumed causes of difficulties. Filipino counselees in a university setting struggled with family control, and rebelled against a double standard of morals. They found it difficult to trust a counselor who was not part of the extended family and they attributed their difficulties to external, social rather than intrapsychic factors. In light of these cultural differences counselors must respond to their problems as Filipinos perceive them and explore ways of changing the social environment of the client. This is in contrast to the strategy of North American counselors who seek to change the client's methods of dealing with himself.     

The mirror image phenomenon in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict

This investigation evaluated whether the mirror image could be confirmed and extended to include an ally and an enemy's ally. At the time of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, 50 Arab students (chiefly from the confrontation states) who were attending Pakistani universities completed five semantic differental scales (brave-coward, honest-deceitful, kind-cruel, peaceful-agressive and dependable-unreliable) on two matricss: (1) Self-image and Enemy-image, (2) Ally-image and Enemy's Ally-image. Fifty Israeli students at Hebrew University also completed the scales. Thus, both groups rated Americans, Arabs, Israelis and Russians for the appropriate categories. Results confirm the mirror image from both Arabs and Israelis and its extension to Ally-image and Enemy's Ally-image. The data are somewhat clearer for the Arabs. Ratings for Israelis' Ally (Americans) are about as high as Self. The discussion offers possible explanations of the results.     

Racial similarity as a moderator variable in the perception of leader behavior and control

This study compared leader behavior ratings of black and white Army infantry squad members serving in squads led either by black or white leaders. One black and one white squad member, chosen at random from each of 34 racially mixed squads, rated their leader's Consideration and Initiation of Structure behaviors (Stogdill, 1963), and their leader's behavior relevant to French and Raven's (1959) five bases of social power. In general, it was found that members who were of the same race as their leader rated him as significantly less likely to use punishment-related behaviors than did members who were of a different race than their leader. However, same-race members did not rate their leader's considerate or structuring behavior differently than did different-race members. The overall pattern of findings were discussed in terms of the leaders' implicit reliance on their punishment power to obtain compliance from different-race subordinates.