Popular media and politicians have often blamed the high public debt of some EU countries on cultural differences. These claims are most apparent in the discourse contrasting ostensibly prudent... Show morePopular media and politicians have often blamed the high public debt of some EU countries on cultural differences. These claims are most apparent in the discourse contrasting ostensibly prudent Northern Europeans with spendthrift Southern Europeans. Despite the prominence of these and similar narratives and evidence that culture plays a nontrivial role in other economic outcomes, there is no systematic evidence that culture influences attitudes towards sovereign debt in the EU. We provide the first empirical test of this claim using over 233,000 responses to a Eurobarometer question about the salience of national debt. Our analysis reveals that national and sub-national differences explain very little of the variance in debt preferences. Further, the differences that do emerge do not fit existing cultural narratives. Additional analysis reveals that established measures of national culture or religious observance, at the national and regional levels, do not correlate with debt attitudes as cultural arguments would predict. Show less
Three preregistered experiments examined to what extent information about an epidemic situation provided by experts and information about anti-infection policies promoted by governments/media... Show moreThree preregistered experiments examined to what extent information about an epidemic situation provided by experts and information about anti-infection policies promoted by governments/media influenced anti-infection behaviors. The above effects were examined among populations from different countries (in Experiments 2 and 3) and across self-construals (in Experiment 3). In three experiments, participants (N =706) were presented with a scenario where experts provided (or did not provide) information about an epidemic situation and governments/media promoted (or did not promote) information about anti-infection policies. After that, participants indicated their willingness to adopt anti-infection behaviors. Results across three experiments showed that both types of information independently increased participants’ anti-infection behaviors. In Experiments 2 and 3, we further found that the epidemic information had a larger impact on inducing anti-infection behaviors than the policy information, which was robust and consistent across countries and self-construals. Findings were discussed under the framework of social influence and in terms of practical implications for pandemic situations like the COVID-19. Show less
Nishimura, M.; Harrison Dening, K.; Sampson, E.L.; Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, E.; Correia de Abreu, W.; Kaasalainen, S.; ... ; Steen, J.T. van der 2022
The current study uses data from The BBC Loneliness Experiment to explore the social stigma of loneliness and how it varies by gender, age, and cultural individualism. We examined stigmatizing... Show moreThe current study uses data from The BBC Loneliness Experiment to explore the social stigma of loneliness and how it varies by gender, age, and cultural individualism. We examined stigmatizing judgements of people who are lonely (impressions of those who feel lonely and attributions for loneliness), perceived stigma in the community, and self-stigma (shame for being lonely and inclination to conceal loneliness), while controlling for participants’ own feelings of loneliness. The scores on most measures fell near the mid-point of the scales, but stigmatizing perceptions depended on the measure of stigmatization that was used and on age, gender, and country-level individualism. Multi-level analyses revealed that men had more stigmatizing perceptions, more perceived community stigma, but less self-stigma than women; young people had higher scores than older people on all indicators except for internal vs external attributions; and people living in collectivist countries perceived loneliness as more controllable and perceived more stigma in the community than people living in individualistic countries. Finally, young men living in individualistic countries made the most internal (vs. external) attributions for loneliness. We discuss the implications of these findings for understandings of loneliness stigma and interventions to address loneliness. Show less
The first aim of this dissertation was to examine predictors of (change in) couple satisfaction during the transition to parenthood. We found that couple satisfaction on average decreased from... Show moreThe first aim of this dissertation was to examine predictors of (change in) couple satisfaction during the transition to parenthood. We found that couple satisfaction on average decreased from pregnancy until 4 months postpartum. The decrease in couple satisfaction in first time parents was found in both mothers and fathers and in multiple countries, including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States (Chapter 2), and also in China from 4 until 14 months postpartum (Chapter 4). The decrease was stronger for parents who had more postpartum mental health problems (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3 we examined the association between couple satisfaction, mental health problems, and parental sensitivity from pregnancy until 24 months postpartum. We found additional evidence for the interrelatedness of couple satisfaction and mental health problems. Specifically, couple satisfaction predicted later mental health problems for both mothers and fathers. We found no associations between mental health problems and parental sensitivity, and little evidence for the association between couple satisfaction and parental sensitivity (the latter only for mothers).The second aim was to examine attitudes about child maltreatment across caregivers and countries. We found that on average Chinese and Dutch mothers, fathers, and teachers did not differ in their ideas about the rank order of harmfulness of behaviors commonly labeled as child maltreatment. In addition, for both countries and for the three groups we found higher thresholds for labeling the behaviors as maltreatment and the perceived need for intervention by a professional than for the need for intervention by a non-professional. In both countries and across the three groups physical abuse was labeled as the most harmful form of child maltreatment and emotional neglect as the least harmful form. However, Chinese participants had higher thresholds than Dutch participants with regard to the need for interventionand labeling the behaviors as maltreatment. Show less
This book starts with Vansina, who holds that old cultural traditions in Africa have been destroyed, but that new ones are emerging. With Prah, the study argues that a key role is played by... Show moreThis book starts with Vansina, who holds that old cultural traditions in Africa have been destroyed, but that new ones are emerging. With Prah, the study argues that a key role is played by education, which has to be based on African languages and values. Using a new quantitative comparative analysis, the study shows that maintaining former colonial languages as medium of instruction will become impossible to sustain. Over the next decade, some African countries will have to transition to African languages. The issue of language choice has vexed researchers and policymakers. The study shows how all over the world, designed languages serve speakers of several discerned languages. This solution could also be used in Africa, as demonstrated through six brief case studies. African languages in education will bolster the new, decolonised cultural traditions already taking shape on the continent. Show less
