Psy 450 - Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology

Introduction to Cross-Cultural Psychology

Krista DiGiacomo

PSY/450

May 18, 2015

Robert Irizarry

Gesell (n.d.) was quoted as saying, “The family is both a biological and a cultural group.  It is biologic in sense that it is the best arrangement for begetting children and protecting them while they are dependent.  It is a cultural group because it brings into intimate association persons of different age and sex who renew and reshape the folkways of the society into which they are born.  The household serves as a ‘cultural workshop’ for the transmission of old traditions and for the creation of new social values”.  

Case Study

        The case study of Pacific Island families and the health risks associated between infants and the enculturation of mothers living in New Zealand was conducted by professors at AUT University in Auckland, New Zealand.  The study monitors a group of “1,398 Pacific infants that were born in Auckland, New Zealand” (Borrows, Williams, Schluter, Patterson, and Langitoto Helu, 2011).  The enculturation of the mothers was measured by a edited style of the General Ethnicity Questionnaire or GEQ, as well as specific health risk indicators for both mother and child.

             According to the Borrows et al (2011) research which indicates that families with a “strong alignment to Pacific cultures had significantly better infant and maternal risk factor outcomes than those with weak cultural alignment”.  The study further suggests that the Pacific immigrants maintaining a durable connection to his or her culture and heritage is expected to have a positive impact on their health.

Cultural and Cross-Cultural Psychology

        “Cross-cultural psychology has also been cited as a means of discovering the degree to which knowledge of behavior and basic processes obtained in one cultural setting is representative of humanity in general, or only of the cultural setting in which the original work was done” (Malpass, 1997).  Borrows et al (2011) suggest that there is a greater acceptance among medical and health experts in the importance of culture as a significant determining factor in health status, as well as the theories resulting “from anthropologic and cross-cultural research may provide and alternative framework for identifying health issues that require resolution” (Borrows et.al, 2011).  These health factors and potential risks may be culture related or induced.          Culture is closely related to enculturation, which is, the slow attainment of the physiognomies and customs of a culture by an individual or a different culture.  The outcomes of the research propose that there may be a protective factor in the process of maintaining good health behaviors of the original cultural (Borrows et al, 2011).  For example, Pacific cultures have strong existing culturally bound positive traditions toward birthing and family welfares.  They believe in strong a family and community associations within the culture of origin that enhance responsible traditional behaviors and allows consideration of selected new society behaviors that are considered advantageous.  In the specific area of maternal and infant health risk, in an unestablished or not fully developed society it is even more vital to maintain strong cultural ties.

Relationship between Cultural and Cross-Culture Psychology

        A comparison of cultural to cross-cultural psychology recognizes that both disciplines utilize culture as a foundation for the study of influential factors inhuman behavior.  However, even though there is a similarity in the use of culture as a determinant such as communication or social influences (Berry, 2004); different approaches are used to establish the collection of data and the resulting psychological differences that occur among the populace (Shiraev & Levy, 2010).  For example, cultural psychology refers to the cultural factors, such as the specific region of habitation, that influence the individual.  Cross-cultural psychology relies on comparative research of psychological variations and critical thinking that occur throughout various populations.      

The Methodology of Cross-culture Psychology

        Malpass (1977) defines cross-cultural psychology as a “methodological strategy”.  It is a way if evaluating theories of a singular cultural origin with indications that there is a global relevance.  Cross-culture psychology is also a way to develop new hypothetical accounts of psychological occurrences which benefit from a comprehensive cross section of “human populations and social situations” (Malpass, 1977).  The data collected from these cross sections must be consistent and demonstrable facts, as well as gathered in an impartial manner (Shiraev & Levy, 2010).   The outcome of researchers is to interpret, predict, and manage behaviors.  In order to create unquestionable research that does this, psychologists depend on “quantitative and qualitative data” (Shiraev & Levy, 2010).  The quantitative method uses a comparative point of view while evaluating human behavior, whereas the qualitative method is performed in an ordinary experimental situation (Shiraev & Levy, 2010).