Psychology & culture : What do we know about this?





Cultural Psychology refers to an interdisciplinary field which unites psychologists, linguists, anthropologists as well as philosophers for a common pursuit of understanding different cultures, different aspects of those cultures, and the impact that they have on the psyche and psychologies of different human beings. Cultural psychologists tend to see that their findings vary from culture to culture. Culture plays an important role in shaping the way a human being thinks and behaves and also tends to influence subtle aspects of a person, like the way they talk, the way they conduct themselves, etc. Culture also tends to be an agent for socialization which teaches norms and values of that particular society. 


This process influences the individuals’ perception and how they see themselves and how they rate their capabilities. Example- If an individual is born into a culture which values competition and if they have been brought up in a way which helps in fostering competition, they tend to see themselves as someone who is capable and who is able to do a lot of tasks. Culture also tends to shape the worldview and how different individuals tend to view other people. Example- Some cultures tend to focus on the holistic view while some others tend to emphasize cause and effect relationships. Cultures also influence other aspects of an individual, like the emotional expressions of an individual, how the person is able to adapt to the changes that they face in their lives, etc. 


  



Cultural identity refers to the characteristics of a group of people which encompasses place of birth, religion, language, cuisine, social behaviors, art, etc. This concept has five different stages, which are- Cultural awareness, exploration, crisis/confusion, commitment and integration. At the first stage, the individual becomes aware of their cultural background, recognize its significance. In the second stage, the individual becomes curious about their culture and starts exploring more about it and tries to know more about it through various sources like the elders in the family, some kind of family books, etc. The third stage talks about the crisis and confusion which will be experienced due to the fact that the individual is exposed to different cultures or if their cultural identity is challenged. The fourth stage talks about committing and embracing the cultural identity of oneself and the last final stage talks about integrating and navigating through various aspects of their culture. Individuals tend to embrace biculturalism which is identifying with two different cultures and multiculturalism, which is identifying with multiple cultures and taking part in each culture, with an emphasis on tolerance and inclusivity for all the different cultures. 


Also, we have seen that the field of cultural psychology tends to play an important role in a globalized world where individuals tend to exchange their ideas, beliefs and behaviors. The cultural psychologists also play an important role in exploring as well as navigating each other’s cultures. Cultural psychology focuses on the balance between how individuals preserve their cultural identity as well as adopt different aspects of others’ cultures. Cultural psychology also focuses on how individuals tend to adapt to each other's cultures which is due to the acculturation and also helps in forming different plans so that individuals are able to adapt to the different external environment. They also help developing new skills and knowledge which help in effectively and respectfully interacting with such individuals as well forming greater levels of bonds with them. 




However, there are a lot of challenges which Cultural psychology as a field shall face. There is a high chance of cultural biases and stereotypes while doing research as we do have the tendency to perceive certain cultures and peoples differently which could lead to negative views and perception regarding that group. Also, a lot of the theories which have been developed regarding cultural psychology have been done only in western nations and those theories could be biased towards Asians, Africans and other ethnic groups. While doing research on any particular ethnic group, we need to have a deep knowledge about what they think, how they see things, their cultural aspects as well and to know all these things, we need to have informed consent from all these groups. There might also be a resistance to change which is occurring due to globalization leading to clashes among different ethnic groups. Cultural psychologists should address these changes by promoting cross-cultural talks. There are a lot of opportunities for cultural psychologists as well. They are able to conduct various kinds of cross-cultural research on various ethnic groups and how they interact amongst themselves. 


Lastly, Cultural psychologists can offer solutions to various global problems from the perspective of different cultures. Overall, cultural psychology is a primitive field which is still in it’s developing stages but still has a lot of scope of extensive development.  



References


1. Snibbe, A. C. (2003, December 10). Cultural Psychology: Studying more than the ‘Exotic other.’ Association for Psychological Science.

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2. Cultural identity. (n.d.).

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3. Handout 1: Four Stages of Identity Formation: A Model. (n.d.). 

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4. Melluish, S. (2014). Globalization, culture and psychology. International Review of Psychiatry.

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