Saburo Iwawaki

A cross-cultural study of animal fears.

The present study represents a cross-cultural study of animal fears in which subjects from seven Western and Asian countries were asked to rate their fear of a range of familiar animals. Factor analyses of these ratings in all samples revealed a coherent three factor solution in which animals fell into a fear-irrelevant, fear-relevant (fierce) or disgust-relevant category. The core group of animals making up the disgust-relevant category were similar across cultures. Some views on how a universal disgust-relevant category of feared animals may have developed are discussed.

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations. Part I: Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.

Masculinity-femininity as a national characteristic and its relationship with national agoraphobic fear levels: Fodor's sex role hypothesis revitalized

Hofstedes dimension of national culture termed Masculinity-Femininity [. Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill] is proposed to be of relevance for understanding national-level differences in self-assessed agoraphobic fears. This prediction is based on the classical work of Fodor [. In: V. Franks & V. Burtle (Eds.), Women in therapy: new psychotherapies for a changing society. New York: Brunner/Mazel]. A unique data set comprising 11 countries (total N=5491 students) provided the opportunity of scrutinizing this issue. It was hypothesized and found that national Masculinity (the degree to which cultures delineate sex roles, with masculine or tough societies making clearer differentiations between the sexes than feminine or modest societies do) would correlate positively with national agoraphobic fear levels (as assessed with the Fear Survey Schedule-III). Following the correction for sex and age differences across national samples, a significant and large effect-sized national-level (ecological) r=+0.67 (P=0.01) was found. A highly feminine society such as Sweden had the lowest, whereas the champion among the masculine societies, Japan, had the highest national Agoraphobic fear score.

Cross-national transferability of the two-factor model of parental rearing behaviour: A contrast of data from Canada, the Fed. Rep. Germany, Hungary, Japan, Singapore and Venezuela with Dutch target ratings on the EMBU

In order to contribute to the cross-cultural study of child-rearing practices and psychopathology, this pilot study sought to examine the cross-national generalizability of parental rearing constructs by analyzing self-report data on the EMBU, an instrument designed to assess memories of parental rearing behaviour. Of the four primary factors identified originally with Dutch individuals, namely Rejection, Emotional Warmth, Overprotection and Favouring Subject, the first three were replicated in a similar form in convenience samples comprising healthy research volunteers from Canada, the Fed. Rep. Germany, Hungary, Japan, Singapore and Venezuela. Scale-level factor analyses of the constructs evidencing cross-national constancy produced identical two-factor compositions (CARE and PROTECTION) across national samples. Basic analysis of item-bias showed such an influence in the Japanese sample only which necessitated a very minor modification in two EMBU subscales. Among other things, it was concluded that the EMBU dimensional framework can be as useful for scientific purposes in the different national groups as it has proved to be in the Netherlands.

Japanese reactions to reward and punishment: a cross-cultural personality study

The Gray-Wilson Personality Questionnaire (GWPQ) was administered in translation to 597 Japanese college students. The sex differences previously found with a British sample were replicated as well as two others; males were higher on Fight and Approach, while females were more disposed towards Flight and Active Avoidance. Intercorrelations among GWPQ scores confirmed British findings in suggesting two major systems underlying reactions to signals of reward and punishment, Inhibition (represented by Passive Avoidance, Flight, Extinction and Active Avoidance) and Activation (incorporating Approach and Fight). The factor structure found in Britain was only partly replicated in the Japanese sample, the most striking difference being the powerful appearance of response sets in the Japanese data. The implications for cross-cultural questionnaire construction are discussed.

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations.

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.

Dimensionality and national function in australian and japanese ethnic stereotypes

Abstract This study provides an update on ethnic stereotypes in Australia and Japan. It measured the differences between the auto- and heterostereotypes held by Anglo-Australians and Japanese for themselves and each other, respectively, particularly as they related to perceived status and solidarity. It compared these with heterostereotypes held by these two national groups for one other Asian (Taiwanese) and one other non-Asian (Canadian) group. Forty female and 40 male Australian students, and 40 female and 40 male Japanese students completed a questionnaire consisting of 14 semantic differential scales. Factor analyses revealed two underlying dimensions: status and solidarity. Results of multivariate analysis of variance and bivariate correlations among the dependent variables indicated that Australians seemed to hold individual national hetereostereotypes for the Japanese and Taiwanese in terms of status, but more broadly focused stereotypes in terms of solidarity. The degree of consensus, however, wa...

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations - Part I

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.