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Interpreting Cultural Variations in Cognitive Profiles

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Asian American Mental Health

Abstract

The prevailing view that Asian Americans are a “model minority” and a homogeneous group often obscures the reality of complex cultural variations in cognitive profiles of Asian Americans. In general, the research conducted on abilities primarily focuses on only a few Asian American subgroups (e.g., Japanese and Chinese) to the exclusion of other subgroups. While studies indicate that Asian Americans as a group tend to score higher on quantitative measures in comparison to verbal measures on aptitude tests, there is also evidence that significant subgroup differences in performance exist (e.g., Hsia & Peng, 1998). Issues of standardization, test validity and reliability also impact the interpretation of test performance of Asian Americans given diversity in language, level of acculturation, and other culturally relevant variables.

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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Suzuki, L.A., Mogami, T., Kim, E.S. (2002). Interpreting Cultural Variations in Cognitive Profiles. In: Kurasaki, K.S., Okazaki, S., Sue, S. (eds) Asian American Mental Health. International and Cultural Psychology Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0735-2_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0735-2_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5216-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0735-2

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