Emma E. Buchtel joined the Department of Psychology as an Assistant Professor in 2010. Dr. Buchtel received her PhD in cultural psychology (social/personality area; quantitative minor) from the University of British Columbia in 2009, and her B.A. from Yale University in 1999. In between, she spent four years in Changsha and Beijing, teaching English at the high school and university levels and learning Mandarin Chinese. 

 

TEDxEdUHK 2019 (April 13, 2019): Culture, Morality and Connecting Across Differences (Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LToLDHWKGBE)

 

  

Dr. Buchtel's research interests revolve around culture’s effects on motivation, morality, and values, with a focus on improving cross-cultural understanding. Specific research foci include cultural differences in the value of agency and dutiful motivation; the definition of morality, immorality, and virtue; cultural-moral relativism; and the effects of teaching about cultural differences.

Topics: Cultural Psychology; Social Psychology

 

Pedagogy: Cultivating intellectual character; Creating classroom cultures of thinking (Ritchhart); Academic discussion, perspective taking, and the joy of critical thinking

Scholarly Books, Monographs and Chapters

• Gardiner, G., Sauerberger, K., Buchtel, E.E.K., Funder, D., Maite, B., & Brock, B., et al. (2019). Towards Meaningful Comparisons of Personality in Large-scale Cross-cultural Studies. In A. Realo (Ed.), In Praise of An Inquisitive Mind: A Festschrift in Honor of Jüri Allik on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday (123-139). Tartu, Estonia: University of Estonia Press.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2011). Methodology and current research directions in cross-cultural conflict resolution. In L. Biukovic & P. B. Potter (Eds.), International Trade and Selective Adaptation (28-58). Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
• Buchtel, E. E. & Norenzayan, A. (2009). Thinking across cultures: Implications for dual processes. In J. Evans & K. Frankish (Eds.), In two minds: Dual processes and beyond (217-238). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Buchtel, E. E. & Heine, S. J. (2007). Cultural Psychology. In D. S. Clark (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives (Section IX) (363-367). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Journal Publications

• Zhu, F., Cai, Z., Buchtel, E. E., & Guan, Y. (2019). Career construction in social exchange: A dual-path model linking career adaptability to turnover intention. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 112, 282-293.
• Rose, D., Machery, E., Stich, S., Alai, M., Angelucci, A., Berniūnas, R., Buchtel, E. E. . . . Zhu, J. (2019). Nothing at stake in knowledge. Noûs, 53 (1), 224-247.
• Buchtel, E. E., Ng, L. C. Y., Norenzayan, A., Heine, S. J., Biesanz, J. C., Chen, S. X., . . . Su, Y. (2018). A sense of obligation: Cultural differences in the experience of obligation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44 (11), 1545-1566.
• Cova, F., Olivola, C. Y., Machery, E., Stich, S., Rose, D., Alai, M., . . . Zhu, J. (2018). De Pulchritudine non est Disputandum? A cross‐cultural investigation of the alleged intersubjective validity of aesthetic judgment. Mind and Language, doi: 10.1111/mila.12210, 1-22.
• Gervais, W. M., van Elk, M., Xygalatas, D., McKay, R. T., Aveyard, M., Buchtel, E. E., Dar-Nimrod, I., Kundtová Klocová, E., Ramsay, J. E., Riekki, T., Svedholm-Häkkinen, A. M., Bulbulia, J. (2018). Analytic atheism: A cross-culturally weak and fickle phenomenon?. Judgment and Decision Making, 13, 268-274.
• Magee, C., Buchtel, E. E., Human, L. J., Murray, D. R., & Biesanz, J. C. (2018). Is personality variability associated with adjustment?. Journal of Research in Personality, 72, 22-43.
• Gervais, W. M., Xygalatas, D., McKay, R. T., van Elk, M., Buchtel, E. E., Aveyard, M., Schiavone, S., Dar-Nimrod, I., Svedholm-Häkkinen, A. M., Riekki, T., Kundtová Klocová, E., Ramsay, J. E., Bulbulia, J. (2017). Global evidence of extreme intuitive moral prejudice against atheists. Nature Human Behavior, 1 (0151), 1-5.
• Machery, E., Stich, S., Rose, D., Alai, M., Angelucci, A., Berniūnas, R., Buchtel, E. E. . . . Zhu, J. (2017). The Gettier intuition from South America to Asia. Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research, 34(3), 517-541.
• Rose, D., Machery, E., Stich, S., Alai, M., Angelucci, A., Berniūnas, R., Buchtel, E. E. . . . Zhu, J. (2017). Behavioral circumscription and the folk psychology of belief: A study in ethno‐mentalizing. Thought, 6(3), 193-203.
• Chen, S. X., Ng, J. C. K., Buchtel, E. E., Guan, Y., Deng, H., & Bond, M. H. (2017). The added value of worldviews over self-views: Predicting modest behaviour in Eastern and Western cultures. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56, 723-749.
• Chen, S. X., Lam, B. C. P., Wu, W. C. H., Ng, J. C. K., Buchtel, E. E., Guan, Y., & Deng, H. (2016). Do people’s world views matter? The why and how. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110 (5), 743-765.
• Chen, S. X., Lam, B. C. P., Hui, B. P. H., Ng, J. C. K., Mak, W. W. S., Guan, Y., Buchtel, E. E., Tang, W. C. S., & Lau, V. C. Y. (2016). Conceptualizing psychological processes in response to globalization: Components, antecedents, and consequences of global orientations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2016, 302-331.
• Buchtel, E. E., Guan, Y., Peng, Q., Su, Y., Sang, B., Chen, S. X., & Bond, M. H. (2015). Immorality East and West: Are immoral behaviors especially harmful, or especially uncivilized?. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(10), 1382-1394.
• Chen, S. X., Lam, B. C. P., Buchtel, E. E., & Bond, M. B. (2014). The conscientiousness paradox: Cultural mindset shapes competence perception. European Journal of Personality, 28 (5), 425-436.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2014). Cultural sensitivity or cultural stereotyping? Positive and negative effects of a cultural psychology class. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 39, 40-52.
• Dunn, E. W., Buchtel, E. E., & Aknin, L. B. (2011). Consensus at the Heart of Division: Comment on Norton & Ariely (2011). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 13-14.
• Leu, J., Mesquita, B., Ellsworth, P. C., Zhang, Z-Y., Yuan, H-J., Buchtel, E. E., Karasawa, M., & Masuda, T. (2010). Situational differences in dialectical emotions: Boundary conditions in a cultural comparison of North Americans and East Asians. Cognition & Emotion, 24, 419-435.
• Chen, S. X., Bond, M.B., Chan, B., Tang, D., & Buchtel, E. E. (2009). Behavioral Manifestations of Modesty. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40 (4), 603-626.
• Heine, S. J. & Buchtel, E. E. (2009). Personality: The universal and the culturally specific. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 369-394.
• Heine, S. J., Buchtel, E. E., & Norenzayan, A. (2008). What do cross-national comparisons of personality traits tell us? The case of conscientiousness. Psychological Science, 19 (4), 309-313.
• Buchtel, E. E. & Norenzayan, A. (2008). Which should you use, intuition or logic? Cultural differences in injunctive norms about reasoning. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 11, 264-273.

Conference Papers

• Buchtel, E. E., Guan, Y., & Wang, N. (2017, August). Chinese moral character: Principled vs. Caring, Laws vs. Personality: How universal moral character trait categories reveal cultural differences. 12th Biennial Conference of the Asian Association of Social Psychology, Auckland, New Zealand.
• Buchtel, E. E., Guan, Y. & Su. Y. (2016, December). Morality in China vs. the West: Lay concepts and challenges. Paper presentation in the symposium “China: Civic and Moral Education,” at the 42nd Annual Conference of the Association for Moral Education, Cambridge, MA, USA.
• Buchtel, E. E., Ng, C. Y., & Cannon, P. R. (2016, August). Chinese moral expressions: Cultural similarities and differences in how affective facial muscle activity predicts moral judgments. Paper presentation in the symposium “Cross-Cultural Experimental Philosophy,” at the 23rd International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Nagoya, Japan.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2015, February). What are we talking about when we talk about morality? Chinese and Western differences in harm vs. incivility as central indicators of immoral behavior. Poster presented at the Advances in Cultural Psychology preconference, Long Beach, CA, USA.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2015, February). What is Immoral? Chinese vs. Western Prototypes of Immoral Behaviors. Poster presented at the SPSP Annual Meeting, Long Beach, CA, USA.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2014, March). Immorality in China: Lay concepts and moral cognition. Paper presented at the Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Moral Psychology conference, Seoul, South Korea.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2013, November). Chinese and Western lay concepts of morality: What does morality mean when impropriety is immoral?. Paper presented at the 21st meeting of the Moral Psychology Research Group, MN, USA.
• Buchtel, E. E., Guan, Y., & Su, Y. (2013, August). Chinese and Western lay concepts of morality: Is morality about impropriety, or sin?. The 10th Biennial Conference of the Asian Association of Social Psychology, Jogyakarta, Indonesia.
• Buchtel, E. E. & Guan, Y. (2012, December). Reaching for eudaemonia: What does it mean to be virtuous? Chinese vs. Western prototypes of virtue. 3rd HK-UK Joint International Conference, Hong Kong, PRC.
• Buchtel, E. E. & Guan, Y. (2012, January). Being Cultivated: Chinese vs. Western concepts of moral character. Poster presented at the SPSP Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, USA.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2011, July). The meaning of morality. Presentation at the Asian Association of Social Psychology, Kunming, Yunnan, PRC.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2010, July). A Sense of Obligation: Culture and the subjective experience of meeting expectations. Award address at the International Association of Cross Cultural Psychology Annual Congress, Melbourne, Australia.
• Buchtel, E. E., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2009, July). Comparing Personality across Cultures. Presentation at the Association for Research in Personality (ARP) First Stand-Alone Conference, Evanston, IL, USA.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2009, February). Principled Moral Relativism. Poster presented at the SPSP Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL, USA.
• Buchtel, E. E. (2007, January). Cultural sensitivity without stereotyping? The effect of learning about cultural psychology on attitudes toward cultural groups. Poster presented at the SPSP Annual Meeting, Memphis, TN, USA.

All Other Outputs

• Buchtel, E. E. (2011). Review of “Memory in Mind and Culture”. [Review of the book Memory in Mind and Culture, edited by P. Boyer and J. V. Wertsch]. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 52, 61-62.

Diversity and Academic Discussion in the Classroom: Using Perspective Taking to Improve Process and Educational Outcomes of Small-group Discussion in the Classroom

Invigorating, student-led academic discussion does not happen automatically in university classrooms, especially those characterized by cultural differences in preferred communication styles. This project aims at developing critical thinking and acad . . . Project Start Year : 2019  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Understanding China’s Changing Moral Psychology

This project brings together a team of cross-disciplinary academics whose joint efforts will lead to a new understanding of Chinese moral traits, where these traits came from, and their future influence. https://www.ryantatenichols.com/understanding- . . . Project Start Year : 2019  Chief Investigator(s) : Ryan Nichols  (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Team Member)

Filial Values and “Unhealthy Practices:” When is Corruption Increased by Confucian Virtues? The Roles of Moral Conflict and Societal Transparency

Does the Confucian virtue of filial piety-- and its requirement to "love with distinction"-- encourage corruption? This question has received recent interest from philosophers, but has not been addressed empirically. Despite the intuitively appealing . . . Project Start Year : 2018  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Personal, Social, and Community Well-Being Cluster

.. Project Start Year : 2018  Chief Investigator(s) : POON, Kai Tak 潘啟德   (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Team Member)

Are Filial Values Opposed to Universal Benevolence? The Relationship Between Traditional Confucian Virtues and Particularism

This research project develops a localized measure of particularism vs. corruption tolerance, and serves as a pilot study for further research on their influence by the possible contradictions between the Confucian virtues of filial piety and univers . . . Project Start Year : 2016  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Chinese Moral Character: What Does It Mean to be Principled in a Confucian Culture?

This project will seek evidence that "personality inconsistency"-- acting differently towards different people-- is morally motivated in Chinese cultures. Project Start Year : 2016  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Engaging students in online discussions using the Moodle LMS.

This project studies how discussion forums can be used to engage students in small-group peer exchange with the goal of the social construction of knowledge and deeper understanding. We will: 1. Compare the use of the new Participation Forum in com . . . Project Start Year : 2015  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Good Teaching Practice – Incorporation of Development of Generic Skills into Course Teaching at Higher Education Context

The present project is related to Community of Practice (CoP). It aims to promote good teaching practice with the focus of incorporating the generic intended learning outcomes (GILOs) in course teaching and develop a peer sharing atmosphere on campus . . . Project Start Year : 2015  Chief Investigator(s) : CHENG, May Hung May 鄭美紅   (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Team Member)

International Situations Project

Culture is reflected and transmitted through the daily experience of ordinary situations. However, psychological research has traditionally paid much more attention to the conceptualization and measurement of persons than of situations, and this imba . . . Project Start Year : 2015  Chief Investigator(s) : FUNDER, David  (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Team Member)

The Distracted Student? Engaging Competing Texts and (Re)Constructing Authority to guide Learning and Discovery

Recent studies demonstrate that college students routinely use their laptops and mobile phones to perform “extracurricular” activities in class. This study explores how students who have “grown up digital” often simultaneously interact with communica . . . Project Start Year : 2015  Chief Investigator(s) : SHUTER, Robert  (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Collaborator)

Chinese Morality: When Propriety Is Part of the Picture, What Does Morality Mean? Testing and Extending Moral Theory to Fit Lay Concepts of a Confucian Moral System

Do morality concepts of Chinese laypeople fit Western psychological theories? A series of studies over three years are planned to examine the connection between Chinese morality concepts, Moral Foundations Theory (Graham, Haidt), and Social-Cognitive . . . Project Start Year : 2014  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Cultural-moral Relativism: Scale Development and Initial Correlates

A moral relativism personality scale focused mainly on cultural-moral relativism will be developed. Some negative and positive correlates of being high in cultural-moral relativism will be tested. Project Start Year : 2014  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Plagiarism and Culture: Is Avoiding Plagiarism more than Just a Technical Issue?

This set of studies will explore Hong Kong students' reasons for plagiarizing and whether plagiarism knowledge and unintentional plagiarism are predicted by cultural factors. Project Start Year : 2014  Chief Investigator(s) : WONG, Kit Yi Angel 黃潔儀   (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Co-Investigator)

The Blended & Online Learning & Teaching (BOLT) Project: Collaborative professional development for capacity building in blended and online learning and teaching in Hong Kong

Professional development for tertiary teaching in Hong Kong is conducted in many different ways. Each institute of higher education has its own approaches, provisions and requirements, and varied resources to address this issue. In most of Hong Kong’ . . . Project Start Year : 2014  Chief Investigator(s) : LIM, Cher Ping 林質彬 ; HARBUTT, Darren  (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Co-Investigator)

Intellectual Humility and Cultural Diversity in Philosophy

This project will conduct the largest and most systematic study of philosophical intuitions in different cultural groups ever undertaken. Collecting data in more than 15 countries around the world, we will seek to determine the extent to which philos . . . Project Start Year : 2013  Chief Investigator(s) : Stich, Stephen P. ; Machery, Edouard  (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Team Member)

Self-referent and Other-referent Career Success: A Cross-cultural Investigation

Subjective judgment of career success may depend on references to one's own criteria (e.g. one's own career goals), or it may depend on comparisons to others (e.g. whether one's income is as good as that of peers). We hypothesize that collectivistic . . . Project Start Year : 2013  Chief Investigator(s) : GUAN, Yanjun  (Dr BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅 as Co-Investigator)

Grounding Morality in Thought and Practice: A Cross-Cultural Study of Lay Morality

Pilot studies on lay concepts of immoral behavior Project Start Year : 2011  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Moral Character: Language and Cognition

A prototype approach to defining "Excellent Moral Character" among university students in Hong Kong and Beijing. Project Start Year : 2011  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

Morality Concepts in Greater China and Beyond

Pilot studies of indigenous concepts of immorality and moral character in Greater China and beyond. Project Start Year : 2011  Chief Investigator(s) : BUCHTEL, Emma Ellen Kathrina 蒲安梅

President's Award for Outstanding Performance in Administrative Services (Team Award)

https://www.eduhk.hk/main/media/press-release/864 Date of receipt: 14/5/2018 Conferred by: The Education University of Hong Kong

President's Award for Outstanding Performance in Teaching 2014/15

https://www.eduhk.hk/p_award/view.php?secid=5834 Date of receipt: 5/2015 Conferred by: The Education University of Hong Kong