Cultural psychology

Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic psychology

What does WEIRD Psychology stand for?

Race

A social construct — categorisation into a group based on physical appereance.

Ethnicity

A characterisation of people based upon their shared culture

Culture

The shared patterns of attitudes, behaviours, and values that a group of people hold in common

Cultural Psychology

A branch of psychology that looks at the interplay between culture and psychology.

It is the study of mental processes and behaviour of people within their cultural contexts — the interactional influences between culture and psychology

Cross-Cultural psychology

Variance and invariance of mental processes and behaviour under diverse cultural contexts.

Indigenous Psychology

Psychological knowledge and approaches unique to indigenous cultures.

Prejudice

Unreasonable or negative attitudes about members in a group.

Stereotypes

Belief, or set of beliefs, that all members of a group share a certain attribute

Discrimination

Differential behaviour based on group membership

Affective-Behavioural-Cognitive model of attitudes.

The three individual components that constitute an attitude. In the case of racism, this would be:

A = Prejudice
B = Discrimination
C = Stereotype

Affective

“How do I feel about people?”
A person’s feelings or emotions about the attitude object.

Behavioural

“How do I act towards people?”
The way a person behaves towards the attitude object.

Cognitive

“How do I categorise people?”
The way the attitude object is percieved in the person’s mind.

Nationality

Citizenship within a particular nation

Observable

Behaviour, food, lanuage, clothing, dance, and music are _ aspects of culture.

Unobservable

Values, attitudes, beliefs, and cultural norms are _ aspects of culture.

Individualistic Cultures

Cultures where:

• The concept of the self is the individual

• The individual is given priority

• Independence and autonomy are given priority

• Pursuing individual goals is the expectation

• Behaviour is explained by personal descisions and attributes

Collectivist Cultures

Cultures where:

• The concept of the self is determined in relation to the group

• The interests of the group are given priority

• Solidarity within people in the group is emphasised

• Behaviour is explained in terms of adherence to group norms

• Collective ownership of resources is the norm

• Group conformity, obligation and sense of duty are normal

Self-Schema

A category of knowledge which outlines how people interpret themselves and the situations around them. It is developed through everyday interractions of the past and present.

Independent self-schema

The definition of oneself through internal attributes, self-motivation and internal goals (ex: I am freaky and I want to draw something that is freaky)

Psychological tendencies linked to this schema include:

• prioritising personal choice

• valuing uniqueness

• expressing internal feelings.

Interdependent self-schema

The definition of oneself through social roles and group memberships and environments. It is motivated by the desire to maintain harmony (ex: I am the alpha and I LEAD THE PACK)

Psychological tendencies linked to this schema include:

• attention to social context

• relational responsibility

• sensitivity to others’ expectations.

Individualism/Collectivism

Psychological idea contrasting the view of the self as a separate/unique entity with individual aspirations, and the self as a member of a wider group who contributes to the community.

Independent/Interdependent Self

Represents how individuals might define the self in two ways.

The _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ self defines the self as separate from others, and a self-reliant individual with their own unique traits as a person.

The _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ self defines the self as a member of a community with a socially significant role, prioritising relationships with other individuals.

Intersectionality

An assemblage of ideas that factors such as race, privilege, and identity all affect one another and can not be looked at in isolation

Cultural competency

Having the awareness, knowledge, and skills to perform psychological tasks that recognise the diverse worldviews of clients and the self.

WEIRD psychology

Cultural biases within psychology come from the focus on _ within the field

Micro-level psychological framework

A psychological framework which works within the granular level of daily life. It is present in our everyday interactions.

Attitude Strength

The strength which an atttitude is held with is often a good predictor of behaviour.

Principle of Consistency

We must believe that a person’s behaviour is consistent with their attitude at all times. People do not always follow this principle as they may behave in illogical ways. For example: Mahida boycotts Starbucks but not McDonalds

Structural racism

Racist, ethnocentric structures within a system or institution.