Cultural Psychology - Lecture 4: Cross Cultural Psychology Flashcards
Cross-cultural psychology definition
Variance and invariance of human behaviour and mental processes under diverse cultural conditions.
What does cross-cultural psychology compare?
Comparing the psychological functioning of peoples from different nations or ethnic groups (across different contexts)
-> Looking at similarities and differences across groups
Difference between cultural psychology and cross-cultural psychology
Cultural psychology is understanding mental processes and behaviour of people within their cultural context, whereas cross-cultural psychology compares this across different cultural contexts
What do emotions acts as?
They act as queue to understand how people are reacting to a particular situation but also display our own effective attitudes towards something
What is the primary way of communication through?
Face
Are emotions universal?
Yes - Evidence for universal basic emotional facial displays, but also evidence for cultural differences in emotional facial displays and interpretations
-> Some elements of emotions are present in all cultures - but differences are present as well
Are complex emotions universal?
Complex emotions may be more culturally‐specific, or
there may be varying cultural display rules for emotions
How does culture affect emotion?
Cultures in which we grew up in can influence how we display our emotion, so although we may have the same/similar physiological responses, our behavioural responses may differ
How does language relate to emotion?
Languages that describe emotions or emotional
arousal we experience but don’t have words for in
English - Language can ascribe a lot of meaning to things we’re experiencing
-> Languages create meaning for a lot of the experiences we have which may not be shared across cultures, but can give us insight into meanings we’re trying to make for ourselves
Write out individualism/collectivism table in terms of: Concept of self Interest Independence/interdependence Pursuit Behaviour Norm 4/3 normal qualities
Refer to slides
-Also is a continuum along which cultures/ppl may be range from being independent to inter-dependent
Individualism/Collectivism and the self concept - 3 parts of the self concept
Idiocentric self-references, group cognitions, allocentric cognitions
Idiocentric self-references
Personal qualities that don’t relate to others
Group cognitions
References to group memberships or demographics
Allocentric cognitions
Qualities of interdependence, interest in the viewpoints of others
Does the individualism/collectivism of a nation apply to those of an individual too?
Not all ppl living in that nation follow the same way, as there are a variety of ethnicities in countries (like NZ) and may act in accordance with their ethnic culture, although people may act more individualist/collectivist in certain situations
Limitations of cross-cultural psychology
- Cultural differences VS National differences?
- Ethnicity or Nation assumes Culture as a variable
- Group VS Individual level of analysis
- Assumptions of universality
Limitations of cross-cultural psychology - Cultural differences VS National differences?
Depending on the way we are looking at something, we could explore cultural differences within a nation (e.g. different ethnic groups in NZ), or cultural differences across nations (e.g. NZ and Aus). This means if there is cultural variability within a nation, how can we be absolutely certain of cultural variability across nations.
-> The 2 nations may have same different ethnic groups in them so although within a nation there may be cultural differences, can’t really tell is there are national differences in terms of culture
Limitations of cross-cultural psychology - Ethnicity or Nation assumes Culture as a variable
If we are comparing e.g. NZ and Aus, our independent variable in this instance would be Country (not culture). We are then assuming that if we find any differences that this is due to culture, but may not have anything specifically looking at culture. Eg. Let’s say we find a difference in a measure of self-esteem between adolescents in NZ and Australia. It would be problematic to assume that any differences we find are due to cultural differences in how self-esteem is culturally influenced, if we have no way of assessing different cultural values in relation to self-esteem.
Limitations of cross-cultural psychology - Group VS Individual level of analysis
There are different levels at which we can do research e.g. National level, groups (e.g. a sample of 500 people), or individuals. We could potentially mask differences if our group definitions are too vague. For instance if we use a category such as “Asian” we may miss more nuanced differences for “Indian” and “Chinese”, likewise we can’t assume that all people within these groups have the same histories or cultural orientations.
Limitations of cross-cultural psychology - Assumptions of universality
Ideas usually generated within a particular cultural context and then those ideas being transported around the world assuming its expressed in the same way across different cultures
Acculturation
“the changes and consequences that occur for individuals as a result of crossing from one sociocultural context to another” (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2012, p.
673)
-> Acculturation is generally a 2 way process - when people come into country, change also occurs in host country (where people have moved to) as well as ppl adjusting to their new country
Different types of acculturation
Acculturation Typologies / Strategies
Acculturation - experiences for immigrants to host country
Experiences influenced by host country
-> Being able to see yourself within country means country does change
Assimilation
High host culture acquisition and low home culture maintenance
What people want to see in a country and can be forced upon others -> People adopt themselves into different cultural context
