Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-48).

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-48).

M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology) / The objective of this study is to examine the construct validity of the Openness scale in the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI). The SAPI project aims to develop a personality questionnaire that is applicable in the multicultural South African context. A total of 891 students and working adults, of different race groups (White, Black, Indian and Coloured), with a minimum of Grade 12 or equivalent and speaking eleven different languages participated in the study. A cross sectional design was used to collect data using paper and pencil questionnaires administered in English. The Openness scale consisted of 23 items. A hierarchical Schmid-Leiman factor solution was used to investigate if a strong general Openness factor could be retrieved from participants’ responses. Tucker’s phi coefficient was used to determine factor congruence across language groups. The results suggest that more work is needed to improve validity and reliability of the current SAPI Openness scale, as it failed to produce a general Openness factor. Results show that it is difficult to attach meaningful psychological interpretations to scores on the Openness scale can be made.

M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology) / The purpose of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) project is to develop a personality measure that can be used within the South African context and that can account for the diversity that exists within the South Africa. This study is intended at validating the Conscientiousness scale of the SAPI as well as considering how well the measure replicated across language groups (Germanic, Nguni and Sotho) in South Africa. The data utilised in this study was collected from working individuals from a number of different organisations in South Africa (N = 890). The Conscientiousness scale consists of 36 items that yielded a five factor structure namely, Dedication, Discipline, Commitment, Orderliness, Organised. It was found that the Conscientiousness scale is a valid and reliable measure of the personality trait Conscientiousness scale. The results indicated that the general factor, Conscientiousness replicated well across the different language groups in South Africa, but the five factor solution did not yield conclusive results. Furthermore, the results of the Differential Test Functioning (DTF) analysis revealed that the scale had a significant effect size and upon further investigation it was shown that two of the items that had significant Differential Item Functioning (DIF) effect sizes could be removed in order to obtain a non-bias measure of Conscientiousness on the SAPI.

This study investigated what occurs in an individual's life when their culture is changed or irretrievably lost; and it investigated how an individual then regains personal meaning during a time of cultural loss and change. Peter Marris' innovative Theory of Loss and Change was used as the theoretical basis for the study. This theory states that a grief-like reformulation process occurs for individuals who experience any irretrievable loss of culture. The Native Indian cultures of British Columbia were used as the cultural foundation. Three Native Indian elders were interviewed and their life histories recorded (Bertaux, 1981). The data collected was then used as multiple case studies and analyzed according to Yin (1984) and Stake (1980). Cross-matching of patterns of loss and change, and patterns of recovery of personal meaning revealed six primary forms of loss and change in the elder's lives, and five primary characteristics of recovery of personal meaning. Secondary forms and characteristics in each area were identified as well. Marris' Theory of Loss and Change was supported. It was also expanded to include the Native Indian cultures of British Columbia. In addition, the emotional elements of the reformulation process were specified. The outcome of the study was a cognitive framework useful in understanding the Native Indian cultures in British Columbia and the personal conflicts of Native Indian individuals. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between intergroup attitudes and the remembering activity of two culturally different groups of subjects. The theoretical basis of this study is the transactional model as outlined by Meacham (1977). According to this model, the attitudes, memories and the sociocultural background of the rememberer constantly and simultaneously alter one another in a reciprocal fashion. Different sociocultural experiences lead to different attitudes and memories, and any changes brought about in attitudes result in changes in memories and vice versa. To examine this system of relationship, two groups of American and Iranian subjects were recruited. Both groups consisted of 28 university students who were either upper classmen or graduate students. Subjects' initial attitudes toward three sets of attitudinal objects were assessed using a set of 37 Semantic Differential Scales. The three sets of attitudinal objects consisted of peoples and governments of three countries of Iran, Sweden, and the U.S. A week after the inital assessment, the subjects were engaged in a remembering activity which consisted of two tasks. The first task was a free recall task. The subjects were asked to recall, to the best of their abilities, the story of the American hostages in Iran. Following the free recall activity the subjects were given a set of 16 statements, which collectively described the entire hostage event in a concise manner. Each of these statements had four different components which the subjects were asked to mark if they would recognize them. The four components were action, agent, time, and explanation. Immediately after the recall and recognition tasks, the attitudes of the subjects toward the same attitudinal objects were assessed again. The data did not provide any support for the transactional model, but nevertheless revealed some significant differences between the two groups of subjects in regard to some of the attitudinal objects.

by Gan Yiqun. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-91). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

Thesis (M.A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / The mini-dissertation investigated the role played by an aunt in African Culture with special reference to Tshivenḓa. The study has discovered that an aunt played an important role in a family. Nowadays, other people are involved in the role played by makhadzi. This seems as if the community is confused about the role of makhadzi

Researchers have raised concerns about measurement equivalence in comparing personalities across cultures using personality assessments. The self-reported personality measurements often do not assess the same construct, trigger different response styles (i.e., extreme response style), or use behavioral exemplars that are inappropriate across cultures (Byrne&Watkins, 2003; Chen, 2008; Poortinga, van de Vijber,&van Hermert, 2002, van de Vijver&Leung, 1997). James et al. (2005) developed a new measurement system for aggression that is different from traditional personality assessment. It is referred to as the Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression (CRT-A). The CRT-A is an indirect measure for assessing unconscious motives to be aggressive that was developed in the USA. It has not been studied with people from different cultures. Study 1 investigated the equivalences of the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) and the CRT-A by administering both to groups of Americans (n=432) and Koreans (n=363). Results based on the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and DIF analyses showed that the AQ and CRT-A are not invariant across these cultures. Study 2 replicated LeBreton et al.(2007) study regarding faking issues of the CRT-A with the Korean population. Study 2 found that on the CRT-A, Koreans were able to identify aggressive alternatives when they were told to do so, and Korean students and employees did not score differently on the CRT-A. Implications and future directions of the study are discussed herein.

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