Individual uniqueness in trust profiles and well‐being: Understanding the role of cultural tightness–looseness from a representation similarity perspective

Culturomics: Taking the cross-scale, interdisciplinary science of culture into the next decade

Culture is a complex topic involving a comprehensive representation of human institutions, social customs, norms, and lifestyles. Over the past half-century, the methods of cultural studies have improved dramatically in the depth of the research questions posed. However, most contemporary research on cultural issues is conducted from a single perspective, which fails to account for the holistic and extensive nature of culture. The development of culture is influenced by various factors, encompassing not only the humanistic environment but also factors related to the natural environment and socio-economic conditions. Hence, culture involves multiple concepts with associated levels and dimensions, such as genes, molecules, brains, individuals, groups, institutions, societies, and political environments. Therefore, we propose the concept of Culturomics, a cross-level, interdisciplinary science that studies human behavior and cultural representation in high-order space. Under this concept, it is necessary to find new methods to compare multidimensional data from different levels directly. In this paper, we first review past cultural studies, then introduce the concept, research content, and methodology of Culturomics, and discuss future directions for this field.

Iranian adaptation of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ): Validity, reliability, discriminant ability, and sex invariance

INTRODUCTION

Epistemic trust, or trust in transmitted knowledge, has been proposed as a critical factor in psychopathology and psychotherapy. This study aimed at evaluating the psychometric properties of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) in Iran.

METHOD

Data were collected from 906 participants. Along with the ETMCQ, measures of mentalizing, mindfulness, perspective-taking, attachment, emotion dysregulation, and borderline personality disorder were administered. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) were used to determine factorial structure.

RESULTS

The ESEM model showed an acceptable fit and outperformed the confirmatory model. A 14-item version of the ETMCQ was retained after examining item performance. Our findings also established criterion-related validity for mistrust and credulity, an acceptable internal consistency for credulity, discriminant power for mistrust and credulity in detecting positive screens for borderline personality disorder, and measurement invariance across sexes.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence for the cross-cultural applicability of the ETMCQ. Nonetheless, the validity of the trust and internal consistency of the mistrust subscale require particular attention in future research.