Pub Date : 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100261
Philipp Sterner , Florian Pargent , David Goretzko
Measurement invariance (MI) is often treated as a statistical prerequisite for meaningful comparisons of constructs across groups or time points. However, this perspective overlooks the substantive implications (a lack of) MI can have for psychological theories of constructs. In this paper, we frame MI as a causal concept with theoretical significance. We present a causal framework based on directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) that allows researchers to reason about potential causes of non-invariance and include them in their modeling strategy. We argue that non-invariance should not be seen as prohibitive for further exploration and analyses but as an opportunity to generate new insights about constructs and their measurement. That is, under non-invariance, data need a different treatment than simply comparing means between groups and causal reasoning can guide researchers in this regard. We demonstrate the opportunities of the causal framework through an application to the cross-sectional study of acquiescent response style. We further discuss an extension of the causal framework to longitudinal designs. When investigating the invariance of measurements over time, the framework can help to take into account expected or desired non-invariance; for example, when constructs evolve over time or when interventions change measurement models. By showing that MI has substantive theoretical implications, we bridge the gap between methodological rigor and applied research reality.
{"title":"Don’t let MI be misunderstood: A causal view on measurement invariance","authors":"Philipp Sterner , Florian Pargent , David Goretzko","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Measurement invariance (MI) is often treated as a statistical prerequisite for meaningful comparisons of constructs across groups or time points. However, this perspective overlooks the substantive implications (a lack of) MI can have for psychological theories of constructs. In this paper, we frame MI as a causal concept with theoretical significance. We present a causal framework based on directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) that allows researchers to reason about potential causes of non-invariance and include them in their modeling strategy. We argue that non-invariance should not be seen as prohibitive for further exploration and analyses but as an opportunity to generate new insights about constructs and their measurement. That is, under non-invariance, data need a different treatment than simply comparing means between groups and causal reasoning can guide researchers in this regard. We demonstrate the opportunities of the causal framework through an application to the cross-sectional study of acquiescent response style. We further discuss an extension of the causal framework to longitudinal designs. When investigating the invariance of measurements over time, the framework can help to take into account expected or desired non-invariance; for example, when constructs evolve over time or when interventions change measurement models. By showing that MI has substantive theoretical implications, we bridge the gap between methodological rigor and applied research reality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100261"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145977297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We test Saroglou’s four-dimensional framework of religiosity in Brazil. The presence of religious traditions that vary in their formalization of institutional structures offers an important context for testing the scale. Using recent advances in invariance testing, we conducted two studies (total N = 3091) with adherents from five religious groupings as well as spiritual but not religious individuals compared to non-religious individuals. Overall, the four-factor scale showed good psychometric properties in the total sample. However, for followers of Afro-Brazilian religions as an example of non-institutionalized traditions a simpler single-factor structure was found. We obtained partial scalar invariance across a subset of religious groups. Explorations of the noninvariant item intercepts suggested that some items carried group-specific interpretations, especially those related to ritual practices and emotional experiences (Bonding dimension). Latent means were overall highest for Believing and lowest for Belonging, with Evangelicals scoring highest on all dimensions. Both the invariance and latent mean patterns were replicated and further differentiated in a replication study. Our study demonstrates the utility of within-cultural invariance analysis and highlights the importance of statistical replications for exploring cognitive dimensions underlying survey responses. Considering bases of religiosity, our invariance results suggest both a shared cognitive structure of religiosity and group-specific interpretations of motivations around ritual practices and emotions across religions varying in their level of institutionalization.
{"title":"Using invariance testing to study religiosity: A within culture comparison of the bases of religiosity","authors":"Larissa Hartle , Giovanna Bortolini , Everton Maraldi , Ronald Fischer","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We test Saroglou’s four-dimensional framework of religiosity in Brazil. The presence of religious traditions that vary in their formalization of institutional structures offers an important context for testing the scale. Using recent advances in invariance testing, we conducted two studies (total <em>N</em> = 3091) with adherents from five religious groupings as well as spiritual but not religious individuals compared to non-religious individuals. Overall, the four-factor scale showed good psychometric properties in the total sample. However, for followers of Afro-Brazilian religions as an example of non-institutionalized traditions a simpler single-factor structure was found. We obtained partial scalar invariance across a subset of religious groups. Explorations of the noninvariant item intercepts suggested that some items carried group-specific interpretations, especially those related to ritual practices and emotional experiences (Bonding dimension). Latent means were overall highest for Believing and lowest for Belonging, with Evangelicals scoring highest on all dimensions. Both the invariance and latent mean patterns were replicated and further differentiated in a replication study. Our study demonstrates the utility of within-cultural invariance analysis and highlights the importance of statistical replications for exploring cognitive dimensions underlying survey responses. Considering bases of religiosity, our invariance results suggest both a shared cognitive structure of religiosity and group-specific interpretations of motivations around ritual practices and emotions across religions varying in their level of institutionalization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100260"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145926828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Understanding how people perceive the value of nature is essential for protecting nature. Previous studies have proposed three types of nature’s value: instrumental, intrinsic, and relational. Relational value refers to the perceived appropriateness of the relationship individuals maintain with nature. Although relational values have been discussed in the context of traditional worldviews, empirical research examining the associations among the three types of nature's values and traditional beliefs remains limited. This study investigated the connections between perceptions of nature’s value and traditional religious-oriented worldviews, including animism and anthropocentrism. To explore whether the three types of nature’s value are applicable in a non-Western context, we conducted a preregistered online survey with 745 Japanese participants. Our findings indicate that (i) relational value is linked to traditional religious-oriented worldviews; (ii) relational value shows a strong association with scales measuring human-nature relationships; and (iii) the distinctions among instrumental, intrinsic, and relational values extend beyond Western contexts. These results support the conceptual and construct validity of the three types of nature’s value and offer deeper insights into the diverse ways individuals relate to nature.
{"title":"Nature’s value associated with traditional worldviews: psychological validation of relational, intrinsic, and instrumental dimensions in Japan","authors":"Wakaba Tateishi , Yo Nakawake , Shuhei Fujii , Shota Shibasaki , Ryosuke Nakadai","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding how people perceive the value of nature is essential for protecting nature. Previous studies have proposed three types of nature’s value: instrumental, intrinsic, and relational. Relational value refers to the perceived appropriateness of the relationship individuals maintain with nature. Although relational values have been discussed in the context of traditional worldviews, empirical research examining the associations among the three types of nature's values and traditional beliefs remains limited. This study investigated the connections between perceptions of nature’s value and traditional religious-oriented worldviews, including animism and anthropocentrism. To explore whether the three types of nature’s value are applicable in a non-Western context, we conducted a preregistered online survey with 745 Japanese participants. Our findings indicate that (i) relational value is linked to traditional religious-oriented worldviews; (ii) relational value shows a strong association with scales measuring human-nature relationships; and (iii) the distinctions among instrumental, intrinsic, and relational values extend beyond Western contexts. These results support the conceptual and construct validity of the three types of nature’s value and offer deeper insights into the diverse ways individuals relate to nature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100259"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145791710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-06DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100256
Kendall Mather , Sara J. Weston , David M. Condon
Evidence for measurement invariance across groups is regarded as a prerequisite for administering a personality measure in diverse samples and an important criterion for generalizability. However, popular statistical techniques for establishing measurement invariance focus predominantly on broad, scale-level constructs, and there is growing recognition among personality psychologists of the value of item-level assessment. This poses a challenge: while the higher degree of precision offered by more narrowly defined constructs can be beneficial for advancing our scientific understanding of topics studied in personality psychology, it can come at the expense of conducting culturally diverse and inclusive studies. This paper explores the role of measurement invariance evidence in studies that focus on narrower personality constructs––particularly at the item-level––using a sample from the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment (SAPA) project consisting of participants (N = 1025,954) residing in 13 culturally and geographically diverse nations. We address the overall lack of available statistical techniques for addressing invariance-related questions at the item-level and demonstrate an approach that compares the item-level empirical cumulative distribution functions (ECDFs) of two groups using 2623 items from the International Personality item Pool (IPIP). Findings point to nations and items with the most significant differences in ECDFs, which may reflect true cultural differences or potential psychometric challenges. ECDF-based tests capture distribution-wide differences that similar, more standard tests cannot detect, making them potentially useful for addressing a variety of research questions.
{"title":"Exploring generalizability from the bottom up: Applying DTS to demonstrate an item-level approach to personality assessment","authors":"Kendall Mather , Sara J. Weston , David M. Condon","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Evidence for measurement invariance across groups is regarded as a prerequisite for administering a personality measure in diverse samples and an important criterion for generalizability. However, popular statistical techniques for establishing measurement invariance focus predominantly on broad, scale-level constructs, and there is growing recognition among personality psychologists of the value of item-level assessment. This poses a challenge: while the higher degree of precision offered by more narrowly defined constructs can be beneficial for advancing our scientific understanding of topics studied in personality psychology, it can come at the expense of conducting culturally diverse and inclusive studies. This paper explores the role of measurement invariance evidence in studies that focus on narrower personality constructs––particularly at the item-level––using a sample from the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment (SAPA) project consisting of participants (<em>N</em> = 1025,954) residing in 13 culturally and geographically diverse nations. We address the overall lack of available statistical techniques for addressing invariance-related questions at the item-level and demonstrate an approach that compares the item-level empirical cumulative distribution functions (ECDFs) of two groups using 2623 items from the International Personality item Pool (IPIP). Findings point to nations and items with the most significant differences in ECDFs, which may reflect true cultural differences or potential psychometric challenges. ECDF-based tests capture distribution-wide differences that similar, more standard tests cannot detect, making them potentially useful for addressing a variety of research questions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100256"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145712156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100214
Martin Obschonka , Fabian Wahl , Michael Fritsch , Michael Wyrwich , P. Jason Rentfrow , Jeff Potter , Samuel D. Gosling
In light of persistent regional inequalities in adaptive outcomes such as health, well-being, and related personality traits, psychological research is increasingly adopting a historical perspective to understand the deeper roots of these patterns. In this study, we examine the role of ancient cultures, specifically the impact of Roman civilization around two thousand years ago, on the macro-psychological character of German regions. We compare present-day regions that were advanced by Roman culture with those that remained outside of Roman influence. Even when accounting for more recent historical factors, we find that regions developed by Roman civilization show more adaptive personality patterns (Big Five) and better health and psychological well-being today. Results from a spatial regression discontinuity design indicate a significant effect of the Roman border on present-day regional variation in these outcomes. Additional analyses suggest that Roman investments in economic institutions (e.g., trade infrastructure such as Roman roads, markets, and mines) were crucial in creating this long-term effect. Together, these results demonstrate how ancient cultures can imprint a macro-psychological legacy that contributes to present-day regional inequalities.
{"title":"Roma Eterna? Roman rule explains regional well-being divides in Germany","authors":"Martin Obschonka , Fabian Wahl , Michael Fritsch , Michael Wyrwich , P. Jason Rentfrow , Jeff Potter , Samuel D. Gosling","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100214","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100214","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In light of persistent regional inequalities in adaptive outcomes such as health, well-being, and related personality traits, psychological research is increasingly adopting a historical perspective to understand the deeper roots of these patterns. In this study, we examine the role of ancient cultures, specifically the impact of Roman civilization around two thousand years ago, on the macro-psychological character of German regions. We compare present-day regions that were advanced by Roman culture with those that remained outside of Roman influence. Even when accounting for more recent historical factors, we find that regions developed by Roman civilization show more adaptive personality patterns (Big Five) and better health and psychological well-being today. Results from a spatial regression discontinuity design indicate a significant effect of the Roman border on present-day regional variation in these outcomes. Additional analyses suggest that Roman investments in economic institutions (e.g., trade infrastructure such as Roman roads, markets, and mines) were crucial in creating this long-term effect. Together, these results demonstrate how ancient cultures can imprint a macro-psychological legacy that contributes to present-day regional inequalities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100214"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143140405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2024.100208
S. Arzu Wasti , Othman Alkhadher , Moustapha Achoui , Michele J. Gelfand
{"title":"Editorial: Introduction to the special issue on globalizing psychological science to include in the Middle East and Africa","authors":"S. Arzu Wasti , Othman Alkhadher , Moustapha Achoui , Michele J. Gelfand","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2024.100208","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2024.100208","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100208"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143578877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100249
Saïd Shafa , Jennifer R. Overbeck , Yoshihisa Kashima
Cross-cultural research has long recognized the significance of power relations and their outcomes for social interactions, yet little empirical work has explored this important construct in the context of the Cultural Logics framework. This study examined cultural differences in perceptions of collaborative versus coercive theories of power among members of dignity (USA), face (China), and honor (Egypt) cultures and considered the role of cultural norms as well as subjective worldviews in predicting those perceptions. Results showed overall endorsement of a collaborative theory of power over a coercive theory of power across cultures. Yet, there were also cultural differences in people’s perception of power. Agreement with a collaborative theory of power over a coercive theory of power was most pronounced among Chinese respondents and less evident among Egyptian and American respondents. Mediation analyses showed that these differences were mainly accounted for through less dangerous worldviews, as well as stronger endorsement of face and honor norms. The study provides novel insights into the different ways in which cultural contexts shape individual worldviews that legitimize coercive versus collaborative pathways to power and influence. It further refines our understanding of cultural logics beyond self-worth implications, highlighting their relevance for navigating power hierarchies.
{"title":"Cultural differences in perceptions of power: A cultural logics perspective","authors":"Saïd Shafa , Jennifer R. Overbeck , Yoshihisa Kashima","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100249","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100249","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cross-cultural research has long recognized the significance of power relations and their outcomes for social interactions, yet little empirical work has explored this important construct in the context of the Cultural Logics framework. This study examined cultural differences in perceptions of collaborative versus coercive theories of power among members of dignity (USA), face (China), and honor (Egypt) cultures and considered the role of cultural norms as well as subjective worldviews in predicting those perceptions. Results showed overall endorsement of a collaborative theory of power over a coercive theory of power across cultures. Yet, there were also cultural differences in people’s perception of power. Agreement with a collaborative theory of power over a coercive theory of power was most pronounced among Chinese respondents and less evident among Egyptian and American respondents. Mediation analyses showed that these differences were mainly accounted for through less dangerous worldviews, as well as stronger endorsement of face and honor norms. The study provides novel insights into the different ways in which cultural contexts shape individual worldviews that legitimize coercive versus collaborative pathways to power and influence. It further refines our understanding of cultural logics beyond self-worth implications, highlighting their relevance for navigating power hierarchies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100249"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100248
Joanna Schug , Monika Gosin , Nicholas P. Alt
Studies on intersectional invisibility and gendered race theory suggest that individuals whose identities are mismatched with widespread gendered racial stereotypes (i.e., Black women and East Asian men) face unique forms of discrimination in the form of representational invisibility. While previous research on gendered racial stereotypes has used experimental and laboratory-based paradigms to study the ways in which race and gender stereotypes intersect, this study applies a historical psychology lens to examine social representations using a large dataset of strings of text (“ngrams”) occurring in millions of English-language books published over 120 years. Consistent with hypotheses, we find that terms representing Black women and Asian men are generally less frequent than those referencing Black men and Asian women. Importantly, the magnitude of the race and gender terms changes over time, and the patterns of change correspond to social movements in the United States, suggesting that historical events such as the Civil Rights and Black Feminist movements may have impacted culturally widespread gendered race stereotypes.
{"title":"A historical psychology approach to gendered racial stereotypes: An examination of a multi-million book sample of 20th century texts","authors":"Joanna Schug , Monika Gosin , Nicholas P. Alt","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100248","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100248","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies on intersectional invisibility and gendered race theory suggest that individuals whose identities are mismatched with widespread gendered racial stereotypes (i.e., Black women and East Asian men) face unique forms of discrimination in the form of representational invisibility. While previous research on gendered racial stereotypes has used experimental and laboratory-based paradigms to study the ways in which race and gender stereotypes intersect, this study applies a historical psychology lens to examine social representations using a large dataset of strings of text (“ngrams”) occurring in millions of English-language books published over 120 years. Consistent with hypotheses, we find that terms representing Black women and Asian men are generally less frequent than those referencing Black men and Asian women. Importantly, the magnitude of the race and gender terms changes over time, and the patterns of change correspond to social movements in the United States, suggesting that historical events such as the Civil Rights and Black Feminist movements may have impacted culturally widespread gendered race stereotypes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100248"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100220
Gen Tsudaka , Margaux N.A. Wienk , Jana B. Berkessel , Cynthia Boo
Human societies differ markedly in their endorsement of hierarchical authority, ranging from strict obedience to powerful leaders and militaries to more decentralized and egalitarian governance. Although cultural values have traditionally been used to explain this diversity, socioecological perspectives suggest that physical environments also shape collective orientations toward authority. The current research examines whether terrain ruggedness—the degree of elevational variability—predicts hierarchical preferences across large-scale contexts. In Study 1 (78 countries; N = 156,658), we combined cross-national survey data from the European Values Study/World Values Survey with digital elevation models. Results demonstrated that national preferences for military rule and for a strong leader (who bypasses democratic processes) were higher in countries with more rugged terrain, even after controlling for economic factors, demographic indices, and spatial autocorrelation. Study 2 (50 U.S. states; N = 336,491), using Gallup Poll data, replicated and extended these findings within the United States, revealing that states with greater terrain ruggedness exhibited a higher proportion of vertical (“boss-like”) supervisory relations, rather than egalitarian, collaborative (“partner-like”) styles. These convergent findings bolster socioecological models of person–environment fit and extend prior research linking geography and social cognition. By identifying terrain ruggedness as a robust predictor of hierarchical orientation at both national and subnational scales, this research highlights how ecological constraints can legitimize dominance-oriented leadership, while also suggesting that socioeconomic and cultural developments may moderate terrain’s influence on social dynamics. Future longitudinal and historical research is needed to clarify how environments and governance structures co-evolve, further illuminating the interplay between ecology, hierarchy, and social organization.
{"title":"Rugged terrain and rigid hierarchy","authors":"Gen Tsudaka , Margaux N.A. Wienk , Jana B. Berkessel , Cynthia Boo","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100220","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100220","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Human societies differ markedly in their endorsement of hierarchical authority, ranging from strict obedience to powerful leaders and militaries to more decentralized and egalitarian governance. Although cultural values have traditionally been used to explain this diversity, socioecological perspectives suggest that physical environments also shape collective orientations toward authority. The current research examines whether terrain ruggedness—the degree of elevational variability—predicts hierarchical preferences across large-scale contexts. In Study 1 (78 countries; <em>N</em> = 156,658), we combined cross-national survey data from the European Values Study/World Values Survey with digital elevation models. Results demonstrated that national preferences for military rule and for a strong leader (who bypasses democratic processes) were higher in countries with more rugged terrain, even after controlling for economic factors, demographic indices, and spatial autocorrelation. Study 2 (50 U.S. states; <em>N</em> = 336,491), using Gallup Poll data, replicated and extended these findings within the United States, revealing that states with greater terrain ruggedness exhibited a higher proportion of vertical (“boss-like”) supervisory relations, rather than egalitarian, collaborative (“partner-like”) styles. These convergent findings bolster socioecological models of person–environment fit and extend prior research linking geography and social cognition. By identifying terrain ruggedness as a robust predictor of hierarchical orientation at both national and subnational scales, this research highlights how ecological constraints can legitimize dominance-oriented leadership, while also suggesting that socioeconomic and cultural developments may moderate terrain’s influence on social dynamics. Future longitudinal and historical research is needed to clarify how environments and governance structures co-evolve, further illuminating the interplay between ecology, hierarchy, and social organization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100220"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143873223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100250
Dov Cohen , Bryan CY Pang , Minjae Seo , Heidi H. Fu
Proceeding from the assumption that unusual experiences are sometimes extensions of the normal, we examine a rare phenomenological experience: namely, the real-time, subjective experience of being outside one’s body and looking at oneself as an outsider would. Both face and honor cultures place great emphasis on the self-as-seen-by-others. Thus, past research showed that taking an outsider’s perspective on the self is a more frequent experience in the memory imagery of those from honor cultures and in the memory imagery, mental models, and self-control experiences of those from face cultures, as compared to those from dignity cultures. Here we extrapolate from that past work and show that real-time, subjective out-of-body experiences of taking a third-person perspective on oneself – though unusual – are also found more among those from face and honor, as compared to dignity, cultures. Moreover, whereas such unusual third-person experiences were associated with a variety of DSM-IV psychiatric disorders for those from a dignity culture, they had no such relation to psychiatric maladies for those from a face culture. Among those from an honor culture, real-time third-person experiences were especially strongly associated with disorders involving reactive aggression, consistent with the need to respond forcefully to affronts in order to maintain one’s image in the eyes of others. Real-time third-person experiencing seems an extension of other ways cultures structure phenomenological experience, with implications (or lack thereof) for psychiatric disorders.
{"title":"Real-time, subjective third-person experiences and psychiatric disorders in dignity, honor, and face cultures","authors":"Dov Cohen , Bryan CY Pang , Minjae Seo , Heidi H. Fu","doi":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100250","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Proceeding from the assumption that unusual experiences are sometimes extensions of the normal, we examine a rare phenomenological experience: namely, the real-time, <em>subjective</em> experience of being outside one’s body and looking at oneself as an outsider would. Both face and honor cultures place great emphasis on the self-as-seen-by-others. Thus, past research showed that taking an outsider’s perspective on the self is a more frequent experience in the memory imagery of those from honor cultures and in the memory imagery, mental models, and self-control experiences of those from face cultures, as compared to those from dignity cultures. Here we extrapolate from that past work and show that real-time, subjective out-of-body experiences of taking a third-person perspective on oneself – though unusual – are also found more among those from face and honor, as compared to dignity, cultures. Moreover, whereas such unusual third-person experiences were associated with a variety of DSM-IV psychiatric disorders for those from a dignity culture, they had no such relation to psychiatric maladies for those from a face culture. Among those from an honor culture, real-time third-person experiences were especially strongly associated with disorders involving reactive aggression, consistent with the need to respond forcefully to affronts in order to maintain one’s image in the eyes of others. Real-time third-person experiencing seems an extension of other ways cultures structure phenomenological experience, with implications (or lack thereof) for psychiatric disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":72748,"journal":{"name":"Current research in ecological and social psychology","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100250"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145424608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}