Janak Pandey

Ingratiation toward strangers, friends, and bosses

Summary One hundred ten male undergraduates responded on a scale measuring ingratiating behavior toward three hypothetical target persons—a stranger, a friend, and a boss—for the purpose of obtaining attention, rewards, and benefits from the target. The scale included seven major ingratiation tactics: other-enhancement, opinion conformity, self-enhancement, self-depreciation, instrumental dependency, name dropping, and situation-specific behaviors. Ss showed more ingratiation responses toward the boss than toward the stranger or the friend. Differences in ingratiation response toward stranger and friend were not very clear: except for other-enhancement and name dropping, ingratiation responses toward stranger and friend were not different. Significant correlational results imply that Ss who were highly ingratiating toward one target person were also highly ingratiating toward other target persons.

Machiavellianism and ingratiation.

Summary The main objective of this paper was to demonstrate the role of the personality variable Machiavellianism and of the situational variable competition vs. noncompetition on the adoption of ingratiation tactics such as paying compliments, other enhancement, and opinion conformity. Thirty-two male undergraduates of a technology institution in India participated in the experiment. Several weeks after the original pretesting on Mach IV scale, high and low mach Ss were assigned to one of the two experimental conditions representing competitive/noncompetitive hypothetical job interview situations. Results clearly support the role of Machiavellianism in adoption of ingratiating behaviors. Those who were high on Mach IV scale scores significantly showed more liking for praising and agreeing with target person in comparison to those who were low on Mach IV scale scores. The situational variable was significant only for opinion conformity.

Indigenization and Development of the Discipline Perceptions and Opinions of Indian and Bangladeshi Psychologists

Surveys were conducted of the attitudes and opinions of Indian and Bangladeshi psychologists. A series of questions assessed their perceptions of the intellectual climate within universities, their research publication preferences and practices within both national and foreign journals, and the communality of their opinions regarding research priorities and practices within their national psychology. Differences between countries, and within-sample comparisons of psychologists with and without foreign experience and strong preferences to publish in foreign journals revealed some insights about the development of the discipline that may generalize to other developing countries. Strategies for overcoming the lack of a constructive intellectual climate, a major obstacle to discipline development in India and Bangladesh, are considered

Urban Stressors in South Asia Impact on Male and Female Pedestrians in Delhi and Dhaka

In two studies, pedestrians in Old and New Delhi (India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) were asked about their reactions to three stressors common to rapidly growing urban areas in South Asia: noise, air pollution, and crowding. Results from the first study, a survey of men in Old Delhi, indicated that respondents who were more upset by noise and by crowding also reported more physical symptoms and less perceived control. In the second study, male and female pedestrians were interviewed in New Delhi and Dhaka. Results revealed consistent gender, country, and gender by country effects on measures of general affect, ratings of stressors, and coping responses. In addition, results from an experimental manipulation in Study 2 indicated that in both countries, telling pedestrians about the effects of air pollution or crowding made them feel significantly worse than they would have felt had they not been given any information.

Attraction and helping

While previous findings and literature reviews have suggested that liked persons receive more help than do disliked persons, clear-cut support for the liking-helping relationship is scarce. In the present study, clear evidence is presented which links attraction and helping behavior.

Humane Orientation as a New Cultural Dimension of the GLOBE Project A Validation Study of the GLOBE Scale and Out-Group Humane Orientation in 25 Countries

We validate, extend, and empirically and theoretically criticize the cultural dimension of humane orientation of the project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program). Theoretically, humane orientation is not just a one-dimensionally positive concept about being caring, altruistic, and kind to others as discussed by Kabasakal and Bodur (2004), but there is also a certain ambivalence to this concept. We suggest differentiating humane orientation toward in-group members from humane orientation toward out-group members. A multicountry construct validation study used student samples from 25 countries that were either high or low in humane orientation (N = 876) and studied their relation to the traditional GLOBE scale and other cultural-level measures (agreeableness, religiosity, authoritarianism, and welfare state score). Findings revealed a strong correlation between humane orientation and agreeableness, welfare state score, and religiosity. Out-group humane orientation proved to be the more relevant subfacet of the original humane orientation construct, suggesting that future research on humane orientation should make use of this measure instead of the vague original scale. The ambivalent character of out-group humane orientation is displayed in its positive correlation to high authoritarianism. Patriotism was used as a control variable for noncritical acceptance of one’s society but did not change the correlations. Our findings are discussed as an example of how rigid expectations and a lack of tolerance for diversity may help explain the ambivalent nature of humane orientation.

Attribution and Evaluation of Manipulative Social Behavior

Abstract Evidence suggests that manipulative social behaviors such as ingratiation and Machiavellianism are quite pervasive in various social contexts of Indian and other societies. There is, however, a lack of empirical data on the attribution and evaluation of such behaviors. A 2 × 3 factorial design was employed, with two levels of outcome (success/failure) and three types of behavior (ingratiating/Machiavellian/nonmanipulative). Male undergraduates (N = 60) at an Indian university participated as subjects. The findings, in general, support the contention that these students evaluated the manipulative behavior of actors negatively and showed dislike for them; they evaluated positively and liked nonmanipulative persons and their behaviors.

Effects of Benefactor and Recipient Status on Helping Behavior

Summary This study assessed the effects of status and status similarity of benefactor and recipient on helping behavior in a naturalistic situation. Thirty Faculty members and 30 graduate students (all males) were high and low status benefactors, respectively. The high and low status roles of recipient were played by a faculty member and a student, in a residential campus setting. Ss were approached either by a faculty recipient or by a student recipient and asked to (a) rate their willingness and feelings about helping and (b) donate money to victims of recent floods. The results indicated that status of both benefactor and recipient determined helping behavior independently, as well as jointly.

Sex-Trait Stereotypes in India and Pakistan

Summary Sex-trait stereotypes are defined as the psychological characteristics differentially ascribed to women and to men. These stereotypes were studied among five- and eight-year-old children and among university students in India and Pakistan. Results were generally congruent with the findings from similar studies in Western countries; for example, in both countries, traits associated with men were stronger and more active than those associated with women. Variations between India and Pakistan were noted and discussed in terms of differences in cultural traditions and in the social roles assumed by women and men in the two countries. It was concluded that there is a high degree of pancultural generality in sex-trait stereotypes among the countries studied.

Motivations for and Satisfaction with Migration An Analysis of Migrants to New Delhi, Dhaka, and Islamabad

Male and female residents of seven slums in New Delhi, India, four slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and four slums in Islamabad, Pakistan, were interviewed about their reasons for migrating to and their satisfaction with their city. Although the single most commonly reported reason for moving was in search of work, significant proportions of migrants gave multiple reasons, and, particularly in Dhaka and Islamabad, many respondents partly attributed their move to fate. Results suggested that the attribution to fate was not due to either religion or poverty, but was related to perceived personal control. More generally, the reasons that respondents gave for migrating to the city were significantly related to their mental and physical health, to their ratings of their home and the city environment, and to their satisfaction with the city.