Cultural Differences in the Levels of Rewards between Adolescents from America, Australia, Tanzania, Denmark, Honduras, Korea, and Spain

The intent of this study is to determine what items are reinforcing for high school students from different regionsof the world including America, Australia, Tanzania, Denmark, Honduras, Korea, and Spain. Additionally, theresearchers sought to determine if there is a difference in the levels of rewards between individuals fromAmerica and individuals from these other countries.Seven hundred and fifty high school students from seven countries participated in this study. The onlyrequirement for inclusion in the study was current enrollment in high school in their native country. Subject agesranged from 12 to 19 years, with a mean of 15.52 years. Students were administered a 63-item survey of rewardpreference called the SORT-2. The SORT-2 is in English (SORT-2-EV), Spanish (SORT-2-SV), and Korean(SORT-2-KV) versions.Multiple between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on data reflecting the effects of region.The ANOVA was significant for region in 24 of the 25 items in the sports domain, 22 of the 30 items in theactivity domain, and in all of the eight items in the school activity domain. The bivariate analysis indicated thatparticipants from America were most different from those in Honduras, Tanzania, and Spain. The least amount ofdifference was noted in comparisons with Australia and Denmark.