Hoorcolleges cross cultural psychology of health and illness
College 1: Introduction, methods, development
Culture can be thought of as a set of implicit and explicit guidelines/information that
individuals acquire as members of a particular society of context, regarding e.g.
- How to view the world
- How to experience emotions
- How to behave in relation to other people
- To supernatural forces or gods
- To the natural environment
It also provides a way of transmitting these guidelines to the next generation (enculturation)
Challenges to definitions
- Cultural boundaries are not distinct, often unclear
- Cultures are dynamic and change over time
- There are as many variations within cultures as between cultures
o Problem with stereotypes: person-related variables are generally
continuous and distributed
o Artificial or false dichotomies should be avoided
3 levels of culture
1. Tertiary level: explicit manifest culture, visible to the outsider, such as social ritual,
traditional dress, national cuisine, festive occasions = ‘facade of a culture’
2. Secondary level: underlying shared beliefs and rules, known to the insiders but rarely
shared with outsiders = ‘social norms’
3. Primary/deepest level: rules that are known to all, obeyed by all, but implicit, and
generally out of awareness (hidden, stable and resistant to change) = ‘roots’
(Cross-)cultural psychology
Absolutist approach: psychological phenomena are the same across cultures, processes and
behaviors vary
Relativist approach: psychological phenomena only exist within the context of a culture
In between: psychological processes are shape by experience, but all humans share the same
biological constraints
General psychology focuses on universals and (sometimes) tries to control for cultural
variation
Cultural psychology focuses on cultural variation in terms of the psychological consequences
of culture
- Studies the different meaning systems originating from different environments
- Assumes that mind and culture are entangled
- Assumes that thoughts are shaped by contexts
Whether a process is universal or culturally variable often depends on the level of definition
- Abstract definitions generally lead to evidence supporting universality all
humans can experience happiness
, - Concrete definitions generally lead to evidence supporting variability all
humans experience happiness in a specific situation
Nonuniversal (cultural invention): cognitive tool not
found in all cultures (other criteria are thus
irrelevant) example: abacus
Existential universal: Cognitive tool found in all
cultures that serves different function(s) and is
available to some degree in different cultures
example: increased persistence in the face of failure
(western: demotivation & east: have to do it again)
Functional universal: Cognitive tool found in all
cultures that serves the same function but is
accessible to different degrees in different cultures
example: fairness-based punishments
Accessibility universal: Cognitive tool found in all
cultures that serves the same function and is
accessible to the same degree example: social
facilitation
Hofstede (2001): Cultures can be distinguished according to five dimensions
Individualism-collectivism
How interdependent (how dependent on each other) is a culture?
Uncertainly avoidance
How do people deal with ambiguity?
Power distance
How hierarchical is a culture?
Long-term/short-term orientation
Connection with tradition, also economic orientation
Masculinity/femininity
How district are gender roles? Distribution of classical male/female traits
Other dimensions are of course possible, and many authors have developed more/different
dimensions
Generalizations: groups also vary in homogeneity individual differences and layers within
cultures
Socio-economic status also has cultural implications
- Interaction with culture
- Specifically relevant to health
Differences in health behaviors within western cultures:
Smoking: lower SES predicts likelihood of smoking, higher SES predicts recent
attempts to quit
Lower SES predicts higher alcohol consumption
Higher SES predicts more balanced and healthy food intake
SES level influences many variables that impact development and health in children
,Acquiring culture
Cultural norms (and cultures differences) are created through different ways of socializations
Because we are born open to learning any culture:
- Younger children across cultures should be relatively similar because there has been
relatively little socialization
- Older adults should show great cultural differences between cultures due to more
socialization
Cultural differences increase with age
Effects of parenting generally studies under Baumrind’s (1997) typology:
Authoritarian: high demands, strict rules
Authoritative: high expectations, child-oriented
Permissive: lots of dialogue, few limits/controls, lots of parental warmth
Studies show authoritative parenting to yield the best results in for instance school
achievement, and perceived parental warmth, but some suggest the typology is laden with
Western notions of development
Many other cultures commonly have a strict, parent-centered parenting style these do
not fit neatly into baumrind’s styles
- In many Asian cultures, parenting style changes according to child’s stage of
development
- There is more explicit communication of parental warmth in Western societies, but
more implicit communication of it in Asain societies
- Authoritarian style fails to capture nuances of culture-specific notions of parenting
styles (e.g. jiao xun or training, in Chinese parenting)
Universality of life stages
Terrible twos = developmental milestone in the West
- Important for children to assert autonomy and individuality
- Serves as foundation for future mature relationships
But this developmental stage is not seen universally, some cultures view noncompliance
as immaturity, not a step toward personal growths
Adolescent rebellion = developmental milestone consired by Western researchers to be
natural
- Assumed to be due to hormonal changes in puberty
- Characterized by disobedience, delinquency and defiance of authority
, But examining ethnographies of 175 pre-industrialized societies revealed that over half
of them did not associate adolescence with antisocial behavior
Sensitive periods: span of organism’s life when it can gain a new skill relatively easily
Skill acquisition subsequent to this becomes much more difficult
Evident across many different species, across many domains
Not applicable to all domains of learning in humans but applies to language and
culture acquisition
Migrant development
Immigrant stress: many problems that make immigrants develop more poorly poverty,
discrimination, loyalty conflicts, trauma, homesickness etc.
Important sources of stress and health problems
Immigrant paradox: despite lower SES, immigrant adolescents are less likely to have
behavioral, psychological or health problems than national adolescent
- Mean immigrant SES markedly lower than that of nationals
- Second generation decline: effect becomes smaller
- Eventually, convergence or even surpassing in negative direction
Potential explanations:
Optimism
Cultural maintenance: in a group of people from their own culture
Othering: setting yourself aside from groups
Measurement invariance / statistical artefact
Family obligations
o Related to more positive well-being and adjustment
o May help (pride, commitment, repayment etc)
o But may also hurt (work, stifling, acculturation conflict etc)
o Reduces in the second generation (decline effect?)
Immigrant paradox, partial support from date in Europe: only in sociocultural adaptation,
not psychological adaptation
Data in the Netherlands: despite markedly lower SES, immigrant tend to perform as well or
better than their national peers. Second generation decline and smaller effects than in USA
or Canada
Downward assimilation: where will most immigrant adolescents live? Bad environment
Segmented assimilation
- Effects of acculturation depend on context
- Assimilation may have positive effects in an affluent context
- However, most immigrants do not arrive in an affluent context. Assimilation into
lower segment of society, combined with feelings of discrimination adverse effects
- Selective assimilation may help
Dealing with differences
Color-blind approach
Emphasizes common human nature, ignores cultural differences
