Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior

1. Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior Charles T. Blair-Broeker Randal M. Ernst

2. Cross-Cultural Psychology Module 34

3. Culture Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

4. Culture • A system of subtle and obvious rules (shared beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors) established to ensure a group’s survival • The rules are passed from one generation to the next. • The “software of our minds” • Different from nationality, race, and ethnicity

5. David Matsumoto (1959- ) • Psychologist and internationally known expert on the study of cross-cultural psychology

6. Factors Influencing Culture • Matsumoto suggests four factors influence culture • Population density • Climate • Resources • Technology

7. Population Density • Societies with higher population densities require more rules for maintaining social order.

8. Climate • Climate has profound influence on life-styles.

9. Resources • Abundance or lack of resources has an influence on how the people of the culture behave.

10. Technology • Inventions influence the interactions of people.

11. Individualism and Collectivism Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

12. Individualism • Cultural style that places personal goals or needs ahead of group goals or needs

13. Collectivism • Cultural style that places group goals or needs ahead of personal goals or needs

14. Individualism and Collectivism:Self-Concept Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

15. Self-Concept • One’s sense of self • Individualist cultures have an independent understanding of self • Are separate from others • Collectivist cultures have an interdependent understanding of self • Are connected with others

16. Cultural Interaction • Play “Superpower Ping Pong” (13:08) Segment #28 from Scientific American Frontiers: Video Collection for Introductory Psychology (2nd edition).

17. Individualism and Collectivism:Motivation and Emotion Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

18. Achievement Motivation • The desire to excel • A product of one’s culture and cultural influences

19. Motivation and Culture • Individualist cultures view motivation as an internal push and achievement as an individual triumph. • Collectivist cultures view the desire to achieve as emerging from a sense of indebtedness or obligation to the group.

20. Cross-Cultural Research Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

21. Cross-Cultural Research • Research that tests hypotheses on many groups of people to understand whether principles apply across cultures

22. Culture-Specific • Principles that are true only for people of a certain culture • Called culture-bound • Opposite of universal principles which are true of people of all cultures

23. Cross-Cultural Research:Culture and Personality Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

24. Locus of Control • A person’s perception of the source of control over fate or what happens in life • Two types: • Internal locus of control • External locus of control

25. Internal Locus of Control • A person’s perception that they control their fate through their behavior • Western cultures tend to have an internal locus of control.

26. External Locus of Control • A person’s perception that their fate is controlled by external circumstances • Non-Western cultures tend to have an external locus of control.

27. Cross-Cultural Research: Developmental Psychology Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

28. Socialization • Learning to become a member of a culture including behaviors the individual expects, and what is expected of the individual

29. Cross-Cultural Research:Cognitive Development Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

30. Cognitive Development • Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is not cross-cultural.

31. Cross-Cultural Research:Moral Development Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

32. Moral Development • Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is not cross-cultural.

33. Cross-Cultural Research:Attachment Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

34. Secure Attachment • Parents in the United States value secure attachment with their children. • Some other cultures consider such attachment as spoiling the child.

35. Ethnocentrism Module 34: Cross-Cultural Psychology

36. Ethnocentrism • The tendency to view the world based on your own experiences, or through your own “cultural filters”

37. Goals of Flexible Ethnocentrism • Accepting that everyone is ethnocentric • Realizing that culture filters can distort reality • Realizing people of other cultures produce their own distortions of reality • Learning to deal with our emotions, and our judgments of morality and personality as a result of ethnocentrism

38. The End