Environmental and multi-cultural
influences: Where do we stand?
The precise manner in which environmental
and cultural influences are incorporated
psychologically has not yet been determined.
But, what we do know is that Culture matters
in psychology.
Lessons Learned
What are some bottom lines?
1. There are no absolutes.
2. Cultural influences are complex and
dynamic.
3. Free Will is relevant.
4. Attributing cause is extremely
complicated.
5. The field of psychology must address
culture, theoretically and
methodologically.
6. Real world intercultural relations provide
ultimate validation of the relevance of
culture..
BUILDING INTERCULTURAL
COMPETENCE
• The most frequently cited work in this area
is by M. J. Bennett. He views intercultural
competence (IC) more in terms of an
ongoing, developmental approach than a
grouping of specific behaviors.
• Bennett (1993) proposed a model of
Intercultural Sensitivity which he defines
as
• “The construction of reality as increasingly
capable of accommodating cultural
differences that constitute development”
Bennett, 1993, p4).
BUILDING INTERCULTURAL
COMPETENCE
Six Stages of Inter-cultrual Relations
Three stages of Ethnocentrism
Denial
Defense
Minimization
Three Stages of Ethnorelativism
Acceptance
Adaptation
Integration
BUILDING INTERCULTURAL
COMPETENCE
• Ethnocentrism: A simple way to conceive
of the three stages of ethnocentrism is in
terms of attitudes toward cultural
differences: those in the denial stage deny
the existence of cultural differences, those
in the defense stage demonize them, and
those in the minimization stage trivialize
differences
ETHNOCENTRISM
• Bennet outlines three stages in his
ethnocentric mode of Intercultural
sensitivity, as follows:
• Stage One: Denial
- This is a primitive ethnocentric stage in
which there is denial that cultural
differences even exist.
• Persons at this stage are not threatened
by cultural differences because they refuse
to accept them. Generally, those who
experience cultural denial have not had
extensive contact with people different from
themselves, and thus have no experiential
basis for believing in other cultures. A key
indicator of the denial stage is the belief
that you know better than the locals.
Stage (cont.)
• Stage Two: Defense
- At this stage there is acknowledgement
of cultural differences, BUT these
differences are seen as threatening to self.
- As a defense mechanism, many people
denigrate others and express derogatory
attitudes and behaviors towards them.
• Cultural differences at this stage are seen
as problems to be overcome, and there is
a dualistic “us vs. them” mentality.
Persons in the defense stage feel
threatened by “competing” cultures, tend
to surround themselves with member of
their own culture, and avoid contact with
“them.”
Satges (cont.)
• Stage Three: Minimization
- This stages involves recognition of
cultural differences BUT downplaying their
importance in our lives.
• People in the minimization stage of
ethnocentrism are still threatened by
cultural differences, but try to minimize
them by telling themselves that people are
more similar than dissimilar. They still
have not developed cultural selfawareness, and are insistent about getting
along with everyone.
ETHNORELATIVISM
• Stage Four: Acceptance
- First stage under ethnorelativism
- Cultural differences at this stage are
recognized and accepted. Notions of
biculturalism and multiculturalism stem
from thinking at this stage.
• In this first stage of ethnorelativism, people
begin recognize other cultures and to
accept them as viable alternatives to their
own worldview. People in the acceptance
phase can be thought of as “cultureneutral,” seeing differences as neither bad
nor good, but rather as a fact of life.
Stages (cont.)
• Stage Five: Adaptation
• During the adaptation phase, people
begin to view cultural differences as a
valuable resource, and thus relish the
differences. Because differences are seen
as positive, people consciously adapt their
behaviors to the different cultural norms of
their environment.
Stages (cont.)
• Stage Six: Integration
- The final stage of ethno-relativism has to do
with the integration of plurality into our cognitive
organizational structures and our behavior at the
level of a philosophy as well as a conscious
awareness.
- At this stage cultural differences are evaluated
on the basis of plurality and context as opposed
to a single cultural perspective.
• In this stage, people acceptance of their
identity is not based in any single culture.
Once integrated, people can effortlessly
and even unconsciously shift between
worldviews and cultural frames of
reference. Though they maintain their own
individual identity, they naturally integrate
aspects of other cultures into it.
• Bennett’s model offers a means of
identifying the various stages involved in
the development of ethno-relativism as
well as the specific skills, cognitions, and
emotional processes associated with each
of these stages.
Developmental Processes and
Culture
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Does Culture play a role?
What does the research show?
Piaget’s Theory
• Cognitive Development involves various
qualitatively different stages.
• Piaget’s theory (based on observations of
Swiss children)
– Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years
– Preoperational stage: 2 to 6-7 years
• Conservation, centration, irreversibility, egocentrism,
animism
– Concrete operations stage: 6-7 to 11 years
– Formal operations stage: 11 years to adulthood
Piaget’s Theory
• Mechanisms for moving from one stage
to next
– Assimilation: fitting new ideas into
preexisting understanding of world
– Accommodation: changing one’s
understanding of world to accommodate ideas
that conflict with existing concepts
– Piaget believed these stages to be
universal
Piaget’s Theory in Cross-Cultural
Perspective
• Do Piaget’s stages occur in the same
order in different cultures?
– Yes
• Are the ages that Piaget associated
with each stage of development the
same in all cultures?
– No, cultural variations exist (but children may
have potential to solve tasks sooner)
Piaget’s Theory in Cross-Cultural
Perspective
• Are there culture-based variations within,
rather than between, Piaget’s stages?
– Yes, cultural variations in the order in which skills
within a particular stage are qcquired
• Do non-Western cultures regard scientific
reasoning as the ultimate developmental
end point?
– No
Ex) Islamic educational systems
Piaget’s Theory: Summary and
Discussion
• In some cultures, very few can
complete a fourth-stage Piagetian task
– Cultural appropriateness of tasks
– Skills being tested
– Role of previous knowledge and cultural
values
• Universality of fourth stage has not been
demonstrated
Other Theories of Cognitive
Development
• Great divide theory
– Separates Westerners from those in less
technologically and educationally advanced
societies
– Non-Westerners’ development seen as inferior
– Justification of colonial imperialism,
ethnocentric
• Non-westerners also have ethnocentric
assumptions
MORAL REASONING
Kohlberg’s Theory of Morality
• Kohlberg’s theory of moral development
– Preconventional morality: compliance with
rules to avoid punishment and gain rewards
– Conventional morality: conformity to rules
defined by others’ approval or society’s rules
– Postconventional morality: moral reasoning
on basis of individual principles and
conscience
Cross-Cultural Studies of Moral
Reasoning
• Cross-cultural studies suggest many aspects
of Kohlberg’s theory of morality are universal
– Snarey (1985), Ma (1988)
Cross-cultural studies also raise questions
about the universality of Kohlberg’s higher
stages
– Cultural biases
– Moral reasoning at higher stages is culturespecific
Cross-Cultural Studies of Moral
Reasoning
• Miller
– Moralities of community
– Moralities of divinity
OTHER DEVELOPMENTAL
PROCESSES
• Developmental research offer insights into
causes and contexts of ontogenesis of
cultural differences
• Cross-cultural developmental research in
many areas such as future-oriented goals
and commitments, social expectations,
affective and romantic relationships in
adolescence, etc.