Topic 5 - cross-cultural psychology

Question 1

Define culture.

Answer 1

refers to the shared rules that govern behaviour; it is a filter through which we see and understand our current reality.

Question 2

What is the difference between cultural psychologists and cross-cultural psychologists?

Answer 2

Cultural = study how people are affected by their culture.

Cross = compare similarities and differences in behaviour across difference societies or cultures.

Question 3

What are the emic and etic perspectives?

Answer 3

Emic = focuses on specific psychological aspects of a culture.

Etic = involves the search for commonalities or differences across cultures.

Question 4

What occurs in a cross-cultural validation study?

Answer 4

Examine whether a psychological variable in one culture can be applied and have meaning in another culture.

Question 5

What are 5 challenges in cross-cultural research?

Answer 5

1. Research methods - ensuring data has equivalent meaning in different cultures.
2. Equivalent samples
3. Interpreting results - requires cultureal knowledge.
4. Researcher bias - influenced by own cultural contexts
5. Sensitive issues

Question 6

What is pluralism?

Answer 6

The right for multiple cultures to co-exist and retain their cultural heritage.

Question 7

What are the 4 phases of culture shock?

Answer 7

1. Honeymoon phase
2. Disenchantment phase
3. The beginning resolution phase
4. The effective functioning stage

Question 8

What 3 distortions of reality can be caused by stereotypes?

Answer 8

1. Accentuate group differences - us-them thinking
2. Create selective thinking - people only see what reinforced the cultural stereotype
3. Assume homogeneity in other groups - assume that all members of another culture behave the same way.

Question 9

Define ethnocentrism?

Answer 9

the tendency for a person’s own culture to influence the way they view the rest of the world. Their culture is normal, the other culture is strange and often inferior.

Question 10

What is the contact hypothesis?

Answer 10

the more contact there is between people from different groups, the more they will break down any barriers or prejudices.

Question 11

What 2 fundamental assumptions in psychology exclude indigenous people?

Answer 11

1. Individualism - psychology is focused on the individual rather than the interactions between individuals
2. Universality - cultural and historical context is ignored

Question 12

What are the 6 nonverbal behaviours?

Answer 12

Kinaesics: gestures, mvt, facial expression

Oculesics: eye mvt and eye contact

Haptics: touch to accompany comm.

Proxemics: the use of space between people

Chronemics: time

Vocalics: vocal cues

Question 13

Define social constructionism.

Answer 13

the postmodern theory that there are no universal truths because people are continually constructing knowledge based on their own individual and cultural experiences.

Question 14

What is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Answer 14

Suggests that speakers of different languages actually think differently, and do so because of the differences in their languages.