Introduction to Cross-cultural Psychology

Introduction to Cross-cultural psychology

Psychology is “the scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering, feeling, etc.) and behavior. Understanding a person requires attention to the individual’s biology, psychological experience, and cultural context” (Kowalski & Westen, 2011 p.3).  Research is conducted to gain understanding on the factors that contribute to why individuals behave in the manner as they do.  The research method in the field of psychology has five simple goals which are to observe and describe behavior, explain the observation, explain the likelihood of future behaviors based on behavior that occurred in the past, attempt to control the behavior from the research findings and help an individual improve their quality of life.  Improving the quality of life is the primary goal of psychology and that is why gaining understanding of individual differences and similarities is extremely important.  In this paper I will analyze cross-cultural psychology by defining cross-cultural psychology and cultural psychology, examine the relationship between cultural psychology and cross-cultural psychology, and examine the role of critical thinking in cross-cultural psychology and the methodology associated with the cross-cultural research.

Culture is made up of “implicit and explicit patterns of behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols and their embodiments in artifacts” (Celebi & Resales, 2008 p.1098). The most important principal of culture involves “traditional (i.e., historically derived and selected) ideas and their attached values” (Celebi & Resales, 2008 p.1098). An individual’s biological make-up can influence their behavior as well as their experiences; however culture is the main factor in influencing behavior through adapted “set of attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared by a large group of people” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010 p.3)  that are passed down through generations.

Cultural psychology is “the study of how one’s culture affects one’s mind: how one thinks and reasons, what one feels, perceives, and attends to, and how one interprets the world” ("Cultural Psychology," 2007 p.364). The main focus of cultural psychology is to “discover meaningful links between culture and psychology of individuals living in this culture” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010 p. 24).   Culture is an individual’s environment and people learn from the environment they are exposed to which is what influences their behavior.  Many cultures have traditions that are practiced that involve performing certain rituals that influence behavior for individuals involved that is what makes cultural psychology important because it focuses on how those traditions affect the human mind and motivate behavior.

Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that studies “the similarities and differences in individual psychological functioning in various cultural and ethnic groups, as well as the relationships between psychological variables and sociocultural, ecological, and biological variables” (Chao, 2008 p.1081). Cross-cultural psychology goal is to examine common behaviors and not so common behaviors to learn ways in which culture influence those behaviors. Cross-cultural psychology is a comparative field, and “draws its conclusion from at least two samples that represent cultural groups” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010 p.2).  The research method involved in cross-cultural psychology is based solely on comparing cultures therefore critical thinking is absolutely necessary.

Cultural and cross-cultural psychology both study how culture influence human behavior, however cultural psychology concentration is on how culture influences individual behavior in relation to their environment, and cross-cultural psychology examines the effects that culture has on behavior using a critical and comparative approach with at least two cultures.  Both cultural and cross-cultural psychology contribute very important information in regards to how culture influence human behavior but the two have a different approach in regards to understanding and giving an explanation to the relationship between culture and its effects on the human mind and behavior.

The ability to think is one of the most important human characteristics.  Critical thinking is “an active and systematic cognitive strategy to examine, evaluate, and understand events, solve problems, and make decisions on the basis of sound reasoning and valid evidence” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010 p.91). Individuals that possess the ability to think critically are able to see things with an open mind and analyze information from different aspects.  Critical thinking allows individuals to set aside their personal views and have a better understanding of others.  Critical thinking plays a very important role in cross-cultural psychology because one has to be able to recognize the difference between facts and theories setting aside their own personal views and opinions in order to draw an unbiased conclusion from their research.  Critical thinking in cross-cultural psychology is dependent upon the ability to understand different cultures in a way that eliminates the self-fulfilling prophecy, which “is a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it is already true”.

Cross-cultural psychology has four basic goals, which are “description, interpretation, prediction, and management” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010 p.50).  The research process in cross-cultural psychology is divided into two categories, quantitative and qualitative.  The quantitative approach “involves the measurement of certain aspects of human activity from a comparative perspective” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010 p.50) to analyze human behavior.  Central tendency is the most common measurement used in the quantitative approach, such as mean, median, mode, standard deviance, and variance. The qualitative approach is used in “the natural setting, where the research participants carry out their daily activities in a non-research atmosphere.  Qualitative studies are also conducted when there are difficulties in measuring variables, in situations when the subjects cannot read or use answer scales or when there are no standardized measurement instrument available” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010 p.50).  Prior to conducting research a goal must first be established to determine which method would be appropriate for accomplishing that goal because each method of research is designed for certain situations.

In conclusion, it is important to understand that human behavior is influenced by biological, psychological and environmental components.  Culture is a part of the environmental component that influences human behavior and is the most important aspect in gaining understanding of human behavior through research.  Cultural and cross-cultural psychology focus on gaining understanding the role culture plays in influencing individual behavior through various research methods, however they both have different approaches to gaining understand on the affects culture has on human behavior.  Critical thinking is an important factor in the research method for cross-cultural psychology because individuals have to be able to analyze information obtained from research with an open-mind and from an unbiased perspective in order to draw a conclusion based solely on facts and psychological theories. Culture is what differentiates one individual from another and is different in every environment; cross-cultural psychology compares and contrasts those differences by examining at least two cultures at a time during the research process.  Cultural and cross-cultural psychology is essential to the field of psychology because of the impact culture has on human behavior.

 References

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