Cultural Psychology - Lecture 3: Culture and Cultural Psychology Flashcards
What is culture?
Shared rules that govern behaviour of a group of people.
Shared values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that distinguish members
of a group.
Culture as a filter
The filter through which we see and
understand our reality.
What does culture shape?
Culture is something you learn that shapes your
awareness of the world around you.
What influences the way we interact with each other?
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
Nationality
Country of residence
Ethnicity
A geographical space that has a shared history, language and to some extent, biological traits
Race
Genetic/biological differences between people/groups
Society
Systems in place in which ppl act and are allowed to act through
Surface culture
Observable - Behaviours, food, language, clothing, dance music
Deep culture
Unobservable - Values, beliefs, attitudes, behavioural norms
Does culture change over time?
Yes
Example of how culture has changed over time
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
Cultural psychology
To understand how mind and culture define each other in specific contexts
-> culture and psychology both influence each other
Interdisciplinary
Cultural psychology relates to a wide variety of fields e.g. linguistics, neuroscience etc
Political nature of culture and psychology
Hierarchical nature of society and social groups.
Politics and power can be central aspects of culture.
Explain - cultural and structural influences designed and maintained by leaders.
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
Intersectionality
“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)
Intersectionality - simple definition
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
7 aspects on intersectionality diagram
Religion/spirituality Class/Socioeconomic status Able-bodiness Ethnicity/culture Gender/Identity Sexual orientation Age
What theories did ancient civilisations have?
Ancient civilsations had theories of mind (China, Greece, India, Egypt)
Where were the early beginnings of psychology and problem with assumption of further transportation?
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
“The weirdest people in the world?” (Henrich, Heine &
Norenzayan, 2010)
Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and
Democratic societies
Problems with WEIRD people
Strong North American influence
Reliance on undergraduate samples
WEIRD subjects are frequent outliers compared with the rest of the world
What needs to be accounted for in psychological research?
Understand the context in which psychological research is conducted
