a cross- cultural perspective on social psychology-dk

8/12/2019 A Cross- Cultural Perspective on Social Psychology-DK

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A Cross-Cultural

Perspective on Social

Psychology



Social Psychology

• Social psychology of each culture are different• India vs. America: widow women example (Collectivism vs.

Individualism)

• “Ethnocentric universalism” and “false consensus

effect”

• For example: Smoking is dangerous or not



Definitions

• Culture is to society what memory is to individuals.• Generation to generation

• Shared perspective

• Human made

• Two types of culture:• Individualism vs. collectivism



Individualism vs. Collectivism

Individualists

• Independent ofgroups

• Priority topersonal goals

• Behavior:attitudes

• Relationship:profitable

Collectivists

• Interdependent

• Priority to groupgoals

• Behavior: norms

• Relationship:

satisfy groupneeds



Universal and Culture Specific

A level of generality of phenomena• Level 4: personality differences

• Behaviors: strong individual differences due to genetic,

situational or cultural factors

• Study individual differences by keeping culture and situation

constant-personality psychology

• Level 3: specific cultures

• Culture-specific manifestations of fundamental dimensions

of cultural variations

• Specify the culture and situation• Indigenous social psychology



Universal and Culture Specific

• Level 2: large groups• Fundamental dimensions of cultural variations (cultural

complexity, tightness, individualism, collectivism etc.)

• Domains of cross cultural psychology

• Level 1: all humans

• Universal psychological laws, reflect biological-genetic

influences

• Among all humans and many mammals

• Domain of neurophysiologic psychology



Level 1: Universal Psychologies

• Humans have much common with other animals.• Animals: territoriality

• Humans: association vs. dissociation

• Association: love, support, admire

• Extreme: to marry

• Dissociation: fight with, avoid, attack• Extreme: to kill

• Basic behaviors can also be seen in animals.

• Example: among chimpanzees

• First order categories of behavior (36 specific acts)

• Second order categories of behavior (friendly, aggressive,

show avoidance etc.)

• Third order level (behavior sequences: friendly and then

aggressive)




• Animals: Packing orders• Humans: super ordination vs. subordination

• Super ordination: give order, instruct, criticize, supervise

• Subordination: obey, ask for help, accept advice

• Animals have definable social structures.• Patriarchal (roe deer, baboons)

• Matriarchal (sheep)




• Animals: division of labor• Doing hunting while others caring the new born

• Humans: role differentiation

• Predictability of social behavior

• Culture

• Civilization

• Norms, taboos, standard operating procedures

• “Ecosystem distrust” : dog-eat-dog relationship



Level 2: Psychologies that include

differentiation

• Different ecologies cultural differences• Most important dimensions of ecological variation:

• Homogeneity of population

• Population density

• Extent to which economic activities require interdependentactions




differentiation

• Homogeneous culture:• Norms are clear

• Deviation from norms punishment

• Punished slight deviation = “tight” culture

• Unpunished deviation = “loose” culture

• Heterogeneous culture:• Different norms

• Difficult to be very tight

• Where density is high:

• Norms are needed

• Tightness is often very high

• Sparsely populated culture:

• Arctic, deserts etc.

• Allow others to deviate from norms




differentiation

• Cultures:• Very tight + simple = collectivist cultures

• Loose + complex = individualistic cultures

• Cultural Syndromes:

• Individualism: autonomy of individual

• Collectivism: importance of collective• Tightness: rejection of deviation from norms

• Cultural complexity: large number of different social

structures, political systems, beliefs

• Cultural syndromes are detected:

• Widely shared beliefs, attitudes, norms and values

• Particular language

• Specific historic period

• Definable geographic region




differentiation

• When role differentiation is functional: difference in power• Hierarchically differentiated people: vertical culture

• Vertical collectivism or vertical individualism

• When role differentiation is not functional: cooperative working

and equality

• No hierarchy: horizontal culture

• Horizontal collectivism or horizontal individualism

• In every culture, people use all four of these patterns but with

different probabilities

• India, China, Africa, Latin America: vertical collectivist

• Israeli kibbutz : horizontal collectivist

• USA, England, France, Germany: vertical individual

• Sweden, Australia: horizontal individual




differentiation

• In level 2, universal variable of level 1 acquirespecific meanings in each culture.

• For example:

Social distance is universal dimension( L1)

Exact form depends on ecology, history and culture(L2)

• Golf club acceptance vs. touching kitchen utensils

• In sum,

• Different culture= different social psychologies

• Location of culture helps to make prediction



Level 3: Indigenous Psychologies

• People favor in-group members in all culture, but indifferent way.

• Japan: amai

• Greece: philotimo

• Hispanics: simpatia

• Chinese: confucian dynamism



Level 3: Indigenous Psychologies

• Determinants of social behavior are weighted differently in each society.

• Different social psychologies in:

• Individualistic cultures of West

• Collectivist cultures of East

• Traditional cultures of Africa

• General links between collectivism and individualism (L2)

• Specific social psychological manifestations of different

kinds of collectivism and individualism(L3)



Level 4:Individual differences in behavior

• Personality emerges at this level.• For example: There are extroverted and introverted people

in all cultures. But cultural standards may be

different.(reflecting the differences in the ecology and

history of the group)



Social Behavior

• The influence of culture on social behavior can bestudied by using models.

• Triandis’ model: Specifies how elements of culture

shape social behavior.

• Rewarded repetitions of this behavior become habits and

later customs

• Circular causation: culture influences social behavior and

social behavior shapes culture.

• The rate of interaction among individuals and sharing

the elements of culture….. • Increase when demographic factors are similar

• Decrease when demographic factors are different



Concluding Comment

• Social psychology emerged in the West and underthe influence of cross- cultural psychology it is

broadening to develop an integrated framework for

placing indigenous social psychologies.

• This theory is held together by universal patterns of

social behavior, but allows each indigenous social

psychology to develop in its own way.



Concluding Comment

• The realization that ethnocentrism is a consequenceof the total immersion of humans in their own culture,

which makes their own culture the standard against

which other cultures are judged, is perhaps the most

important insight of cross-cultural social psychology

and that will permit the reduction of ethnocentrism.



Concluding Comment

• Ways of reducing ethnocentrism:• Humans are exposed to thier cultures and see strengths in

these cultures that their own culture does not have.

• By teaching people to see the world the way people other

cultures see the world

• Cross cultural training can help us aviod suchmisunderstanding.



THANK YOU!

a cross- cultural perspective on social psychology-dk

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