Cross-Situational Self-Consistency in Nine Cultures: The Importance of Separating Influences of Social Norms and Distinctive Dispositions

Guilt, Shame and Academic Misconduct

Moral and self-conscious emotions like guilt and shame can function as internal negative experiences that punish or deter bad behaviour. Individual differences exist in people's tendency to experience guilt and shame. Being disposed to experience guilt and/or shame may predict students' expectations of their emotional reactions to engaging in immoral behaviour in the form of academic misconduct, and thus dissuade students from intending to engage in this behaviour. In this study, students' (n = 459) guilt and shame proneness, their expectations of feeling guilt and shame if they engaged in academic misconduct, and their intentions to engage in academic misconduct were measured. Three of the four facets of the guilt and shame proneness scale [GASP: Guilt-Negative-Behavior-Evaluation (NBE), Guilt-Repair, Shame-Negative-Self-Evaluation (NSE)] had significant negative correlations with academic misconduct intentions, and these relationships were mediated by anticipating shame and guilt related to engaging in academic misconduct. These results suggest that for some students expecting to experience negative moral emotions when engaging in academic misconduct may protect them from breaching ethical assessment rules.

"I always prefer to withdraw than use a condom": contextualising condomless sex among East Asian and sub-Saharan African international students in Sydney

BACKGROUND

Incidence and prevalence of blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections among young people continue to necessitate population-based studies to understand how contextualised sexual health services can be developed and implemented to promote protective behaviours such as consistent condom use. This study examined condomless sexual practice among a sample of East Asian and sub-Saharan African international university students in Sydney, Australia.

METHODS

This qualitative study was methodologically guided by interpretative phenomenological analysis. Data was provided by 20 international students sampled from five universities in Sydney, who participated in either face-to-face or telephone semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interview sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded in NVivo and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Condomless sexual practices appear to be common among the study group based on participants' self-reports of their own practices and the practices of friends and peers. Three themes contextualising condomless among the study participants were generated from the interview transcripts: (1) unanticipated sex, condom related stigma and alcohol use (2) pleasure-seeking, curiosity and intimacy (3) condomless sex as a gendered practice.

CONCLUSIONS

The result of this study has implications for public health research, practice and policy around design, implementation and evaluation of multi-layered and population-specific sexual health services that are tailored to addressing the needs of international students, who  migrate from traditional sexual cultures to Australia, where sexual norms are more liberal.

Gossip is a fearful thing: the impact of negative workplace gossip on knowledge hiding

Purpose

The crucial role of knowledge sharing in an organization has become even more crucial lately, resulting in garnering more attention by scholars. In reality, while several organizations expect their employees to share knowledge with colleagues actively, many choose to hide their knowledge when asked for help. This study aims to explore whether negative workplace gossip (NWG) affects employee knowledge hiding (KH), as well as analyzes whether relational identification (RI) and interpersonal trust (IT) play a chain mediating role between the two, and discusses whether forgiveness climate (FC) could be used as a boundary condition in the relationships mentioned above.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory and the cognitive–affective personality system (CAPS) theory, the authors surveyed 326 employees in China at 2 time-points and explored the correlation between NWG and KH, as well as the underlying mechanism. Using confirmatory factor analysis, bootstrapping method and structural equation model, the authors validated the research hypotheses.

Findings

The findings revealed the following: NWG negatively correlates with KH; RI and IT play a mediation role between NWG and KH, respectively, and both variables also play a chain mediation role in the relationship mentioned above; and FC moderates the negative impact of NWG on RI, further moderating the chain mediation between RI and IT and between NWG and KH.

Originality/value

First, this study established the correlation between NWG and KH, as well as analyzed the internal mechanism between the two. Besides, this study adds to scholars’ understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which these effects could occur. Second, this study demonstrated the moderating effect of FC – a situational feature that has been neglected in previous studies. Furthermore, this study can not only complement the situational factors ignored in previous studies but also broaden the application scope of CAPS. Finally, this study effectively combines COR and CAPS, which provides a basis for the application of these two theories in the future.

Using Nudges to Enhance Clinicians' Implementation of Shared Decision Making With Patient Decision Aids

Background. Although effective interventions for shared decision making (SDM) exist, there is a lack of uptake of these tools into clinical practice. “Nudges,” which draw on behavioral economics and target automatic thinking processes, are used by policy makers to influence population-level behavior change. Nudges have not been applied in the context of SDM interventions but have potential to influence clinician motivation, a primary barrier to long-term adoption of SDM tools. Objective. Describe, evaluate, and propose recommendations for the use of a behavioral economics framework (MINDSPACE) on clinician motivation and behavior during implementation of a validated decision aid (DA) for left ventricular assist device at nine hospitals. Methods. Qualitative thematic analysis of process notes from stakeholder meetings during the first 6 months of implementation to identify examples of how the MINDSPACE framework was operationalized. Quantitative implementation progress was evaluated using the RE-AIM framework. Results. MINDSPACE components were translated into concrete approaches that leveraged influential stakeholders, fostered ownership over the DA and positive emotional associations, spread desirable norms across sites, and situated the DA within established default processes. DA reach to eligible patients increased from 9.8% in the first month of implementation to 70.0% in the sixth month. Larger gains in reach were observed following meetings using MINDSPACE approaches. Limitations. The MINDSPACE framework does not capture all possible influences on behavior and responses to nudges may differ across populations. Conclusions. Behavioral economics can be applied to implementation science to foster uptake of SDM tools by increasing clinician motivation. Our recommendations can help other researchers effectively apply these approaches in real-world settings when there are often limited incentives and opportunities to change organizational- or structural-level factors.

Assessing the Similarity of Injunctive Norm Profiles Across Different Social Roles: The Effect of Closeness and Status in the United States and China

Do social roles affect injunctive norms for behavior and more so in Chinese than American cultural contexts? We use mixed methods to analyze open-ended data describing appropriate behavior within social roles that differ in interpersonal closeness and relative status. American ( N = 401) and Chinese ( N = 392) participants provided descriptions of ideal behavior of two actors in one of 16 role dyads. The 2,219 (American) and 1,466 (Chinese) behavior descriptions were coded into 71 content categories, forming profiles of appropriate behavior for six social roles (Close/Distant × Low/Equal/High status). First, we adapt a method for assessing profile similarity in personality psychology to quantitatively evaluate how closeness and status affect similarity between the six social roles. By separating profiles into normative (average behavior) and distinctive (behavior specific to a particular social role) components, we find that distinctive behavioral profiles for specific social roles vary systematically by closeness/status in both American and Chinese data; we also find a larger effect of closeness in Chinese data. Second, we qualitatively analyze the content of the distinctive behavioral profiles through the lens of the rapport management model, showing how rights and obligations associated with each role vary, and finding cultural differences in which behaviors appropriately manage these expectations. Quantitative findings emphasize the cross-cultural importance of interpersonal situations for determining appropriate behavior, with some evidence for a greater effect in Chinese culture; qualitative results reveal the culturally specific ways in which relational situations direct expectations for behavior.

How does abusive supervision restrict employees’ feedback-seeking behavior?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the restrictive effect of abusive supervision on employees’ feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) through organizational-based self-esteem (OBSE) and the moderation of this mediation by leader-member exchange (LMX).

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted hierarchical regression and path analysis to analyze the 312 manager–employee dyads data gathered from five companies in China.

Findings

The authors found that abusive supervision had a detrimental effect on employee FSB, partially through OBSE, and that both the direct and indirect effects were moderated by LMX.

Practical implications

Organizations should seek to inhibit supervisors’ abusive behavior in the workplace. Supervisors should not occasionally mistreat subordinates with whom they have a good relationship.

Originality/value

This study reveals the underlying influence mechanism of abusive supervision on employee FSB using the self-concept theory and suggests that OBSE is critical in determining how abusive supervision influences employee FSB. Furthermore, LMX quality (especially high LMX) moderates the above mediation.

Why Students Do Not Engage in Contract Cheating

Contract cheating refers to students paying a third party to complete university assessments for them. Although opportunities for commercial contract cheating are widely available in the form of essay mills, only about 3% of students engage in this behaviour. This study examined the reasons why most students do not engage in contract cheating. Students (n = 1204) completed a survey on why they do not engage in contract cheating as well as measures of several individual differences, including self-control, grit and the Dark Triad traits. Morality and motivation for learning received the greatest endorsement for why students do not engage in contract cheating. Controlling for gender, individual differences predicted students' reasons for not contract cheating. This study supports the use of criminological theories relating to rational choice, self-control and opportunity to explain why students do not engage in contract cheating. Practically, this study may inform academic policies and assessment design that may reduce contract cheating.

Authenticity in Context: Being True to Working Selves

The core premise of this article is that it is scientifically informative and psychologically meaningful to conceptualize and assess authenticity in context. I begin by providing some theoretical background on the nature of the self-concept, highlighting how the self-concept is composed of a collection of selves, with different selves activated and therefore at play in different contexts. This basic fact, that the self-concept is both multifaceted and malleable, implies that authenticity is a construct that requires study at a contextual level. I illustrate this by reviewing theory and findings from 3 areas of research, incorporating studies from my laboratory throughout. These areas are (a) authenticity in the context of close relationships; (b) authenticity in hierarchical contexts, wherein one occupies a lower versus higher position of social power; and (c) authenticity in relation to the larger cultural context. Finally, I address a number of issues and questions that arise when considering authenticity in context and propose a number of directions for future research on the context-specific nature of authenticity.

The Potential Cost of Cultural Fit: Frame Switching Undermines Perceptions of Authenticity in Western Contexts

Behaving consistently across situations is fundamental to a person's authenticity in Western societies. This can pose a problem for biculturals who often frame switch, or adapt their behavior across cultural contexts, as a way of maintaining fit with each of their cultures. In particular, the behavioral inconsistency entailed in frame switching may undermine biculturals' sense of authenticity, as well as Westerners' impressions of biculturals' authenticity. Study 1 had a diverse sample of biculturals (N = 127) living in the United States and Canada describe an episode of frame switching (vs. no switching control vs. neutral control) and report on their state authenticity during the episode. Results showed that biculturals recalled feeling less authentic during an instance of frame switching compared to no switching control and neutral control. Study 2 had mainstream Canadians (White and of American, Canadian, or Western European cultural heritage, N = 97) read a hypothetical vignette, from a third-person perspective, about a bicultural who frame switches (vs. no switching control vs. neutral control) and provide their impressions of the bicultural's authenticity and multiple other desirable traits. Participants rated the bicultural as less authentic when he frame switched compared to no switching control and neutral control, and rated him as less likeable, trustworthy, and warm (but not competent) as downstream consequences of seeing him as less authentic. These results demonstrate that frame switching can come at a cost to authenticity, both in terms of how biculturals see themselves and are seen by others, at least in Western societies. These findings highlight that the way biculturals negotiate their cultures affects them psychologically and socially. In the context of cultural fit, the active process of establishing and maintaining fit with one's cultures can have unforeseen consequences.

Neural Representations Behind 'Social Norm' Inferences In Humans

Humans are highly skilled in social reasoning, e.g., inferring thoughts of others. This mentalizing ability systematically recruits brain regions such as Temporo-Parietal Junction (TPJ), Precuneus (PC) and medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC). Further, posterior mPFC is associated with allocentric mentalizing and conflict monitoring while anterior mPFC is associated with self-reference (egocentric) processing. Here we extend this work to how we reason not just about what one person thinks but about the abstract shared social norm. We apply functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate neural representations while participants judge the social congruency between emotional auditory utterances in relation to visual scenes according to how ‘most people’ would perceive it. Behaviorally, judging according to a social norm increased the similarity of response patterns among participants. Multivoxel pattern analysis revealed that social congruency information was not represented in visual and auditory areas, but was clear in most parts of the mentalizing network: TPJ, PC and posterior (but not anterior) mPFC. Furthermore, interindividual variability in anterior mPFC representations was inversely related to the behavioral ability to adjust to the social norm. Our results suggest that social norm inferencing is associated with a distributed and partially individually specific representation of social congruency in the mentalizing network.