Culture Psychology Vocabulary Terms Ch 1-4

Exam 1 (10/5)

biological concept

The perspective that a race is a group of people who share a specific combination of physical, genetically inherited characteristics that distinguish them from other groups

sociocultural concept

An approach that examines how human behavior, thinking, and cognitive development are shaped by social contexts, cultural groups, language, and societal norms

The perspective that characteristics, values, and behaviors that have been associated with groups of people who share different physical characteristics serve the social purpose of providing a way for outsiders to view another group and for members of a group to perceive themselves

biospychosocial model

a model of human behavior that takes into consideration biological, cognitive-affective, social interpersonal, social institutional, and cultural factors

cross cultural psychology

the search for universal principles of human behavior, cognition, and affect, or for what is common across cultures

cultural psychology

study of how unique practices within a culture shape behavior, cognition, and affect

culture

the values, beliefs, and practices of a group of people, shared through symbols and passed down from generation to generation

culture contact

critical incidents where people from different cultures come into contact with one another through (a) living and working with one another on a daily basis or (b) visiting other countries on a temporary basis

deep structure of culture

the philosophical assumptions that underlie a culture and are reflected in its values, practices, and beliefs

diversity

acknowledgment of individual human differences that go beyond race, ethnicity, and nationality

ethnical psychology

the study of the minds of other races and people

ethnicity

refers to the combination of race and culture (determined by both physical and cultural characteristics)

ethnic minority psychology

the study of issues relevant to racial and ethnic groups that have historically been marginalized, oppressed, and underserved

eugenics

a movements that maintains only “good genes” should be passed from generation to generation

fourth force

the idea that multicultural psychology is so important that it will fundamentally change the direction of the psych field

intersectionality

the meaningful ways in which various social statuses interact and result in differing experiences with oppression and privilege

nature vs nurture

the debate between whether human traits are influenced more by heredity or the environment

negative cognitive triad

Beck’s label for the negative view depressed individuals tend to have of themselves, the world, and the future

paradigm shift

major change in the way people think about a field

scientific racism

the use of scientific methods, concepts, and data to create and justify ideas of racial superiority and inferiority

multicultural psychology

systematic study of behavior, cognition, and affect in settings where people of different backgrounds interact

structural introspection

method that structuralists used to examine the contents of people’s minds

structuralism

the first formal approach to psychology that attempted to examine the contents of people’s mind

surface structure of culture

the physical manifestations of a group’s way of life that can be easily observed (music, food, dress, language)

worldview

a psychological perception of the environment that determines how we think, behave and feel

bias in the usage

bias introduces when a test is USED in a inappropriate manner (administered in a language the test taker is not fluent in)

bias of the user

bias in the interpretation of the test when the test user has a particular perspective or bias that may disadvantage a person or group

conceptual equivalence

terms or phrases that are culturally equivalent of the term being examined

functional equivalence

the equating of items on a test or survey functionally as opposed to literally (using Beauty and the Beast in USA but a different well known fairy tale in another country)

linguistic equivalence

translation of a term that carries with it similar meaning from one language to another (how is it translated)

logical positivism

scientific approach to measure “truth” or real phenomena through methods of numbers and statistical analyses

metric equivalence

numerical scores that are generally equivalent from one culture to another

ALANAs

African Americans, Latinx, Asian Americans, Native Americans

allocentric

collectivistic tendencies that reside within an individual

BIPOC

Black, Indigenous, People of Color

collectivism

social pattern in which an individual tends to be motivated by the group’s preferences, needs, and rights when they come into conflict with their own individual preferences, needs and rights

countercultural individuals

Idiocentric people residing in a collectivistic culture, or allocentric people residing in an individualistic culture

delay of gratification

the ability to wait for a more desirable reward instead of taking a less desirable one immediately.

emic perspective

deriving meaning concepts within one culture

etic perspective

examining commonalities across many cultures

face giving/giving face

extolling (praising) the virtues of another person in public (doing this for yourself would be individualistic)

guilt

prominent negative emotion in individualistic cultures that involves an individual’s sense of personal regret for having engaged in negative behavior

human activity

distinction between being, being and in becoming, and doing

“Being”

refers to an individual’s being accepted just as that person is

“Being and in becoming”

refers to an individual’s evolving into something different and presumably better

“Doing”

refers to an individual’s being valued for the activity in which that person is engaged

idiocentric

individualistic tendencies that reside in an individual

imposed etics

the forcing of one culture’s worldview on another culture, assuming that one’s worldviews are universal

individualism

social pattern in which individuals are motivated by their own preferences, needs and rights before the group’s

locus of control

the focus of control over outcomes of one’s life, be it internal control or external control

locus of responsibility

the focus of responsibility for one’s position in life, be it internal or external (sociatal)

losing face/saving face

loss of face involves being publicly revealed for negative behavior
face saving involve being able to protect one’s public persona

marginal man

Stonequist’s concept of how one feels when one is caught between two worlds

masculine-feminine dimension

a continuum of authority from hierarchical (masculine) to egalitarian (feminine)

people/nature relationship

how people relate to nature, be it subjugated to nature, harmony with nature, or mastery over nature

shame

a prominent negative emotion in collectivistic cultures that involved an individual’s regret for having engaged in a negative behavior that reflects poorly on their family/upbringing

social relations

distinction among lineal, collateral, and individualistic

Lineal orientation

respect for hierarchy among one’s family

Collateral orientation

similar to collectivism

Individualistic orientation

similar to individualism

time focus

an orientation that values a particular time perspective (some cultures value the past, present, or future more than others)

VREGs

visible racial/ethnic groups

acceptance

the feeling that one is accepted as an equal in the conversation

additive bilingualism

the acquisition of a second language that does not replace the native language

authenticity

being truthful and not trying to be merely politically correctly

cooperative principle

a psycholinguistic term that assumes that we strive to communicate with one another sincerely and effectively when we engaged in a conversation

direct communication

blunt communication that is literal and to the point

Ebonics

a form of english used by many african americans that follows regular grammatical rules

goal attainment

refers to the achievement of mutual understanding between two conversational partners

haptics

the use of touch when communicating with another person

high context communication

much of the communication is carried either by the context of the situation or by societal rules that are internalized

indirect communciation

communication relies on context and the receiver’s ability to draw inferences

kinesics

bodily movements in conversations, including hand gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact

language attrition/subtractive bilingualism

the acquisition of a second language that replaces the native language

low context communication

language dependent, language itself is the crucial aspect of the communication and context does not have as much meaning

maxim of manner

people should be clear in their communication and pay attention to normal standards of conduct

maxim of quality

we should be truthful in conversation

maxim of quantity

we should each contribute an appropriate amount to our conversation

maxim of relevance

we should remain on topic

native bilingualism

when two languages are used in the household so that people become bilingual from birth

negative stereotyping

stereotyping that casts African Americans in a negative light or that limits discussion to “AA topics” such as athletics and music

oculesics

a subset of kinesics that focuses on eye contact

paralanguage

the use of nonverbal vocal cues in communication, such as loudness of voice, silences, and rate of speech

personal expressiveness

speaking from the heart and not the head

power dynamics

refers to powerlessness and assertiveness in conversations with African Amercians

Proxemics

personal space in conversations

qualifiers

the words or phrases that soften statements such as “I may be wrong, but…”

relations with conversational partners

we should rely on previous experience with our partners in our conversations

rule violations

when violating one of the maxims, we must signal that violation

tag questions

questions added to a statement of assertion (“this class is interesting, don’t you think?”)

understanding

the sense that the conversational partner has enough experience to truly understand the AA experience