Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Meaning in the Evaluation of Events in World History?: Perceptions of Historical Calamities and Progress in Cross-Cultural Data From Thirty Societies

J H Liu; Dario Paez; K Hanke; A Rosa; D J Hilton; C G Sibley; R Cabecinhas; F Zaromb; I E Garber; C H Leong; Gail Moloney; V Valchev; C Gastardo-Conaco; L L Huang; A H Quek; E Techio; R Sen; Y Van Osch; H Muluk; W Wagner; F Wang; S S Khan; L Licata; O Klein; J László; M Fülöp; J C K Cheung; X Yue; S B Youssef; U Kim; Y Park; J Puch-Bouwman; K Hassall; J Adair; L Unik; D Spini; K Henchoz; G Böhm; M Selart; H P Erb; D F Thoben; G Leone; T Mastrovito; T Atsumi; K I Suwa

doi:10.1177/0022022110390926

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Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Meaning in the Evaluation of Events in World History?: Perceptions of Historical Calamities and Progress in Cross-Cultural Data From Thirty Societies

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Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Meaning in the Evaluation of Events in World History?: Perceptions of Historical Calamities and Progress in Cross-Cultural Data From Thirty Societies

J H Liu, Dario Paez, K Hanke, A Rosa, D J Hilton, C G Sibley, R Cabecinhas, F Zaromb, I E Garber, C H Leong, …

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol.43(2), pp.251-272

2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022110390926

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Abstract

Psychology

Cognitive Sciences

Business and Management

Cross-cultural dimensions of meaning

Evaluation of historical events

Perceptions of history

World History Survey

Historical Calamities

Historical Progress

Historical Resistance to Oppression

Willingness to fight for one's country

The universality versus culture specificity of quantitative evaluations (negative-positive) of 40 events in world history was addressed using World History Survey data collected from 5,800 university students in 30 countries/societies. Multidimensional scaling using generalized procrustean analysis indicated poor fit of data from the 30 countries to an overall mean configuration, indicating lack of universal agreement as to the associational meaning of events in world history. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified one Western and two non-Western country clusters for which adequate multidimensional fit was obtained after item deletions. A two-dimensional solution for the three country clusters was identified, where the primary dimension was historical calamities versus progress and a weak second dimension was modernity versus resistance to modernity. Factor analysis further reduced the item inventory to identify a single concept with structural equivalence across cultures, Historical Calamities, which included man-made and natural, intentional and unintentional, predominantly violent but also nonviolent calamities. Less robust factors were tentatively named as Historical Progress and Historical Resistance to Oppression. Historical Calamities and Historical Progress were at the individual level both significant and independent predictors of willingness to fight for one's country in a hierarchical linear model that also identified significant country-level variation in these relationships. Consensus around calamity but disagreement as to what constitutes historical progress is discussed in relation to the political culture of nations and lay perceptions of history as catastrophe.

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Title: Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Meaning in the Evaluation of Events in World History?: Perceptions of Historical Calamities and Progress in Cross-Cultural Data From Thirty Societies
Authors: J H Liu (Author) - Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Dario Paez (Author) - University of the Basque Country, Spain
K Hanke (Author) - Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
A Rosa (Author) - Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain
D J Hilton (Author) - University of Toulouse II, France
C G Sibley (Author) - University of Auckland, New Zealand
R Cabecinhas (Author) - University of Minho, Portugal
F Zaromb (Author) - Washington University, United States
I E Garber (Author) - Saratov State Socio-economic University, Russia
C H Leong (Author) - National University of Singapore, Singapore
Gail Moloney (Author) - Southern Cross University, Australia
V Valchev (Author) - Tilburg University, Netherlands
C Gastardo-Conaco (Author) - University of the Philippines-Diliman, Philippines
L L Huang (Author) - National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan
A H Quek (Author) - University of Malaya-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
E Techio (Author) - Tiradentes University, Brazil
R Sen (Author) - Logistics India, India
Y Van Osch (Author) - Tilburg University, Netherlands
H Muluk (Author) - University of Indonesia, Indonesia
W Wagner (Author) - Johannes Kepler University, Austria
F Wang (Author) - Sun-Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
S S Khan (Author) - Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
L Licata (Author) - Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
O Klein (Author) - Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
J László (Author) - Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
M Fülöp (Author) - Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
J C K Cheung (Author) - City University of Hong Kong, China
X Yue (Author) - City University of Hong Kong, China
S B Youssef (Author)
U Kim (Author) - Inha University, Korea
Y Park (Author) - Inha University, Korea
J Puch-Bouwman (Author) - University of the South Pacific, Fiji
K Hassall (Author) - University of the South Pacific, Fiji
J Adair (Author) - University of Manitoba, Canada
L Unik (Author) - University of Manitoba, Canada
D Spini (Author) - University of Lausanne, Switzerland
K Henchoz (Author) - University of Lausanne, Switzerland
G Böhm (Author) - University of Bergen, Norway
M Selart (Author) - Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), Norway
H P Erb (Author) - Helmut Schmidt University, Germany
D F Thoben (Author) - Helmut Schmidt University, Germany
G Leone (Author) - University of Rome, Italy
T Mastrovito (Author) - University of Rome, Italy
T Atsumi (Author) - Osaka University, Japan
K I Suwa (Author) - Osaka University, Japan
Publication details: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol.43(2), pp.251-272
Publisher: Sage Publications Inc.
Date published: 2012
DOI: 10.1177/0022022110390926
ISSN: 0022-0221
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450199702621
Output Type: Journal article

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