Influence of Culture and Personality on Determinants of Cognitive Processes Under Conditions of Uncertainty

摘要

Staff officers (n = 44) performing Support and Stability Operations (SASO) at Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) were surveyed to determine the contribution of culture and personality to cognitive readiness and response to uncertainty. Administered were two cognitive structuring questionnaires (Need for Cognitive Structure and Ability to Achieve Cognitive Structure, Bar-Tal, 1994), one uncertainty response questionnaire (Uncertainty Response Scale, Greco & Roger, 2001), and one personality questionnaire (Zuckerman, Kuhlman, Joireman, Teta, & Kraft, 1993). The unit of analysis was culture group (English, Romance, and Germanic) as determined by language roots and first language preference of participants. Results indicated the English group had a greater preference for using abstract mental representations (i.e. cognitive schemas, scripts, stereotypes) to make decisions in uncertain situations than did the Romance group. Further, those in the English group had a greater preference for uncertainty, novelty and change than individuals in the Romance group. There were significant differences in personality characteristics of the cultural groups and these differences were related to their responses to uncertainty. The findings provide evidence that relationship between cognitive structuring, response to uncertainty, and personality varies by culture group.