Cultural Psychology - Lecture 3: Culture and Cultural Psychology

Question 1

What is culture?

Answer 1

Shared rules that govern behaviour of a group of people.
Shared values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that distinguish members
of a group.

Question 2

Culture as a filter

Answer 2

The filter through which we see and

understand our reality.

Question 3

What does culture shape?

Answer 3

Culture is something you learn that shapes your

awareness of the world around you.

Question 4

What influences the way we interact with each other?

Answer 4

The way we interact with each other is influenced by cultures we are developed in and the way we go about our lives influences how we interact with other people as well

Question 5

Nationality

Answer 5

Country of residence

Question 6

Ethnicity

Answer 6

A geographical space that has a shared history, language and to some extent, biological traits

Question 7

Race

Answer 7

Genetic/biological differences between people/groups

Question 8

Society

Answer 8

Systems in place in which ppl act and are allowed to act through

Question 9

Surface culture

Answer 9

Observable - Behaviours, food, language, clothing, dance music

Question 10

Deep culture

Answer 10

Unobservable - Values, beliefs, attitudes, behavioural norms

Question 11

Does culture change over time?

Answer 11

Yes

Question 12

Example of how culture has changed over time

Answer 12

Technology - cultural modes of communication influences our own experiences in the world

e. g. bullying - face to face used to be more common, now cyberbullying
- > we create our own identities through technological platforms

Question 13

Cultural psychology

Answer 13

To understand how mind and culture define each other in specific contexts
-> culture and psychology both influence each other

Question 14

Interdisciplinary

Answer 14

Cultural psychology relates to a wide variety of fields e.g. linguistics, neuroscience etc

Question 15

Political nature of culture and psychology

Answer 15

Hierarchical nature of society and social groups.

Politics and power can be central aspects of culture.

Question 16

Explain - cultural and structural influences designed and maintained by leaders.

Answer 16

Cultural values are maintained or disrupted by political systems we have in place - attitudes we have towards cultural symbol aren’t necessarily independent views of ourselves but also influenced by our political allegiances

Question 17

Intersectionality

Answer 17

“Intersectionality consists of an assemblage of ideas and practices that maintain that gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ethnicity, ability, and similar phenomena cannot be analytically understood in isolation from one another; instead, these constructs signal an intersecting constellation of power relationships that produce unequal material realities” (Collins & Chepp, 2013)

Question 18

Intersectionality - simple definition

Answer 18

Analytical strategy to understand how our experience of the world can be rooted in experiences of marginalisation
-> Important way in which we consider how we link theory and practice
Examines human experience as multi-dimensional - each aspect has to be looked in conjunction with others

Question 19

7 aspects on intersectionality diagram

Answer 19

Religion/spirituality
Class/Socioeconomic status
Able-bodiness
Ethnicity/culture
Gender/Identity
Sexual orientation
Age

Question 20

What theories did ancient civilisations have?

Answer 20

Ancient civilsations had theories of mind (China, Greece, India, Egypt)

Question 21

Where were the early beginnings of psychology and problem with assumption of further transportation?

Answer 21

Early beginnings of psychology in Europe and North America

• > From here psychology has grown as a discipline and then was transported around the world
• > However if we’re going to consider culture and psychology, need to know context the theories were developed in and if they are suitable to understanding experience of cultures/ppl around the world

Question 22

“The weirdest people in the world?” (Henrich, Heine &

Norenzayan, 2010)

Answer 22

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and

Democratic societies

Question 23

Problems with WEIRD people

Answer 23

 Strong North American influence
 Reliance on undergraduate samples
 WEIRD subjects are frequent outliers compared with the rest of the world

Question 24

What needs to be accounted for in psychological research?

Answer 24

Understand the context in which psychological research is conducted

Question 25

3 cultural competencies in psychology

Answer 25

Awareness, knowledge, skill

Question 26

Awareness

Answer 26

Your own and your clients’/participants cultural heritages, gender, ethnic identity, sexuality, affiliations, age etc.

Question 27

Knowledge

Answer 27

Historical and cultural contexts of psychological theories; manifestation of history and oppression; family structures; socio-political influences; Te Tiriti
-> Knowledge both your own and understanding that of client relating to above

Question 28

Skill

Answer 28

Evaluation and development of accurate research (we’re doing and reading); identifying when you are a problem (e.g. what you say, unable to establish rapport or physical presence); identifying biases and developing non-biased approaches