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Religiosity and Multicultural Experiences Predict Cultural Values in College Students

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Abstract

Cultural values are defined as idealized goals that guide how people in a certain culture think, behave, and evaluate others. They are often discussed in the literature as a precursor to some outcome, but less frequently, the factors that predict cultural values are explored. This research explored different variables that predicted horizontal-vertical and individualist-collectivist cultural values in college students. Potential predictors included socioeconomic, ethnic, and religious influences, as well as multicultural experiences, familial immigration, and social support. Participants were 1094 undergraduates at a university in the United States (mean = 18.91 years of age; 78% female, 58% European American). SEM analyses were used to analyze the models; the results indicated that multicultural experiences and religiosity were important predictors of cultural values: multicultural experiences were positively related, and religiosity negatively related, to cultural values that emphasized the importance of socialization. Thus, valuing socialization may be enhanced by associating with people outside of one’s cultural norm, but devalued when students are high in religiosity. Some implications of the results are further explored.

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  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Dana K. Donohue

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Donohue, D.K. Religiosity and Multicultural Experiences Predict Cultural Values in College Students. Curr Psychol 41, 539–548 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00590-6

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