Huajian Cai

National differences in gender–science stereotypes predict national sex differences in science and math achievement

About 70% of more than half a million Implicit Association Tests completed by citizens of 34 countries revealed expected implicit stereotypes associating science with males more than with females. We discovered that nation-level implicit stereotypes predicted nation-level sex differences in 8th-grade science and mathematics achievement. Self-reported stereotypes did not provide additional predictive validity of the achievement gap. We suggest that implicit stereotypes and sex differences in science participation and performance are mutually reinforcing, contributing to the persistent gender gap in science engagement.

A sociocultural approach to narcissism: the case of modern China

Using large Internet samples, we examined the possible influence of sociodemographic factors on the Chinese self–concept and in particular, on the level of narcissism. We found that (i) younger persons are more narcissistic than older ones; (ii) persons from higher socioeconomic classes are more narcissistic than those from lower socioeconomic classes; (iii) persons from only–child families are more narcissistic than those from families with multiple children; (iv) persons from urban areas are more narcissistic than those from rural areas; and (v) individualistic values are predictive of individual differences in narcissism. The findings suggest that sociocultural changes contribute to the rise of narcissism in China. Copyright

Tactical self-enhancement in China: is modesty at the service of self-enhancement in East-Asian culture

Is self-enhancement culturally universal or relativistic? This article highlights a nuanced dynamic in East Asian culture. Modesty is a prevailing norm in China. The authors hypothesized that because of socialization practices and prohibitive cultural pressures, modesty would be associated with and lead to low explicit self-enhancement but high implicit self-enhancement, that Chinese participants would deemphasize explicitly the positivity of the self when high on modesty or situationally prompted to behave modestly but would capitalize on their modest disposition or situationally induced behavior to emphasize implicitly the positivity of the self. In support of the hypotheses, dispositionally or situationally modest Chinese participants manifested low explicit self-esteem while manifesting high implicit self-esteem. Modesty among American participants constrained explicit self-esteem but yielded no associations with implicit self-esteem. The results showcase the tactical nature of self-enhancement in Chinese culture and call for research on when and how self-enhancement is pursued tactically in different cultures.

Cultural Similarities in Self-Esteem Functioning: East Is East and West Is West, But Sometimes the Twain Do Meet

East Asians report lower levels of self-esteem than North Americans and Western Europeans. These differences could mean that self-esteem is a culturally bounded construct, experienced differently in different cultures, or they could mean that self-esteem is a universally relevant construct whose average level is raised or lowered in different cultures. To examine these possibilities, the authors assessed self-esteem functioning in China and America. Study 1 found that, across cultures, self-serving attributions are stronger when self-esteem is high than when it is low. Study 2 replicated this finding and also found that, across cultures, failure produces less emotional distress when self-esteem is high than when it is low. Because self-esteem functioned similarly in China as in America, the authors conclude it is of general psychological importance.

Explaining East-West Differences in the Likelihood of Making Favorable Self-Evaluations: The Role of Evaluation Apprehension and Directness of Expression

The authors contend that although people in both Eastern and Western cultures are motivated to make favorable self-evaluations, the actual likelihood of expressing favorable self-evaluations in a concrete situation depends on (a) the dominant self-presentation norms in the culture, (b) how salient the norm is in the immediate situation, and (c) the availability of normatively permissible means to make favorable self-evaluations. The authors tested this proposal in three studies. Study 1 showed that given the strong influence of the modesty norm in Eastern cultures, Chinese are more comfortable making favorable self-evaluations when evaluation apprehension pressure in the immediate situation is reduced. Furthermore, Studies 2 and 3 showed that Asian Americans and Chinese are more comfortable making favorable self-evaluations when they can do it indirectly by denying possession of negative traits than when they have to do it directly by claiming possession of positive traits. In contrast, among European Americans, given the relative weak influence of the modesty norm in their culture, they are equally comfortable with making favorable self-evaluations in public and private situations through affirmation of positive self-aspects and repudiation of negative self-aspects.

Patriotism, Nationalism and China's US Policy: Structures and Consequences of Chinese National Identity

What is the nature of Chinese patriotism and nationalism, how does it differ from American patriotism and nationalism, and what impact do they have on Chinese foreign policy attitudes? To explore the structure and consequences of Chinese national identity, three surveys were conducted in China and the US in the spring and summer of 2009. While patriotism and nationalism were empirically similar in the US, they were highly distinct in China, with patriotism aligning with a benign inter- nationalism and nationalism with a more malign blind patriotism. Chinese patriotism/internationalism, furthermore, had no impact on perceived US threats or US policy preferences, while nationalism did. The role of nation- alist historical beliefs in structures of Chinese national identity was also explored, as well as the consequences of historical beliefs for the perception of US military and humiliation threats.

Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection Strategies in China Cultural Expressions of a Fundamental Human Motive

The motive to enhance and protect positive views of the self manifests in a variety of cognitive and behavioral strategies, but its universality versus cultural specificity is debated by scholars. We sought to inform this debate by soliciting self-reports of the four principal types of self-enhancement and self-protection strategy (positivity embracement, favorable construals, self-affirming reflections, defensiveness) from a Chinese sample and comparing their structure, levels, and correlates to a Western sample. The Chinese data fit the same factor structure and were subject to the same individual differences in regulatory focus, self-esteem, and narcissism, as the Western data. Chinese participants reported lower levels of (enhancement-oriented) positivity embracement but higher levels of (protection-oriented) defensiveness than Western participants. Levels of favorable construals were also higher in the Chinese sample, with no differences in self-affirming reflections. These findings support and extend the universalist perspective on the self by demonstrating the cross-cultural structure, yet culturally sensitive manifestation, of self-enhancement motivation.

Cross cultural variation in men's preference for sexual dimorphism in women's faces

Both attractiveness judgements and mate preferences vary considerably cross-culturally. We investigated whether mens preference for femininity in womens faces varies between 28 countries with diverse health conditions by analysing responses of 1972 heterosexual participants. Although men in all countries preferred feminized over masculinized female faces, we found substantial differences between countries in the magnitude of mens preferences. Using an average femininity preference for each country, we found mens facial femininity preferences correlated positively with the health of the nation, which explained 50.4% of the variation among countries. The weakest preferences for femininity were found in Nepal and strongest in Japan. As high femininity in women is associated with lower success in competition for resources and lower dominance, it is possible that in harsher environments, men prefer cues to resource holding potential over high fecundity.

Wanting to Be Great and Better But Not Average On the Pancultural Desire for Self-Enhancing and Self-Improving Feedback

What is the nature of self-evaluation motives? The relativist perspective suggests that self-evaluation motives vary culturally, with self-enhancement developing in Western culture and self-effacement and self-improvement developing in East Asian culture. The universalist perspective suggests that self-enhancement and self-improvement are basic human motives that coexist in the self-system and are prevalent across cultures. We tested the competing perspectives in a cross-cultural study. Chinese and American students rated the degree to which they want to receive four types of feedback (self-enhancing, self-effacing, self-improving, and no-feedback) from four sources (parents, teachers, friends, and classmates). Chinese and Americans (a) overwhelmingly wanted self-enhancing and self-improving feedback more than self-effacing feedback and no-feedback and (b) were uninterested in self-effacing feedback. These findings attest to the universal nature of self-enhancement and self-improvement motives.

Self-Esteem and Trait Importance Moderate Cultural Differences in Self-Evaluations:

It is widely assumed that East Asians evaluate themselves less positively than do Westerners, but this assumption lacks consistent support. In this report, the authors provide evidence that cultural differences in self-evaluations are moderated by two factors: trait importance and self-esteem. American and Chinese college students completed a self-esteem scale and then evaluated themselves on traits that varied in their cultural importance. Culture and trait importance did not affect the self-evaluations of high self-esteem participants, but did affect the self-evaluations of low self-esteem participants. Whereas low self-esteem Americans evaluated their agentic qualities more positively than did low self-esteem Chinese, low self-esteem Chinese evaluated their communal qualities more positively than did low self-esteem Americans. The discussion considers the implications of these findings for theories of cultural differences and self-esteem functioning.