INTERNATIONAL
SITUATIONS PROJECT
WWW.INTERNATIONALSITUATIONSPROJECT.COM
INTERNATIONAL SITUATIONS
PROJECT (ISP)
Research questions:
What do typical situations look like?
What do typical behaviors look like?
How do behaviors relate to certain features of situations?
 Are there differences in situations and/or behaviors based
on demographics?
 Are there differences in the behaviors related to situations
based on demographics?
MEASURES
1.
Detailed demographic information: Sex, age, (e.g., “In what country
was your mother/father born?” “What is your native language?”)
2.
“What were you doing last night at 7pm?”
3.
Riverside Situational Q-Sort (RSQ) and Riverside Behavioral Q-Sort
(RBQ)
RSQ: 89 items
ex.: “Situation is playful”
ex.: “A job needs to be done”
RBQ: 68 items
ex.: “Smiles frequently”
ex.: “Expresses criticism”
*Newly added for Psi Beta: Classic ethnicity
questions
USER-FRIENDLY WEBSITE
(WWW.INTERNATIONALSITUATIONSPROJECT.COM)
1. How it works – click on flag to change languages;
IDs made by us
Ex.: STUDY ID: ivcdata1 PARTICIPANT IDs: ivc001ivc100
2. Data storage – only accessible to us
A CLOSER LOOK AT
THE SAMPLES
All samples were university students.
China: Universities from different locations around Shanghi and
mainland China; Recruited via a marketing research firm;
Compensated $0.63 (similar to $3.00 in the U.S.); 101 Females,
89 Males (N=190). Age range: 18-33.
Singapore: National University of Singapore; Singapore; Subject
pool; 72 Females, 28 Males (N=100). Age range: 18-25.
Japan: Ritsumeikan University; Kyoto, Japan; Subject pool;108
Females, 121 Males (N=229). Age range: 19-24.
Italy: University of Milan; Milan, Italy; Subject pool; 75 Females,
71 Males (N=146). Age range: 19-50.
U.S.: University of California; Riverside, CA; Subject pool; 201
Females, 138 Males (N=339). Age range: 17-36.
EXAMPLES OF “WHAT WERE YOU
DOING LAST NIGHT AT 7PM?”
CHINA
“I was studying.”
“JAPAN
“I was studying.”
ITALY
“I was studying.”
SINGAPORE
“I was studying.”
U.S.
“I was studying.”
EXAMPLES OF “WHAT WERE YOU
DOING LAST NIGHT AT 7PM?”
CHINA
“At friend’s house cooked glutinous rice balls celebrating the Winter
Solstice.”
JAPAN
“I sang a song using the karaoke box with my friend.”
ITALY
“I was cooking pizza with my boyfriend.”
SINGAPORE
“I was at my grandma's house eating dinner. I was with my cousins, aunts,
uncles, grandma and my own family.”
U.S.
“I was at the gym working out.”
TOP 5 MOST VARYING RSQ ITEMS FOR FEMALES ACROSS CULTURES.
BELOW YOU WILL SEE MEANS WITH 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR EACH
COUNTRY.
6
4
2
Mean placement of item
8
#83 Situation is potentially emotionally arousing.
Australia
Austria
Canada
China
Italy
Country
Japan
Singapore
Spain
U.S.
JAPAN RSQ ITEM #74: POTENTIAL ROMANTIC
PARTNERS ARE PRESENT.
POSITIVE CORRELATIONS WITH RBQ ITEMS
RBQ RBQ Items
Combo Female
#
#48 Expresses sexual interest. .47*** .53***
Male
.42***
.24***
.13
.37***
#7
Engages in constant eye
contact with someone.
Exhibits social skills.
.21
.08
.29**
#42
Expresses warmth.
.21
.22*
.19*
#59
A SUMMARY OF THE
FINDINGS
Students across cultures describe similar situations
According to those situations, students across cultures
report behaving the same way in those situations
This is surprising, considering the focus on differences…