Cross-Cultural and Indigenous Studies
Class Psychology Foundations: The Social Self
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17T2LP5X1m96qohR93HGCTGuYaK3hLGTp_zS96puSz78/edit https://docs
Materials t-A/edit
Reviewed
Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe what culture is, how it comes about and how it is investigated.
2. Explain the processes that occur when people move into a different culture.
3. Discuss how culture intersects with mental health.
4. Recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ ways of knowing, being and doing in the context of history, culture
5. Engage in culturally appropriate, safe and sensitive communication that facilitates trust and the building of respectful relation
6. Examine and reflect on how one’s own culture and dominant cultural paradigms, influence perceptions of and interactions w
Learning Outcome 1: Describe what culture is, how it comes about and how it is investigated.
Describe Culture:
Culture is the heritage and traditions associated with a group of people
Culture is the shared rules that govern the activities of a group of people
Culture is the origin of a group of people
Culture is people who are existing within some kind of shared context
Culture is information that is acquired from others and is capable of affecting an individual’s behaviour
Culture is a set of non-genetically transmissible information that is available, accessible, and applicable for a group of peopl
💡 One way to define culture might be to say it refers to the shared rules that govern behaviour; it is a filter through whic
Terminologies of different theoretical approaches cross-cultural psychologists might adopt:
1. Socialisation - One means by cultural transmission occurs is when caregivers share knowledge with their children regardin
2. Enculturation (learning the culture via participation in that culture) - the process of learning about and participating in a cult
3. Absolutism - assumes psychological phenomena are the same across all cultures.
4. Relativism - Behaviour is impacted by culture. Behaviour is seen as arising from and making sense within the context of tha
5. Universalism - psychological processes are common to the human species, however culture influences the development a
Terminologies for issues of practical approach to use:
1. Emic approach is studying culture's behaviour from the perspective of an insider.
2. Etic approach is studying culture's behaviour from the perspective of an outsider.
3. Equivalence is the degree of similarity of experiences or behaviour that allows comparison of them to be meaningful.
Research Safeguards:
Cross-cultural researchers guard against producing results that are not meaningful by following some safeguard steps.
Cross-Cultural and Indigenous Studies 1
, These steps help researchers identify the cultural origin of behaviours, as well as ensuring the language used is appropriate and
Step 1: Ensure that the definition and boundaries of culture are clear.
Step 2: Be aware of pitfalls when choosing a representative sample.
Step 3: Make sure that the research context is equivalent between the different groups.
Step 4: Consider the physical research setting.
Step 5: Safeguard language equivalence.
Step 6: Accept phenomenon under investigation may not be culturally equivalent.
Learning Outcome 2: Explain the processes that occur when people move into a different culture.
Acculturation: is the process of adapting to a culture other than the one originally identified with.
This includes:
Someone leaves their birth country and relocates to another country, they encounter cultural differences between themselve
Acculturation is about the changes and consequences that occur for individuals as a result of crossing from one cultural con
Changes that may be encountered include:
the physical environment (new locations, different kinds of housing, different geographical features)
biological factors (e.g., changes in nutritional and the consequences of that)
cultural institutions (change in religious, linguistic, and political practices)
new social relationships (new ingroups or outgroups)
individual changes (different habits or mental health)
In a country like Australia, migrants and refugees might observe big changes in things like attitudes, values, customs, and practi
Cultural Syndromes: are clusters of attitudes, values, customs and practices that characterise a culture.
(Alarcón, 1999; Hofstede, 1980): Clusters of symptoms, attributions, attitudes, beliefs, norms and behaviour that tend to co-occu
Hofstede’s (1991, 2001) suggested cultural syndromes include clusters of attributions, attitudes, or beliefs. Shared values within
Cross-Cultural and Indigenous Studies 2
Class Psychology Foundations: The Social Self
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17T2LP5X1m96qohR93HGCTGuYaK3hLGTp_zS96puSz78/edit https://docs
Materials t-A/edit
Reviewed
Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe what culture is, how it comes about and how it is investigated.
2. Explain the processes that occur when people move into a different culture.
3. Discuss how culture intersects with mental health.
4. Recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ ways of knowing, being and doing in the context of history, culture
5. Engage in culturally appropriate, safe and sensitive communication that facilitates trust and the building of respectful relation
6. Examine and reflect on how one’s own culture and dominant cultural paradigms, influence perceptions of and interactions w
Learning Outcome 1: Describe what culture is, how it comes about and how it is investigated.
Describe Culture:
Culture is the heritage and traditions associated with a group of people
Culture is the shared rules that govern the activities of a group of people
Culture is the origin of a group of people
Culture is people who are existing within some kind of shared context
Culture is information that is acquired from others and is capable of affecting an individual’s behaviour
Culture is a set of non-genetically transmissible information that is available, accessible, and applicable for a group of peopl
💡 One way to define culture might be to say it refers to the shared rules that govern behaviour; it is a filter through whic
Terminologies of different theoretical approaches cross-cultural psychologists might adopt:
1. Socialisation - One means by cultural transmission occurs is when caregivers share knowledge with their children regardin
2. Enculturation (learning the culture via participation in that culture) - the process of learning about and participating in a cult
3. Absolutism - assumes psychological phenomena are the same across all cultures.
4. Relativism - Behaviour is impacted by culture. Behaviour is seen as arising from and making sense within the context of tha
5. Universalism - psychological processes are common to the human species, however culture influences the development a
Terminologies for issues of practical approach to use:
1. Emic approach is studying culture's behaviour from the perspective of an insider.
2. Etic approach is studying culture's behaviour from the perspective of an outsider.
3. Equivalence is the degree of similarity of experiences or behaviour that allows comparison of them to be meaningful.
Research Safeguards:
Cross-cultural researchers guard against producing results that are not meaningful by following some safeguard steps.
Cross-Cultural and Indigenous Studies 1
, These steps help researchers identify the cultural origin of behaviours, as well as ensuring the language used is appropriate and
Step 1: Ensure that the definition and boundaries of culture are clear.
Step 2: Be aware of pitfalls when choosing a representative sample.
Step 3: Make sure that the research context is equivalent between the different groups.
Step 4: Consider the physical research setting.
Step 5: Safeguard language equivalence.
Step 6: Accept phenomenon under investigation may not be culturally equivalent.
Learning Outcome 2: Explain the processes that occur when people move into a different culture.
Acculturation: is the process of adapting to a culture other than the one originally identified with.
This includes:
Someone leaves their birth country and relocates to another country, they encounter cultural differences between themselve
Acculturation is about the changes and consequences that occur for individuals as a result of crossing from one cultural con
Changes that may be encountered include:
the physical environment (new locations, different kinds of housing, different geographical features)
biological factors (e.g., changes in nutritional and the consequences of that)
cultural institutions (change in religious, linguistic, and political practices)
new social relationships (new ingroups or outgroups)
individual changes (different habits or mental health)
In a country like Australia, migrants and refugees might observe big changes in things like attitudes, values, customs, and practi
Cultural Syndromes: are clusters of attitudes, values, customs and practices that characterise a culture.
(Alarcón, 1999; Hofstede, 1980): Clusters of symptoms, attributions, attitudes, beliefs, norms and behaviour that tend to co-occu
Hofstede’s (1991, 2001) suggested cultural syndromes include clusters of attributions, attitudes, or beliefs. Shared values within
Cross-Cultural and Indigenous Studies 2
