Cultural Psychology
Final Paper Plan
Please review the final paper assignment (posted on Blackboard under Assignments) and the
target that you chose in Week 5. Hopefully, you’ve been thinking about your target and it still
works for you. If, however, you’d like to change your target one last time, now is your chance.
Once you have a target in mind, please use this sheet to tell me about what you might like to
apply course concepts in your analysis of your chosen target. For each concept you choose,
please indicate:
 Relevant reading(s) from the course syllabus
o Week 3 Reading - Personal and Collective Cultures
o Week 3 Reading - Cultural Transmission and Internalization
o Week 6 Reading - Closer Look at the Meaning-Making Process
o Week 6 Reading - Regulating One’s Own Meaning-Making Process
 Some idea about how you might apply the concept in your analysis. You don’t need to
write your paper here. Just a couple (or 3…or 4…) sentences to give me an idea of what
you’re thinking is all I need.
o My main topic is going to be along the lines of how the disproportion between
personal culture and collective culture misconceptions have led to identity crisis
in my life. I plan on diverging into what makes up personal culture, and then
what makes up my personal culture, then doing the same with collective culture
(in the nationality/ethnicity realm). After that, I am going to explain how
collective culture can be both intrinsic and extrinsic, in terms of the image of
what the shared culture should (intrinsic, it’s the internal image of what you
believe it should be) be based on "real" ethnic roots, but then talking about what
it's actually displayed (externally, or extrinsically, how it is shown/depicted to
others). Lastly, to wrap it all up/apply everything together, I am going to explain
how all of this had played into my personal identity crisis and the extent to which
each factor played its part, in my opinion.
Feel free to add as many concepts as you’d like. I’ve prepared space for four but there is no
magic number.
Also, if you are having a hard time choosing between potential targets, feel free to complete
this plan as many times as you’d like. Usually, thinking things through a little bit makes the
choice clear but I’m happy to help you choose between targets once you’ve developed a plan, if
you have more than one.
>> My proposed target is: How the disproportional weight of shared culture and personal
culture weigh on personal identity and can lead to a complete identity crisis.
>> Concept #1:
What personal culture is and what factors contribute to personal culture.
Relevant reading(s):
Week 3 Reading: Personal and Collective Cultures
How will this concept be applied?
This ties into how I am going to explain the downfall of my cultural makeup when I go into
deciphering what specifically makes up my personal culture, rather than just broadly explaining
what personal culture is overall.
>> Concept #2:
What collective culture is and what factors contribute to collective culture.
Relevant reading(s):
Week 3 Reading: Personal and Collective Cultures
Week 3 Reading: Cultural Transmission and Internalization
How will this concept be applied?
This ties into how I am going to explain the downfall of my cultural makeup when I go into
deciphering what specifically makes up my collective culture, rather than just broadly
explaining what collective culture is overall.
>> Concept #3:
How collective culture can be both intrinsic and extrinsic, in terms of the image of what the
shared culture should (intrinsic, it’s the internal image of what you believe it should be) be
based on "real" ethnic roots.
Relevant reading(s):
Week 3 Reading: Personal and Collective Cultures
Week 3 Reading: Cultural Transmission and Internalization
How will this concept be applied?
It will introduce the thought process and concepts needed to be conscious of for realizing that
people with multiple ethnicities/racial backgrounds often feel "too much" of one thing or "not
enough" or enough of another, that’s the piece that’s intrinsic vs extrinsic, because people
around you can most times tell which one you determine yourself "too much" or "not enough"
of.
>>Concept #4:
I am going to explain how all of this had played into my personal identity crisis and the extent to
which each factor played its part, in my opinion.
Relevant reading(s):
All listed above, but mostly this is where my personal experience takes place with tying it all
together.
How will this concept be applied?
Breaking down the factors of my personal culture and what I value, and then the characteristics
of my collective culture(s). Then I am going to explain how they clash and ultimately left
nothing but confusion, chaos, and an inability to decipher if there was any culture in which I
was entitled to have/able to develop/able to resonate within.