Week 2: Cross Cultural Psychology

Question 1

What is culture?

Answer 1

Shared rules that govern the behaviour of a group of people and enable members of that group to co-exist and survive

Question 2

What is cultural shift?

Answer 2

the changes to culture that evolves slowly over time

Question 3

What is enculturation?

Answer 3

process of absorbing and internalising the rules of one’s culture

Question 4

What does a cultural psychologist do?

Answer 4

study ways that people are affected by the culture in which they live

Question 5

What does a cross-cultural psychologist do?

Answer 5

compare the similarities and differences in behaviour across different societies or culture

Question 6

What are the two perspectives to cultural and cross cultural research?

Answer 6

the emic and etic perspectives

Question 7

What is the emic perspective?

Answer 7

culture specific and involves focusing on one cultural group and examining psych aspects of that group

Question 8

What is the etic perspective?

Answer 8

cross-cultural and involves the search for commonalities across cultures

Question 9

What are the three different research methods used to test hypotheses in cross-cultural research?

Answer 9

Cross-cultural comparison studies, cross-cultural validation studies, unpackaging studies

Question 10

What are cross-cultural comparison studies?

Answer 10

comparing two or more different cultures in relation to a psychological variable

Question 11

What are cross-cultural validation studies?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

What are unpackaging studies?

Answer 12

tries to explain why cultural differences may occur

Question 13

What are the five challenges for psychologists studying culture?

Answer 13

Research methods, equivalent samples, interpreting results, research bias and sensitive issues

Question 14

What are matched samples?

Answer 14

matching individuals across different cultures on variables not under investigation, ensuring individuals from one culture reflect the same characteristics from another culture.

Question 15

What is the individualist-collectivist continuum?

Answer 15

extent to which a given culture favour individual goals or communal goals and how this influences psychological processes

Question 16

What are individualist cultures?

Answer 16

emphasise the primacy of the individual over the group

Question 17

What are collectivist cultures?

Answer 17

emphasise the group over individuals

Question 18

What are the six values that underpin ethical conduct for research with indigenous people?

Answer 18

Reciprocity, respect, equality, responsibility, survival and protection, spirit and integrity

Question 19

What are the four dimensions of culture?

Answer 19

Time, emotion, interpersonal space, context

Question 20

What is the difference between monochronic and polychronic in the time dimension of culture?

Answer 20

Monochronic – time is closely regulated and observed

Polychronic – time is loosely regulated and fluid

Question 21

What are cultural display rules?

Answer 21

specify the appropriateness of displaying certain emotions in particular social settings

Question 22

What are the three levels of interpersonal space?

Answer 22

Intimate space, social and consultative space, and public space

Question 23

What is conversational distance in relation to interpersonal space?

Answer 23

how close people stand to each other when talking; related to the idea of intimate space.

Question 24

What is the difference between high context and low context cultures?

Answer 24

High context cultures – pay close attention to nonverbal signs like body language to decode real meanings behind words or actions
Low context cultures – interpret actions and words literally, without as much regard to accompanying circumstances.

Question 25

What is the difference between tight versus loose cultures?

Answer 25

Tight Cultures - group members are expected to closely adhere to social norms. Deviation is not tolerated. Loose Cultures – Social norms are either unclear or deviance from norms is tolerated.

Question 26

What is multiculturalism?

Answer 26

situation where multiple cultures exist within a country and where the number of inhabitants representing those cultures is significant

Question 27

What is pluralism?

Answer 27

general acceptance of the existence of many cultures and ethnic groups and their right to retain their cultural heritage while co-existing

Question 28

What is culture shock?

Answer 28

feeling of disorientation and anxiety that occurs as people from one culture encounter and adapt to the practices, rules and expectations of another culture

Question 29

What are the four phases of culture shock?

Answer 29

1. Honeymoon phase – initial euphoria and excitement 2. Disenchantment phase – disillusionment and hostility towards new culture as values and habits conflict with local attitudes and beliefs 3. Beginning resolution phase – recovery as confidence and understanding of the new culture grows 4. Effective functioning phase – adjustment as individual learns how to fit into new cultural environment

Question 30

What is acculturation?

Answer 30

changes that groups and individuals undergo when they come into contact with another culture

Question 31

What are the three types of acculturation?

Answer 31

assimilation, fusion, alternation

Question 32

What is assimilation?

Answer 32

absorption into the dominant culture

Question 33

What is fusion?

Answer 33

combining two cultures to form a new culture

Question 34

What is alternation?

Answer 34

maintenance of two distinct cultural identities within a multicultural society

Question 35

What is ethnicity?

Answer 35

refers to people who share geographic, language, cultural and religious origins

Question 36

What is ethnic identity?

Answer 36

members of an ethnic group identify ‘us’ and ‘them’ in relation to aspects of shared culture, language or religion

Question 37

What is social identity?

Answer 37

perception that we belong to a larger social group who possess similar attributes such as values, meanings and goals

Question 38

What is personal identity?

Answer 38

a sense of who we are as individuals (i.e. what’s unique about us)

Question 39

What is the difference between sex and gender?

Answer 39

Sex – biological attributes that differentiate males and females Gender – roles and behaviours cultures deem appropriate for men and women (cultural influences on gender roles)

Question 40

What are cultural stereotypes?

Answer 40

generalised views that we hold about particular groups of people, that all members of a cultural group share common traits or behaviours; can be positive or negative.

Question 41

What is xenophobia?

Answer 41

fear or hatred of foreigners, or anything foreign or unfamiliar

Question 42

What are the three distortns in thinking that occur from stereotypes?

Answer 42

1. Accentuation of group differences – us/them thinking, people focus on differences and ignore similarities 2. Creation of selective thinking – people only see what reinforces a cultural stereotype and reject any perceptions that don’t fit 3. Assumption of homogeneity in other groups – people recognise dissimilarity between members of their own cultural group but assume that all members of another culture behave the same way.

Question 43

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 43

tendency for a person’s own culture to influence the way they view the rest of the world

Question 44

What is prejudice?

Answer 44

an unreasonable and negative stereotype about members of another group (negative pre-judgment based on group membership)

Question 45

What is racial prejudice?

Answer 45

negative stereotypes about members of another racial or cultural group

Question 46

What is racism?

Answer 46

pervasive and systematic assumption of inferiority and the unfair and differential treatment of others based on this assumption of inferiority

Question 47

What is discrimination?

Answer 47

behavioural manifestation of prejudiced attitudes

Question 48

What are the four 'levels' that the APS recommends changes for to reduce racism and prejudice?

Answer 48

macro (government), institutional (organisational procedures), psychology (profession to have culture training and rebut prejudice), individual (encourage tolerance)

Question 49

What is the contact hypothesis?

Answer 49

suggests that more contact between cultural groups will help break down barriers and prejudices

Question 50

What is aboriginality?

Answer 50

An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person is a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, who identifies as such and is accepted as such by the community in which they live.

Question 51

What is cultural competence?

Answer 51

a person’s effectiveness in communicating and behaving appropriately with people from another culture; involves understanding and practical application of this knowledge. This is an ethical responsibility of psychologists.