Perceived control is conceptualised as individual judgments
of the extent that which desired outcomes can be achieved, and potential
misfortunes can be guarded against. Perceived control can be divided into two
processes of primary and secondary control. While primary control involves actively
changing the environment to fit the needs and desires of the self, secondary
control involves changing one’s own thoughts and feelings to fit with the
world. This study investigated whether the relative use of primary and
secondary control varies as a function of cultural difference. Through
convenience sampling, two groups of samples were drawn. A six-item scale was
used as a measure of primary and secondary control. In this study, an alpha of
.83 was obtained. It is posited that people who are under the influence of
Asian, collectivist culture will be oriented toward secondary control rather
than primary control, but vice versa for those in the Western, individualist
society. This proposition was tested in this study by using the Chinese
respondents from both Australia and Hong Kong. Hence, it is hypothesised that
the Australian Chinese (AC) will have higher level of primary control but a
lower level of secondary control than the Hong Kong Chinese (HKC). The results
revealed that, though AC was significantly higher than HKC on primary control,
they did not differ on secondary control. The result was discussed in terms of
the integration process in the context of intercultural contact. AC’s enhanced
primary control is the result of cultural learning which, in turn, increases
their orientation to self. But on the other hand, the AC may retain the use of
secondary control acquired in the home country and hence maintain the same
level of secondary control to that of the HKC. It is concluded that, to have a more
comprehensive understanding of whether people in collectivist societies are
more inclined to use secondary control than primary control, but vice versa for
people in individualist societies, more empirical studies should be conducted
by using a variety of samples from these societies. The limitation of this
study was also discussed.
Author(s) Details
LAI Ching-han Lufanna
Department of Counselling and Psychology, The Hong Kong Shue Yan
University, Hong Kong, China.
Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nicass/v4/5884
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