Week 1 culture class: Cultural Psychology and Diversity Concepts

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering cultural psychology, general psychology, WEIRD demographics, diversity paradigms, systemic oppression, and social justice frameworks.

Overarching Theory Of Cultural Psychology

A comprehensive framework describing how psychology is shaped by exerpeinces, universality in our brains/ physiology and cultural experiences that influence individual/socio-cultural behaviours.

Culture

Information gotton through socializing that influences behaviour, or a group of people within a shared geographical/historical/linguistical context. Boundaries are not always easily defined and is prone to changes overtime. Same amount of variation within vs outside of culture(aka dynamic)

General Psychology (CPU) vs Cutural Psych

A traditional psychology that focuses on universality assuming the mind is independent of context/content, by treating cultural variation as noise

Cultural Psychology (messenger)

A discipline focusing on cultural variation. Assuming context matters as there is a dual relatioship between mind and culture becuse it is used to create different mental schemas.

Emergence of Culture

Emerged by mids interacting, in turn culture shapes how those minds operate. Culture can shape thoughts leading to cultual differences. Culture provides meaning to those differences instead of explaining it away

Science Behind culture:

Activation of brain structures can be caused by cultural influences, the mind thinks in a cultural context resulting in cultural revolution(Culture shapes minds> minds shape behaviour>behaviours change culture >culture shapes future minds)

WEIRD Samples (96% West; 68% American and 70% Psych Undergrads)

Research participants drawn from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies meaning we lack data to understand universality

Why study Cultural Psychology

Better understand universality/human psyche and understand how variations shape psychology

Color-Blind Approach

An approach to cultural diversity that ignores group differences, based on the rationale that distinctions can facilitate discrimination.

Multicultural Approach

An approach to diversity that acknowledges group differences, backed by research saying that ignoring group differences can elicit neg reactions from minority groups.

Ethnocentrism

The act of judging people from other cultures through the standards and values of one's own culture, regarding one's own cultural practices as normative and superior.

Questions Chap 1

• Something can be universal because humans share a basic psychological process, but culturally variable because different cultural expression

• Multiculralism (when done right) is better as there are cultural differences in our social world

• Mind vs culture (nature vs nurture) both interact to shape behaviour

Key challanges in understanding diversity: Celebratory Approach

A superficial perspective on diversity that celebrates differences without addressing underlying unequal power relations, histories of social exclusion, discrimination, privilege, or systemic oppression.

Key challanges in understanding Diversity: Difference Approach

A perspective rooted in the social construction of differences that unintentionally maintains the standards, norms, and power of the dominant group. It emphasizes differences even if those differences are arbitrary substaining the division between groups.

Privilege

Benefits or advantages that are often unearned and can occur unconsciously because of social power

Marginalization

The systemic process of excluding and pushing social groups possessing less social power toward the fringes or margins of society.

Power

The ability to do what you want even in the face of opposition and get what you want.

Anti-Oppression Approach

A framework employing deliberate strategies to recognixe and challenge inequity, acknowledge priviledge, address discrimination/oppression and promote inclusion. Diversity should follow thus approach as it incorperates: equity, justice and inclusion

Critical Social Theory

Provides a framwork to question why inequality is in place to begin with and how it’s maintain by society. It encourages people to question how their actions are reinforcing inequality

The nature of Oppression

Dominant groups: Already accomadated more abundant use their systemic power over non dominant groups: The group with less social power. Then Domination occurs: one group influences,rules, and governens the other. Which causes oppression: Systems unfairly disadvantage one group but uplifts another.

Levels of Oppression

The three interconnected domains through which oppression operates and can be resisted: personal (individual interactions and beliefs), cultural (norms and values), and structural (institutional laws, policies, and practices).

Dominant Group Vs Non Dominant Group

A social identity group that commands social privilege and power within a society (e.g., individuals aged $30-60$, able-bodied persons,) Vs a social identity group that lacks institutional leverage and encounters marginalization (e.g., youth and seniors, persons with disabilities)

Social Identity vs Personal Idenity

A social category that humans are placed under that can systematically stratify them according to power dynamics, systemical inequites and social norms. Characteristics and values that contribute to who you are as an individual

Intersectionality

A theoretical framework first coined by Kimberle Crenshaw that analyzes how overlapping social identities (such as race, gender, class, and ability) interact to produce interlocking systems of privilege and oppression, referred to as the matrix of oppression.

The Luxury of Obliviousness

An aspect of social privilege characterized by the subconscious freedom and ease of not having to think about, notice, or navigate systemic barriers and oppression that affect non-dominant groups.

Equality vs. Equity

Equality involves providing identical resources or treatment to all individuals regardless of circumstance, whereas equity involves providing tailored resources and support based on specific needs to achieve fair outcomes.

Distributive and Redistributive Justice

Distributive justice focusing on the fair allocation of resources, and privileges across society. Redistributive justice focuses on intentional redistribution of assets to redress systemic inequities.

Questions about Slide 2

• There is no singular gold standard to a theory to target oppression however cst work to understand the issue and Anti-oppression works to solve it

• Oppression is the result of domination

• Personal: challange comment, set boundaries, question yourself; Cultural: educate, promote; structural: report, advocate

• Your social and individual identites overlap and can affect how people see you and how you see yourself