The meaning of aggression varies across cultures

 We recently finished a study on cross-cultural differences on aggressiveness. Basically, we found that the levels of aggression in different countries (the US, Spain, and Hong-Kong) can be partially explained by their levels of individualism and collectivism.

But, the conclusion presented above is wrong. Basically, we cannot conclude this because we did not find metric invariance and therefore we could not test scalar invariance. Metric invariance in lay terms means that the items are equally understood across cultures and contribute to the same degree to the trait is being assessed. Scalar invariance is when we compare these means.

We tested whether a tool for measuring aggression had the same meaning across cultures. Analyzing samples from Spain (n=262), US (n=344) and Hong-Kong (n=645), we used confirmatory factor analysis to investigate measurement invariance of the refined version of the Aggression-Questionnaire (Bryant & Smith, 2001). The measurement of aggression was more equivalent between the Chinese and Spanish versions than between these two and the American version. Aggression does not show invariance at the culture level. Cultural variables such as affective autonomy or individualism may influence the meaning of aggression. Aggressive behavior models can be improved by incorporating cultural variables.

Also in lay words, it means that the same items (although adapted to different languages and cultures) seem to be measuring something somewhat different. And it may well be that this meaning is influenced by the levels of individualism and collectivism of these three countries. Further research on this is yet to come.

D. Gallardo-Pujol, E. Penelo, C. Sit, C. Suso, M. Buades-Rotger, A. Maydeu-Olivares, … Bryant, F. B. (2018, November 11). The Meaning of Aggression Varies Across Culture: Testing the Measurement Invariance of the Refined Aggression Questionnaire in samples from Spain, the US, and Hong Kong. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/a7zg4