Abstract
Most research into cognitive biases has used
Western samples, despite potential East-West socio-cultural
differences. One reason is the lack of appropriate measures
for non-Westerners. This study is about cross-linguistic equivalence
which needs to be established before assessing crosscultural
differences in future research. We developed parallel
Mandarin and English measures of interpretation bias and
attention bias using back-translation and decentering procedures.
We assessed task equivalence by administering both
sets of measures to 47 bilingual Mandarin-English speakers.
Interpretation bias measurement was similar and reliable
across language versions, confirming suitability of the
Mandarin versions for future cross-cultural research. By contrast,
scores on attention bias tasks did not intercorrelate reliably,
suggesting that nonverbal stimuli such as pictures or
facial expressions of emotion might present better prospects
for cross-cultural comparison. The development of the first set
of equivalent measures of interpretation bias in an Eastern
language paves the way for future research investigating
East-West differences in biased cognition.
Western samples, despite potential East-West socio-cultural
differences. One reason is the lack of appropriate measures
for non-Westerners. This study is about cross-linguistic equivalence
which needs to be established before assessing crosscultural
differences in future research. We developed parallel
Mandarin and English measures of interpretation bias and
attention bias using back-translation and decentering procedures.
We assessed task equivalence by administering both
sets of measures to 47 bilingual Mandarin-English speakers.
Interpretation bias measurement was similar and reliable
across language versions, confirming suitability of the
Mandarin versions for future cross-cultural research. By contrast,
scores on attention bias tasks did not intercorrelate reliably,
suggesting that nonverbal stimuli such as pictures or
facial expressions of emotion might present better prospects
for cross-cultural comparison. The development of the first set
of equivalent measures of interpretation bias in an Eastern
language paves the way for future research investigating
East-West differences in biased cognition.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-11 |
| Journal | Behaviour Research Methods |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 13 Mar 2017 |