A provisional global comparison framework: One hundred psychologically salient ways of conceptualizing and evaluating the world

Abstract

Having long been critiqued as Western-centric, psychology is increasingly attuned to the need to conduct more cross-cultural research. However, there is relatively little clarity, consensus, or nuance on how best to conceptually “carve up” and assess different peoples and places. Arguably the two most common distinctions are East versus West, and differentiating countries into low, middle, and high income groups. However, both categorizations have their issues, not to mention that overreliance on these hardly does justice to the complexity of the world. To encourage more nuanced and granular thinking, this paper presents a provisional Global Comparison Framework, a curated list of one hundred variables on which countries can be differentiated. These have been selected primarily as: (a) psychologically salient (e.g., likely to influence outcomes such as mental health); (b) having publicly available data from reputable organizations (e.g., the World Bank); and (c) having relatively global coverage (e.g., including at least two thirds of nations). However, the framework is also offered as an iterative work-in-progress that will be refined in relation to feedback. Similarly, in recognition that these indicators are not the only relevant variables, and that their selection is inevitably influenced by the author’s own values and interests, it is hoped that the paper might inspire scholars to create their own version of this kind of framework, featuring variables they would prefer to see included. Finally, and more broadly, this framework will ideally encourage and facilitate greater cross-cultural consideration and more nuanced investigations across the field.