Introduction lecture

Exploring Cross Cultural

Psychology

Ayanna Lynch, Ph.D.Bowie State University

Introduction

The Plan:• To provide a cursory exploration of cross cultural

psychology

The purpose: • Sneak peek of my teaching style• Stimulate your thoughts about culture

The Goal: • Enlightenment

Leave with increased awareness and/or greater appreciation

• Entertainment

Who I Am Poems

Take one minute to create a poem called "Who I Am."

The only rule for the poem is that each line must start with the phrase "I am..."

Culture Defined

A set of attitudes, behaviors and

symbols shared by a large group of people

and usually communicated from one

generation to the next.

Culture

What comes to mind when you hear the word “culture”?

Race Ethnicity Religion Geography

Melting Pot Diversity Multiethnic Cultural sensitivity

Gender Sexual

orientation Age Political

Affiliation Education Socioeconomic

status Health status Occupation

Gangs Foodies Hip Hop Techies Soccer Moms Military Your own

family

Attitudes

Beliefs Values General knowledge Superstitions Opinions Stereotypes

Behaviors Norms Roles Customs Traditions Habits Practices Fashions

Symbols

Things or ideas that people attach specific meaning to

Explicit and implicit characteristics

Shared Experiences

Catholics vs. Muslims Parents

• Pumping • Play dates• Potty Training• WonderPets

Education• Bowie vs. Howard vs. Harvard• Finals vs. Comps• Licensure or Tenure

Shared Experiences

Generation

• VCR vs. Tivo vs. You Tube

• Encyclopedia Britannica vs.

Wikipedia

• Rock & Roll vs. Hip Hop

• JFK vs Obama

• Pearl Harbor vs Sept 11th

Cross Cultural Psychology

No society is culturally homogenous and no

two cultures are entirely similar or different.

We learn how to think, feel, behave and

understand the world around us by social

influences

Examples?


Examples:

parents

societal expectations/requirements

traditions of our ancestors

How we think, feel and behave influences the

behavior of others, which then influences

others thoughts, feelings, behaviors and needs


The critical and comparative study of

cultural effects on human psychology

• Comparative: any cross cultural psychology

study compares at least two samples

representing two cultural groups

• Critical: the investigation of this comparison

requires critical thinking skills


The study of diversity and the underlying

reasons for that diversity

• Are hallucinations and delusions perceived the

same way across cultures?

If so, can the way psychosis is treated in the U.S. be

successfully applied in the Dominican Republic or

Vietnam?


Studies cross cultural interactions:

• The influences of one culture upon another

Ex: French influences upon African culture –

where?


Studies of universal or shared psychological

aspects across cultures

• Human personality is universal

Relatively enduring/fixed patterns of thinking,

feeling, acting

Implications of Cross Cultural Psychology

Cross Cultural awareness and sensitivity is important:

Research• The samples we include and & the questions we ask

Clinical work• Clinical diagnoses and interpretations of behavior

Professionally• Corporate movement towards inclusion and acceptance

Personally• Appreciative of other’s differences and similarities

Cross Cultural Research Emotional

Expression

Help Seeking

Behaviors

Motivation

Health Attitudes

Clinical

Syndromes

Applications

Cultural Psych vs. Cross-Cultural Psych

Cultural Psychology: perceives individual behavior as meaningful only when you look at it in context of the environment they are in

How attitudes and behavior are shaped by the surrounding culture

Ex: how religious principles shape consciousness or behavior

Society, race and ethnicity

Race:

• a group of people distinguished by

certain similar and genetically

transmitted physical characteristics

Hispanic: generally refers to the Spanish

heritage in Latin America

Society, race and ethnicity

Ethnicity:

• usually indicates cultural heritage,

common experience by people who share

ancestral origin, language, traditions;

can also include shared religion and

geographic territory

Knowledge

Defined: information that has a

purpose or use

There are four types of knowledge

about psychology can be recognized • Scientific• Popular beliefs or folk theories• Ideological/value based• Legal

Knowledge

Scientific: derived from systematic observation, measurement and evaluation

Popular beliefs or folk theories: everyday assumptions ranging from commonly held beliefs to individual opinions about psychological phenomena• Old wives tales; superstitions

• May or may not be consistent with scientific theory

The world is square; schizophrenics are more dangerous than others

Knowledge

Ideological/value based: a stable set of beliefs held around the world that are centered around an organizing principal or central idea

e.g. the nature of good vs evil, right vs wrong

Religion is best example

Legal: laws and other prescriptions/rules/principles established by authorities

Tribal or community leaders, national government

Establish boundaries for acceptable behavior

Knowledge

It is critical for Cross Cultural

Psychologists to treat all four

forms of knowledge with

sensitivity, understanding and

respect

Cultural Traditionalism

Two types of cultural influences can be recognized: • traditional

• nontraditional


Traditional culture: rooted in

traditions, rules, symbols and

principles predominately established

in the past

• Tends to be confined in local and

regional areas, conservative and

intolerant of change or new knowledge

(Eastern Europe); obedience is expected


Nontraditional culture: modern

culture -- new principles, ideals and

practices

• Tends to be flexible, absorbing and

dynamic (always changing); change is

welcomed

Questions & Comments

Define “Black” culture?(What does it mean to you?)

Has the definition changed over time?

What Cross Cultural Psychologists Do

Establish and conceptualize the main culture's features in terms of cultural dichotomies

• Refers to cultural distinctions –

• this vs. that; high vs. low

What Cross Cultural Psychologists Do

Power distance:

• the extent to which members of a society accept that power is distributed unequally among institutions and organizations

High Power Distance cultures:

• expect inequality between leaders and the led (followers); elite and common folk

Cultural Dichotomies

Masculinity vs femininity:

• impacts expectations about responsibility,

decisiveness, ambition and liveliness

• Masculinity:

work/achievement, leadership, productivity,

protecting others


Uncertainty avoidance: • The extent members feel unconfortable with

uncertainty and ambiguity

Hi Uncertainty Avoidance:

support beliefs promising certainty and expect conformity

Lo Uncertainty Avoidance: support nonconformity, unpredictability, creativity


Collectivism vs. Individualism

• Frequently mentioned and studied

Collectivism:

• behavior reflecting primary concern for others and respect

for traditions and values; group norms influence individual

behavior

• Promotes the well being and harmony of the group

Motto: “What's mine is ours” or “Mi casa es su casa”


Individualism:

• generally defined as behavior reflecting concern for

oneself and one's immediate family or primary

group only -- not the group or society they belong

to

Promotes competition between individuals

and subgroups

Motto: “What’s mine is mine?”

Sociobiological Approach

Sociobiology defined: • a theoretical model that explores how

biological factors affect human behavior

• It suggests that culture is a form of existence that provides for fundamental human needs and subsequent goals

• Impacts our drive to secure food, resources and reproduction

Survival of the fittest - Charles Darwin

Speaks to cultural phenomenon of competition among all species

Sociobiological Approach

Focuses on the broad social structures that

influence society as a whole, which in turn

impacts individuals

Social forces shape behaviors of large

groups and then individuals adjust their

thinking and behavior in response to social

demands and pressures

Ecocultural Approach

The individual cannot be separated from his or her environmental context• There is constant interaction and mutual

influence between individuals and the environmentGlobal warming

Ethnocentrism

Think of it as subconscious exaggeration of one's own ethnic, national or cultural group in comparison to other groups (or a distortion of reality)

Narrows our perception of other cultural groups and countries• Can make incorrect assumptions and

judgments

Being ethnocentric is judging from the position of a cultural majority• Values and norms of the majority are accepted

as superior

Multiculturalism

An individual psychological and theoretical

view that encourages the recognition of

equality for all cultural and national groups

But promotes that each culture has the

right to define and follow their own values,

etc.

History of the field

Cross culturally psychology is a relatively

new field

• It began to establish itself as an independent

discipline in the 1960's

• but has links to AnthropologyPhysiologySociologyHistorypolitical science

History of the field

Primarily developed in the U.S.

• Believes that all psychology is culture and all

cultures are psychological

• Including several minority and ethnic groups in

one country

Questions & Comments

Weekly’s AssignmentDue Wed, Feb 8th

Discussion Board Topic

Define “Ghetto” culture

1. Reflect on your definition of ghetto and to whom the term applies.

2. Is it a culture? Justify your answer.

3. Is it just about race? Socioeconomic status? Or something more.

4. Research the historical roots of the word ghetto and to whom the term referred.

5. Share your thoughts about how the term has evolved.

* * *

Be sure to answer thoroughly and thoughtfully.

You must also respond meaningfully to at least two of your fellow classmates.

Please be sure to edit your responses before submitting.

Technology

Introduction lecture