Showing papers by "Jüri Allik published in 2005"
TL;DR: Although positively and negatively worded items of the RSES were correlated within cultures and were uniformly related to external personality variables, differences between aggregates of positive and negative items were smaller in developed nations.
Abstract: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was translated into 28 languages and administered to 16,998 participants across 53 nations. The RSES factor structure was largely invariant across nations. RSES scores correlated with neuroticism, extraversion, and romantic attachment styles within nearly all nations, providing additional support for cross-cultural equivalence of the RSES. All nations scored above the theoretical midpoint of the RSES, indicating generally positive self-evaluation may be culturally universal. Individual differences in self-esteem were variable across cultures, with a neutral response bias prevalent in more collectivist cultures. Self-competence and self-liking subscales of the RSES varied with cultural individualism. Although positively and negatively worded items of the RSES were correlated within cultures and were uniformly related to external personality variables, differences between aggregates of positive and negative items were smaller in developed nations. Because negatively worded items were interpreted differently across nations, direct cross-cultural comparisons using the RSES may have limited value.
1,308 citations
National Institutes of Health1, Eötvös Loránd University2, Slovak Academy of Sciences3, Pusan National University4, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile5, University of Tartu6, Complutense University of Madrid7, Keele University8, Sapienza University of Rome9, University of Iowa10, University of Malta11, Cayetano Heredia University12, University of Melbourne13, University of Paris14, University of Ouagadougou15, University of Coimbra16, University of the Philippines Diliman17, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign18, University of Otago19, Victoria University of Wellington20, Al Akhawayn University21, Koç University22, Lund University23, The Catholic University of America24, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic25, University of Copenhagen26, University of Iceland27, American University of Beirut28, University of Belgrade29, University of Buenos Aires30, Susquehanna University31, National University of Malaysia32, San Francisco State University33, Queen's University Belfast34, International University, Cambodia35, University of Botswana36, Iwate Prefectural University37, Makerere University38, University of Virginia39, University of Ibadan40, University of British Columbia41, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras42, Andhra University43, University of Lausanne44, University of Ljubljana45, Queensland University of Technology46, Bunkyo Gakuin University47, Ramapo College48, Jagiellonian University49, University of Sussex50, University of Winnipeg51, Peking University52, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology53
TL;DR: Perceptions of national character appear to be unfounded stereotypes that may serve the function of maintaining a national identity.
Abstract: Most people hold beliefs about personality characteristics typical of members of their own and others' cultures. These perceptions of national character may be generalizations from personal experience, stereotypes with a "kernel of truth," or inaccurate stereotypes. We obtained national character ratings of 3989 people from 49 cultures and compared them with the average personality scores of culture members assessed by observer ratings and self-reports. National character ratings were reliable but did not converge with assessed traits. Perceptions of national character thus appear to be unfounded stereotypes that may serve the function of maintaining a national identity.
403 citations
TL;DR: The data reveal that core psychobehavioral abnormalities characteristic for eating disorders correlate with the levels of autoAbs against alpha-MSH, suggesting that AN and BN may be associated with autoAb-mediated dysfunctions of primarily the melanocortin system.
Abstract: Previously, we identified that a majority of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) as well as some control subjects display autoantibodies (autoAbs) reacting with α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) or adrenocorticotropic hormone, melanocortin peptides involved in appetite control and the stress response. In this work, we studied the relevance of such autoAbs to AN and BN. In addition to previously identified neuropeptide autoAbs, the current study revealed the presence of autoAbs reacting with oxytocin (OT) or vasopressin (VP) in both patients and controls. Analysis of serum levels of identified autoAbs showed an increase of IgM autoAbs against α-MSH, OT, and VP as well as of IgG autoAbs against VP in AN patients when compared with BN patients and controls. Further, we investigated whether levels of these autoAbs correlated with psychological traits characteristic for eating disorders. We found significantly altered correlations between α-MSH autoAb levels and the total Eating Disorder Inventory-2 score, as well as most of its subscale dimensions in AN and BN patients vs. controls. Remarkably, these correlations were opposite in AN vs. BN patients. In contrast, levels of autoAbs reacting with adrenocorticotropic hormone, OT, or VP had only few altered correlations with the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 subscale dimensions in AN and BN patients. Thus, our data reveal that core psychobehavioral abnormalities characteristic for eating disorders correlate with the levels of autoAbs against α-MSH, suggesting that AN and BN may be associated with autoAb-mediated dysfunctions of primarily the melanocortin system.
134 citations
TL;DR: The first large-scale studies indicate that the pattern of covariation between personality traits is universal and is relatively easily generalizable across languages and cultures.
Abstract: In order to generalize the dimensional structure of personality-relatively independent groups of covarying traits-across languages and cultures, a large number of cultures must be studied. Until recently only a few worldwide personality datasets have been available. The first large-scale studies indicate that the pattern of covariation between personality traits is universal and is relatively easily generalizable across languages and cultures. In contrast to the structure of personality, the comparison of the mean trait scores across cultures is much more problematic because cross-cultural differences turned out to be very small in their magnitude, about one-third of the magnitude of individual differences within culture. More integral (e.g., the similarity between personality profiles) or subtle (e.g., the disparity between positively and negatively worded items) measures can reveal more systematic relationships with relevant socioeconomic and geographic variables than the mean scores themselves. Relatively modest sizes of cross-cultural differences in the mean values may imply that a reasonable scalar equivalence can be achieved, and all individuals, irrespective of their language and culture, can be represented in a common metric.
124 citations
TL;DR: In 1839, Georg Friedrich Parrot published a short note about a peculiar visual phenomenon--the diminishing of the size of external objects situated at a relatively small distance from the window of a fast-moving train, which anticipated the revival of Alhazen's theory of unconscious inferences by Hermann von Helmholtz, Wilhelm Wundt, and John Stuart Mill.
Abstract: In 1839, Georg Friedrich Parrot (1767–1852) published a short note about a peculiar visual phenomenon—the diminishing of the size of external objects situated at a relatively small distance from the window of a fast-moving train. For the explanation of this illusion, Parrot proposed a concept of unconscious inferences, a very rapid syllogistic conclusion from two premises, which anticipated the revival of Alhazen's theory of unconscious inferences by Hermann von Helmholtz, Wilhelm Wundt, and John Stuart Mill. He also advanced the notion that the speed of mental processes is not infinitely high and that it can be measured by means of systematic experimentation. Although Parrot was only partly correct in the description of the movement-induced changes of the perceived size, his general intention to understand basic mechanisms of the human mind was in harmony with the founding ideas of experimental psychology: it is possible to study the phenomena of the mind in the same general way that the physical world is studied, either in terms of mechanical or mathematical laws. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
9 citations