Understanding Cross-Cultural
Psychology
What is Cross Cultural Psychology?
• The critical and comparative study of cultural
effects on human psychology
– Comparative field-requires two groups to compare
at all times
– Examines:
• Psychological Diversity- why all behavior isn’t the same
in every culture
• Interactions- how does the diffusion of one culture into
another for a period influence that culture later
• Establishes Psychological Universals- commonalities
amongst all people
What is cultural psychology?
• Cultural Psychology seeks to discover
meaningful links between a culture and the
psychology of individuals living in the culture
– Looks to understand whether, when and how
individuals growing up in a culture internalize that
culture’s qualities
– Mental processes are essentially the products of
an interaction between culture and the individual
Culture
• A set of attitudes, behaviors and symbols shared by a large
group of people and usually communicated from one
generation to the next
– Attitudes include- beliefs, values, general knowledge, opinions,
superstitions, and stereotypes
– Behaviors include variety of- norms, roles, customs, traditions,
habits, practices, and fashions
– Symbols may include- material objects, colors, sounds, slogans,
buildings, etc.
• Cultures possess implicit and explicit characteristics
– Explicit- set of observable acts regularly found within the culture
– Implicit-organized principles that are inferred to lie behind these
regularities on the basis of consistent patterns of explicit culture
• No society is culturally homogeneous
Race, Ethnicity, Nationality
• American Terms
– Race- a group of people distinguished by certain similar
and genetically transmitted physical characteristics
• Some believe once centered on geographical isolation, now
political, cultural or religious factors are seen as more important
• Some argue race is simply a social category
– Ethnicity-cultural heritage
– Nation- people who share common geographical origin,
history and language
• Not all cultures use these terms in the same way which
can make things confusing.
• Never forget groups are constantly changing,
particularly in the United States.
Knowledge in Cross-Cultural
Psychology
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Scientific Knowledge-research based
Popular Knowledge-Everyday assumptions
Ideological Knowledge-Based on set of beliefs
Legal Knowledge- encapsulated in law
Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Culture
Traditional
Non-Traditional (Modern)
Social Roles prescribed
Social Roles are achieved
Emphasis of individual behavior placed on Emphasis of individual behavior placed
customs and routines
on personal choice
Clear distinction between good and evil
Distinction between good and evil is
relative
Truth is not debatable
Truth comes from competition of ideas
Individual Choices are restricted to
boundaries of social prescriptions
Individual Choices not restricted to
boundaries of social prescriptions
Empirical Examination of Culture
• Cultural differences can be classified in terms of cultural
dichotomies
– Power Distance-extent to which members of a society accept power in
institutions and organizations is distributed unequally
• High-accepting of inequality
• Low-reject inequality
– Masculinity vs. Femininity
• Masculinity-focus on work goals, earning and advancement
• Femininity-focus on values of modesty and caring for the weak
– Uncertainty Avoidance-degree to which members of a society feel
uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity
• High-promote Certainty/Conformity
• Low-non-conformist
– Collectivism vs. individualism-focus on the group vs. focus on self
Further Research with Individualism
and Collectivism
• Vertical and Horizontal concepts
– Vertical-people refer to each other from power
and achievement standpoints
– Horizontal-Benevolence and equality
Cultural Syndromes
• The pattern or combination of shared attitudes, beliefs,
categorizations, definition, norms, and values that is
organized around a theme that can be indentified among
those who speak a particular language, during a specific
historic period, in a definable geographic region.
• Types
– Tightness-rules and norms applied to social situations and
sanctions applied to those who violate the norms
– Cultural complexity-a number of different cultural elements and
their activity or passivity
– Honor- combo of attitudes and practices that support aggressive
actions in the name of self-protection
– Collectivism vs. Individualism
– Egalitarian-vertical and horizontal relationships
Approaches to examine human activity
in cultural settings
• Sociobiological Approach-Social Darwinism-natural and
evolutionary explanations offered for a wide array of
human behavior
• Sociological Approach-Broad social structures influence
society as a whole , and subsequently its individuals
• Ecocultural Approach-Environment has effect on
individual and individual in turn effects the
environment
• Cultural Mixtures Approach-Cultures are constantly
moving and mixing (Biculturalism vs. Fundamentalism)
• Integrative Approach-Combining these ideas with a
focus on Activity and Availability of Resources
Indigenous Psychologies
• Scientific study of human behavior that is
designed for a people and native not
transported
Ethnocentrism
• A view that supports judgment about other
ethnic, national and cultural groups by
observing them from the standards of your
own group.
Multiculturalism
• A movement to support the view that all
cultural groups have the right to follow their
own unique paths of development and have
their own unique activities, values and norms