Social science researchers often definefilial pietyas a set of norms, values, and practices regarding how children should behave toward their parents. In this article, we trace the conceptual development of filial piety research in Chinese and other societies to highlight the assumptions underlying this traditional approach to filial piety research. We identify the limitations of these assumptions, including the problem of an evolving definition and lack of cross-cultural applicability. We then advocate an alternative framework that overcomes these limitations by focusing (...) on the deep structure of filial piety: the dual filial piety model (DFPM). The DFPM applies the concept of contextualized personality to reconceptualize filial piety in terms of authoritarian and reciprocal psychological motivations particular to the parent-child context. Because the focus is on a universal psychological mechanism rather than cultural norms, values, and behavior, the DFPM may be applied for investigation of filial piety at individual, social, and cultural levels within and across various societies. We discuss application of the DFPM in relation to existing filial piety and intergenerational relations research from several societies and conclude with a comparison to other recent proposals for measuring Chinese filial piety. (shrink)

A consensus holds that guanxi, understood as dyadic connections consolidated affectively and mobilized to achieve the purposes of members, exists in three forms (family guanxi, friendship guanxi, and acquaintance guanxi) distinguished by the strength of felt obligation between participants. It is also held that through practices of fictive kinship friendship guanxi may merge with family guanxi. This article challenges these propositions and the assumptions underlying them. Obligations of kinship and guanxi obligations are fundamentally dissimilar and the term “family guanxi” is (...) redundant. Pseudo-family ties do not provide access to kin relations and their resources but instead affirm the distinction between family- and friendship-ties. Finally, because guanxi is cultivated by its participants, friendship guanxi and acquaintance guanxi are not distinct forms but rather are different possible stages of guanxi formation. The article goes on to consider the sources of these confusions, namely, common-language terms employed in sociological analysis, certain assumptions concerning Chinese culture, and finally methodological commitments that privilege latent structures of strong ties. The strength of guanxi ties, on the other hand, volitionally cultivated and indifferent to structural determination, fluctuates through agentic practices. (shrink)

BackgroundFear of failure is described as a “dispositional tendency to avoid failure in achievement settings.” It may potentially and adversely affect students’ ability to perform well in their educational activities.ObjectivesTo measure FoF among medical students at King Saud University, FoF between men and women, academic levels, grade point average, and other factors among medical students were compared.MethodA cross-sectional observational study was carried out using a stratified random sampling method. A total of 455 medical students completed “the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory” (...) during the academic year 2019–2020 at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.ResultsThe results showed that the mean of FoF was −0.3117. Moreover, higher levels of fear of devaluing one’s self-estimate were seen in women, and higher levels of fear of important others losing interest were seen in men. A significant relation was seen between different academic levels and fear of shame and embarrassment, fear of upsetting important others, as well as FoF. Higher levels of FoF were seen in those who had a GPA below 3.5 and a GPA greater than 4.9. Also, it was high in students who were not interested in studying medicine. The Cronbach’s α value of 0.93 of all items indicates good internal consistency, and the factor analysis confirms five items of an instrument.ConclusionThe overall level of FoF was low among medical students at King Saud University. However, the domains and levels of FoF differed significantly according to gender, academic level, GPA, and interest in studying medicine. (shrink)

This study aimed to develop the Three-Dimensional Filial Piety Scale and explore its psychometric properties. Based on Wang’s Three-Dimensional Filial Piety Model, our study employed a review of the current literature, in-depth interviews, and feedback from experts and the target group. An initial 36-item scale using a bipolar Likert 6-point rating scale was developed. Then item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted with sample 1 (n = 617) to explore the dimensions and final items, and a 15-item scale with (...) three factors was obtained. After that, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the 3-factor structure obtained through exploratory factor analysis with sample 2 (n = 585). Next, we tested criterion-related validity with sample 3 (n = 248) and test-retest reliability with sample 4 (n = 67). The results supported the model on which this scale was based and showed three dimensions of filial piety, namely the balance of interests, good affections, and family role norms. As a valid, reliable scale, the Three-Dimensional Filial Piety Scale can therefore be used in the Chinese context to measure filial piety for people of different genders, ages, and cohabitation situations. (shrink)

The three approaches for conducting psychological research across cultures proposed by Berry , namely, the imported etic, emic and derived etic approach are critically examined for developing culture-inclusive theories in psychology, in order to deal with the enigma left by Wilhelm Wundt. Those three approaches have been restricted to a certain extent by the pan-cultural dimensional approach which may result in the Orientalism of psychology in understanding people of non-Western cultures. This article is designated to provide the philosophical ground for (...) an alternative cultural system approach to construct culture-inclusive theories in psychology. Following the principle of cultural psychology: “one mind, many mentalities” , the alternative strategy contains two steps: First, based on Bhaskar's critical realism, all universal mechanisms should seek to represent the operation of the human mind. Second, based on Archer's analytical dualism, the mechanisms of the universal mind may be used as frameworks for analyzing any cultural tradition. The culture-inclusive theories thus obtained represent the synchronic morphostasis of a cultural system, which may be used as theoretical frameworks for conducting either qualitative or quantitative empirical research in studying the diachronic morphogenesis of socio-cultural interaction in a particular culture. (shrink)