Ching Wan

Bio: Ching Wan is an academic researcher from Nanyang Technological University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Cultural identity & Cultural diversity. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 20 publications receiving 866 citations. Previous affiliations of Ching Wan include University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Intersubjective Culture: The Role of Intersubjective Perceptions in Cross-Cultural Research

Abstract: Intersubjective perceptions refer to shared perceptions of the psychological characteristics that are widespread within a culture. In this article, we propose the intersubjective approach as a new approach to understanding the role that culture plays in human behavior. In this approach, intersubjective perceptions, which are distinct from personal values and beliefs, mediate the effect of the ecology on individuals’ responses and adaptations. We review evidence that attests to the validity and utility of the intersubjective approach in explicating culture’s influence on human behaviors and discuss the implications of this approach for understanding the interaction between the individual, ecology, and culture; the nature of cultural competence; management of multicultural identities; cultural change; and measurement of culture.

Perceived cultural importance and actual self-importance of values in cultural identification.

Abstract: Cross-cultural psychologists assume that core cultural values define to a large extent what a culture is. Typically, core values are identified through an actual self-importance approach, in which core values are those that members of the culture as a group strongly endorse. In this article, the authors propose a perceived cultural importance approach to identifying core values, in which core values are values that members of the culture as a group generally believe to be important in the culture. In 5 studies, the authors examine the utility of the perceived cultural importance approach. Results consistently showed that, compared with values of high actual self-importance, values of high perceived cultural importance play a more important role in cultural identification. These findings have important implications for conceptualizing and measuring cultures.

Birds of a feather and birds flocking together: physical versus behavioral cues may lead to trait- versus goal-based group perception.

Abstract: Entitativity perception refers to the perception of a collection of individuals as a group. The authors propose 2 perceptual-inferential bases of entitativity perception. First, perceivers would expect a collection of individuals with similar physical traits to possess common psychological traits. Second, perceivers watching a group of individuals engage in concerted behavior would infer that these individuals have common goals. Thus, both similarity in physical traits (e.g., same skin color) and concerted collective behavior (e.g., same movement) would evoke perception of group entitativity. Results from 5 experiments show that same group movement invariably leads to common goal inferences, increased perceived cohesiveness, and increased perceived entitativity. Moreover, same skin color evokes inferences of group traits and increases perceived homogeneity and perceived entitativity but only when skin color is diagnostic of group membership.

Measuring Cultures through Intersubjective Cultural Norms Implications for Predicting Relative Identification With Two or More Cultures

Abstract: Core values of a culture may refer to values endorsed by most members of the culture or to values members of the culture generally believe to be widely shared in the culture. The authors propose an intersubjective consensus approach to identifying core cultural values based on the latter definition. In three studies, they illustrated the utility of the intersubjective consensus approach for identifying the cultural values that differentiate two or more nested cultural groups. They showed that endorsement of these values was related to the relative strength of identification with these cultural groups. The findings from the present research have important implications for social identity theories and acculturation research.

Intersubjective Consensus and the Maintenance of Normative Shared Reality

Abstract: Collective beliefs about the values that are widely shared among members of a group are important constituents of the normative shared reality in the group. In two studies, we examined how (a) the circulation of a narrative that resonates with intersubjectively important values and (b) communication that threatens the normative shared reality affect people's culturally motivated evaluative responses, and their implications for the maintenance of normative shared reality. Study 1 showed that an actor received the most positive evaluation when a narrative about him was widely circulated, when his behavior signaled the central value of American culture, and when he was perceived as a symbol of American culture. Study 2 showed that formulating a communicative message that denounces the normative shared reality of a culture can elicit more positive evaluation of the culture, leading to a “saying is disbelieving” effect. The results of this research extended shared reality research, and have implications for un...

Childhood and Society.

Abstract: Erik Eriksen is a remarkable individual. He has no college degrees yet is Professor of Human Development at Harvard University. He came to psychology via art, which explains why the reader will find him painting contexts and backgrounds rather than stating dull facts and concepts. He has been a training psychoanalyst for many years as well as a perceptive observer of cultural and social settings and their effect on growing up. This is not just a book on childhood. It is a panorama of our society. Anxiety in young children, apathy in American Indians, confusion in veterans of war, and arrogance in young Nazis are scrutinized under the psychoanalytic magnifying glass. The material is well written and devoid of technical jargon. The theme of the volume is that it is human to have a long childhood which will leave a lifelong residue of emotional immaturity in man. Primitive groups and