CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY
Raymond T. Garza, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Midterm Examination Study Guide
1. What are some problems with psychological findings that imply universality of behavior?
2. As pointed out in class, in general, what is the relationship between psychological theory
development and culture?
3. What is the term used for a cross-cultural perspective that emphasizes testing the universality of
psychological theory rather than identifying culturally unique factors?
4. Which definition of culture best captures the essence of culture?
5. What is the relationship between race and culture?
6. What are the three factors associated with cultural adaptation?
7. As noted in your assigned text readings, what is the concept of the “ratchet effect”?
8. How does the back translation method ensure appropriate linguistic equivalence?
9. What are the key characteristics of priming studies?
10. Which of the different types of cross-cultural studies serve as the backbone of cross-cultural
research?
11. What is intracultural variability?
12. What dose the issue of cultural equivalence refer to?
13. What is the ultimate product(s) of the socialization process?
14. What are the various parenting styles and their respective characteristics?
15. According to Levine (1977), what is the order of the caregiving environment?
16. In terms of cultural identification problems, how can a marginal person be characterized?
17. Which of the dimensions of cultural variability noted by Hofstede is the best known?
18. According to lecture presentations, what is most prevalent “scientific” explanation of ethnic/racial
minority group deviance?
19. As presented in class, what is an important aspect of the cultural integration as opposed to
assimilation or dual cultural membership?
20. The assimilationistic or classic approach to acculturation will have positive results only when certain
conditions are met. Which of the following is not a condition?
21. What are the benefits of understanding cross-cultural perspectives in psychology?
22. According to Garza and Gallegos (on-line reading), what are some of the problems with traditional
approaches to Mexican-American acculturation?
23. What is the cultural counterpart to egocentrism?
24. What is the major pitfall of failing to understand the amount of diversity (variation within a culture)?
25. According to lectures presentations, how can acculturative stress be avoided or at least minimized?
26. What are the three major categories of temperament?
27. According to Ainsworth’s (1967, 1977) classification system of attachment, what are the three forms
of attachment?
28. What are these four stages proposed by Piaget (1952) to describe cognitive development in children?
29. What is a key concern raised by cross-cultural research on Piaget’s theory?
30. What term refers to our traditional notions of ethnocentrism as reflecting an inability to go beyond
our own cultural filters in interpreting the behavior?
31. As noted in lecture presentations, at which stage of M. J. Bennett’s intercultural competence (IC) are
cultural differences evaluated on the basis of plurality and context as opposed to a single cultural
perspective?
32. What has been found by cross-cultural research on optical illusions?
33. According to basic principles of human cognition, people categorize on the basis of similarities and
attach labels to groups of objects perceived to have something in common. What has been shown by
cross-cultural comparisons of Western adults and African adults?
34. Which major figure in the history of psychology can be credited for the generally accepted notion
that biological predispositions interact with socialization to produce individual differences in
personality and adjustment?
35. What are the types and distinguishing characteristics of Baumrind’s parenting styles?
36. What were the findings of Masuda and Nisbett’s (2001) cross cultural study with Japanese and
Americans?
37. According to findings of Bruner, Oliver, and Greenfield (1966), what happens as Western children
grow older?
38. Which culture(s) is characterized by dialectical thinking?
39. What were the findings of Gilovich et al. (2003) concerning the concept of regret?
40. What are Sternberg’s sub theories of intelligence?
41. What are the key differences of culture, gender roles, and stereotypes?
42. Which theory did Archer propose to deal with sex differences in social behavior result from the
division of labor between women and men regarding being a homemaker or a worker outside the
home?
43. Which theoretical concept refers to a gender identity that involves endorsement of both male and
female characteristics?
44. Which concept is related to Mexican American gender role differentiation that is characterized by
many traditional expectations of the male gender role, such as being unemotional, strong,
authoritative, aggressive, and masculine?
45. Which theory argues that males look for younger, chaste mates to bear offspring, while females look
for mates that can provide for offspring in the long term?
46. On which psychological construct did Zubeidat and Vera-Villarreal (2006) and other researchers
find gender differences to be universal?
47. What can be concluded with certainty regarding the relationship between sex and gender across
cultures?