Aesthetic responsiveness in Russian and Azerbaijani youths

Various aspects of construct validity of the Russian version of the Engagement with Beauty Scale (EBS 2.0) questionnaire was assessed using data of two previous studies conducted on convenient student samples: Russian (n = 183) and Azerbaijani (n = 99). Confirmatory factor analysis of multitrait-multimethod model provided evidence of EBS' good convergent and discriminant validity. The cross-cultural measurement invariance of the EBS factors was confirmed which allowed to compare indicators of two groups. No significant differences were found in the level of responsiveness to beauty between Russian and Azerbaijani youths. Generally girls scored higher than boys did, mostly on the natural and artistic beauty subscales. Russian young people in comparison to Azerbaijani ones displayed significantly stronger gender differences in general factor of engagement with beauty. The results didn’t show dependence on the age of respondents

1. Pankratova A.A., Osin E.N., Gasanova U.U. Uroven' gorizontal'nogo i vertikal'nogo individualizma i kollektivizma v Rossii i Azerbaidzhane [Levels of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism in Russia and Azerbaijan] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologicheskie issledovaniya [Psychological research], 2017, vol. 10, no. 55, 12 p. Available at: http://psystudy.ru/index.php/num/2017v10n55/1472-pankratova55.html (Accessed 24.07.2018). (In Russ.; Abstr. in Engl.).
2. Pankratova A.A., Osin E.N., Lyusin D.V. Osobennosti emotsional'nogo intellekta u predstavitelei rossiiskoi i azerbaidzhanskoi kul'tur [Differences in emotional intelligence in Russian and Azerbaijani culture] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologicheskie issledovaniya [Psychological research], 2013, vol. 6, no. 31, 11 p. Available at: http://psystudy.ru/num/2013v6n31/889-pankratova31.html (Accessed 24.07.2018). (In Russ.; Abstr. in Engl.).
3. Sabadosh P.A. Razrabotka metodov diagnostiki esteticheskikh sposobnostei: testy esteticheskoi chuvstvitel'nosti [Development of methods for diagnosis of aesthetic abilities: tests of aesthetic sensitivity]. In Zhuravlev A.L., Ushakov D.V., Kholodnaya M.A. (eds.) Sovremennye issledovaniya intellekta i tvorchestva [Modern research of intelligence and creativity]. Moscow: Institut psikhologii RAN, 2015, pp. 250–262. (In Russ.).
4. Sabadosh P.A. Razrabotka tekhnologii otsenki urovnya esteticheskogo razvitiya lichnosti [Design of technology for assessment of individual aesthetic development level]. In Dikaya L.G., Zhuravlev A.L., Kholodnaya M.A. Metody psikhologicheskogo obespecheniya professional'noi deyatel'nosti i tekhnologii razvitiya mental'nykh resursov cheloveka: Fundamental'naya psikhologiya – praktike [Methods of psychological support of professional activity and technology of mental resources development]. Moscow: Institut psikhologii RAN, 2014, pp. 297–308. (In Russ.).
5. Sabadosh P.A. Resursnaya funktsiya esteticheskikh perezhivanii: analiz i sistematizatsiya podkhodov [Resource function of aesthetic experience: approach analysis and systematization]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological journal]. 2015, vol. 36. no. 5. pp. 21–31. (In Russ.; Abstr. in Engl.).
6. R Core Team. R: a language and environment for statistical computing [Elektronnyi resurs]. Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2018. The R Project for Statistical Computing. Available at: https://www.r-project.org/ (Accessed 24.07.2018).
7. Chen F.F., Sousa K.H., West S.G. Testing measurement invariance of second-order factor models. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 2005, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 471–492. doi:10.1207/s15328007sem1203_7
8. Costa Jr.P.T., McCrae R.R. Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO PI-R) and NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1992.
9. Costa Jr. P.T., Terracciano A., McCrae R.R. Gender differences in personality traits across cultures: Robust and surprising findings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 322–331.
10. Country comparison [Elektronnyi resurs]. Hofstede Insights, 2018. Available at: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/ (Accessed 24.07.2018).
11. Dachs I.F., Diessner R. German version of the Engagement with Beauty Scale. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2009, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 87–92.
12. Diessner R. et al. Engagement with beauty: Appreciating natural, artistic, and moral beauty. The Journal of Psychology, 2008, vol. 142, no. 3, pp. 303–332. doi:10.3200/JRLP.142.3.303-332
13. Güsewell A., Ruch W. Are there multiple channels through which we connect with beauty and excellence? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2012, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 516–529. doi:10.1080/17439760.2012.726636
14. Hui R., Diessner R. Engagement with beauty in Hong Kong. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 2015, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 356–360.
15. Inglehart R., Welzel C. The world values survey cultural map of the world [Elektronnyi resurs]. World values surveys project, 2014. Available at: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs.jsp (Accessed 24.07.2018).
16. Richel T. et al. International reliability studies of the Engagement with Beauty Scale (EBS). Poster presented at the International Counseling Psychology Conference. Chicago, IL, 2008.
17. Marsh H.W., Bailey M. Confirmatory factor analyses of multitrait-multimethod data: A comparison of alternative models. Applied psychological measurement, 1991, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 47–70. doi:10.1177/014662169101500106
18. Martínez-Martí M.L., Avia M.D., Hernández-Lloreda M.J. Effects of an appreciation of beauty randomized-controlled trial web-based intervention on appreciation of beauty and well-being. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2018. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/aca0000164
19. Martínez-Martí M.L., Hernández-Lloreda M.J., Avia M.D. Appreciation of beauty and excellence: Relationship with personality, prosociality and well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2016, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 2613-2634.
20. McCrae R.R., Terracciano A. Universal features of personality traits from the observer’s perspective: Data from 50 cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2005, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 547–561.
21. Muthén B.O. Multilevel covariance structure analysis. Sociological Methods & Research, 1994, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 376–398. doi:10.1177/0049124194022003006
22. Peterson C., Park N., Seligman M.E.P. Greater strengths of character and recovery from illness. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2006, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 17–26. doi:10.1080/17439760500372739
23. Peterson C., Seligman M.E.P. Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. NY: Oxford University Press, 2004. 800 p.
24. Rosseel Y. lavaan: an R package for structural equation modelling. Journal of Statistical Software, 2012, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 1–36.
25. Sabadosh P. A Russian version of the Engagement with Beauty Scale: the multitrait-multimethod model. Psychology. Journal of Higher School of Economics, 2017, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 7–21. doi:10.17323/1813-8918.2017.1.7.21
26. Sabadosh P.A., Babaeva J.D., Gadashova N.I. Aesthetic motivation, engagement, and musical attitudes. International Journal of Psychology, 2016, 51: 856.
27. Rudnev M. et al. Testing measurement invariance for a second-order factor. A cross-national test of the alienation scale. Methods, data, analyses : a journal for quantitative methods and survey methodology (mda), 2018, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 47–76. doi:10.12758/mda.2017.11
28. Widaman K.F. Hierarchically nested covariance structure models for multitrait-multimethod data. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1985, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1–26. doi:10.1177/014662168500900101