Avatar Blog #3

Ciao again! 

           For this blog post I will talk about Italian culture and personality. According to Allport (1936), personality is usually considered as, “a set of relatively enduring behavioral and cognitive characteristics, traits, or predispositions that people take with them to different situations, contexts, and interactions with others, and that contribute to differences among individuals.” When speaking of personality from a cross-cultural psychological viewpoint, the dominant view is the Five-Factor Model and the traits associated with that model are: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness (Matsumoto & Juang, 2013). However, here in Italy, the research I found is more supportive of the Big Three or the Three-factor solution labeled conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness (Di Blas & Forzi 1998). An example of Italian personality in action came from a study where some specific personality profiles correlated with preferences to two political coalitions and that voting serves as an expressive function for Italians (Caprara, Schwartz, Capanna, Vecchione, & Barbaranelli, 2006).

            According to Di Blas, Forzi, and Peabody (2000), the five large characteristics of lexical approach in American English are: ‘extraversion’ or ‘surgency’, ‘agreeableness’, ‘conscientiousness’, ‘emotional stability’, and ‘intellect’. However, Italians fit better in the “Big Three” which are the first three personality factors of: extraversion or surgency, agreeableness and conscientiousness (Di Blas, Forzi, & Peabody, 2000). According to Di Blas and Forzi (1998), neither Intellect nor Neuroticism was found in the five-factor solution in Italians because they were under-represented in comparison to the other personality dimensions. In my family, there is a lot of public embracing and kissing upon greeting people, touching people on the arms when talking, and looking people in the eyes (Salamone). This type of behavior is falls under the general “agreeableness” which are variables that correspond to the favorable pole and there is no separate factor corresponding to emotional stability (Di Blas, Forzi, & Peabody, 2000).  On the other spectrum, variables that correspond to emotional instability tend to appear in the extraversion factor  (Di Blas, Forzi, & Peabody, 2000). Also, the negative pole of “Extraversion” had neurotic traits and “Agreeableness” was positive with items signifying sensitiveness, understanding and kindness (Di Blas & Forzi 1998).

            Next year I will be able to vote because the voting age here in Italy is 18 but I still will not be able to vote for the Senatorial elections until I am 25 (Italy). Italy has undergone a lot of political changes since the early 1990s and specific personality profiles from the Big Five have correlated specifically with preferences for the two political coalitions, on the right-left political continuum, in a study of over 2000 Italian voters in 1994 (Caprara, Schwartz, Capanna, Vecchione, & Barbaranelli, 2006). With that being said, personality profiles of voters tended to match the personality profile of their coalition’s leader projects and with the political priorities of the coalition (Caprara, Schwartz, Capanna, Vecchione, & Barbaranelli, 2006). For example, the center-right mostly campaigned entrepreneurship and business freedom and identified this leader with energy. The center-left mostly campaigned for solidarity, social welfare, education, and tolerance for diversity and identified this leader with friendliness and openness (Caprara, Schwartz, Capanna, Vecchione, & Barbaranelli, 2006). Italy has many political parties with the main ones being: Olive Tree, Freedom Pole, Northern League, Communism Refoundation, Italian Social Movement, Pannella–Sgarbi's List, Italian Socialist, Autonomous List, and Southern Tyrol's List (Salamone). Because of the many parties, voting serves as an expressive function for voters by voting for programs and ideals that are similar to their own actual and ideal personality traits (Caprara, Schwartz, Capanna, Vecchione, & Barbaranelli, 2006). According to the study done by Caprara et al. (2006), the impact of personality on vote choice is very large.

References

Allport, G. W. (1936). Personality: A Psychological Interpretation. New York: Holt.

Caprara, G. V., Schwartz, S., Capanna, C., Vecchione, M., & Barbaranelli, C. (2006). Personality and Politics: Values, Traits, and Political Choice. Political Psychology, 27, 1-28.

Di Blas, L., Forzi, M., & Peabody, D. (2000). Evaluative and descriptive dimensions from Italian personality factors. European Journal Of Personality, 14, 279-290.

Di Blas, L., & Forzi, M. (1998). An alternative taxonomic study of personality-descriptive adjectives in the Italian language. European Journal Of Personality, 12(2), 75-101.

Italy. Life in Italy. Retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/culture/italy.asp

Matsumoto, D., & Juang, L. (2013). Culture and Psychology (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Jon-David Hague.

Salamone, Frank A. Countries and Their Cultures. In Every Culture. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Italy.html#b

Avatar Blog #2

Ciao! I am now 17 years old and I am still living with my family in Rome, Italy. My brother, Joshua, is now 22 years old. In Italy it is very common for both of us to be living at home with our parents at our ages and even older (Schifini D’Andrea, 1998). About 90% of people ages 20-24 years old, 50% of people 25-29 years old, and 20% of people 30-34 years old live with their families but it is more frequent for males to stay living with their families longer than females (Schifini D’Andrea, 1998). That means that even though my brother is four years older than I am, I will probably move out of the house before he does because I am a girl. One of the reasons that young people continue to live with their families for so long is that the unemployment rates in Italy are extremely high for young people, although they vary by region (Schifini D’Andrea, 1998). The good news for me is that female unemployment has been declining, this may be because of the cultural changes and generational turnover that has lead to an increase in women’s education level and more available jobs for women (Schifini D’Andrea, 1998).

In my family, my father has always worked and my mother has always stayed home to take care of my brother and I and all of the household duties like cooking and cleaning (Salamone). This is the more traditional and older way of Italian life because tasks are assigned by age and gender but now it is becoming more common to have both parents working outside the home (Salamone). I do not want to be a stay at home mom; I want to work after I finish school at a university of my choosing. I am still in high school but since I will complete five years of secondary school and receive an upper secondary school diploma, I will be able to go to university (Italian Education System). The problem for me is that here in Italy the wage penalty of a full-time woman is larger at low educational attainments (Mussida & Picchio, 2012). Therefore, low educated women are more greatly desired than men and highly educated women (Mussida & Piccio, 2012).

Although we are more traditional Italian family, with my father working and my mother staying at home, my mother has always had power in decision making and her own independence even it is more than she is traditionally supposed to have (Salamone). This probably is why my parents have a relatively happy and healthy marriage as opposed to some of my friend’s parents who have gotten divorced (Salamone). Until recently, divorce was forbidden in Italy (Salamone). Sadly, violence against women, especially domestic abuse, according to The New York Times, is the most common form of violence in Italy and almost 32% of women ages 16-70 have been affected by it (Povoledo, 2013). This abuse may have something to do with the gender roles for males and females in Italian culture but I am not sure.

A few final thoughts as a 17 year old girl in Italy; I like to spend my free time listening to music, watching movies, going to a club or pub, or going out for some wonderful pizza. I also like to meet up with friends in Campo dei Fiori, Rome. I do not have a job because it is very uncommon for people my age to hold part-time jobs especially while going to school (Italian and American Youth). 

References

Italian and American Youth: Some Cultural Differences. Life in Italy. Retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/culture/italian-and-american-youths

Povoledo, Elisabetta. (2013). A Call for Aid, Not Laws, to Help Women in Italy. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/world/europe/a-call-for-aid-not-laws-to-help-women-in-italy.html?_r=0

Mussida, C., & Picchio, M. (2012). The Gender Gap by Education in Italy. IZA Discussion Paper Series (No. 6428).

Salamone, Frank A. Countries and Their Cultures. In Every Culture. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Italy.html#b

Schifini D’Andrea, Silvana. (1998). Italian Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research, 44, 5-39.

Italian Education System. In Understanding Italy. Retrieved from http://www.understandingitaly.com/profile-content/education.html

Avatar Blog #1

Ciao! My name is Margherita De Luca and I am 8 years old living in the capital city of Italy, Rome. I am in 3^rd grade. I live with my parents and my older brother Joshua. We are a small family but four people in a family is typical now in Italy and most of my friends are either an only child or they have one sibling (De Filippo). On an average day; I wake up and eat a breakfast of milk and chocolate cookies, go to school, we have a morning snack time where I might eat a piece of plain white pizza, lunch time is around 1:30pm and I will usually go home to eat with my parents (we usually have pasta and tomato sauce, a salad and prosciutto, which is cured ham), after school I usually go home and our dinner time is after 8:00pm where I might eat fish and steamed vegetables and bedtime is usually around 10:00pm (Around The World).

            I spend a lot of time with my family. My parents are very nurturing and attentive and I feel very close to them. We always have at least one meal together during the day where we share our days’ events whether that is lunch or dinner it just depends (De Filippo). They spend as much time as they can with me outside of just mealtimes and they really encourage affection (Cozzi et al., 2013). I would probably be considered a very cuddly child and I think I am that way because my parents have always been very sensitive during interactions with me. I also am very outgoing and I like to socialize, this may be because my parents have emphasized social stimulation (Cozzi et al., 2013).

            I love going out to restaurants with my parents. Usually we will go around 8:00 or 9:00pm and stay till around 11:00pm. I get to sit and talk with my parents and stay awake as long as I can until eventually I am too tired and fall asleep on my mother’s lap (Marshall, 2012). Adults are kind and welcoming to me and always have been throughout my short life, they seem to like kids and I am never considered bothersome or annoying when I am around them (Marshall, 2012). The parenting style my parents use is “permissive” because they are warm and nurturing and allow me to regulate my own life and provide few firm guidelines (Matsumoto & Juang, 2013). This is signified by not having set bedtime, the fact that I am encouraged to make my own decisions and the relaxed style of parenting.

            One of my favorite things to do in my hometown with my family is to visit the Vatican, which is the home of the Catholic Church. This is actually a separate country within the city of Rome (Around the World). We are Roman Catholic, along with over one billion other Roman Catholic people that reside in Rome (Demetri). Pasta is my favorite food. Finally, my favorite Italian singer is Elisa and I have included my favorite song by her on my page, “Ecco che.”

Until next time, Ciao!

P.S. Ciao in Italian is both hello and goodbye (Around the World).

 References

Around The World. In Time For Kids online. Retrieved from http://www.timeforkids.com/destination/italy/day-in-life

Cozzi, P., Putnam, S.P., Menesini, E., Gartstein, M.A., Aureli, T., Calussi, P., Montirosso, R. (2013). Studying Cross-Cultural differences in Temperament in Toddlerhood: United States of America (US) and Italy. Infant Behavior & Development, 36(3), 480-483.

De Filippo, Anna. Families Then and Now. Life in Italy. Retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/italian-families-then-and-now

Demetri, Justin. Religion in Italy. Life in Italy. Retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/culture/religion

Marshall, Jeannie. (2012). What Italians can teach us about child-rearing. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/what-the-italians-can-teach-us-about-child-rearing/article534265/

Matsumoto, D., & Juang, L. (2013). Culture and Psychology (5^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Jon-David Hague.