Papers by Chanhoong Leong
Singapore Perspectives 2012: Singapore Inclusive, Bridging Divides
Individual, Group and Cultural Process in Changing Societies
Faculty of Health School of Psychology Counselling, 2011
Rotated MDS solution for the Asian (China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan) cluster with all 40 figures
Intercultural Relations in Asia: Migration and Work Effectiveness
Migration and Work Effectiveness, 2009
Cross-cultural interaction is an indispensable component of international business development. S... more Cross-cultural interaction is an indispensable component of international business development. Senior executives need to negotiate with their overseas partners regularly even if they do not share the same opinion on business ethics or protocols (e.g., offering bribe and guanxi). This experience is often narrated in anecdotal reports by expatriates (usually from developed nations) who managed their businesses in relationship-oriented countries. The current research shows the development of an Intercultural Business Corruptibility Scale (IBCS)-An individual difference measure on the propensity to offer or exchange favors (including the use of bribes) in the management of
PLOS ONE, 2015
Emergent properties of global political culture were examined using data from the World History S... more Emergent properties of global political culture were examined using data from the World History Survey (WHS) involving 6,902 university students in 37 countries evaluating 40 figures from world history. Multidimensional scaling and factor analysis techniques found only limited forms of universality in evaluations across Western, Catholic/Orthodox, Muslim, and Asian country clusters. The highest consensus across cultures involved scientific innovators, with Einstein having the most positive evaluation overall. Peaceful humanitarians like Mother Theresa and Gandhi followed. There was much less cross-cultural consistency in the evaluation of negative figures, led by Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein. After more traditional empirical methods (e.g., factor analysis) failed to identify meaningful cross-cultural patterns, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to identify four global representational profiles: Secular and Religious Idealists were overwhelmingly prevalent in Christian countries, and Political Realists were common in Muslim and Asian countries. We discuss possible consequences and interpretations of these different representational profiles.
Reconfiguring the Singapore identity space: Beyond racial harmony and survivalism
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2014
ABSTRACT The city-state of Singapore is often considered the jewel of Southeast Asia where reside... more ABSTRACT The city-state of Singapore is often considered the jewel of Southeast Asia where residents enjoy a high standard of living and a stable socio-political environment. The former British colony has come a long way since the end of the Second World War when it was engulfed in the throes of domestic and regional turbulence, marked by racial tensions, economic uncertainty, and a hostile neighbourhood gripped in political instability. With the 1950s and 1960s set as a critical juncture of change, the political leadership of Singapore has propelled the city-state forward to emerge a stronger and more resilient nation following the rupture that occurred in 1965 - Singapore's expulsion from the Federation of Malaya. Singapore's development was made possible by state technologies and symbologies that created a social climate promulgating meritocracy and collective ownership. This system of behaviour is centred on a prescribed set of social policies and economic developmental goals that enabled policymakers to implement strategic action plans swiftly and effectively. This political strategy has served the nation well until recent years. Increasingly, the signs seem to indicate that the city-state is now at the epicentre of a new attractor, one that is rooted in global identity and individual agency.
Personality and Sojourner Adjustment: An Exploration of the Big Five and the Cultural Fit Proposition
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2004
ABSTRACT This article describes a study based on two samples of sojourners and hosts in Australia... more ABSTRACT This article describes a study based on two samples of sojourners and hosts in Australia and Singapore. The objectives of this research are (a) to explore the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions and cross-cultural adjustment and (b) to test the “cultural fit” hypothesis. The first sample included 165 Singaporean and 139 Australian students in Australia; the second included 244 Australian expatriates and 671 Chinese Singaporeans in Singapore. Correlation analyses were undertaken that examined the relationship between neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, as well as their discrepancies from host-culture norms, and cross-cultural adjustment. Findings demonstrated that neuroticism and extraversion were related to psychological and sociocultural adaptation in both sojourning samples. Agreeableness and conscientiousness were also linked to psychological well-being in both samples and to sociocultural adaptation in the Singaporean sojourning group. There was no empirical support in either Singapore or Australia for the cultural fit proposition.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2007
The study examines the predictive validity of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) o... more The study examines the predictive validity of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) on socio-psychological adaptation. The current research was based on a longitudinal research design with two comparative samples of Singaporean undergraduates. One group attended an international exchange program and a sample of domestic students did not (i.e., the control group). Both samples were concurrently surveyed at two time periods. The assessments included the five dimensions of intercultural effectiveness (Cultural Empathy, Open-mindedness, Social Initiatives, Emotional Stability and Flexibility) and outcome indices relating to socio-psychological adaptation. After controlling for the influences from the T1 outcome and the demographics and covariate, increased (T1) Social Initiatives predicted a reduction in (T2) behavioral and psychological difficulties. Compared to the domestic control group, the exchange sample reported higher ratings on most intercultural dimensions. As predicted, the MPQ dimensions accounted significantly more variance in the exchange sample than the domestic group.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2006
The current paper uses archival data to examine variations in Schwartz's and Hofstede's cultural ... more The current paper uses archival data to examine variations in Schwartz's and Hofstede's cultural value orientations and their relationship to attitudes toward immigration and multiculturalism reported in the Eurobarometer Survey [Attitudes towards minority groups in the European Union: a special analysis of the Eurobarometer 2000 opinion poll on behalf of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. Eurobarometer Opinion Poll. Retrieved September 1, 2003, from /http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/index_en.htmS] on racism and xenophobia. The results demonstrated that mastery, masculinity, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and collectivism were associated with weaker support for policies that promote social coexistence. Masculinity and mastery were also linked to more pessimistic attitudes towards multiculturalism, and increased harmony was correlated with less desire for cultural assimilation. The results largely converge with research undertaken at the individual-level of analysis, and the data suggest four clusters of cultural values related to immigration attitudes: humanitarianism-egalitarianism, conservation, collectivism, and instrumentality.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2000
The research adopted an intrapersonal perspective on identity and acculturation and explored the ... more The research adopted an intrapersonal perspective on identity and acculturation and explored the prediction of identity conflict in Chinese sojourners in Singapore. One hundred and six sojourners from the People's Republic of China completed a questionnaire which assessed tolerance of ambiguity, attributional complexity, host and co-national identification, quality and quantity of host and co-national contact, perceived discrimination, cultural distance, length of residence abroad and identity conflict. Step-wise regression analysis revealed that greater tolerance of ambiguity, attributional complexity, and co-national identification and less perceived discrimination and contact with host nationals predicted lower levels of identity conflict. These variables combined to account for 35% of the variance in the outcome measure. Results are discussed in terms of competing models of identity, acculturation and cross-cultural adaptation.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2014
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2013
Malaysia and Singapore are good examples of multicultural societies albeit with different accultu... more Malaysia and Singapore are good examples of multicultural societies albeit with different acculturation ideologies. Both countries comprise three main ethnic groups but in diametrically opposite proportion. In Malaysia, 50.4% of the population is Malay, 23.7% Chinese, 11% indigenous peoples, 7.1% Indian, and 7.8% other races. In Singapore, the ratio is 74.1% Chinese, 13.4% Malay, 9.2% Indian and 3.3% other races. Due to its colonial past, "ethnicity" has been the central policy issue in Malaysia and remains so up to this day. The dominance of communal politics can be understood in Stephan and Stephan's (2000) model of integrated threat theory. In Singapore, the city-state does not believe in affirmative action and it prefers to manage cultural identities on the basis of a multicultural ideology (Berry & Kalin, 1995; Berry, Kalin, & Taylor, 1977). In this article, multiculturalism is used to refer to public policies carried out by the two countries to manage their plural societies. We will discuss the development of the multicultural models that have evolved in the two countries. While Malaysia's model of multiculturalism is based on policies that have been instituted to manage inter-group tensions, prevent violence, and pursue social justice between the ethnic groups as a result of its past, Singapore's model is guided by pragmatic realism and market fundamentals associated with the needs of a global city. Both models will face challenges in the coming years as they each adapt to the seismic shifts in the geo-economic landscapes.
Are indigenous approaches to achieving influence in business organizations distinctive? A comparative study of guanxi, wasta, jeitinho, svyazi and pulling strings
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 2012
... d , Mustafa Achoui e & Nadezhda Lebedeva f Available online: 07 Jul 2011. ... View all re... more ... d , Mustafa Achoui e & Nadezhda Lebedeva f Available online: 07 Jul 2011. ... View all references). In the Arab nations of North Africa, wasta is referred to as ma'arifa ('who you know') or piston ('pulling strings') (Yahiaoui and Zoubir 200661. Yahiaoui, D. and Zoubir, YH 2006. ...
Applied Psychology, 2011
The research examined perceptions of Chinese immigrants held by New Zealanders of European and Ma... more The research examined perceptions of Chinese immigrants held by New Zealanders of European and Maori descent. The study (N = 318) adopted an intergroup perspective to test a predictive model of attitudes toward immigrants. It was based on a nationwide survey with prospective respondents randomly selected from the New Zealand Electoral rolls. Findings revealed that Maori differed from their European counterparts in predictable ways, reporting more relative deprivation and greater perceived threat, and holding more negative outgroup attitudes. Less contact and greater perceived threat predicted more negative attitudes toward immigrants; in addition, when intergroup boundaries were permeable, the link between perceived threat and negative attitudes was stronger in Maori than New Zealand Europeans. While intergroup relations are traditionally analysed in a dual group formation involving a privileged "dominant" ingroup and disadvantaged "minority" immigrant outgroup, the current research suggests the need to advance beyond this dichotomy to a more inclusive approach and to consider the interface between the historical and political milieux in specific national contexts.
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 2008
Traditional research in acculturation and adjustment has mostly been done from a sojourner's or i... more Traditional research in acculturation and adjustment has mostly been done from a sojourner's or immigrant's perspective. The current research, however, centers on the recipient nationals' attitudes toward immigrants and multiculturalism. Three distinctive frameworks to examine host nationals' perceptions are proposed based on (1) intergroup relations, (2) individual level differences, and (3) cultural level differences. Five studies were conducted in line with the three frameworks using attitudes toward immigrants as the common dependent measure. Based on the intergroup framework, Studies 1 and 2 examined the influence of intergroup contact, national pride, perceived permeability, fairness, intergroup threat, and host community acculturation strategies. Results showed that decreased contact and increased threat predicted less favorable perception toward immigrants (Study 1); respondents who espoused a need for immigrant assimilation and exclusionism, and those who espoused a less individualistic perception toward migration expressed more negative immigrant attitudes (Study 2). In the second framework on individual differences, the influence of personal enduring dispositions on immigrant attitudes was examined. The independent variables included social dominance orientation, self-esteem, individualism-collectivism, national pride, and Schwartz's personal values. Low self-esteem and individualism, and high social dominance predicted less favorable attitudes toward immigrants. Furthermore, high social dominance predicted less favorable perceptions but only among host nationals who also rated high on individualism (Study 3). Regarding personal values orientation, respondents who placed greater emphasis on security and achievement motivation expressed more negative attitudes, but endorsement of the stimulation value type predicted more favorable perceptions (Study 4). In the third and final framework, effects of cultural differences on immigrant attitudes were examined (Study 5). Secondary data from the Eurobarometer [Eurobarometer, 2000. Attitudes towards minority groups in the European Union: A special analysis of the Eurobarometer 2000 opinion poll on behalf of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. Eurobarometer Opinion Poll. Retrieved September 1, 2003 from ] and Hofstede's cultural typologies were used. Masculinity was associated with reduced multicultural optimism and support for policies that promote social co-existence; uncertainty avoidance, collectivism, and power distance were related to weaker support for multicultural policies. Overall, two broad dimensions of acculturation experience emerged from the research, the first one is based on an 'invasion' perspective and the second one reflects an 'enrichment' experience.
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Papers by Chanhoong Leong