Cross-cultural psychology focuses on studying human behavior in a way that takes the effects of culture into account. The study of cross-cultural psychology and the inclusion of more representative and diverse samples in psychology research is essential for understanding the universality of different psychological phenomena.
Full Answer
What is cross-cultural psychology?
Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that explores the similarities and differences in thinking and behavior between individuals from different cultures.
Why do we study cultural psychology?
To study cultural influences at multiple levels of analysis and further examine the interaction between the individual, community, and culture will significantly enrich our understanding of the overarching and dynamic role of culture in human behavior. Assumption 4: Cultural psychology is irrelevant to basic psychological processes
Why is culture important in psychotherapy?
Complexity of culture Collective knowledge, shared beliefs, values, language, institutions, symbols, and images result in a shared worldview. These systems have a major impact on psychotherapy. These arguments recognize diversity across cultures and suggest the need to adapt psychotherapeutic models to match patients and their contexts.
Do you have a problem with cross cultural treatment?
CROSS-CULTURAL TREATMENT: "Cross-cultural treatment may be an issue to some, but the number of people with a problem with such is dwindling as the years go by."
Why is it important to understand cross-cultural psychology?
Cross-cultural psychology plays an important role in the understanding of behavior throughout the cultures of the world. While much of psychology research remains primarily Western and Eurocentric, there is a stronger awareness of the importance of representation and diversity in the research process.
Why are psychologists interested in cross-cultural differences?
Culture becomes a way of testing the universality of psychological processes (Ellis & Stam, 2015). Cultural psychology is interested in determining how local cultures (including their social practices) influence and shape how our psychological processes develop (Ellis & Stam, 2015).
Why do psychologists need to study cultural diversity?
Cultural psychology is not just about What, but, more importantly, Why and How. It not only uncovers the diversity of human cognition and behavior, but also provides theoretical and empirical insights into such diversity and in so doing greatly advances our general understanding of human cognition and behavior.
Why cross-cultural approach is important?
Cross-cultural studies main importance is to advance and expand our knowledge beyond the confinements of our particular surrounding context, encompassing a universal perspective in understanding human behavior. Cross-cultural research provides benefits that transcend the limits of the traditional research approaches.
What is the most important reason to conduct psychological research across different cultures and populations?
Research conducted with members of different cultures, to see whether the psychological processes of interest are present in both cultures or whether they are specific to the culture in which people were raised.
What is cross-cultural approach in psychology?
Cross-cultural psychology is the study of similarities and differences in behavior among individuals who have developed in different cultures. The search for relationships between cultural context and human behavior is carried out within three general frames of reference.
Why diversity is important in clinical psychology?
The diversity of the clinical psychology workforce is an important contributing factor in ensuring that clients are able to access services that can reflect their own particular culture and personal identities, and also to allow the possibility of choice surrounding diversity across therapists and psychologists.
What is cross cultural psychology?
Cross-cultural psychology analyzes characteristics and behavior across different cultural groups, with an interest in variation as well as human universals. Cultural psychology involves comparison as well, but has been described as more focused on psychological processes within a particular culture. In another approach, indigenous psychology, ...
What is cross cultural research?
Cross-cultural research demonstrates that experimental effects, correlations, or other results that are observed in one cultural context —for example, the tendency of Western participants to rate their abilities as better-than-average—do not always appear in the same way, or at all, in others.
What is the difference between a collectivist and an individualistic culture?
Those in relatively individualistic cultures are thought to emphasize independence and to favor personal attitudes and preferences to a greater degree.
How does culture influence happiness?
While happiness seems to be one of the most cross-culturally recognizable emotions in terms of individual expression, culture can influence how one thinks about happiness. Research indicates that people in different cultures vary in how much value they place on happiness and how much they focus on their own well-being.
What is culture in art?
While various definitions are used, culture can be understood as the collection of ideas and typical ways of doing things that are shared by members of a society and have been passed down through generations. These can include norms, rules, and values as well as physical creations such as tools.
What is the weirdness of psychology?
The WEIRDness of Psychology. The psychological findings that get the most attention are disproportionately derived from a fraction of the world’s population. Some scientists call this relatively well-examined subgroup of human societies WEIRD: that is, Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic.
What are some examples of WEIRD cultures?
While there is not a single agreed-upon list of WEIRD cultures—and populations within particular countries can show different levels of these characteristics—commonly cited examples of WEIRD countries include the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and other parts of Western Europe, and Australia.
Why is cross cultural psychology important?
Cross-cultural psychology borrows ideas, theories, and approaches from anthropology; it also recognizes the importance of analyzing international differences identified through social-psychological mechanisms. And it’s important. We often assume that, psychologically speaking, all cultures are the same.
What is the difference between cross-cultural and general psychology?
Indeed, much of general psychology focuses on the impact of other people on behavior (such as family, relationships, and friends), yet it ignore culture’s influence.
Why is storytelling important in psychotherapy?
As a result, storytelling can be a powerful therapy approach , with narratives capturing the essence of human thought and cultural context. Narrative helps the psychotherapist not only relate to clients, but also understand the development of their identity.
When did cross-cultural psychology become a discipline?
Cross-cultural psychology became a sub-discipline of general psychology in the 1960s to prevent psychology from “becoming an entirely Western project” and “sought to test the universality of psychological laws via cultural comparative studies” (Ellis & Stam, 2015).
Who discovered that Western populations were often unusual compared to others?
Yet this is simply not the case (Berry, 2013). When anthropologist turned psychologist Joseph Henrich began his research into cultural diversity, he became aware that Western populations were often unusual compared to others.
Is speech therapy culturally influenced?
Speech therapy. The development of speech is inevitably influenced by cultural factors. Knowledge gained from cross-cultural psychology provides greater insight into the needs and difficulties faced by children and improves the awareness of potential bias from clinicians and assessors (Carter et al., 2005).
Why is cultural sensitivity important in therapy?
Therapists can incorporate cultural sensitivity into their work to accommodate and respect differences in opinions, values, and attitudes of various cultures and different types of people. Cultural sensitivity also allows a therapist to gain and maintain cultural competence, which is the ability to first recognize and understand one’s own culture ...
What to expect from a culturally sensitive therapist?
A culturally sensitive therapist follows guidelines for working with diverse groups of people and understands that racial, cultural, religious, gender, and sexual identities interact with one’s beliefs and behavior. The expectation and ultimate goals for both the therapist and the client are notable progress ...