Tobin's work has been groundbreaking. Famously, he and his team put together a sophisticated comparative study of three ways of doing pre-school--in Japan, China, and the United States (1989). As such, this study has precedents in anthropology. What is unique in Tobin's work is that he got people from one place to comment on what they saw people…

Persson (2012a) correctly raises the question of how cultural biases may impact giftedness research. He alludes to East-West differences in perceptions of creativity and ways that the collectivist-individualistic approaches may lead to differences in creativity perception. In this commentary, the authors discuss different approaches, and attempt…

The author finds the target article "Cultural Variation and Dominance in a Globalised Knowledge Economy" to be a thoughtful exploration of an important topic for all social scientists, certainly including those who study gifted development and education. Roland S. Persson (2012a) raises many questions about policy and practice in giftedness…

Roland S. Persson's (2012a) argument is that there is a dominant research culture in the field of gifts and talents, which must of necessity distort research and practice in cultures which are different. He ties this to the dominance of the global economy and points to the need for more cross-cultural studies. In this commentary, the author points…

Dr. Persson's (2012a) target article addresses a number of key points that will greatly impact the study of giftedness, gifted education, and talent development in the "flat" world of the 21st century and beyond. Research in these areas needs to continually reflect upon changes in the social world outside its narrow purview to validate its…

The author recognises the fact that knowledge of cultural diversity and its implications is growing in the field of giftedness research and practice. In some ways, the target article could therefore be considered "old news." The author contends that his effort to address culture variation and its problematic impact on research, however, is not to…

Comments on an article by J. J. Arnett regarding the assertion that American psychology focuses too narrowly on Americans while neglecting the other 95% of the world's population. The authors argue that while Arnett's assessment was poignant, and his call for a more inclusive, international, and cross-cultural representation in American psychology…

Comments on an article by J. J. Arnett regarding the assertion that American psychology focuses too narrowly on Americans while neglecting the other 95% of the world's population. The authors' comments focus on why American psychologists have become overreliant on American samples, and they provide alternative suggestions for broadening the scope…

Responds to Hoshmand's article on alternate research paradigms in counseling psychology, noting that Hoshmand has provided a language and organized a vast amount of literature by which to consider alternate paradigms. Expresses reservations about Hoshmand's course sequence being incorporated into counseling psychology training programs. (NB)

Responds to previous article on supervision of beginning and advanced graduate students of counseling and psychotherapy (Ronnestad and Skovholt, 1993). Assesses usefulness of developmental model in understanding and evaluating supervisory process and compares differences between Norway and United States in supervisory practice. (NB)

The "Easterlin paradox" holds that economic growth does not add to the quality-of-life and that this appears in the fact that average happiness in nations has not risen in the last few decades. The latest trend data show otherwise. Average happiness has increased slightly in rich nations and considerably in the few poor nations for which data are…

Responds to earlier article by Mio and Iwamasa (1993) on white researchers investigating ethnic-minority populations and other cross-cultural issues. Discusses original rationale for symposium summarized in previous article, presents a white identity case study--the symposium audience--and makes recommendations for counseling training. (NB)

Responds to earlier article by Mio and Iwamasa (1993) on white researchers investigating ethnic-minority populations and other cross-cultural issues. Discusses three lessons from the symposium: counseling and psychotherapy have failed to recognize the important contributions of minority authors; a major fourth force of counseling and therapy…

Responds to earlier article by Mio and Iwamasa (1993) on white researchers investigating ethnic-minority populations and other cross-cultural issues. Identifies and discusses 10 problems confronting white cross-cultural researchers. Sees problems resulting from emphasizing differences to exclusion of similarities, emphasizing similarities to…

Responds to earlier article by Mio and Iwamasa (1993) on white researchers investigating ethnic-minority populations and other cross-cultural issues. Selectively and critically highlights, clarifies, and/or expands on some of the points contained in the Mio and Iwamasa article that are reflective of comments of respective participants in symposium…