Local and global influences on behavior Notes

Ogihara and Uchida (2014)

Aim: To investigate how increasing individualism affects subjective well-being in Japanese students.

Participants: 114 students from universities in Kyoto, Japan, and Wisconsin, USA.

Procedure: Students completed surveys measuring levels of individualism, number of close friends, happiness, and life satisfaction.
Results:

• A negative correlation between individualism and subjective well-being in Japanese students.
• Number of close friends mediated the relationship, with fewer friendships linked to reduced happiness.
• No such correlation was found in American students.

Conclusion: Individualistic values may reduce well-being in collectivist societies without concurrent strategies to mitigate isolation.

Evaluation:

• Using both Japanese and American students, the study examines how individualism affects well-being across different cultures.
• Findings align with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
• The study highlights social relationships as a crucial factor in subjective well-being.
• The study establishes a correlation between individualism and reduced well-being but does not prove causation.
• Happiness and life satisfaction were measured through surveys, which are self reported and subject to social desirability bias.
• The sample consists of university students, meaning the findings may not apply and be generalized to older adults.
• Whether Japanese students adapt to individualism over time or develop coping mechanisms to maintain well-being, is not explored.

Lyons-Padilla et al. (2015)

Aim: To explore how marginalization affects identity and behaviour among Muslim immigrants in the USA.

Participants: 200 first- and second-generation Muslim immigrants.

Procedure: Surveys measured feelings of marginalization, discrimination, and significance loss.

Results:

• Strong correlation between marginalization and significance loss, which increased support for radical ideologies.
• Discrimination exacerbated the effects of marginalization.

Conclusion: Marginalization and discrimination can lead to identity struggles, increasing vulnerability to radicalization.

Evaluation:

• The study provides valuable insights into how marginalization and discrimination impact identity, contributing to research on social integration.
• The focus on Muslim immigrants, a group often underrepresented in psychological research, improves understanding of their acculturation challenges.
• Establishes relationships between marginalization, significance loss, and extremism but does not confirm causation.
• Using questionnaires often results in social desirability bias and may not fully capture participants' true feelings or behaviors.

Buchan et al. (2009)

Aim: To examine globalization’s influence on cooperation strategies.

Participants: Samples from six countries (USA, Italy, Russia, Argentina, South Africa, Iran).

Procedure: Participants distributed tokens among personal, local, and global accounts in a cooperative experiment. Globalization Index scores were used to measure cosmopolitan attitudes.

Results: Higher globalization levels correlated with increased global cooperation.

Conclusion: Globalization fosters cosmopolitan interests, reducing perceived social distance between nations.

Evaluation:

• The cross-cultural design enhances the generalizability of the findings.
• The artificial token distribution task may not fully capture real-world cooperation.