Bilge Ataca

Culture-Level Dimensions of Social Axioms and Their Correlates across 41 Cultures

Leung and colleagues have revealed a five-dimensional structure of social axioms across individuals from five cultural groups. The present research was designed to reveal the culture level factor structure of social axioms and its correlates across 41 nations. An ecological factor analysis on the 60 items of the Social Axioms Survey extracted two factors: Dynamic Externality correlates with value measures tapping collectivism, hierarchy, and conservatism and with national indices indicative of lower social development. Societal Cynicism is less strongly and broadly correlated with previous values measures or other national indices and seems to define a novel cultural syndrome. Its national correlates suggest that it taps the cognitive component of a cultural constellation labeled maleficence, a cultural syndrome associated with a general mistrust of social systems and other people. Discussion focused on the meaning of these national level factors of beliefs and on their relationships with individual level factors of belief derived from the same data set.

Psychological, sociocultural, and marital adaptation of Turkish immigrant couples in Canada

The study examined the acculturation and adaptation of 200 married Turkish immigrants in Toronto, Canada, using selfreport questionnaires. As an extension of research from sojourners to immigrants, and from individuals to married couples, marital adaptation was introduced and three facets of adaptation were differentiated: psychological, sociocultural, and marital. The findings support the contention that adaptation is multifaceted. Consistent with stress and coping models, psychological adaptation of married couples was associated with the personality variable of hardiness, social support, acculturation attitudes, and discrimination. On the other hand, in line with social learning perspectives, sociocultural adaptation was mostly related to the variables instrumental in acquiring social skills in the new culture, namely, language proficiency and contact with members of the dominant group. Marital adaptation was mostly associated with marital stressors and marital support. The lack of research on gender d...

Functional relationships in the nuclear and extended family: A 16-culture study

This study investigated the relationship between culture, structural aspects of the nuclear and extended family, and functional aspects of the family, that is, emotional distance, social interaction, and communication, as well as geographical proximity. The focus was on the functional aspects of family, defined as members of the nuclear family (mother, father, and their children) and the extended family (grandmother/grandfather, aunt/uncle, cousins). Sixteen cultures participated in this study, with a total number of 2587 participants. The first hypothesis, that the pattern of scores on the psychological measures and the behavioral outcomes are similar across cultures, an indication of cultural universality, was supported. The second hypothesis, that functional relations between members of the nuclear family and their kin are maintained in high-affluent and low-affluent cultures, and that differences in functional relationships in high- and low-affluent cultures are a matter of degree, was also supported ...

Honor Bound The Cultural Construction of Honor in Turkey and the Northern United States

The authors tested the hypotheses that Turkish and (Northern) American cultures afford different honor-relevant situations and different responses to these situations. In Study 1, the authors found that honor-attacking situations generated by American participants focused more on the individual than did situations generated by Turkish participants, whereas situations generated by Turkish participants focused more on close others and involved more references to an audience than did situations generated by American participants. Moreover, the situations most frequently generated by both groups tended to also differ in nature. In Study 2, new participants evaluated these situations for their impact on the self, close others, and acquaintances’ feelings about their family. Turkish participants tended to evaluate situations as having greater impact on all targets than did American participants. Turkish participants also evaluated all situations to have a similar impact on their own feelings and close others’ feelings about themselves, whereas Americans evaluated the situations to have more extreme impact on their own feelings than on the feelings of close others. Situations generated by Turkish participants were evaluated to have stronger impact on all targets.

Intergenerational Relationships in the Family: Ethnic, Socioeconomic, and Country Variations in Germany, Israel, Palestine, and Turkey

This study examines some aspects of intergenerational relationships in different sociocultural contexts. Using data from Germany, Israel, Palestine, and Turkey from the Value of Children and Intergenerational Relationships Project, mother—adolescent dynamics are studied. Mothers’ expectation of future support from grown-up offspring and the adolescents’ support to the mother are the main dependent variables under consideration. Socioeconomic standing, particularly mother’s education, cultural values concerning family independence or interdependence, intergenerational intimacy, and support are found to affect the dependent variables. Although on one hand systematic patterns of predicted interrelationships are found in line with Kagitcibasi’s theory of family change, the complexity of the dynamics involved and the diversity of the samples prevent drawing clear dimensions of variation based on the comparative analyses.

Cultural Prototypes and Dimensions of Honor

Research evidence and theoretical accounts of honor point to differing definitions of the construct in differing cultural contexts. The current studies address the question “What is honor?” using a prototype approach in Turkey and the Northern United States. Studies 1a/1b revealed substantial differences in the specific features generated by members of the two groups, but Studies 2 and 3 revealed cultural similarities in the underlying dimensions of self-respect, moral behavior, and social status/respect. Ratings of the centrality and personal importance of these factors were similar across the two groups, but their association with other relevant constructs differed. The tripartite nature of honor uncovered in these studies helps observers and researchers alike understand how diverse responses to situations can be attributed to honor. Inclusion of a prototype analysis into the literature on honor cultures can provide enhanced coverage of the concept that may lead to testable hypotheses and new theoretical developments.

Confrontation vs. Withdrawal: Cultural Differences in Responses to Threats to Honor

This study compares evaluations by members of an honor culture (Turkey) and a dignity culture (northern USA) of honor threat scenarios, in which a target was the victim of either a rude affront or a false accusation, and the target chose to withdraw or confront the attacker. Turkish participants were more likely than American participants to evaluate positively the person who withdrew from the rude affront and the person who confronted the false accusation. Participants in both societies perceived that others in their society would endorse confrontation more than withdrawal in both types of scenarios, but this effect was larger for Turkish than American participants. Honor values were associated with evaluations of the targets most strongly among Turkish participants who read about a person who confronted their attacker. These findings provide insight into the role of cultural norms and individual differences in the ways honor influences behavior.

Continuity and Change in Turkish Urban Family Life

This study investigates continuity and change in child-rearing attitudes and intrafamily status of the woman in urban middle class Türkiye. A group of 75 women responded to questions about values attributed to children, preference for childrens sex, and womans status in relation to the husband. Findings indicate a decrease in the economic value and an increase in the psychological value of children, together with a decrease in boy preference and an increase in girl preference. Contrary to previous research, old age security is more often mentioned as a reason for preferring girls than for preferring boys. Compared to the past, women are more involved in decision-making in urban families. Equalitarian intrafamily relations, with increased shared decision- making, communication, and role sharing between spouses, are associated with lower levels of fertility.

Cultural Factors in Stress

Human behavior is influenced by factors external to the individual. Of these factors, the most fundamental are those that are broadly cultural; these contexts, and experiences within them, demonstrably shape human development and action. Stress and coping are among those behaviors so shaped. According to Aldwin, culture can influence stress and coping in four ways: the types of stressors experienced, the appraisal of these stressors, the choice of coping strategies, and the institutional supports for coping with stressors.

Emotional responses to honour situations in Turkey and the northern USA

The main goal of the current research is to investigate emotional reactions to situations that implicate honour in Turkish and northern American cultural groups. In Studies 1A and 1B, participants rated the degree to which a variety of events fit their prototypes for honour-related situations. Both Turkish and American participants evaluated situations generated by their co-nationals as most central to their prototypes of honour-related situations. Study 2 examined emotional responses to Turkish or US-generated situations that varied in centrality to the prototype. Highly central situations and Turkish-generated situations elicited stronger emotions than less central situations and US-generated situations. Americans reported higher levels of positive emotions in response to honour-enhancing situations than did Turkish participants. These findings demonstrate that the prototypes of honour relevant situations differ for Turkish and northern American people, and that Turkish honour relevant situations are more emotion-laden than are northern American honour relevant situations.