Cultural Psychology
Psychology 459
Gordon
C. Nagayama Hall
355
Straub
346-4969
I. Who is an American?
Social Identity Theory
(Tajfel, 1981)
Ingroup favoritism
Outgroup discrimination
2000 U.S. Census
II. Lack of Attention to Cultural Issues in Psychology
Most research is on
European Americans
Belief that culture contributes little to the understanding of basic
psychological processes
Factors that lead to the neglect of cultural variables
Lack of
experience
Desire for
parsimony
Fears of
stereotyping others
Ethnocentric
bias
Equating
diversity with elitism
Color-blind approach
III. Cross-Cultural vs. Multicultural Psychology
Cross-Cultural Psychology
Study of 2 or more
cultures in nations that are not in direct contact
Etic approach
involving universals in behavior
Comparative approach
Multicultural Psychology
Study of multiple groups in a single sociocultural
context
Emic approach
involving cultural specificity
Issues of minority
status
IV. Definition of terms
Race
is a biological construct
Based
on inherited characteristics
How
many races are there?
Disagreement
among cultural anthropologists
Culture
Shared attitudes, beliefs,
norms, roles, and self definitions (Triandis, 1996)
Elements include
familial roles, communication patterns, affective styles, values regarding
personal control, individualism, collectivism, spirituality, and religiosity
Definition of Culture
(Landrine, 1992)
Culture is the
unwritten social and psychiatric dictionary that we have each memorized and
then repressed
Broad cultural difference: Individualism-collectivism
Ethnicity (Sue, 1991; Phinney, 1996)
A social
psychological sense of peoplehood in which members of a group share a unique
social and cultural heritage that is transmitted from one generation to another
Ethnicity
Individuals in a
particular ethnic group may share common behaviors, attitudes, and values
Ethnicity
Interdependence of
fate or struggles with others in the group
Experiences
associated with minority status, including powerlessness, discrimination,
prejudice
Between-Groups Differences
For ethnicity and
culture to have meaning, between-group differences in values and traits have to
be highlighted
Differences in modal
personalities of groups provide the context for understanding ethnic groups
Ethnic/Racial Identity
Relationships between
individuals and their own ethnic/racial group (Sue, Mak, & Sue, 1998)
Stages of Racial/Ethnic Identity (Cross,
1971)
Racial/ethnic identity
as a process
Pre‑Encounter
World is viewed as nonblack or antiblack
Whites are viewed as superior to Blacks
Assimilation is seen as the solution to African
American problems
Stages of Racial/Ethnic Identity (Cross,
1971)
Encounter
African Americans become aware of what it means to be
African American
Transition, confusion
Search for new identity
Stages of Ethnic/Racial Identity (Cross,
1971)
Immersion/Emersion
Rejection of all nonblack values, total immersion in African American culture
Denigration of anything White in an effort to prove
that one is Black
Stages of Ethnic/Racial Identity (Cross,
1971)
Internalization
Self‑confident and secure African American
identity
Comfortable expressing interests and preferences for
experiences from other cultures
Conflicts resolved
Identifies with the oppression of all peoples
Stages of White Racial Identity (Helms,
1990)
Contact stage - race is not a distinguishing factor in psychological
development
Stages of White Racial Identity
(Helms, 1990)
Disintegration - confusion and perplexity about being White
Stages of White Racial Identity (Helms,
1990)
Reintegration - racial superiority
Stages of White Racial Identity (Helms,
1990)
Pseudo-independence - broader
understanding of impact of race, ethnicity, culture on psychological
development
Stages of White Racial Identity (Helms,
1990)
Immersion/emersion - attempt to develop a personal and moral definition
of Whiteness
Stages of White Racial Identity (Helms,
1990)
Autonomy - nonracist White identity
IV. Acculturation
Definition - the
changes that groups and individuals undergo when they come into contact with
another culture. (Williams &
Berry, 1991)
Models of Acculturation (LaFromboise et
al., 1993)
Assimilation - absorption into the dominant or more desirable
culture
Models of Acculturation (LaFromboise et al.,
1993)
Acculturation - competent in the second culture, but always will be
identified as a member of the minority culture
Models of Acculturation (LaFromboise et al.,
1993)
Alternation - competent in two cultures
Models of Acculturation (LaFromboise et al.,
1993)
Fusion - cultures sharing an economic, political, or
geographic space will fuse together until they are indistinguishable and form a
new culture
Models of Acculturation (LaFromboise et al.,
1993)
Multicultural - maintain distinct cultural identities while
cultures are tied together within a single multicultural social structure
characterizes the model