Testing the correspondence between self-reported and actual culturally valued behaviours in Māori students across Māori and non-Māori environments

Abstract

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) views culture as a network of interrelated behaviours maintained by social reinforcement within a shared verbal community (Baer et al., 2005; Bishop et al., 2009; Skinner, 1957). Within this framework, culturally valued behaviours (CVBs) for Māori—such as helping and contributing to the collective—are shaped and sustained through social consequences that reflect shared cultural practices (Baum, 2005; Bishop et al., 2009; Skinner, 1957). Despite their importance, these behaviours are rarely observed directly; researchers often rely on self-report measures, which represent a form of verbal behaviour available only to the speaker (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977; Skinner, 1957). Studies indicate that self-reported behaviours and observable actions often correlate only modestly (Baumeister et al., 2007; Dang et al., 2020), suggesting that verbal endorsements of values or intentions may not reliably predict actual behaviour.

The Māori Cultural Embeddedness Scale (MaCES; Durie, 2001; Fox et al., 2023; Mead, 2003) was developed to assess engagement with Māori cultural values and practices. However, it remains unclear whether Māori individuals’ self-reported behaviours, as measured by the MaCES, reflect their actual behaviour (Durie, 2001; Fox et al., 2023; Mead, 2003). From an ABA perspective, correspondence between reported and observed behaviours must be demonstrated empirically rather than assumed (Cooper et al., 2020; Michael, 1982; Skinner, 1953).

Guided by both ABA and Kaupapa Māori principles (Bishop, 1996; Bishop & Berryman, 2006, 2009; Smith, 1999), the present study addressed this gap by examining the alignment between Māori students’ self-reported and directly observed helping behaviour in Māori and non-Māori environments. Self-reported CVB was assessed using the Culturally Valued Behaviour Scale (CVB), a Māori cultural values and practices survey. One item (Q12) was drawn from the MaCES and was explicitly related to helping and used to analyse culturally valued helping behaviour (Durie, 2001; Fox et al., 2023).

Twenty-three Māori students participated and were randomly assigned to either Te Kohinga Mārama Marae or a standard university psychology laboratory. Participants set up the room, completed the CVB (during which the observer intentionally dropped papers), and then packed up, while helping behaviours were recorded. Spearman’s rho assessed the correspondence between self-reported and observed helping within each context (Field, 2018). An independent t-test examined differences by environment and sex, while ANOVA assessed differences across age groups (Cohen, 1992).

Results showed no significant correspondence between self-reported helping (Q12) and observed helping in either setting. Helping frequency remained consistently high across both environments, with no significant differences by environment, sex, or age. The CVB demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (α = .743), although item-level analyses suggested that behaviours clustered rather than showing uniform endorsement (Fox et al., 2023). Qualitative responses indicated that participants’ helping was motivated by intrinsic prosocial values rather than direct demands or perceived obligation (Baum, 2005; Biglan & Glenn, 2013).

Overall, the findings suggest limited “say-do” correspondence for culturally valued behaviour in this sample (Baer et al., 1968; Nisbett & Wilson, 1977). Verbal endorsements of helping appeared to be governed by different contingencies than overt behaviour. Contrary to expectations, the Māori environment did not increase helping frequency or strengthen correspondence relative to the non-Māori setting. These results contribute to Māori-centred behavioural research by highlighting the complexity of measuring culturally valued behaviours and emphasizing the value of multimethod approaches that combine Kaupapa Māori perspectives with direct behavioural observation (Bishop et al., 2009; Smith, 1999). Future research should explore additional culturally grounded behaviours, expand opportunities for helping, examine how environmental contingencies within Māori settings may more strongly evoke or differentiate culturally valued actions, and investigate the difference between manded versus naturalistic behaviours to better understand how culturally valued actions are expressed across contexts (Cooper et al., 2020; Michael, 1993).