Abstract
This chapter asks, on the one hand, whether there are cultural differences in cognitive abilities and performance and, on the other hand, whether there are certain cultural factors that can be held responsible as influencing variables (antecedents) for the different characteristics. It is shown that it is almost impossible to investigate cultural differences in general intelligence, since the required conceptual equivalence and measurement equivalence as comparison prerequisites are hardly achievable. It is also not easy to identify biological “basic components” of thinking, since even these are already culture-specifically overlaid. Cross-cultural equivalence is easier to establish when specific abilities are examined. The TIMSS study and the PISA studies, in which school performance in different countries is compared, can be considered prototypical here. Individualism-collectivism, Confucian dynamics, mother tongue, schooling, minority status and poverty are discussed as potential antecedents for cognitive differences.
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Notes
- 1.
The Hopi live in the west of the USA.
- 2.
τρία.
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Helfrich, H. (2023). Cognitive Abilities and Performance. In: Cross-Cultural Psychology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-67558-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-67558-8_7
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