[Review of the gender research in cross-cultural psychology since 1990: conceptual definitions and methodology].
A review of the cross-cultural research on gender in psychology since 1990 reveals (1) conceptual confusion of the definitions of sex, gender, man, and woman; (2) diversification, refinement, reification, and a problem-solving orientation in the research topics; and (3) the possibility of the elucidation of the psychological sex-difference mechanism in relation to the biological sex differences. A comparison of 1990 and 2000 cross-cultural psychological articles published in "Sex Roles" found that overall, the research is Western-centered and some methodological problems remain to be solved concerning the measures and the sampling. These findings lead to the following suggestions for cross-cultural research on gender to resolve the problems and contribute to the development of psychology in general: (1) use of an operational definition for conceptual equivalence; (2) conducting more etic-approach research; (3) avoiding ethnocentric or androcentric research attitudes; (4) use of a theoretical framework; (5) strict examination of methodologies; and (6) examination of the specific context of participants in terms of cultural diversity, dynamics of husband-wife relationships, and relationships with husbands and fathers.
Suzuki
Atsuko
A
Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University, Kawauchi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8576.
D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D011587:Psychology, Comparative / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D044469:Racial Groups; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013997:Time Factors