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PurposeThis study sought to examine the relation of cultural practices and values with favoritism and nepotism/cronyism. Additionally, this study's purpose was also to examine how trust mediates the relation between culture and favoritism.Design/methodology/approachCorrelations were used for exploratory investigation into the bivariate relations between culture and favoritism and nepotism/cronyism across 97 cultures. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were then conducted to examine the cultural correlates of favoritism and nepotism/cronyism holding all other variables constant. Lastly, partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating role of societal levels of trust.FindingsBivariate correlations showed that collectivism, familism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance are positive correlates of both favoritism and nepotism/cronyism. Institutional collectivism, future orientation and trust, on the other hand, were negative correlates of favoritism and nepotism/cronyism. Uncertainty avoidance and trust were key correlates of favoritism while familism and future orientation were key correlates of nepotism/cronyism. Trust fully mediated the relation between culture and favoritism but did not mediate the relation between culture and nepotism/cronyism.Originality/valueThis study adds to the current body of literature on culture and favoritism. Notably, the findings regarding different key cultural correlates with respect to favoritism and nepotism/cronyism provide valuable implications for expanding our understanding of the psychological and social nuances of favoritism. Specifically, favoritism in transactions and interactions with those not bound by social commitment relationships may be explained by beliefs while interactions with those with social relationships (e.g., family and friends) may be explained by preferences.

An important question in the study of literacy is the degree to which environmental conditions influence children's ability to learn to read. A comparison was made of the reading ability of schooled and nonschooled children in three locations in Peru: the city, the highlands, and the rain forest. Increased attendance resulted in improved reading ability, but the degree of improvement varied according to the environments in which the children resided. When the children were followed up nine years after the original testing, they showed continued improvement in reading ability, especially in the environment where economic conditions had improved. A comparison of the Peruvian children with children in three industrialized societies, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States, revealed little difference in the children's cognitive abilities but great differences in their reading ability. More stimulating environmental conditions and better schooling in the industrialized societies were presumably responsible for these differences.

Several studies have identified inconsistencies between "stated" interpersonal attitudes and those "revealed" after an interaction. The authors used the speed-dating paradigm to examine stated and revealed attitudes in ingroup preferences among Asian American subgroups (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino Americans). Young single Asian Americans ( n = 198) reported preferences for dating different ethnicities and went on speed dates, after which they could offer second dates to their partners. As expected, all four ethnic subgroups showed clear ingroup biases in stated preferences. Ingroup bias in revealed preferences (measured through date offers and ratings of partners' mate desirability), however, were minimal. At the individual level, stated ingroup preferences did not significantly predict revealed ingroup preferences. In summary, among young Asian Americans, ingroup preferences may not hold in an interactive scenario. The findings suggest that in the presence of personal cues provided through a brief interaction, people may be less prone to make judgments on the basis of ethnicity, even when consequences extend beyond the laboratory. Furthermore, mechanisms for selecting a partner may differ in "hot" (affective) versus "cold" (cognitive) states.

AbstractPrevious findings on the effects of partner feedback (about the self) have been mixed, potentially due to moderating roles of individuals' prior well‐being and the type of attributes appraised. This experimental study of 118 college‐student couples examined whether depressive symptoms moderated responses to partner feedback that was either enhancing or verifying of either social (communion‐related) or personal (agency‐related) attributes. Results showed that individuals with fewer depressive symptoms reported higher relationship quality after receiving partner feedback (particularly when it was enhancing) on their personal (vs. social) attributes. Conversely, individuals with more depressive symptoms reported higher relationship quality after receiving social partner feedback (particularly when it was enhancing). Thus, individuals' prior well‐being and communion‐related versus agency‐related attributes should be considered in studies of interpersonal feedback.

We examined ethnic differences in (a) the life goals of college-enrolled youth as well as their mothers' goals for them, (b) intergenerational similarity in life goals, and (c) the association between intergenerational similarity in life goal priorities and parent-adolescent relationships and psychological adjustment. East Asian American youth and their mothers (EA-Ams) and European American youth and their mothers (Euro-Ams) rated the importance of life goals and reported upon their depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and relationship quality. Results indicated that family and mate selection goals were more important for EA-Ams. Intergenerational similarity in achievement-related goals was higher for Euro-Ams whereas similarity in family-related goals was higher for EA-Ams. Intergenerational similarities in life goal priorities were differentially correlated with select outcomes.

Federal and local government agencies were quick to issue orders for residents to shelter-in-place in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study utilized data collected from Unacast Inc., spanning observations of 3,142 counties across 50 states and the District of Columbia (N = 230,846) from March 8, 2020 to April 13, 2020 (n = 104,930) and from April 14, 2020 to May 24, 2020 (n = 131,912) in a 3-level multilevel model to examine the correlates of social distancing behavior, as measured by the relative reduction in (1) distance traveled and (2) non-essential visitations since baseline pre-COVID-19 times. Results showed that educational attainment and political partisanship were the most consistent correlates of social distancing. State-level indicators of culture appeared to have differentiated effects depending on whether the model outcomes were reduction in general mobility or to non-essential venues. State-level neuroticism was generally positively related to social distancing, but states marked by high neuroticism were slower to engage in such behaviors. Counties and states characterized as already engaging in preventive health measures (e.g., vaccination rates, preparedness for at-risk populations) enjoyed quicker engagement in social distancing. Specific implications of findings and future directions are discussed.

Federal and local government agencies were quick to issue orders for residents to shelter-in-place in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study utilized data collected from Unacast Inc., spanning observations of 3,142 counties across 50 states and the District of Columbia (N = 230,846) from March 8, 2020 to April 13, 2020 (n = 104,930) and from April 14, 2020 to May 24, 2020 (n = 131,912) in a 3-level multilevel model to examine the correlates of social distancing behavior, as measured by the relative reduction in (1) distance traveled and (2) non-essential visitations since baseline pre-COVID-19 times. Results showed that educational attainment and political partisanship were the most consistent correlates of social distancing. State-level indicators of culture appeared to have differentiated effects depending on whether the model outcomes were reduction in general mobility or to non-essential venues. State-level neuroticism was generally positively related to social distancing, but states marked by high neuroticism were slower to engage in such behaviors. Counties and states characterized as already engaging in preventive health measures (e.g., vaccination rates, preparedness for at-risk populations) enjoyed quicker engagement in social distancing. Specific implications of findings and future directions are discussed.

As a stigmatized group, it seems likely that students whose level of academic achievement is low (LA students) would be vulnerable to stereotype threat. Therefore, we conducted a study on the role of stereotype threat and its possible interaction with self-esteem with 182 Chinese LA
junior-high-school students. We developed a paradigm to induce stereotype threat about being LA and tested this in a pilot study, in which participants were asked to perform a mental rotation task while viewing stereotype threat information. In the main study, participants were randomly assigned
to either the stereotype-threat condition or a control condition. Results showed that stereotype threat had a significant effect on LA students' performance in that (a) participants in the stereotype-threat condition performed worse than those in the control condition did, and (b) the
effect of stereotype threat was greater for high self-esteem individuals than for low self-esteem individuals. There are more aspects of the topic to be explored in future studies.

This 1‐year longitudinal study investigated the effects of adolescents' depressed mood on perceived parental and peer warmth during the transition to young adulthood. We hypothesized that ethnicity would moderate such effects. As part of a larger study, 511 adolescents (154 European, 205 Hispanic, and 152 Asian Americans) participated in this research. They were surveyed shortly before their high school graduation and again 1 year later. Analyses based on 2‐wave cross‐lagged models showed that higher levels of initial depressive symptoms predicted lower levels of subsequent perceived parental and peer warmth for European Americans. For Asian Americans, higher initial depressed mood was significantly associated with lower levels of perceived peer warmth and was marginally associated with lower levels of parental warmth. In contrast, the erosion of parental and peer warmth was not evident for Hispanic Americans. The role of culture in the erosion of parental and peer warmth during life transitions was discussed.