Cultural Psychology • Cultures inform how we understand relationships and interact with other
Cultural Psychology people.
• A branch of psychology that is focused on how our emotions and • One of the most widely recognized distinctions between types of cultures
behaviors are influenced by or rooted in our individual cultures. is that between individualism and collectivism.
• Cultures also shape human beings.
• The main position of cultural psychology is that mind and culture are Individualism values personal independence.
inseparable, meaning that people are shaped by their culture and their • Within individualist cultures, people are more likely to "see themselves as
culture is also shaped by them (Fiske, Kitayama, Nisbett, 1998) separate from others, define themselves based on their personal traits,
• "Cultural psychology is the study of the way cultural traditions and social and see their characteristics as relatively stable and unchanging. An
practices regulate, express, and transform the human psyche, resulting individualist's sense of self is defined more by who they are on the
less in psychic unity for humankind than in ethnic divergences in mind, minimizing the influence of factors, contexts, and people "outside" the
self, and emotion. individual.
Collectivism values personal interdependence.
Cultural Psychology and interdisciplinary study • In collectivist cultures, people are more likely to see themselves as
• It's a branch of psychology that examines how culture shapes people's connected to others, define themselves in terms of relationships with
identities and sense of self. others, and see their characteristics as more likely to change across
• A field that draws from more than one area to form its methodologies and different contexts. A collectivists sense of self is defined more by who
theories. they are with other people, or by their membership in a group. Maintaining
social harmony, getting along with others, and meeting social
Multiple academic traditions: anthropology and sociology expectations are more important in collectivist cultures.
1. Anthropology: the study of people, past and present, with a focus • Just because someone's cultural background is individualist, you
on understanding the human condition both culturally and shouldn't assume that they are. Everyone falls somewhere on the
biologically individualist-collectivist spectrum.
2. Sociology: is the study of social life, social change, and the social • Even within a very collectivist culture, you will find people who are more
causes and consequences of human behavior. individualist. Furthermore, psychology research has shown that people
shift along this spectrum, leaning more collectivist or individualist
Cross-cultural psychology depending on the situation.
• Uses culture to test the universality of psychological processes rather • This adaptability is more common in multicultural communities and
than for determining how cultural practices shape psychological contexts. It's partly why we seek intercultural exchange to adopt multiple
processes. Eg. a cross-cultural psychologist would ask whether Jean cultural frames and learn to apply them in relevant communities and
Piaget's stages of development (e.g., sensorimotor, preoperational, circumstances.
concrete operational, and formal operational) are universal (the same)
across all cultures. Issues in Cultural Psychology
• When conducting research within a culture (indigenous study) or across
Cross-cultural psychology vs Cultural Psychology cultures (cross-cultural study) many things can go wrong that will make
• A cultural psychologist would ask how the social practices of a particular conducting, analyzing and interpreting data difficult. This section will
set of cultures shape the development of cognitive processes in different review four common methodological issues in cultural research (He,
ways (Markus & Kitayama, 2003). 2010).
• Sampling Bias
Why study Cultural Psychology • Procedural Bias
Fundamental attribution error: • Instrument Bias
• Psychology addressed issues of behavior and emotional response as • Interpretation Issues
though they were developed exclusively through an internal process. 1. Sampling Bias- Using samples of convenience from this very
thin slice of humanity presents a problem when trying to
Criticisms of Cultural Psychology generalize to the larger public and across cultures.
• Cultural stereotyping and methodological issues. 2. Procedural Bias- Another type of methodological bias is
• There has been an abundance of research that explores the cultural procedural bias, which is sometimes referred to as
differences between East Asians and North Americans in areas of administration bias. This type of bias is related to the study
cognitive psychology (e.g., attention, perception, cognition) and social conditions including the setting and how the instruments are
psychology (e.g., self and identity). administered across cultures
• Some psychologists have argued that this research is based on cultural 3. Instrument Bias- does not have anything to do with the
stereotyping (Turiel, 2002) and minimizes the role of the individual instrument, survey or test but rather refers to the experience
(McNulty, 2004). and familiarity of the participant with test taking.
• Additionally, self-report data is one of the easiest, least expensive and 4. Interpretation Issues- the tendency of an individual to
most accessible methods for mass data collection, especially when interpret ambiguous situations in either a positive or a negative
conducting research in cultural psychology way.
• Relying on self-report data for cross-cultural comparisons of attitudes and • The concept involves two propositions: firstly, that people are shaped by
values can lead to relatively unstable and ultimately misleading data and their culture, and secondly, that culture is shaped by its people.
interpretations. • Cultural psychology alms to define culture, its nature, and its function
concerning psychological phenomena.
Individualism vs Collectivism
Cultural Psychology people.
• A branch of psychology that is focused on how our emotions and • One of the most widely recognized distinctions between types of cultures
behaviors are influenced by or rooted in our individual cultures. is that between individualism and collectivism.
• Cultures also shape human beings.
• The main position of cultural psychology is that mind and culture are Individualism values personal independence.
inseparable, meaning that people are shaped by their culture and their • Within individualist cultures, people are more likely to "see themselves as
culture is also shaped by them (Fiske, Kitayama, Nisbett, 1998) separate from others, define themselves based on their personal traits,
• "Cultural psychology is the study of the way cultural traditions and social and see their characteristics as relatively stable and unchanging. An
practices regulate, express, and transform the human psyche, resulting individualist's sense of self is defined more by who they are on the
less in psychic unity for humankind than in ethnic divergences in mind, minimizing the influence of factors, contexts, and people "outside" the
self, and emotion. individual.
Collectivism values personal interdependence.
Cultural Psychology and interdisciplinary study • In collectivist cultures, people are more likely to see themselves as
• It's a branch of psychology that examines how culture shapes people's connected to others, define themselves in terms of relationships with
identities and sense of self. others, and see their characteristics as more likely to change across
• A field that draws from more than one area to form its methodologies and different contexts. A collectivists sense of self is defined more by who
theories. they are with other people, or by their membership in a group. Maintaining
social harmony, getting along with others, and meeting social
Multiple academic traditions: anthropology and sociology expectations are more important in collectivist cultures.
1. Anthropology: the study of people, past and present, with a focus • Just because someone's cultural background is individualist, you
on understanding the human condition both culturally and shouldn't assume that they are. Everyone falls somewhere on the
biologically individualist-collectivist spectrum.
2. Sociology: is the study of social life, social change, and the social • Even within a very collectivist culture, you will find people who are more
causes and consequences of human behavior. individualist. Furthermore, psychology research has shown that people
shift along this spectrum, leaning more collectivist or individualist
Cross-cultural psychology depending on the situation.
• Uses culture to test the universality of psychological processes rather • This adaptability is more common in multicultural communities and
than for determining how cultural practices shape psychological contexts. It's partly why we seek intercultural exchange to adopt multiple
processes. Eg. a cross-cultural psychologist would ask whether Jean cultural frames and learn to apply them in relevant communities and
Piaget's stages of development (e.g., sensorimotor, preoperational, circumstances.
concrete operational, and formal operational) are universal (the same)
across all cultures. Issues in Cultural Psychology
• When conducting research within a culture (indigenous study) or across
Cross-cultural psychology vs Cultural Psychology cultures (cross-cultural study) many things can go wrong that will make
• A cultural psychologist would ask how the social practices of a particular conducting, analyzing and interpreting data difficult. This section will
set of cultures shape the development of cognitive processes in different review four common methodological issues in cultural research (He,
ways (Markus & Kitayama, 2003). 2010).
• Sampling Bias
Why study Cultural Psychology • Procedural Bias
Fundamental attribution error: • Instrument Bias
• Psychology addressed issues of behavior and emotional response as • Interpretation Issues
though they were developed exclusively through an internal process. 1. Sampling Bias- Using samples of convenience from this very
thin slice of humanity presents a problem when trying to
Criticisms of Cultural Psychology generalize to the larger public and across cultures.
• Cultural stereotyping and methodological issues. 2. Procedural Bias- Another type of methodological bias is
• There has been an abundance of research that explores the cultural procedural bias, which is sometimes referred to as
differences between East Asians and North Americans in areas of administration bias. This type of bias is related to the study
cognitive psychology (e.g., attention, perception, cognition) and social conditions including the setting and how the instruments are
psychology (e.g., self and identity). administered across cultures
• Some psychologists have argued that this research is based on cultural 3. Instrument Bias- does not have anything to do with the
stereotyping (Turiel, 2002) and minimizes the role of the individual instrument, survey or test but rather refers to the experience
(McNulty, 2004). and familiarity of the participant with test taking.
• Additionally, self-report data is one of the easiest, least expensive and 4. Interpretation Issues- the tendency of an individual to
most accessible methods for mass data collection, especially when interpret ambiguous situations in either a positive or a negative
conducting research in cultural psychology way.
• Relying on self-report data for cross-cultural comparisons of attitudes and • The concept involves two propositions: firstly, that people are shaped by
values can lead to relatively unstable and ultimately misleading data and their culture, and secondly, that culture is shaped by its people.
interpretations. • Cultural psychology alms to define culture, its nature, and its function
concerning psychological phenomena.
Individualism vs Collectivism
