Preliminary communication
Predictors of Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism: The Contribution of Certain Socio-demographic Features, Ideological Self-identification and Individualism/Collectivism on a Sample of Students and Their Parents
Tajana Križanec
; Elementary School Pavleka Miškine, Zagreb, Croatia
Dinka Čorkalo Biruški
; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The objective of this research has been to compare the levels of and to establish the connection between results of psychology students and their parents in relation to nationalism and cosmopolitanism and collectivism, and to horizontal and vertical individualism. In addition, an attempt has been made to define the contribution of socio-demographic variables, the importance of religion and the ideological orientation of the respondents along with collectivism/individualism in explaining the pronounced nature of nationalism and/or cosmopolitanism among the students and their parents. The research was carried out on a group of 200 students (26 male and 174 female) and 296 parents (143 male and 153 female), all of Croatian nationality. Three questionnaires were applied: the Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism Scale (Čorkalo and Kamenov, 1999), the HVIC questionnaire on horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism (Singelis et al., 1995) and a socio-demographic questionnaire. The results showed that parents of students express more marked nationalism and collectivism than their (adult) children, while students express more marked cosmopolitanism and horizontal individualism than their parents. However, as far as vertical individualism is concerned, there is no difference between the average results of students and parents. The correlation between the collectivism and individualism of students and their mothers and fathers is lower than that between nationalism and cosmopolitanism. The set of socio-demographic predictors, the importance of religion, ideological orientations and collectivism/individualism more reliably foresee nationalism rather than cosmopolitanism, both in the parental and student sample. The type and contribution of the individual predictors are similar in both samples, with the exception of certain socio-demographic predictors that were shown to be significant in the parental, but not in the student sample. Apart from socio-demographic predictors nationalism on the part of parents and students can also be foreseen on the basis of a more distinct right-wing political orientation, pronounced vertical individualism and a greater attachment of importance to religion, while cosmopolitanism can be foreseen on the basis of a more conspicuous left-wing political orientation on the part of the respondents.
Keywords
nationalism; cosmopolitanism; collectivism; vertical individualism; horizontal individualism; attitudes of parents and their children
Hrčak ID:
40106
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2009.
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