Researchers have suggested the presence of a self-serving attributional bias, with people making more internal, stable, and global attributions for positive events than for negative events. This study examined the magnitude, ubiquity, and adaptiveness of this bias. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 266 studies, yielding 503 independent effect sizes. The average d was 0.96, indicating a large bias. The bias was present in nearly all samples. There were significant age differences, with children and older adults displaying the largest biases. Asian samples displayed significantly smaller biases (d = 0.30) than U.S. (d = 1.05) or Western (d = 0.70) samples. Psychopathology was associated with a significantly attenuated bias (d = 0.48) compared with samples without psychopathology (d = 1.28) and community samples (d = 1.08). The bias was smallest for samples with depression (0.21), anxiety (0.46), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (0.55). Findings confirm that the self-serving attributional bias is pervasive in the general population but demonstrates significant variability across age, culture, and psychopathology.

Is There a Universal Positivity Bias in Attributions? A Meta-Analytic Review of Individual, Developmental, and Cultural Differences in the Self-Serving Attributional Bias.

Recognizing recent criticisms concerning the cross-cultural generalizability of self-determination theory (SDT), the authors tested the SDT view that high school students in collectivistically oriented South Korea benefit from classroom experiences of autonomy support and psychological need satisfaction. In Study I, experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness underlaid Korean students' most satisfying learning experiences, and experiences of low autonomy and low competence underlaid their least satisfying learning experiences. In Study 2, psychological need satisfaction experiences were associated with productive (achievement and engagement) and satisfying (intrinsic motivation and proneness to negative affect) student outcomes. Study 3 replicated and extended Study 2's structural equation modeling findings by showing that the hypothesized model explained students' positive outcomes even after controlling for cultural and parental influences, including the collectivistic value orientation. Study 4 replicated the earlier cross-sectional findings with a semester-long prospective 3-wave design. The authors discuss how the findings support the motivation theory's cross-cultural generalizability.

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Can self-determination theory explain what underlies the productive, satisfying learning experiences of collectivistically oriented Korean students?

A meta-analysis of 187 studies containing 247 independent studies (N = 68,429) on gender differences in academic self-efficacy identified an overall effect size of 0.08, with a small difference favoring males. Moderator analysis demonstrated that content domain was a significant moderator in explaining effect size variation. Females displayed higher language arts self-efficacy than males. Meanwhile, males exhibited higher mathematics, computer, and social sciences self-efficacy than females. Gender differences in academic self-efficacy also varied with age. The largest effect size occurred for respondents aged over 23 years old. For mathematics self-efficacy, the significant gender differences emerged in late adolescence. Future research should longitudinally examine gender differences in academic self-efficacy to determine the prevalence of gender differences during different life stages.

Gender differences in academic self-efficacy: a meta-analysis

This study provides the first longitudinally designed, classroom-based empirical test of self-determination theory's motivation mediation model. Measures of perceived autonomy support, motivation (autonomy need satisfaction), engagement, and achievement were collected from 500 (257 females, 243 males) 8th-grade students in Korea in a 3-wave longitudinal research design. Multilevel structural equation modeling tested the model in which early-semester perceived autonomy support increased mid-semester autonomy need satisfaction, which, in turn, increased end-of-the-semester engagement, which then predicted course achievement. We further tested for possible reciprocal pathways and for the stability of all effects throughout the model. Results revealed a complex, dynamic model that unfolds within naturally occurring classroom processes, one that validated the hypothesized model but also extended and qualified it in important ways. All hypothesized effects were supported, but they were not stable over the course of the semester, largely because of the emergence of several reciprocal effects. Overall, this longitudinal test revealed a more dynamic model than suggested by previous cross-sectional investigations.

Longitudinal Test of Self-Determination Theory's Motivation Mediation Model in a Naturally Occurring Classroom Context

There is growing recognition that psychological theories and principles developed in the West may not accurately reflect those found in other cultures. The newly published book entitled Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context has made an important contribution in expanding the scope of psychology. The contributing authors depicted their ultimate goal of developing a universal psychology. The purpose of this article is to review the book from a transpersonal psychology perspective with the hope of facilitating this process. Basing our thoughts on the theoretical framework of perennial psychology and positive psychology, we will suggest practical steps through which future psychologists may work collaboratively to bring about global moral transformation that is crucial to the survival of our planet.

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Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: Understanding People in Context

This article outlines the indigenous psychologies approach within the context of three research traditions in cross-cultural psychology: the universalist, contextualist, and integrationist approaches. The first section outlines the limitations of the universalist and contextualist approaches. The second section overviews the two integrationist approaches: the derived etics approach and the indigenous psychologies approach. In comparison to the former approach, the indigenous psychologies approach advocates a bottom-up, model-building paradigm that examines generative capabilities of human beings. It investigates human actions that occur in meaningful context. In this transactional approach, human consciousness, intentions, and goals are central aspects of the research design.

The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Psychology The Role of the Indigenous Psychologies

This paper examines the factors that contribute to the high educational achievement of Korean students. The authors outline the limitations of psychological and educational theories that emphasize the biological basis (i.e., innate ability, IQ), individualistic values (e.g., intrinsic motivation, ability attribution, and self‐esteem), and structural features (e.g., high educational spending, small class size, and individualized instruction). Although the Korean government spends significantly less per student, class size is larger, cooperative learning is emphasized, and students have lower self‐concepts, they outperform their Western counterparts in reading, mathematics, and sciences (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2000; Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development, 2003). The indigenous psychology approach is used to examine factors that explain the high academic achievement of Korean students. Empirical studies that examine the role of self‐efficacy at the individual level, socia...

Indigenous psychological analysis of academic achievement in Korea: The influence of self‐efficacy, parents, and culture

Les recherches sur les valeurs que les parents attribuent aux enfants se demandent pourquoi les gens decident ou non d’avoir des enfants et s’interessent au nombre d’enfants qu’ils choisissent d’avoir. On decrit dans la premiere partie de cet article la relation parents-enfants traditionnelle, la structure familiale et les changements sociaux qui se sont produits ces cinquante dernieres annees en Coree du sud. On presente dans la deuxieme partie les resultats de l’etude de 1972 sur les valeurs attribuees aux enfants realisee en Coree du sud (Lee & Kim, 1975). Dans la derniere partie, on expose une recherche empirique sud-coreenne portant sur un echantillon de 314 jeunes meres et 395 meres plus âgees. Il apparait que les benefices psychologiques sont les raisons majeures qui justifient le choix d’avoir un enfant et que les contraintes personnelles et financieres sont les motifs dominants de ne pas en avoir. Ces resultats mettent en defaut les modeles economiques et utilitaires et soulignent l’importance des facteurs psychologiques, relationnels et culturels.



Research on parents’ attribution of value to children examines why people decide to have children or not and the number of children they choose to have. In the first part of this paper, the traditional parent–child relationship, family structure, and social changes that have occurred in South Korea during the past 50 years are reviewed. In the second section, the results of the 1972 Values of Children Study conducted in South Korea (Lee & Kim, 1975) are reviewed. In the final section, an empirical study conducted in South Korea with a sample of 314 young mothers and 395 older mothers is reported. The results indicate that psychological benefits are the most important reasons for having a child and personal and financial constraints are the most important reasons for not having a child. These results challenge the economic and utilitarian models and suggest the importance of understanding the psychological, relational, and cultural factors.

Values of Children, Parent–Child Relationship, and Social Change in Korea: Indigenous, Cultural, and Psychological Analysis

The authors conducted two studies to examine the relationship between attributional style, locus of control, and academic achievement. Using the scales developed by the first author (Park, 1995), the first study compared the attributional style and locus of control of honor students (those who received scholarship) with those who were on academic probation. The results indicated that compared to students on academic probation, honor students were more likely to score higher on internal locus of control and lower on external locus of control. They were more likely to attribute their success to effort and the influence of other people. For failure, the honor students were less likely to attribute their failure to a lack of ability and lack of support from significant others. The second study examined the relationship between the locus of control and academic achievement among three samples: Korean, Korean-Chinese, and Chinese university students. A 40-item locus of control questionnaire and background information section containing sex and self-reported academic grade were administered. The results showed that the Korean sample had the highest internal locus of control score and the lowest external locus of control score. The Korean-Chinese sample, in contrast, scored highest on external locus of control. These results are consistent with past research investigating the cultural influence upon the individual’s locus of control. Furthermore, as found in the first study, a significant relationship was found between locus of control and academic grade. For the Korean sample, students with higher academic grades scored higher on internality and lower on externality. For the Chinese sample, students with higher academic grades scored higher on internality. There were no significant differences for the Korean-Chinese sample. Interpretations and implications of cross-cultural and within-sample findings are discussed.

Young-Shin Park

Papers

The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Psychology The Role of the Indigenous Psychologies

Indigenous psychological analysis of academic achievement in Korea: The influence of self‐efficacy, parents, and culture

Values of Children, Parent–Child Relationship, and Social Change in Korea: Indigenous, Cultural, and Psychological Analysis

Locus of Control, Attributional STyle, and Academic Achievement: Comparative Analysis of Korean-Chinese, and Chinese Students

The Scientific Foundation of Indigenous and Cultural Psychology