CHAPTER
22
Measures of Cross-Cultural Values,
Personality and Beliefs
Chi-yue Chiu1, Sherwin I. Chia2and Wendy W .N. Wan3
1Nanyang Technological University, Singapore & Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China;2Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore;3Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; and Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
Although there are many different definitions of culture, most cross-cultural researchers agree that two defin-
ing characteristics of a culture are continuity and sharedness ( Chiu, Leung, & Hong, 2011 ). A culture differs from
a fashion or a fad because culture has a history and a future; it is transmitted across generations. In addition, a
culture is a knowledge tradition shared by many people in a society.
Culture plays an important role in solving complex social coordination problems. To avoid cutthroat competi-
tions among individuals striving to maximize their selfish gains, members of the society negotiate and agree on
the way to make sense of the reality, as well as on the human qualities or behaviors that are socially desirable
and allowed. These consensual views are integral parts of a culture ( Chiu & Kim, 2011 ).
Ideas and practices that are selected for circulation and reproduction in a society and ultimately become parts
of the society’s culture are usually those that can also address people’s basic psychological concerns effectively.
For example, religious ideas and practices that can satisfactorily address the meaning of human existence despite
its inevitable finitude have a high chance of becoming a part of the culture ( Kesebir, 2011 ). Likewise, ideas and
practices that provide firm answers in uncertain situations (e.g., conventional wisdom) or confer a sense of
belongingness, group identity, and collective pride (patriotic ideas and practices) are also likely to be transmitted
across generations ( Chao & Chiu, 2011 ).
Given the social and psychological significance of culture, many measures have been constructed to capture
country differences in major psychological dimensions, including major value orientations, beliefs, perceptions of
society, and personality. Our goal is not to provide a comprehensive survey of all cross-cultural measures.
Instead, the present review aims at illustrating representative measures that are recently developed to capture
different aspects of cultural differences.
MEASURES REVIEWED HERE
The measures reviewed in the present chapter are measures developed to study cultural variations in person-
ality, social beliefs, values, and perceived norms. Although many measures have been used in cross-cultural
studies, including measures of self-esteem, locus of control, the Big 5 personality trait constructs, these measures
were not developed specifically to capture cultural psychological differences and are therefore not included in
the present review.
The measures reviewed here are:
1.Value System Module ( Hofstede & Minkov, 2013 )
2.Schwartz Value Survey ( Schwartz, 2009 )
621Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Constructs.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-386915-9.00022-X ©2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.