About this Research Topic
In the globalized world, social interactions transcending national contexts and individuals’ cultural imprint are omnipresent. Cooperative behavior is vital in the functioning of these. For example, individual well-being depends on trustful and reciprocal personal inter-cultural relationships, organizations benefit from the effective integration of their multi-ethnic teams, and political conflicts can be mitigated if mutual expectations are realized and prejudices reduced.
Previous research shows substantial variability between countries concerning cooperation attitudes and associated behavior. This variability can be accounted for by distinct distributions of stable individual differences, acquired local standards (i.e., on how people behave and how they think one should behave in a given situation), as well as other idiosyncratic country or culture-specific factors. Moreover, the literature conveys that people’s behavior in inter-cultural situations is guided by shared expectations (i.e., stereotypes) and pronounced attitudes towards their interaction partners from another culture. These attitudes and expectations may give rise to discriminatory behavior and stir up unintended conflicts. For example, if the members of one country attribute the standards of their own environment to the members of other cultural groups and communities, this might result in a biased perception of intentions. It can be interpreted as “uncooperative” or “favorable differentiation” by their counterparts, even though — unknown to the counterparts — they treat fellow-country and international people alike.
Building upon these considerations, the goal of our Research Topic is to better understand and disentangle the determining factors of inter-cultural cooperation. We aim at contributions on three interrelated levels of analysis:
1) Broadening the knowledge on attitudes, expectations, and associated behaviors within specific countries. Important questions in this regard are: How homogenous or heterogeneous are detected attitudes, expectations, and behaviors within monoethnic communities, regions, and countries? How do attitudes and (shared) expectations relate to people’s cooperation behavior toward fellow-country people?
2) Evidence on how the cultural background of individuals shapes their inter-cultural attitudes, expectations, and associated cooperative behavior. How can community members with different local standards in attitudes, expectations, and behavior understand and cope with each other in inter-cultural situations?
3) Insights on how perceptions and beliefs about the national background of the counterpart shape inter-cultural attitudes, expectations, and associated behavior. When people from one country have distinct (shared) expectations concerning how a person from another country behaves or should behave in a certain situation, how do these expectations determine attitudes and cooperation levels in inter-cultural exchange? Further, we also welcome contributions which investigate how the influence of local standards (point 2) and expectations regarding foreign interaction partners interrelate.
Specific sub-topics of interest include:
• Comparison of cultural, country, or regional differences in cooperation attitudes, expectations, and associated behavior;
• Country-level cooperation attitudes, expectations, and associated behavior and their influence on cooperation attitudes, expectations, and behavior in inter-cultural situations;
• (Shared) Expectations regarding foreign interaction partners’ behavior and how they influence personal attitudes, expectations, and behavior in inter-cultural exchange.
Previous research shows substantial variability between countries concerning cooperation attitudes and associated behavior. This variability can be accounted for by distinct distributions of stable individual differences, acquired local standards (i.e., on how people behave and how they think one should behave in a given situation), as well as other idiosyncratic country or culture-specific factors. Moreover, the literature conveys that people’s behavior in inter-cultural situations is guided by shared expectations (i.e., stereotypes) and pronounced attitudes towards their interaction partners from another culture. These attitudes and expectations may give rise to discriminatory behavior and stir up unintended conflicts. For example, if the members of one country attribute the standards of their own environment to the members of other cultural groups and communities, this might result in a biased perception of intentions. It can be interpreted as “uncooperative” or “favorable differentiation” by their counterparts, even though — unknown to the counterparts — they treat fellow-country and international people alike.
Building upon these considerations, the goal of our Research Topic is to better understand and disentangle the determining factors of inter-cultural cooperation. We aim at contributions on three interrelated levels of analysis:
1) Broadening the knowledge on attitudes, expectations, and associated behaviors within specific countries. Important questions in this regard are: How homogenous or heterogeneous are detected attitudes, expectations, and behaviors within monoethnic communities, regions, and countries? How do attitudes and (shared) expectations relate to people’s cooperation behavior toward fellow-country people?
2) Evidence on how the cultural background of individuals shapes their inter-cultural attitudes, expectations, and associated cooperative behavior. How can community members with different local standards in attitudes, expectations, and behavior understand and cope with each other in inter-cultural situations?
3) Insights on how perceptions and beliefs about the national background of the counterpart shape inter-cultural attitudes, expectations, and associated behavior. When people from one country have distinct (shared) expectations concerning how a person from another country behaves or should behave in a certain situation, how do these expectations determine attitudes and cooperation levels in inter-cultural exchange? Further, we also welcome contributions which investigate how the influence of local standards (point 2) and expectations regarding foreign interaction partners interrelate.
Specific sub-topics of interest include:
• Comparison of cultural, country, or regional differences in cooperation attitudes, expectations, and associated behavior;
• Country-level cooperation attitudes, expectations, and associated behavior and their influence on cooperation attitudes, expectations, and behavior in inter-cultural situations;
• (Shared) Expectations regarding foreign interaction partners’ behavior and how they influence personal attitudes, expectations, and behavior in inter-cultural exchange.
Keywords: Inter-cultural interaction, Cooperation, Attitudes, Expectations, Stereotypes, Behavioral standards
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
