Culture and Personality Notes

Lecture Aims

• Understand key questions about culture:

  • What is culture?

  • How and where do we acquire culture?

  • How does culture influence personality?

  • Describe the subfield of psychological anthropology.

  • Understand Indigenous concepts of identity and spirituality.

Defining Culture

• Culture (Boas, 1930; Smith & Bond, 1998; Heine, 2016):

  • Systems of shared meanings and social habits within communities, which encompasses a wide range of elements such as language, norms, customs, beliefs, and practices.

  • Culture consists of shared ideas, beliefs, technologies, habits, and practices learned from interaction with others, making cultural transmission essential for maintaining societal continuity.

  • Transmitted through symbols that encapsulate the values and achievements of human groups, reflecting their distinctive historical and social contexts (Breslin, 1987).

  • Manifested as group norms at various levels—national, racial, ethnic—and influences individual behavior within these frameworks.

  • Acts as a form of group memory applicable to all social collectives, such as families, communities, work groups, and organizations (Moreland et al., 1991; 1996).

Culture and Personality

• Personality:

  • Refers to individual characteristics shaped by both genetic and environmental influences, including personal experiences and cultural contexts, thereby making personality both inherited and learned.

• Culture:

  • Encompasses shared practices and norms specific to groups or categories, learned universally throughout one’s life, and inherited through generations.

  • It influences an individual's worldview, emotional responses, and approaches to life crises.

• Human Nature:

  • The interplay between culture and personality shapes human experiences and behaviors, influencing how individuals perceive themselves and their interactions with others.

Cultural Considerations in Psychology

• The development of cultural consideration in personality theories is an ongoing process that seeks deeper understanding and integration of diverse cultural perspectives.

  • Lack of Cross-Cultural Validity:

    • Early psychological theories have been dominated by white, Western perspectives, often critiqued as culture-bound or culture-blind.

    • Culture Bound: Theories limited by their specific cultural backgrounds, leading to generalizations that do not account for cultural diversity.

    • Culture Blind: Theoretical frameworks untested outside their cultured environments, raising concerns regarding the applicability of experimental methods across different societies.

    • Psychoanalysis often leans towards biological determinants while behaviorism tends to overlook cognitive processes and cultural experiences.

    • Cognitive theories, despite being influential, frequently fail to incorporate sociocultural influences into their models.

Origins of Cultural Anthropology

• Cultural anthropology focuses on understanding human behavior and cultural variation across societies, emphasizing the role of cultural norms, values, and practices.

  • Ethnographic research serves as a primary investigative method, allowing researchers to immerse themselves in different societies to collect data on behavioral patterns and social structures.

Historical Approaches to Culture and Personality

• Franz Boas' Contribution:

  • Recognized as the father of American anthropology, Boas emphasized that personality is significantly shaped by cultural context and experience.

  • His field research, particularly in Inuit communities, allowed him to illustrate the vast differences in cultural practices and their impact on psychological development.

  • Advocated for cultural relativism, fundamentally challenging ethnocentrism by arguing that all cultures have their own intrinsic value and should be understood from their own perspectives.

Cultural Relativism

• Cultural relativism posits that all cultural values and beliefs must be understood within their unique cultural contexts, promoting respect and appreciation for diversity.

  • It counters ethnocentrism, advocating for understanding without imposing external norms, which may distort the intrinsic value of different customs and practices.

  • Emphasizes the importance of recognizing distinct beliefs and values in varied cultures, such as differing perspectives on nudity or breakfast customs.

Configurationalist Approach

• Margaret Mead’s Contribution:

  • Developed a configurationalist approach that sought to extend the principles of cultural relativism, recognizing the complexity and multifactorial nature of social norms.

  • Acknowledged various contributors to sexuality and social roles, which challenged simplistic models of human behavior.

  • Her work aimed to transcend genetic determinism, promoting a more nuanced understanding of human behaviors through a cultural lens.

  • Pioneered feminist perspectives in anthropology, shedding light on discrimination and advocating for gender equity within the field.

Culture and Mental Illness

• Cultural contexts heavily influence the manifestation and perception of mental illness:

  • Depression: Variants of depression differ across cultures, as evidenced by distinct patterns observed in Punjabi women.

  • Psychosis: The Nigerian concept of "Ode Ori" demonstrates how cultural frameworks shape the understanding and categorization of psychotic experiences.

  • Eating Disorders: Noteworthy prevalence in individualistic cultures highlights how cultural values of beauty and success can lead to psychological issues.

  • This underscores the necessity of a contextual approach to understanding mental illness that considers cultural backgrounds and societal pressures.

Individualism vs Collectivism

• Individualism:

  • Champions individual rights and personal freedoms over group needs, characterized by an emphasis on independence and self-reliance.

  • Cultural traits include:

    • High value on autonomy and personal achievements.

    • A belief in the fundamental importance of individual rights.

    • Common in Western societies such as Australia, the United States, Ireland, and South Africa.

• Collectivism:

  • Focuses on group needs and social cohesion, prioritizing the well-being of the community over that of the individual.

  • Key traits include:

    • Interdependent self-definition regarding others.

    • Preference for indirect communication to maintain harmony and avoid conflict.

    • Strong loyalty to the group, often resulting in compromises for the broader community's benefit.

    • Common in cultures such as Indigenous Australia, China, South Korea, and various South American societies.

Effects of Individualism vs Collectivism

• Self-Perception:

  • Individualism promotes self-perception based on personal traits and achievements, whereas collectivism emphasizes social roles and relationship networks.

• Relationships:

  • Individualistic cultures exhibit higher relational mobility compared to collectivist societies, which may prioritize longstanding relational ties.

• Social Support:

  • Individuals in collectivist cultures are generally more likely to seek social support from their networks, compared to individualistic societies where help-seeking may be less common or perceived as a sign of weakness.

• Conformity:

  • Higher rates of conformity are observed in collectivist societies as individuals align their behaviors with group norms, contrasting with individualistic societies where personal expression may be more valued.

Indigenous Identity and Spirituality

• Indigenous cultures represent some of the oldest continuous societies on Earth, rich in history and wisdom.

  • Key themes include:

    • The interconnectedness of all living beings and the profound relationship with the land, expressed through geosophical understanding.

    • Traditional stories, such as the Dreaming, embody cultural narratives that shape identity and worldviews.

    • The significance of totems and language in maintaining cultural identity and spirituality.

    • Recognition that there is no singular Aboriginal spirituality; rather, diverse beliefs exist across various Indigenous groups.

Summary of Cross-Cultural Psychology

• Cross-cultural psychology examines the interaction between psychological processes and the cultural contexts that influence human experiences.

  • Key insights include:

    • Adult behavior is significantly patterned by cultural expectations and norms.

    • Childhood experiences and the cultural environment shape adult personality traits and socialization processes.

    • Cultural beliefs and social institutions play crucial roles in reflecting and establishing personality characteristics in individuals.

    • Highlights the vital link between culture, identity, and mental health, underscoring the importance of promoting cultural relativism and understanding.