Lecture 1 – Introduction and basic concepts
Cultural psychology takes a step back and investigates the whole thing
Culture is a set of attitudes (can’t be observed, but are preferences that turn to
behavior that can be observed), behaviors, and symbols shared by a large group
of people, and usually communicated from one generation to the next
(transmitted from one generation to the next culture: parents try to transmit to
their kids what they think is important). It is also a pair of glasses (by which we
organize things around us; all of us have specific expectations about how we
should behave). It is a schema to help us evaluate and organize information.
Intelligence – people value different things of intelligence. In different cultures
they see different things as intelligent (eg emotionally intelligent, socially
intelligent, university intelligent).
What do we know about cultural psychology? – Henrich et al (2010) investigated
this, but the problem is that almost all of their participants were from Western
countries (96%) and the authors were also all from Western countries.
Are people different or similar?
There are three theoretical positions:
1. Absolutism – psychology is everywhere the same
2. Relativism – underlying processes are different
3. Universalism – underlying processes are the same, expressions may be
different
Ethnicity – indicates cultural heritage, the experience shared by people who have
a common ancestral origin, language, traditions etc.
- when you add social identity, you get ethnic identity
Race – differentiation based on similar, genetically transmitted physical
characteristics 8socially constructed category)
Ethnocentrism – the tendency to use one’s own group’s standards as the
standard when viewing other groups, to place one’s group at the top of a
hierarchy and to rank all others as lower.
Lecture 2 – Basic concepts
Culture can be an independent variable (eg optical illusions) – certain factory
vary with culture and influence psychological phenomena.
Culture can be a confounding variable (eg Piaget’s theory of cogn. devel.) –
psychological phenomena are supposed to be universal
Culture can be a genuine psychological phenomenon (eg indigenous psychology)
– every psychological phenomenon takes place in a cultural context
Culture can be a placeholder – specific contextual differences instead of large,
overarching differences.
Theoretical approaches to culture
1. Scientific knowledge – the case of phrenology
2. Popular knowledge – general or specific
, 3. Ideological knowledge – dogmatic principles
4. Legal knowledge – death, child education
Evolutionary approach
The natural and sexual selection (survival of the fittest). Universally seen is that
there are biological gender differences, with psychological differences as a result
Sociological approach
Social structures influence society as a whole, culture is a product of human
activity AND a forming factor, society as a means of guaranteeing stability.
Ecocultural approach
Individual cannot be separated from the environment, because parents educate
their children and children influence their parents.
Major factors are ecological (economic activity, nutrition, climate, population
density) and sociopolitical (ideological values, organization of the government,
presence or lack of political freedom).
People who live in colder climate zones are typically wealthier.
The ecocultural framework – ecology culture behavior
Hofstede
Most cited general framework to classify cultural patterns on the country level.
Has four dimensions:
1. Power Distance (explained in lecture 3)
2. Individualism / Collectivism
3. Masculinity / Femininity (explained in lecture 3)
4. Uncertainty avoidance (explained in lecture 3)
Individualism – everyone is expected to look after himself/herself and his/her
immediate family (Western countries)
Collectivism – people are from birth onward integrated into strong cohesive in-
groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange
for unquestioning loyalty (Non-Western countries)
Conformity (Bond & Smith, 1996) is more related to individualism.
, Independence and Interdependence (Markus and Kitayama, 1991)
The self as the mediator of cultural differences – it’s construal differs across
cultures
The importance assigned to so-called public, relational and private, inner aspects
of the self can vary by culture
- Western: being different from others
- Eastern: being connected to others
Self-construal has far reaching implications for cognition, emotion and
motivation!
Independent self-construal Interdependent self-construal
The Twenty
Separateness of distinct Connectedness among Statement Test
persons individuals (I am…). This
Internal attributes as origin of Internal attributes as situation is not really an
behavior specific ecologically
The other as standards of Relationships as an end in valid question
reflected appraisal themselves if you describe
more prevalent in Western more prevalent in Eastern yourself mostly
cultures cultures in terms of
context,
others, and
specific
situations.
Cultural Task
Analysis
Cultural tasks
culturally
prescribed
means to
achieve
cultural
mandates,
mediating the mutual influences between culture and psychological processes
Critique on the Self (Matsumoto, 1999)
Independence and Interdependence is actually more a heuristic to explain
differences, because they have been used dualistic, but could be regarded as
dimensional also (and there is more data on the individual level eneded).
Markus and Kitayama say: Culture Self Cognition
Empirical evidence says: Country Cognition
The Self – Kagitcibasi
Family model of emotional and material
interdependence:
Cultural psychology takes a step back and investigates the whole thing
Culture is a set of attitudes (can’t be observed, but are preferences that turn to
behavior that can be observed), behaviors, and symbols shared by a large group
of people, and usually communicated from one generation to the next
(transmitted from one generation to the next culture: parents try to transmit to
their kids what they think is important). It is also a pair of glasses (by which we
organize things around us; all of us have specific expectations about how we
should behave). It is a schema to help us evaluate and organize information.
Intelligence – people value different things of intelligence. In different cultures
they see different things as intelligent (eg emotionally intelligent, socially
intelligent, university intelligent).
What do we know about cultural psychology? – Henrich et al (2010) investigated
this, but the problem is that almost all of their participants were from Western
countries (96%) and the authors were also all from Western countries.
Are people different or similar?
There are three theoretical positions:
1. Absolutism – psychology is everywhere the same
2. Relativism – underlying processes are different
3. Universalism – underlying processes are the same, expressions may be
different
Ethnicity – indicates cultural heritage, the experience shared by people who have
a common ancestral origin, language, traditions etc.
- when you add social identity, you get ethnic identity
Race – differentiation based on similar, genetically transmitted physical
characteristics 8socially constructed category)
Ethnocentrism – the tendency to use one’s own group’s standards as the
standard when viewing other groups, to place one’s group at the top of a
hierarchy and to rank all others as lower.
Lecture 2 – Basic concepts
Culture can be an independent variable (eg optical illusions) – certain factory
vary with culture and influence psychological phenomena.
Culture can be a confounding variable (eg Piaget’s theory of cogn. devel.) –
psychological phenomena are supposed to be universal
Culture can be a genuine psychological phenomenon (eg indigenous psychology)
– every psychological phenomenon takes place in a cultural context
Culture can be a placeholder – specific contextual differences instead of large,
overarching differences.
Theoretical approaches to culture
1. Scientific knowledge – the case of phrenology
2. Popular knowledge – general or specific
, 3. Ideological knowledge – dogmatic principles
4. Legal knowledge – death, child education
Evolutionary approach
The natural and sexual selection (survival of the fittest). Universally seen is that
there are biological gender differences, with psychological differences as a result
Sociological approach
Social structures influence society as a whole, culture is a product of human
activity AND a forming factor, society as a means of guaranteeing stability.
Ecocultural approach
Individual cannot be separated from the environment, because parents educate
their children and children influence their parents.
Major factors are ecological (economic activity, nutrition, climate, population
density) and sociopolitical (ideological values, organization of the government,
presence or lack of political freedom).
People who live in colder climate zones are typically wealthier.
The ecocultural framework – ecology culture behavior
Hofstede
Most cited general framework to classify cultural patterns on the country level.
Has four dimensions:
1. Power Distance (explained in lecture 3)
2. Individualism / Collectivism
3. Masculinity / Femininity (explained in lecture 3)
4. Uncertainty avoidance (explained in lecture 3)
Individualism – everyone is expected to look after himself/herself and his/her
immediate family (Western countries)
Collectivism – people are from birth onward integrated into strong cohesive in-
groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange
for unquestioning loyalty (Non-Western countries)
Conformity (Bond & Smith, 1996) is more related to individualism.
, Independence and Interdependence (Markus and Kitayama, 1991)
The self as the mediator of cultural differences – it’s construal differs across
cultures
The importance assigned to so-called public, relational and private, inner aspects
of the self can vary by culture
- Western: being different from others
- Eastern: being connected to others
Self-construal has far reaching implications for cognition, emotion and
motivation!
Independent self-construal Interdependent self-construal
The Twenty
Separateness of distinct Connectedness among Statement Test
persons individuals (I am…). This
Internal attributes as origin of Internal attributes as situation is not really an
behavior specific ecologically
The other as standards of Relationships as an end in valid question
reflected appraisal themselves if you describe
more prevalent in Western more prevalent in Eastern yourself mostly
cultures cultures in terms of
context,
others, and
specific
situations.
Cultural Task
Analysis
Cultural tasks
culturally
prescribed
means to
achieve
cultural
mandates,
mediating the mutual influences between culture and psychological processes
Critique on the Self (Matsumoto, 1999)
Independence and Interdependence is actually more a heuristic to explain
differences, because they have been used dualistic, but could be regarded as
dimensional also (and there is more data on the individual level eneded).
Markus and Kitayama say: Culture Self Cognition
Empirical evidence says: Country Cognition
The Self – Kagitcibasi
Family model of emotional and material
interdependence:
