David Y. F. Ho

Interpersonal Relationships and Relationship Dominance: An Analysis Based on Methodological Relationism

The author argues that a mature Asian social psychology is marked by the characteristic ways in which it generates knowledge about social behavior in general, rather than by the body of knowledge it obtains about Asians. Methodological relationalism, grounded in dialectics, is explicated as a conceptual framework for the analysis of human though and action; it is transformed by Asian views reflecting the omnipresence of self-other relations in all social life. A classification of interpersonal relationships, categorized according to the basis of their formation, is provided. Cultural contrasts are explored, with reference to: (a) the formation of relationships, (b) cultural roots of how interpersonal relationships are defined in myths and legends, and (c) the dominance of specific relationships in different cultures. Finally, Confucian heritage cultures are described in terms of the construct relationship dominance.

The Measurement of Body-Mind-Spirit Well-Being: Toward Multidimensionality and Transcultural Applicability

Abstract The Body-Mind-Spirit model of health promotion (Chan, Ho, & Chow, 2002) guided the construction of a multidimensional inventory for assessing holistic health. Named Body-Mind-Spirit Well-Being Inventory (BMSWBI), it comprises four scales: Physical Distress, Daily Functioning, Affect, and Spirituality (differentiated from religiosity and conceived as ecumenical). Respondents (674 Chinese adults from Hong Kong) completed the BMSWBI via the Internet. Results indicate that all four scales have high reliability, with alpha coefficients ranging from .87 to .92, and concurrent validity. Factor analysis indicates that (a) positive and negative affect form two distinct factors, and (b) spirituality comprises three distinct aspects: tranquility, resistance to disorientation, and resilience. Spirituality is positively associated with mental well-being, positive affect, satisfaction with life, and hope; but negatively associated with negative affect and perceived stress. These results suggest that the inventory may be used to assess different dimensions of health satisfactorily.

Measuring Spirituality and Spiritual Emptiness: Toward Ecumenicity and Transcultural Applicability

The authors review Eastern and Western conceptions of spirituality, explicate the spirituality construct and differentiate it from religiosity, propose strategies for achieving ecumenicity and transcultural applicability, and suggest innovative techniques for measuring spirituality and spiritual emptiness. The essential attributes of ecumenical spirituality are that it (a) is concerned with existential or transcendent questions; (b) belongs to the domain of cardinal values underlying all aspects of life; and (c) is self-reflective, and hence metacognitive, in nature. The paths to spirituality are many and are grounded in different values and beliefs across philosophical-religious traditions. However, commonalities may be extracted at a high level of abstraction and with maximal inclusiveness. Thus, the goal of ecumenicity, and hence transcultural applicability, is attainable.

An Investigation of the Calendar Calculation Ability of a Chinese Calendar Savant.

A Chinese calendar savant was investigated on his exceptional proficiency in calendar calculation and his culture-specific talent of converting the Gregorian calendar to the Chinese calendar. Results did not support any one of the hypotheses of eidetic imagery, high-speed calculation, rote memorization, keying-off (anchoring) strategy, use of calendar regularities or monthly configuration as the only explanation proposed in earlier investigations. The savants calculation ability is hypothesized to be brought about by his familiarity of the 14 calendar templates and the knowledge of matching the templates to every year. For dates that are beyond the 20th century, the calculation is by regressing the date to a corresponding year in the 20th century by additions or subtractions of 28 or 700 years with his accurate use of the simple operations in arithmetic.

Multivariate prediction of academic performance by Hong Kong University students

Abstract Verbal intelligence, English-language skills, personality, and attitude scales were used as predictors of academic performance in 230 male and female arts students at the University of Hong Kong. A series of bivariate, multiple, and canonical correlation analyses were performed. The results showed that verbal intelligence and attitudes, excepting study orientation, were not predictive of performance. English-language skills had the most predictive value, accounting for about 10% of the variance of performance measures. Personality variables failed to predict performance when composite criterion measures (GPAs) were used; however, they proved to be of predictive value when results of individual academic subjects were used as criterion measures. The study points to the importance of using noncomposite criterion measures in prediction and of considering the cultural context of achievement.

Ideological Orientation and Political Transition in Hong Kong: Confidence in the Future

In the two-component model of ideological orientation, a persons ideological position is jointly influenced by attitudinal and affective components. The present study adopted this conceptual model to predict confidence in the future of Hong Kong. Questionnaire responses were collected from 395 adults (56.8% men and 43.2% women) in Hong Kong in April 1995, some 2 years before its transfer from British to Chinese control. The results show that the level of confidence in Hong Kong was related to both attitudinal and affective identification with Hong Kong and China. These findings suggest that the transfer of government may have brought to the surface a collision of the divergent political cultures of Hong Kong and mainland China, resulting in two antagonistic political orientations that predicted confidence in the future of Hong Kong.

Prediction of foreign language skills: A canonical and part canonical correlation study

Sex, verbal intelligence, personality, and attitudinal variables were used as predictors of English language skills among male and female university students in Hong Kong. A series of bivariate, canonical correlation, and part canonical correlation analyses were performed. The results showed that (a) levels of proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking were largely independent of one another; (b) females were superior to males (at the .05 level of significance) in the expressive skills, writing and especially speaking; and (c) near-zero correlations were obtained between the attitude variables and English language skills. The commonality method of partitioning criterion variance revealed that the unique components of sex and personality variables contributed the most to the total criterion redundancy; contributions from the unique component of verbal intelligence and the confounded components were negligible. The study illustrates the importance of including all four language skills treated as a set in the criterion domain, and also the usefulness of part canonical correlation analysis for delineating the unique as well as confounded effects of predictors on the criterion domain.

Community psychology in Hong Kong: Past, present, and future

The expansion of mental health services during the 1960s from a single remote mental hospital to centers and clinics in mainstream communities fostered the development of community psychology in Hong Kong. Few psychologists were initially involved in the local community mental health movement, but its momentum resulted in increasing numbers of practitioner psychologists working in community-based service settings. Community psychology in Hong Kong today consists primarily of service delivery, but also includes applied research, community organization/consultation, and community education. Despite having many parallels with the American situation, key concepts underpinning the practice of community psychology in the Territory possess their own character as a reflection of nuances in the local scene. Prospects for the continued development of community psychology in Hong Kong appear favorable. Of special relevance is the fields potential contribution to a better understanding of the psychological phenomena associated with the Territorys sociopolitical transformation in 1997.

The conception of man in Mao Tse-tung thought.

In 1940, long before the Peoples Republic of China came into being, Mao Tse-tung declared: The aim of all our efforts is the building of a new society and new nation of the Chinese people. In such a new society and new nation, there will be not only a new political organization and new economy, but a new culture as well. Twenty-six years later, the world witnessed the Great Cultural Revolution (GCR), in which Mao himself took an active leading role. The very idea of a cultural revolution is revolutionary enough. Never before in history has there been such an ambitious attempt to create a new man, with a new culture, in a new society. Unparalleled in both its scope and intensity, the GCR is a unique social experiment that has directly involved a fifth of mankind, and has profound implications for mankind as a whole. What are the philosophic assumptions about man embodied in Mao Tse-tung Thought, the guide to action in the Chinese revolution? How are these assumptions linked to Maos political ideology? What is the relevance that Maos conception of man has for contemporary psychology? The present essay is an attempt to answer these questions.

Interpersonal Perceptions and Metaperceptions in Dialogic Action Therapy: A Relational Methodological Approach to Theory Construction

Abstract Two forms of understanding in theories of therapy are identified: empathic understanding rooted in individualism, and reality-based understanding that acknowledges the relational character of human existence. We argue for regarding these two forms of understanding as complementary. This requires a paradigmatic shift from methodological individualism to methodological relationalism, which asserts that the analysis of role relationships precedes that of individuals and situations. Informed by methodological relationalism, dialogic action therapy accords prominence to the creation of a therapeutic relationship between therapist and client, between whom bidirectionality of perceptions is inherent. We develop a formal analytic scheme for theory building. Six major constructs, degrees of perception, directionality, agreement, reciprocity, accuracy, and congruence, are employed to facilitate the analysis of therapist and client perceptions and metaperceptions of trust in depth. The implications for ther...