Cross-Cultural Research

As a follow-up study on previous findings of cultural differences in responses to depressive mood, college students from Ghana and the United States completed measures of hopelessness, optimism, and suicidal ideation. Statistical analyses were performed to compare differences in means between the two countries. Compared to the U.S. sample, Ghanaian college students reported less feelings of hopelessness,t(179) = -3.365,p < .001, and were significantly more optimistic,t(208) = 6.609,p < .0001. Furthermore, the U.S. sample endorsed significantly more items on the suicidal ideation scale, t(207) = 2.121,p < .035, than their Ghanaian counterparts. The role of factors such as cultural variations in an individual’s sense of belonging, social support, and expectancies is discussed in light of the present findings. Implications and directions for future research are also considered.

Is deterrence a recent or ancient phenomenon? Long-range analysis from political science, supported by key advances in archaeology and epigraphy, now permit social scientists to measure and compare systematically the ancient origins of deterrence as a strategy of defense. The data reported in this article, based directly on primary sources, demonstrate that deterrence is at least thousands of years old and was invented independently in the Old World (Eastern Hemisphere) and the New World (Western Hemisphere), by“pleogenesis” and with neolithic technologies, as opposed to being only decades old and the product of Cold War nuclear weapons strategy. The millenarian age of deterrence implies that it is a deeply rooted behavioral pattern manifested since the earliest pre-state polity systems (chiefdoms), similar to government, warfare, and other fundamental behavioral patterns, and not one that is ephemeral or easily modified.

The authors propose that the importance of romantic love as a basis for marriage will occur only in societies that allow both males and females to give or not give love freely. Based on their belief that sexual attraction or passion is a primary criterion of romantic love, the authors hypothesize that there will be a positive correlation between the importance of romantic love and social indicators of sexual equality. Rosenblatt’s 11-point rating scale of romantic love is used to test this hypothesis. The authors find that societies that allow premarital and extramarital sex for both males and females rate romantic love significantly higher than societies that have a double standard or have strong sanctions against female sexuality out of wedlock. It is concluded that the type of sanction against female sexuality is the critical factor for predicting the cultural importance of romantic love as a basis for marriage.

To promote active, discovery-mode learning, the authors have experimented with the SilverPlatter Cross-Cultural Data Base and the electronic Human Relations Area Files in a variety of courses, from introductory to advanced. These include classes in cultural anthropology, archaeology, and ecological anthropology. The Probability Sample Files of 60 cultures has been used both as the central focus of the class and as a supplementary focus. After describing several of these classes, the authors review some of the decisions that must be made in designing a course using one or both of the databases. Both the benefits and the problems of this teaching approach are discussed.