Conceptual and methodological ambiguities surrounding the concept of perceived behavioral control are clarified. It is shown that perceived control over performance of a behavior, though comprised of separable components that reflect beliefs about self-efficacy and about controllability, can nevertheless be considered a unitary latent variable in a hierarchical factor model. It is further argued that there is no necessary correspondence between self-efficacy and internal control factors, or between controllability and external control factors. Self-efficacy and controllability can reflect internal as well as external factors and the extent to which they reflect one or the other is an empirical question. Finally, a case is made that measures of perceived behavioral control need to incorporate self-efficacy as well as controllability items that are carefully selected to ensure high internal consistency.

Summary and Conclusions
Perceived control over performance of a behavior can account for consider- able variance in intentions and actions. However, ambiguities surrounding the concept of perceived behavioral control have tended to create uncertainties and to impede progress. The present article attempted to clarify conceptual ambiguities and resolve issues related to the operationalization of perceived behavioral control. Recent research has demonstrated that the overarching concept of perceived behavioral control, as commonly assessed, is comprised of two components: self-efficacy (dealing largely with the ease or difficulty of performing a behavior) and controllability (the extent to which performance is up to the actor). Contrary to a widely accepted view, it was argued that self-efficacy expectations do not necessarily correspond to beliefs about internal control factors, and that controllability expectations have no necessary basis in the perceived operation of external factors. Instead, it was suggested that self-efficacy and controllability may both reflect beliefs about the presence of internal as well as external factors. Rather than making a priori assumptions about the internal or external locus of self-efficacy and controllability, this issue is best treated as an empirical question.

Also of theoretical significance, the present article tried to dispel the notion that self-efficacy and controllability are incompatible with, or independent of, each other. Although factor analyses of perceived behavioral control items provide clear and consistent evidence for the distinction, there is sufficient commonality between self-efficacy and controllability to suggest a two-level hierarchical model. In this model, perceived behavioral control is the overarching, superordinate construct that is comprised of two lower-level components: self-efficacy and controllability. This view of the control component in the theory of planned behavior implies that measures of perceived behavioral control should contain items that assess self-efficacy as well as controllability. Depending on the purpose of the investigation, a decision can be made to aggregate over all items, treating perceived behavioral control as a unitary factor, or to distinguish between self-efficacy and controllability by entering separate indices into the prediction equation.

Perceived Behavioral Control, Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control, and the Theory of Planned Behavior

Behavioral scientists routinely publish broad claims about human psychology and behavior in the world's top journals based on samples drawn entirely from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies. Researchers - often implicitly - assume that either there is little variation across human populations, or that these "standard subjects" are as representative of the species as any other population. Are these assumptions justified? Here, our review of the comparative database from across the behavioral sciences suggests both that there is substantial variability in experimental results across populations and that WEIRD subjects are particularly unusual compared with the rest of the species - frequent outliers. The domains reviewed include visual perception, fairness, cooperation, spatial reasoning, categorization and inferential induction, moral reasoning, reasoning styles, self-concepts and related motivations, and the heritability of IQ. The findings suggest that members of WEIRD societies, including young children, are among the least representative populations one could find for generalizing about humans. Many of these findings involve domains that are associated with fundamental aspects of psychology, motivation, and behavior - hence, there are no obvious a priori grounds for claiming that a particular behavioral phenomenon is universal based on sampling from a single subpopulation. Overall, these empirical patterns suggests that we need to be less cavalier in addressing questions of human nature on the basis of data drawn from this particularly thin, and rather unusual, slice of humanity. We close by proposing ways to structurally re-organize the behavioral sciences to best tackle these challenges.

/pdf/the-weirdest-people-in-the-world-480wr4m3kb.pdf

The WEIRDest People in the World

Are Americans more individualistic and less collectivistic than members of other groups? The authors summarize plausible psychological implications of individualism-collectivism (IND-COL), meta-analyze cross-national and within-United States IND-COL differences, and review evidence for effects of IND-COL on self-concept, well-being, cognition, and relationality. European Americans were found to be both more individualistic-valuing personal independence more-and less collectivistic-feeling duty to in-groups less-than others. However, European Americans were not more individualistic than African Americans, or Latinos, and not less collectivistic than Japanese or Koreans. Among Asians, only Chinese showed large effects, being both less individualistic and more collectivistic. Moderate IND-COL effects were found on self-concept and relationality, and large effects were found on attribution and cognitive style.

/pdf/rethinking-individualism-and-collectivism-evaluation-of-47xorn4mh7.pdf

Rethinking individualism and collectivism: evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses.

/pdf/weird-languages-have-misled-us-too-comment-on-henrich-et-al-57dmcdjt24.pdf

WEIRD languages have misled us, too [Comment on Henrich et al.]

The Social Psychology of Organizations.

The "ripple effect" refers to a robust cultural difference in how individuals make social judgments regarding the consequence of events, with East Asian individuals perceiving a greater distal impact of events than Western individuals (Maddux & Yuki, 2006). The present research offers the first investigation into the underlying psychological nature of this phenomenon, following stringent methodological requirements for establishing cultural mediation of a cognitive phenomenon. Study 1 demonstrated that the notion of distal causation is more widely circulated in the mass media in the East than in the West, whereas Study 2 provided evidence that the ripple effect reflects a culturally determined inferential bias and does not result from veridical perceptions. Studies 3-4 demonstrated the causal role of culture: Compared to bi-cultural individuals primed with American or Western cultural icons, bi-cultural individuals primed with Chinese or East Asian icons demonstrated an enhanced focus on downstream consequences. Finally, Studies 5 and 6 provided direct evidence that analytic versus holistic worldviews are an explanatory mechanism of cultural differences in such social judgments. Implications for our understanding of social perception and social judgment across cultures are discussed.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1021255_code865831.pdf?abstractid=1021255&mirid=1&type=2

Beneath the Surface of the 'Ripple Effect': Understanding the Underlying Nature of Cultural Differences in Perceptions of Event Consequences

Literature on technology and innovation management has identified the research and development (R&D) and marketing (RDM) interface as a critical organizational complexity that when managed well can affect company success in innovation. Cross-functional teams and collaboration mechanisms, such as boundary spanners, have been identified as solutions to the problems in communication between the two groups. However, these methods have not been as effective as desired and questions still exist as to how boundary spanners are created for success at this crucial interface. This chapter takes a different theoretical perspective: that of creating professional biculturalism in order to effectively manage the RDM interface and thereby enhance creativity and productivity in the innovation process. The culture pertaining to R&D personnel or technologists, meaning engineers and “hard” scientists, can be referred to as the T-culture. The culture pertaining to marketing or social “soft” scientists (meaning business, sociology, psychology, etc.) can be referred to as the S-culture. Each of these cultures has its own practitioners; languages; modes of analysis; mores; and standards of validation. This chapter specifies propositions regarding the importance of professional biculturalism in bridging the disconnect between the T and S cultures. A professional bicultural is a person who possesses insider knowledge of both cultures. This chapter also enunciates the effectiveness of professional biculturalism enculturation training. This chapter has implications for managers of not only the RDM interface, but also other areas of the company where disparate professional cultures intersect and present a barrier to effective innovation. Innovation and product development require a high degree of integrated problem solving across different scientific, technical and functional domains. When individuals are professionally bicultural, it affords the RDM interface a critical component of integrality. Managers should look to developing a training program to inculcate professional biculturalism in their employees.

Professional Biculturalism Enculturation Training: A New Perspective on Managing the R&D and Marketing Interface

The purpose of this paper is to conceptually distinguish between communal and exchange relationship schemata and analyze their dynamic interactions and transformations in multicultural contexts.,Drawing on theories of social capital, social exchange, networks and relational models, the authors propose a framework to conceptualize how the communal and exchange relationship schemata can be transformed, integrated and multiplied under contextual influences, especially in culturally complex settings faced by multinational organizations.,The authors elucidate the dynamic processes of schemata interactions and transformations in relationship management at interpersonal, interorganizational and national levels in a variety of intercultural contexts, including interactions between monoculturals from different cultures and interplay of cultures within biculturals and among multiculturals. The authors explain how schemata integration and fusion can provide competitive advantages in navigating multicultural relationships.,Systematic qualitative and quantitative studies are recommended to further test and refine the proposed ideas regarding the dynamic interactions and transformations of relationship schemata.,This paper presents implications for individuals, country managers and leaders who need to initiate and maintain relationships with culturally different others. The authors highlight the desirability of being aware of one's own relational schema, understanding others' schema, bridging the two schemata as well as fostering integration and fusion of the schemata.,The 2020 global pandemic and various social upheavals around the world highlight the urgency of finding effective mental models to manage relationships. The inclusive and adaptive ways of thinking about relationships can potentially facilitate harmonious connections and conflict resolution.,The authors conceptually disentangle two established relationship schemata and offer a model of their dynamic synergetic transformations.

Chi-Yue Chiu

Papers

Beneath the Surface of the 'Ripple Effect': Understanding the Underlying Nature of Cultural Differences in Perceptions of Event Consequences

Professional Biculturalism Enculturation Training: A New Perspective on Managing the R&D and Marketing Interface

Dynamic transformation of communal and exchange schemata in multicultural relationships

Social identities of Hong Kong adolescents and their relations to intergroup perception and intended interaction

Journal of Consumer Psychology: Editorial note