Chapter 1
Psychological research didn’t adequately represent the global population. Secondly, the most
accepted international language is English. Researchers who have limited knowledge of English, have
a limited opportunity to promote their research. Most advanced psychological research was
developed in a relatively small selection of countries, other noteworthy contributions coming from
other parts of the world often remain unknown. Cross cultural psychology attempts to address these
trends.
What is cross cultural psychology?
Conditions in which people live vary from place to place, human actions and mental sets formed and
developed in various environments may also fluctuate from group to group. Cross cultural
psychology is the critical and comparative study of cultural effects on human psychology. It examines
psychological diversity and the underlying reasons for such diversity. It studies the links between
cultural norms and behaviour and the ways in which particular human activities are influenced by
different cultural forces. However, there is focus on psychological universals. Cultural psychology is
different, it seeks to discover meaningful links between a culture and the psychology of individuals
living in this culture.
Basic definitions:
Culture: a set of attitudes, behaviours and symbols shared by a large group of people and usually
communicated from one generation to the next. Explicit characteristics are the set of observable acts
regularly found in this culture. Implicit characteristics refer to the organizing principles that are
inferred to lie behind these regularities on the basis of consistent patterns of explicit culture. A
society is composed of people, whereas a culture is a shared way of interaction that people practice.
Race and ethnicity: race is defined as a group of people distinguished by certain similar and
genetically transmitted physical characteristics. In referring to population or racial group differences,
we are discussing averages. The groups of blacks, whites and Asians overlap substantially on almost
all physical and psychological measures. Geographical isolation was a race-creating factor in the past,
today political, cultural or religious factors are more important in the explanations about the
differences among races. Race can be viewed as a social category, because it indicates particular
experiences shared by many people who happen to belong to the same category. It remains an
important element of people’s identification. The term ethnicity usually indicates cultural heritage,
the experience shared by people who have a common ancestral origin, language, traditions and often
religion and geographic territory. A nation is defined as group of a people who share common
geographical origin, history and language and are unified as a political entity. Religious affiliation
indicates an individual’s acceptance of knowledge, beliefs and practices related to a particular faith.
There is confusion in the way people across countries use these terms, what is often labelled race or
ethnicity in the US is often termed nationality in other countries. Ethnic and religious identity is
becoming increasingly dynamic and based on choices of the individual, diversity is encouraged in
some countries.
Knowledge in cross cultural psychology: knowledge is information that has a purpose or use. There
are 4 types of knowledge about psychology. The first is scientific knowledge, derived from systematic
observation and evaluation of a wide range of phenomena. Scientific views in psychology change,
theories are only respected till there’s prove against them. The second type of knowledge are called
folk theories. It’s formulated for and by the people, it’s a collection of popular beliefs and
assumptions ranging from commonly held beliefs to individual opinions. Scientific knowledge is in
constant competition with popular beliefs. The third type of knowledge is ideological (value-based). It
Psychological research didn’t adequately represent the global population. Secondly, the most
accepted international language is English. Researchers who have limited knowledge of English, have
a limited opportunity to promote their research. Most advanced psychological research was
developed in a relatively small selection of countries, other noteworthy contributions coming from
other parts of the world often remain unknown. Cross cultural psychology attempts to address these
trends.
What is cross cultural psychology?
Conditions in which people live vary from place to place, human actions and mental sets formed and
developed in various environments may also fluctuate from group to group. Cross cultural
psychology is the critical and comparative study of cultural effects on human psychology. It examines
psychological diversity and the underlying reasons for such diversity. It studies the links between
cultural norms and behaviour and the ways in which particular human activities are influenced by
different cultural forces. However, there is focus on psychological universals. Cultural psychology is
different, it seeks to discover meaningful links between a culture and the psychology of individuals
living in this culture.
Basic definitions:
Culture: a set of attitudes, behaviours and symbols shared by a large group of people and usually
communicated from one generation to the next. Explicit characteristics are the set of observable acts
regularly found in this culture. Implicit characteristics refer to the organizing principles that are
inferred to lie behind these regularities on the basis of consistent patterns of explicit culture. A
society is composed of people, whereas a culture is a shared way of interaction that people practice.
Race and ethnicity: race is defined as a group of people distinguished by certain similar and
genetically transmitted physical characteristics. In referring to population or racial group differences,
we are discussing averages. The groups of blacks, whites and Asians overlap substantially on almost
all physical and psychological measures. Geographical isolation was a race-creating factor in the past,
today political, cultural or religious factors are more important in the explanations about the
differences among races. Race can be viewed as a social category, because it indicates particular
experiences shared by many people who happen to belong to the same category. It remains an
important element of people’s identification. The term ethnicity usually indicates cultural heritage,
the experience shared by people who have a common ancestral origin, language, traditions and often
religion and geographic territory. A nation is defined as group of a people who share common
geographical origin, history and language and are unified as a political entity. Religious affiliation
indicates an individual’s acceptance of knowledge, beliefs and practices related to a particular faith.
There is confusion in the way people across countries use these terms, what is often labelled race or
ethnicity in the US is often termed nationality in other countries. Ethnic and religious identity is
becoming increasingly dynamic and based on choices of the individual, diversity is encouraged in
some countries.
Knowledge in cross cultural psychology: knowledge is information that has a purpose or use. There
are 4 types of knowledge about psychology. The first is scientific knowledge, derived from systematic
observation and evaluation of a wide range of phenomena. Scientific views in psychology change,
theories are only respected till there’s prove against them. The second type of knowledge are called
folk theories. It’s formulated for and by the people, it’s a collection of popular beliefs and
assumptions ranging from commonly held beliefs to individual opinions. Scientific knowledge is in
constant competition with popular beliefs. The third type of knowledge is ideological (value-based). It
