Generativity through culture. A systematic review

Abstract

This systematic review aims to resolve the controversy that exists in the relationship between generativity and culture, in order to clarify the approach of generative study from a cultural perspective in future empirical research. The articles included in the review, published between 1990 and 2019, should be peer-reviewed scientific articles with explicit content about both terms. In the search, five databases were used combining multidisciplinary repositories with specialized databases, obtaining a total of thirty articles eligible for this review (n = 30). The analysis of the articles is divided into four categories that provide information about different dimensions of the relationship between both concepts: the limits of cultural generativity, cross-cultural comparisons of the structure of generativity, effects and cultural interpretations of generativity, and cultural evi­dences of its application and potential usefulness. In conclusion, the most psycho­logical aspects that structure generativity are common interculturally, however, the motives, conception and interpretation of generative behavior seem to vary in­tensely from one type of culture to another.