APS 203 CROSS CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

This course is aimed at equipping learners with knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to
appreciate diverse cultures and their influence on mental processes and behaviour in order to
promote peaceful coexistence of all peoples.

LECTURE ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

In this Lecture, we shall dwell on a general introduction to cross-cultural psychology including its
general goals and importance .

MEANING OF CULTURE

Defining culture is a complex task, since culture in itself is complex. Different definitions of
culture seem to agree that culture incorporates several aspects. Below we shall look at some
of these components/aspects that are essential in defining culture then embark on trying to
generate a comprehensive definition of culture.

 Culture comprises of traditions that tell people what has worked in the past and hence
is likely to work now and in the future.
 Culture encompasses how people have learned to look at their environment
,themselves and their world
 Culture comprises of the human made part of the environment(as opposed to the
natural part of the environment ) .
 Culture comprises of both objective aspects/elements and subjective aspects/elements
 Objective aspects refer to the more obvious, concrete aspects of culture .
Those that people may not argue about. These include tools, words,
radio stations etc.
 Subjective aspects refer to the less obvious ,abstract and subtle aspects of
culture. These include peoples’ perceptions, categorizations, associations,
 norms, roles, values etc . In other words they have to do with how people
perceive, categorize, believe and value entities in their environment or
the unique ways in which people view their social unit.
 Culture is related to ecology and social behavior.

 Ecology refers to where people live, the objects, resources and geography

of their environment and ways one can make a living out of it and

survive.

E.g People living around lakes tend to become fishermen while those living in

pastoral areas become pastoralists . Over time they come up with rules,

norms,values traditions,etc that enable them to fit and survive within that

specific environment. These are in turn passed down

generations as the ‘standard operating procedures’ to enhance survival of

their race.

We can therefore say that ecology shapes culture and culture in turn shapes particular

kinds of behavior.

Ecology→ culture →social behavior

TASK: Think of examples of how ecology may have shaped the culture and in turn the
social behavior of certain groups of people that you may know

HOW CULTURE IS TRANSMITTED TO OTHERS

Culture may be transmitted vertically .This means across generations e.g from an older to a
younger person. For example parents often transmit cultural aspects to their young.
They may teach them what is exp

ected of ‘our people’ in terms of dressing, the foods to eat or not to eat, how to behave in certain
social situations such as in front of elders etc

 Culture may also be transmitted horizontally. This means within the same generation
such as happens across peers or via media.
 Culture may be transmitted by different agents. These include
 o Parents and family
o School
o Peers
o Religious leaders
o Media
o
Task: Think of ways in which each of the above agents may transmit cultures

 Culture may be transmitted in a variety of ways/methods. These include:

 Direct methods such as teaching/instruction
 Indirect methods such as
o Modeling, e.g. when a child learns to cook by observing how the mother
cooks
o Reinforcing what is appropriate within a culture.E.g. when one is praised
for having behaved in a way that is in line with the cultural expectations
o Punishing what is inappropriate within a culture .E.g . when one is
admonished for behaving contrary to cultural expectations

MEANING OF CROSS CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

Having attempted to define culture, next we turn to defining cross-cultural

psychology
 Cross-cultural psychology is the scientific study of human behaviour and mental
processes under diverse cultural conditions. It is a branch of psychology that looks at
how cultural factors influence human behaviour.
This definition embodies a number of important notions:
 First, cross-cultural psychology is a science, by virtue of the scientific principles and
methods it employs.
 Second, cross-cultural psychology is focused on the individual, and thus retains its
identity as a psychological science. The units of comparison are the psychological
functioning of individuals across cultures. However, it insists on adopting a perspective
 of crucial significance: The individual is not regarded as an abstract entity to be studied
without reference to culture; accordingly, the unit of analysis is now the individual-in-a-
cultural-context.
 Third, as in general psychology, cross-cultural psychology includes in its scope of
investigation both observable behaviour as well as mental processes( that cannot be
directly observed but must be inferred from behavioural or physiological observations)
Fourth, by definition, cross -cultural psychology adopts a comparative framework which entails
studying more than one culture (this is what distinguishes it from cultural psychology which
studies a single culture to understand how a culture has shaped behaviour) . Cross –cultural
psychology entails studying two or more diverse cultures to identify both differences and
similarities in psychological and social functioning. Therefore compa

IMPORTANCE OF CROSS CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

We need to study and understand the relationship of culture to social behavior. Triandis
(1994 ) gives several reasons why we should be interested in cross-cultural psychology or
studying culture social behavior relationship. These are discussed below

Advantages of cross-cultural studies

1. To avoid making costly or significant errors in social interactions across cultures due
to misunderstanding of communication cues or failure to accurately interpret
communication from a different culture.
Refer to Triandis (1991) Pg 29 for the example of such cross cultural mistakes that occurred
when the Iraqis misjudged the Americans’ communication and this is believed to have
contributed to a failure of a last minute attempt to avert the war in 1991.
By knowing how culture influences behavior then, many potential errors can be avoided.
2. To be able to check the generality of social psychology findings i.e whether findings
about social behavior are applicable across all cultures. We need to be able to
differentiate what psychological phenomena (behavior and mental processes) are
universal (applies in all cultures )and which are culture specific(or unique to each
culture ) .

3. Provides opportunity to study culture change.

We may be unable to study some kind of change in our own culture since it has already
occurred but we can be able to study the same kind of change in other cultures where the
change has not yet occurred. E.g, if we want to study the effect of some technology like
mobile phone on a social behavior such as marital relationships, we may not effectively
study this in a setting where the mobile technology has already been in place for long.
However we can do so if we go to a cultural group/setting that did not have that technology
before just after its introduction and find out its effects on the social behaviour in
question(marital relationships).

4. Helps in reducing ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to use our own cultures as the yardstick by which we judge others.
Often if they are different from us, the tendency is to view them as weird, strange,
uncivilized etc. By studying different cultures, we begin to understand the similarities and
uniquenesses of different cultures and therefore learn to appreciate them and this helps
reduce ethnocentric tendencies(cultural superiority ) and helps in developing skills of
successful social behaviors with other cultures.

Culture as an Interplay of Sameness (Etics)and Differences (Emics)

Cross-Cultural Psychology is about the exploration of differences and similarities in the
behaviour of people belonging to different cultures using the scientific method as
practiced in psychology.

In studying cultures it is important to look at both similarities and differences.

This is because very often , differences are embedded within the similarities. The two are
like the two sides of a coin.

Similarities or universal aspects of culture are referred to as etics of culture

while differences or cultural uniquenesses are referred to as emics of

culture

let us look at an example to illustrate how etics and emics are embedded in each other

Example 1

 An example of an etic aspect of culture is:

All cultures have the concept of food

 An example of an emic aspect within that etic is:

Different cultures have unique or different ideas about what is considered food or not.

Therefore although all cultures have the concept of food (this is an etic or universal aspect),
what one culture considers food may be different from that considered food by another
culture (an emic aspect)

e.g in some parts of the world, dog or monkey meat is considered a delicacy while in
another culture its completely unimaginable that dog or monkey meat can be food

Let us look at another example to illustrate etics and emics of culture

Example 2

All cultures have the concept of family (this is an etic aspect)

However different cultures may differ in terms of who is included within its concept of
family (this is an emic aspect) . e.g for some cultures family is simply the two parents and the
children(nuclear family) while in others it includes the extended family which may include
grandparents, uncles and aunties or even extend to include the whole clan

Let us look at one final example to illustrate etics and emics of culture

Example 3

All cultures have emotions ( meaning this is an etic /universal aspect /or similarity in cultures)

However;

Different cultures may differ in terms of meanings of specific emotions as well as rules
governing expression of such emotions (this is an emic /cultural specific / cultural
uniqueness).E.g. in some cultures sobbing may be a sign of sadness while in others it may
signify deep appreciation. In terms of rules of emotional expression, in some cultures one may
be expected to mask negative emotions like sadness , while in others one may be expected to
escalate the same emotions .

Task: Can you think of more examples of etics and emics of cultures within your culture or
another culture known to you

Conclusion
Therefore in studying cultures it is important to look for both similarities/ universals (etics), as
well as the cultural differences/specifics/uniquenesses (emics) embedded in those etics.

ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

Culture is multifaceted. It has a variety of elements which are both overt (observable )and covert
(subtle and not readily observable) .

Some examples of overt elements of culture include:

 Patterns of dress.
 Specific technological innovations e.g. tools.
 Methods of getting food e.g. hunting, gathering, agriculture.
 Economic activities.
  Patterns of social interaction.
 Patterns of child rearing.
 Ways to educate the young.

Some examples of covert elements /subjective elements of culture include:

 Beliefs,
 Assumptions,
 Perceptions,
 Associations
 Values

Task:

1. Can you think of more examples of both overt and covert cultural elements from your
culture or other cultures known to you

HOW CULTURE INFLUENCES US

. Culture shapes our social behaviour

As discussed earlier in our attempt to define culture ,culture is related to ecology and social
behaviour. Ecology is where we live including the objects, resources, and geography of
our environment. Ecology
will determine culture, for example people living near a lake may adopt a fishing culture as
they attempt to adapt to their ecology. Thus, the environment determines culture which is
an adaptation to ecology.

While ecology shapes our culture, our culture in turn determines particular types of social
behaviours.

Ecology----------culture-----------social behaviour
2. Culture increases our sense of control over the environment

This is because ,it provides us with customs, values ,myths, that not only make us feel good
about ourselves but which also increase our sense of feeling in control of our environment.

3. Culture influences the way we perceive the world.

This is because it imposes a set of standards for seeing the world. It determines what we seek to
see, how we select it and present it and even the meaning we give to it . Culture provides a
‘lense’ through which we see and interpret the world. This means that people from different
cultures due to their socialization within those specific cultures may see the same object or event
differently.

Think of this example

One community sees a dog as a guard, another sees the same dog as a pet while another sees the
same dog as a delicacy.

None of them is any more right than the other. They are simply seeing the same world but
through different lenses (the ‘cultural lense’)
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CULTURE

Since culture results from adaptational responses to the environment, various factors in the
environment can influence culture.

1. Ecological factors

These comprise of the geography, climate, natural resources within our environment.

They may influence our culture in various ways .

For example a geographical environment comprising largely of bare land without resources may
encourage team work among members as they seek to survive in a hardship area. It may also
encourage people to develop interrelationships with other groups that have abundant resources in
order to survive.

Similarly, people living in a hot climatic region may tend to adopt a different dressing style from
those living in colder regions

Similarly, people in different areas have different working hours. All these are cultural responses
to the ecology

2. Social factors.

These may include population density, social- economic status, technology, type of
governments, institutions, media, religion etc.

For example, high population density societies may need greater social order in order to function
more effectively. They may encourage hierarchy and groups to enhance order.

Societies with high social economic status may adopt affluent lifestyles among its individuals
Cultures with advanced technology may adopt close communication through cell-phone and
email w

hile a culture of working independently may evolve out of reliance on computers

3. Biological factors

Personality traits-some cultures are associated with high or low levels of certain personality traits

Culture may shape the average personalities of its members.

It is also possible that groups of individuals with certain kinds of personality temperaments bonded
together in certain geographic region and this influenced culture

GROUPS THAT HAVE CULTURES

Culture and Gender

To understand culture and gender, we need to differentiate between gender and sex

Sex- refers to the biological differences between men and women, the most obvious being
automatically differences in their reproductive systems.

Sex roles

This refers to behaviors and pattern of activities that men and women may engage in that are
directly related to their sex or to their biological capacities

An example of a sex role for a woman is breast-feeding ( a man cannot be able to perform this
role since it is directly related to the biological capacity unique to a woman)

While an example of a sex role for a man is impregnating a woman(a woman cannot be able to
perform this role since it is directly related to the biological capacity unique to a man)

Gender

The behaviour or pattern of activities that a society or culture sees appropriate for men and
women. These behaviour patterns may or may not be related to sex and sex roles although they
often are.

Gender role

The degree to which a person adopts the gender specific and appropriate behaviours describe by
his or her culture.
Culture ,Sex and Gender

 Some sex differences in men and women include that men are generally physically

bigger and stronger, only women can carry a child, give birth and breast feed.These

sex differences lead to inevitable sex role differences e.g breastfeeding for woman

While such biological differences form a platform for division of labour, it is different

cultures/societies that make decisions about what only men and only women can do

or should do. These are not necessarily pegged on the sex role differences .

Think about this example- Why should only women cook, clean, care for children? Are

these activities really based on sex roles? are they based on biological differences?

Certainly not. These are based on decisions made by societies/cultures regarding what

men and women can/should do

 This is because different cultures ascribe different and unique meanings to the sex

differences and sex roles. These cultural specific meanings are what is referred to as

gender.

 It is important to note that while all cultures have division of labour among women and

me(an etic aspect ), some cultures have larger differences than others (an emic aspect).

Task :

Can you think of some activities that according to your culture can or should only be done
by men or only by women
? List them

Do you think they are based on sex role differences?

Find out from other cultures if these roles can or should only be done by men or by women as
in your case

How Does Culture Influence Gender?

Learning gender roles begins very early in life.
 First at birth – is it a boy or a girl? Different names given depending on sex

 For some cultures even the rituals at birth such as giving different types

of reception to child depending on if a girl or a boy

 Type of toys given to children often depend on if it’s a boy or a girl.

 Type of dress (gendered colours and styles)

Gender role socialization continues throughout life from various sources.

 Parental expectations

 Modeling by parents, peers.

 Media images of males, females.

 CULTURE AND NATIONALITY

 Nationality is a person’s country of origin, and each country has its own culture.
 -Countries are defined by specific boundaries that describe their ecology
(geography, climate, natural resources)
 -They have their own unique social-cultural history, government, economic base
etc.
 However it is important to note that countries can have sub-cultures within them
e.g depending on the region
 E.g. USA, west/east, coast, south/Alaska, Hawaii
 -Kenya etc-Coast, western, central, north eastern etc.
 Culture and Ethnicity
 Ethnicity refers to a group’s sense of identity and belonging based on
commonalities such as language, history, nationality, customs, physical
appearance and history.
  To distinguish ethnicity from culture, Markus (2008)argues that while ethnicity is
developed by one’s own group, many ideas about race are generated and
sustained by those outside of the group and often with more power.
 It is important to note that ethnic groups evolve their own unique ways of viewing
and interacting with their environment hence evolving a way of life or culture that
may be unique and easily distinguishable from others

 Task : Can you think of examples of ethnic communities that have unique
cultures that are readily identifiable?

Culture and Disability

Cross cultural psychologists are encouraged to focus on social psychological
characteristics of disability, not only the physical impairments

-People with disabilities share the same feelings, ways of thinking and maturities as everyone
else. However they also share some unique ways of thinking and feeling that may be
specific to the fact of their impairment

-To the extent they share certain unique psychological attitudes opinion, beliefs,
behaviours, norms, values etc., they share a unique sub-culture

Culture and sexual orientation

-People form different sexual relationships with others. The people with whom they form
such relationships constitute major aspects of their sexual orientation.We often view
these relationships as the major defining characteristic of a person‘s sexual orientation.

-However, one of the most important aspects of any sexual orientation [whether straight or
gay] is the particular psychological characteristics that are shared by and are unique
to each orientation. These psychological characteristics may be cultural, and
understanding those attributes is key in psychology.

Culture and Morality

Morality is culturally defined; what is considered moral in one culture may not be moral in other
culture.

Culture determines what is viewed as moral or not moral.

Culture also dictates extent to which a behavior is viewed as moral or deviating from

moral. It also dictates consequences of such deviation from the norm.

Task:
 Consider what culture says about need to help others. Is it a moral obligation always or at

times?

Cultures differ in terms of what is considered moral or not . E.g.

Depending on whether a culture is largely collectivist culture or largely an individualistic culture,

definitions of morality will differ as illustrated below.

Morality in Collectivist Culture

In collectivist societies morality is defined collectively rather than individually what is

collectively good.

For the collectivist good behaviour entails the following-

1. Doing one’s duty as defined by the in group

2. One carrying out one’s role in the in group in the best way possible.

3. That in case of conflict the individual submits to the collective will.

In collectivist societies they view individuals as interdependent with the living as well as the dead.

They emphasize individual rights. They give room for one to give abstractions or reasoning;
one can do their own thing without being rejected unlike in the collective culture.

Further differences between Individualistic and Collectivist Cultures are discussed below

Morality in Individualistic Culture

They emphasize individual rights. They give room for one to give abstractions or reasoning;
one can do their own thing without being rejected unlike in the collective culture.

Further differences between Individualistic and Collectivist Cultures are discussed below

Differences between individualistic and collectivist culture

. Individualistic cultures define the self as personal and independent while collectivist cultures
define the self as collective and dependent i.e. the self as it relates with others.

2. In individualistic cultures personal goals have priority over group goals. The
reverse is for collective cultures.
 3. Individualistic culture emphasizes exchange rather than communal
relationship; collective societies emphasize communal relationship rather than
exchange.

4. In individualistic cultures emphasis is laid more on the importance of personal

attitude s more than social norms. The reverse is the case of collective cultures.

Task: Can you think of examples of things that you do in your culture that define your culture as
either individualistic or collectivist. Compare these with those done by other cultures

PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTENTS OF CULTURE

HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory is a framework that helps promote cross-cultural
communication by helping us understand the effects of a society’s culture on the values
of its members and how these values in turn relate to behavior.

There are 4 dimensions that could differentiate cultures.

1. Individualism versus collectivism

This dimension looks at the degree to which cultures will encourage on one hand, the
tendency for people to look after themselves and their immediate family only ,and on the
other hand for people to belong to an in-group that is supposed to look after its members
in exchange for loyalty.

2. Power distance

This dimension looks at the degree to which cultures will encourage less powerful members
of a group to accept that power is distributed unequally.

3. Uncertainty avoidance

This dimension looks at the degree to which people feel threatened by the unknown or
ambiguous situations and have developed beliefs, institutions, or rituals to avoid them. In
such a group, neuroticism may be a psychological attribute.

4. Masculinity versus femininity

This dimension is characterized on one pole by success, money and materialistic things and
on the other pole by caring for others and quality of life.
-It refers to distributions of emotional roles between males and females.

5. Recently Hofstede incorporated a 5th dimension called long-versus short term orientation

This dimension refers to the degree to which cultures encourage delayed gratification of
materials, social and emotional needs among

SOCIALIZATION AND ENCULTURATION

We are truly integrated in our own societies and cultures by the time we are adults after having
learned many cultural rules of behavior and practiced them. Much of our behavior as adults is
influenced by these learned patterns and rules; so well practiced are we at them that we engage in
these behaviors automatically and unconsciously. We have acquired these behaviors through a
process we call socialization which we shall discuss next

SOCIALIZATION

Socialization is the process by which we learn and internalize the rules and patterns of the
society in which we live.
This process occurs over a long time and involves learning and mastering society norms,
attitudes, values and belief systems.

Closely related to the process of socialization is the process of enculturation which is the
process by which youngsters learn and adopt the ways and manners of the culture.

There is very little difference between the two processes. Socialization generally refers more to
the actual process and mechanisms by which people learn the rules of the society e.g. what is
said to whom and in which contexts; it is more related to the term ‘society’.

ENCULTURATION

Enculturation on the other hand generally refers to the product of the socialization process-i.e.
the subjective, underlying psychological aspects of culture that become internalized through
development e.g. attitudes, beliefs etc.

It is more related to them term ‘culture

THE AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION AND ACCULTURATION’

The agents of socialization and enculturation are the people, institutions and organizations with
which we interact.

The most important of these agents is the parents, who help install cultural morals and values in
their children e.g. through reinforcement if learned and practiced well, and correction of mistakes
or punishment. Siblings and extended families and peers are important socialization/
enculturation agents.

Organizations such as school, church and social groups such as Scouts and other clubs are also
important agents.

Super and Harkness (1986, 1994, 2002) suggest that enculturation occurs within a development
niche.

This niche forms the child’s world within which he comes to learn values and mores important
to the culture. This niche includes 3 major components.

1. The physical and social setting

2. The customs of child care and child rearing

3. The psychology of the caregivers

The child is influenced by the interaction of the 3 components which occurs within a larger
environmental and human ecology.
He is influenced by the various socialization agents around him. At the same time the child
brings in his temperamental disposition to the interaction. People’s interactions with the various
social agents help to produce culture. They are not passive recipients’ of cultural knowledge.

Task: How did you grow up in your family? In what ways did your parents teach you good
manners or society values?

Everyone has also been in a particular social group throughout his/her learning. Which group
did you join? What was the lasting thing that impacted on you? List each of these groups and
how they impacted on you.

To better understand the process of socialization/enculturation ,we examine the ecological

systems theory next

THE ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM THEORY

Bronfenbrenner(1979) proposed that human development is a dynamic, interactive process

between individuals and their environment on several levels.

In his original theory, Bronfenbrenner postulated that in order to understand human

development, the entire ecological system in which growth occurs needs to be taken into
account. This system is composed of five socially organized subsystems that support and guide
human development. Each system depends on the contextual nature of the person's life and offers
an ever-growing diversity of options and sources of growth. Furthermore, within and between
each system are bi-directional influences. These bi-directional influences imply that relationships
have impact in two directions, both away from the individual and towards the individual.

Because we potentially have access to these subsystems we are able to have more social
knowledge, an increased set of possibilities for learning problem solving, and access to new
dimensions of self-exploration.

THE MICROSYSTEM

This consists of the immediate surrounding such as the family, school, peer group with which
the children interact directly.

The microsystem is the layer closest to the child and contains the structures with which the
child has direct contact. The microsystem encompasses the relationships and interactions a
child has with his or her immediate surroundings such as family, school, neighborhood, or
childcare environments. [10] At the microsystem level, bi-directional influences are strongest
and have the greatest impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still
impact the inner structures. This core environment stands as the child's venue for initially
learning about the world. As the child's most intimate learning setting, it offers him or
herareference point for the world. The microsystem may provide the nurturing centerpiece
for the child or become a haunting
set of memories. [11] The real power in this initial set of interrelations with family for the child
is what they experience in terms of developing trust and mutuality with their significant people.
[12] The family is the child's early microsystem for learning how to live. The caring relations
between child and parents (or other caregivers) can help to influence a healthy personality. [13]
For example, the attachment behaviors of parents offer children their first trust-building
experience. [14]

.THE MESOSYSTEM

This refers to the linkages between Microsystems such as between school and family. The
mesosystem moves us beyond the dyad or two-party relation.[15] Mesosystems connect two
or more systems in which child, parent and family live.[16] Mesosystems provide the connection
between the structures of the child's microsystem.[17] For example, the connection between the
child's teacher and his parents, between his church and his neighborhood, each represent
mesosystems.

THE EXOSYSTEM

It refers to the context that indirectly affects children such as parents’ workplace. The
exosystem defines the larger social system in which the child does not directly function. The
structures in this layer impact the child's development by interacting with some structure in
his/her microsystem. [18] Parent workplace schedules or community-based family resources are
examples. The child may not be directly involved at this level, but they do feel the positive or
negative force involved with the interaction with their own system. The main exosystems that
indirectly influence youth through their family include: school and peers, parents' workplace,
family social networks and neighborhood community contexts, local politics and industry.
[19] Exosystems can be empowering (example: a high quality child-care program that benefits
the entire family) or they can be degrading (example: excessive stress at work impacts the entire
family). Furthermore, absence from a system makes it no less powerful in a life. For example,
many children realize the stress of their parent's workplaces without ever physically being in
these places

MACROSYSTEM

It consists of the culture religion, society. The macrosystem is composed of cultural values,
customs and laws. [21] It refers to the overall patterns of ideology and organization that
characterize a given society or social group. Macrosystems can be used to describe the cultural
or social context of various societal groups such as social classes, ethnic groups, or religious
affiliates. [22] This layer is the outermost layer in the child's environment. The effects of larger
principles defined by the macrosystem have a cascading influence throughout the interactions
of all other layers. The macrosystem influences what, how, when and where we carry out our
relations.[23] For example, a program like Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may positively
impact a young mother through health care, vitamins, and other educational resources. It may
empower her life so that she, in turn, is more affective and caring with her newborn. [24] In this
example, without an umbrella of beliefs, services, and support for families, children and
their parents are open to great harm and deterioration. [25] In a sense, the macrosytem that
surrounds us helps us to hold together the many threads of our lives.

THE CHRONOSYSTEM

The influence of time on the other systems.The chronosystem encompasses the dimension of
time as it relates to a child's environment. [26] Elements within this system can be either
external, such as the timing of a parent's death, or internal, such as the physiological changes
that occur with the aging of a child. Family dynamics need to be framed in the historical context
as they occur within each system. [27] Specifically, the powerful influence that historical
influences in the macrosystem have on how families can respond to different stressors.
Bronfenbrenner[28] suggests that, in many cases, families respond to different stressors within
the societal parameters existent in their lives.

In conclusion we are not simply socialized by our families, peer groups, educational and
religious institutions, we also contribute to our own development by affecting other people and
contexts around us.

CULTURE AND THE FAMILY

CHILDREN REARING PRACTICES: influence the child social behaviour; it all depends on
the characteristics of the culture.eg in cultures with nuclear family where husbands and wives
eat and sleep together and help with the children, children score high on sociability and low on
aggression.

In cultures with patrilineal, extended families where husband and wives do not eat and sleep
together, and the man does not help with the children the children score low on sociability and
high on aggression.

-In cultures where women contribute to the subsistence of the family, the kids learn to share in
family responsibilities and score high on independence.

In cultures where women are dependent, their children also score high on dependence.

Parenting is an activity rooted not only in one’s own childhood experiences, but in the culture
one grew up and lives in. Culture can have a powerful effect on parenting styles and practices.
For example, a culture in which the father is expected to be a stern disciplinarian and the
breadwinner will have a different effect on child-rearing practices than one in which both parents
work full time and parenting responsibilities are shared.

Functions of the family

 - Training of members in obedience, responsibility, achievement, self-reliance,
general independence.
- Nurturing children – providing physical care protection emotional support and concern.
- Regulate sexual activities, supervising members to ensure they conform to sexual
norms.
- In charge of reproduction to ensure society grows.
- Transmit important cultural values.
It’s the 1st and primary caretaker, custodian of cultural values.
They teach important traditions and social skills.

Task: We have observed that child rearing is affected by the parenting style that we go
through. Can you think of the way you were brought up and the impact it had on you? share
with a colleague

AFFECTION

One area in which cultures often differ is in the ways parents display affection toward their
children. West African, Arabic and Asia-Pacific communities often stop such practices as kissing
or fondling a child once she becomes a toddler. However, some cultures consider physical
attention such as bathing, skin care or braiding a child’s hair to be appropriate physical ways to
express affection. Monetary rewards and praise are also signs of affection in these cultures .

EDUCATION

Many parents see educational attainment as desirable for their children. In some Chinese
families, however, physical punishment might be used to induce children to study hard and get
good grades. Furthermore, Asian and Indian families might also exert considerable pressure on
their child to achieve scholastically. Parental involvement in activities such as checking a child’s
homework also varies by culture.

BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATIONS

Parents have behavioral expectations about their children that are similar in many cultures.
Among the areas of consensus: children should be respectful and polite, not interrupt, be honest,
share and do well in school. However, some cultures have additional expectations. Asian and
white parents expect children to exert self-control, while black; Latino and American Indian
fathers often feel their children should have a religious or spiritual foundation, according to the
CDC. Asian, Latino or black fathers often expect their children to be assertive, independent and
willingly take responsibility for their mistakes.
PARENTAL STYLES

Parental styles can also affect enculturation.

a. Authoritarian parents

b.Permissive

c.Authoritative

d.Uninvolved.

Each of these parenting styles appears to have certain influences on children's behavior.
However, culture also influences the outcome. The majority of parents fall into one of these
categories most of the time. When parents are inconsistent in their parenting approach, it is very
damaging to their children because they do not know what to expect.

AUTHORITARIAN PARENTING

The use of punitive and forceful measures to enforce proper behavior causing anger,
resentment, and deceit and impairs wholesome parent-child relationships. In Baumrind's 1967
research, preschoolers with authoritarian parents are withdrawn and unhappy. They appear
anxious and insecure with peers and react hostilely if frustrated.

Baumrind's 1971 research shows girls to be dependent and lacking in motivation and boys much
more likely to be angry and defiant. In addition, children of authoritarian parents are less likely
to internalize (accept as their own standard) society's unacceptable behavior and are more likely
to have low self-esteem. These children often model their parents' inflexible thinking.

AUTHORITATIVE

Parents who are nurturing and set, discuss, and enforce developmentally appropriate limits
are the most successful in helping their children become autonomous, independent, self-
controlled, self-confident, and cooperative. These children also are more likely to have high
levels of competence and high self-esteem during middle childhood and adolescents. They also
have internalized moral standards and their academic performance in high school is superior
to that of children from either authoritarian or permissive homes.

PERMISSIVE

Parents who are non-punitive, loving, and accepting of the child often have children who lack
independence and are selfish because they are not taught how their actions affect others. These
children tend to be impulsive, aggressive, and low in taking responsibility.
Uninvolved (Permissive-Indifferent Parenting)
The combination of permissiveness and indifference or rejection in varying degrees has
detrimental effects on children. In the extreme, it becomes neglect, which is a form of child
abuse. Children with few rules who are ignored or living with hostility are noncompliant and
aggressive. They have low self-esteem and display anger toward others. Many exhibit antisocial
behavior and may end up as criminals.
Task: We have seen the four different parenting styles. You may have gone through one style
or another. Can you think of how the parenting style you grew under has impacted on you

MEANING OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

MEANING OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Cross-cultural communication is a field of study that looks at how people from diverse
cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and
how they endeavour to communicate across cultures.

In regards to general communication skills, one needs to be aware of cultural differences. This
is because something you find acceptable from your culture may be offensive in a different
culture. This is particularly so when we think of non verbal means of communication such as
use of gestures. See the following example

For example if you are giving a presentation to people from Japanese culture, in this culture
pointing is unacceptable and so if it happens they would be offended, but with a simple change
of your presentation this offensive behaviour can be avoided.

Task: Can you think of some ways in which you may have felt puzzled or even offended by
some communication of someone from a different culture because by your cultural standard it
was not appropriate ?; e.g. a greeting, a sign, dressing, touch, posture, etc.?

Our communication follows certain norms rules and certain values influenced by our
subjective culture (norms, stereotypes, categorization, association etc.)
Different aspects of communication vary across cultures. To improve cross-cultural
communication, we need to be aware of our level of competence in terms of cultural
communication. Below we discuss the four levels of cultural competence

The four Levels of cultural competence

Unconscious incompetence: When at this level, one miscommunicates or misinterprets

other people’s behaviour without being aware of it

2. Conscious incompetence: At this level, one is actually aware of his/her miscommunication

or misinterpretation of other people’s behaviour but does not know what to do about it.

3. Conscious competence: At this level, one is aware that he/she needs to and therefore
actually makes deliberate efforts to modify his/her communication or interaction with others in
order to accommodate differences in communication with other cultures.

4. Unconscious competence: At this level, one is has over time become competent and can
correctly communicate/interact with different cultures without having to think about it or in
other words communicating correctly has almost become automatic .

Task: Can you think of an instance when your communication with someone of a different
culture was at any of the above stages?

For communication to be effective in cross- cultural communication we need to strive towards

level three and hopefully eventually get to level four .

To be able to communicate correctly/effectively across cultures, we need to be able to give

similar meaning to the same behaviour as that other person. When we do so, we say that we are
making Isomorphic attributions i.e. giving same meaning to behaviour as the other person
does.

On the other hand, if we give a behavior a meaning that is different from that given by the other
person, then we are making non isomorphic attributions and this hampers our effective cross
cultural communication

Task: can you think of examples of situations when you or someone else made non-
isomorphic attributions in a cross-cultural communication setting
MAJOR CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN COMMUNICATION
Remember from our previous lectures, we said that collectivist cultures lay emphasis on
belonging to an in-group, adhering to values and norms and deviating from these has
consequences that may be negative.

In communication within such cultures, members are high context dependent . High context
communication is characterized by the following aspects:

1. The how of the communication is highly valued - this means that how
something is said is more important that what is said. For example a ‘no’ may actually
mean a ‘yes’ depending on how it is said.
Can you think of an example?
2. Value is placed on non verbal aspects of communication such as . eye contact,
level of voice, emotional expressions, body language and orientation, touching etc.

3. Communication is less explicit [less direct or clear] and more implicit E.g. using
symbolic language rather than direct language. One may ‘beat around the bush’ rather
than go direct to the point and the members of that culture(in-group) will understand what
is being communicated. They simply imply, not state directly, expecting a person to draw
the conclusion about what is said.

4. Focus of communication is on the receiver of the communication and how they

are getting affected by the communication. They tend to start with the peripheral
information to watch the reaction of the respondent. Things are said gradually to avoid
hurting the other as harmony is of utmost importance

5. There is tendency for more usage of the term ‘we’‘in communication rather than
I’.The We includes the in-group that may include the spirits and ancestors

CONTENT

Content refers to what we talk about. Cross -cultural differences in communication content are
discussed below

 Cultures differ in terms of what is acceptable content or not. E.g. In some cultures some
content can’t be talked about. It is considered taboo e.g. sex, divorce, death etc.
 Culture influences what content is considered important in communication.. E.g. in
some cultures small talk before any big business is valued more than in others. In some
cultures when you go to a shop before asking for the item, you need to indulge in small
talk which may include greetings and enquiring about the weather, the family etc
 Some cultures do not encourage talk that gives attention to the self, e.g. how are you? I
am fine – not encouraged as evil spirit may bring misfortune. Hence the tendency is to
talk in plural i.e. ‘we are fine’ In other cultures you cannot count the number of your
children
e.g. kikuyu. Although it is common in Western culture for adults to admire babies
 and young children and comment upon how cute they are, this is avoided in
Hmong and Vietnamese cultures for fear that these comments may be overheard by a
spirit that will try to steal the baby or otherwise cause some harm to come to him or her.
 Some cultures emphasize definite communication (preciseness) - yes or no; others are
tentative e.g. probably, maybe –non willing to commit themselves to definite issues.
 Some cultures tend to/encourage the use of ‘exaggerated’ language–e.g. words
exaggerating such as: wonderful, fantastic (such as the Jordanians) while others
encourage use of moderate language
 Some cultures are more willing to conform while others are more willing to
disagree/offer diverse viewpoints.

Task: Can you think of some examples from your culture or another culture that illustrate the
points above.

MODE OF COMMUNICATION

Cultures differ in terms of modes of communication as well as the meanings ascribed to different
non verbal cues.

Non-verbal Communication /Para-linguistic communication

It refers to any aspects of communication which accompany verbal communication. E.g.

gestures, facial expressions, posture, eye contact, angle (facing one directly), level of voice,
distance from person, emotions, body orientation.

Cultures may differ in terms of paralinguistic communication as illustrated by the points below;

 Some cultures emphasize the value of some of these aspects more than they do others,
 Cultures also determine the level or intensity of use of some of these aspects. E.g. eye
contact, emotions
 Cultures dictate which aspects of paralinguistic communication are appropriate or not
.Eg. some gestures are appropriate in some cultures and not in others. E.g. pointing can be
disrespectful in some.

Examples of Cultural Differences in Non-verbal Communication

.Gestures: There are a number of gestures commonly used in the United States that may
have a different meaning and/or be offensive to those from other cultures. One common example
is the use of a finger or hand to indicate “come here please”. This is the gesture used to beckon
dogs in some cultures and is very offensive. Pointing with one finger is also considered to be
rude in some cultures and Asians typically use their entire hand to point to something.
Touch: While patting a child’s head is considered to be a friendly or affectionate gesture in some
cultures, it is considered inappropriate by other cultures to touch someone on the head, which is
believed to be a sacred part of the body.

In some cultures, the left hand is reserved for bodily hygiene and should not be used to touch
another or transfer objects.

In Muslim cultures, touch between opposite gendered individuals is generally inappropriate.

Eye contact/gaze: In mainstream Western culture, eye contact is interpreted as attentiveness

and honesty and people are taught that they should “look people in the eye” when talking. In
many cultures, however, including Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native American,
eye contact is thought to be disrespectful or rude, and lack of eye contact does not mean that
a person is not paying attention. Women may especially avoid eye contact with men because it
can be taken as a sign of sexual interest. Of special note when working with babies:

Task: Can you think of more examples ? Put them down

BARRIERS TO CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

It is important to understand some of the barriers to cross cultural communication. These include
the following

Ethnocentrism

Refers to a belief that one’s culture is superior and should be the yardstick against which other
cultures are judged. It makes us feel superior to those who are different from us. We perceive
what goes on in our culture is seen as natural and correct while what goes on in other cultures
is perceived as unnatural and incorrect. This is based on the assumption that our in-group
norms, values, rules, and customs are universally valid.

The challenge is: which culture is correct since everyone thinks theirs is the natural one?

We believe that it is natural and appropriate to co-operate and to support or help those who are
members of our in- group while we should be distrustful and hostile towards the out-group(those
perceived not to be part of us).This is because we can’t predict their behaviour due to differences
hence we feel threatened by these differences.

Intergroup versus Interpersonal Relations

Intergroup versus Interpersonal Relations
This is the tendency to view people in terms of their groups rather than as individuals. Instead
of focusing on their personal attributes, we see them as a group, e.g., black, white, Christians,
Muslims etc. - You see the group in the individual and tend to relate to him/her as a group
instead of as an individual. The tendency is to view others as ‘them’ and ‘us’.

Task : Can you think of examples of situations when you were meeting someone from another
culture for the first time and found your self relating to them based on views you hold about
the group he/she belongs to. It could have been their religion, ethnic group, gender etc

Stereotypes are generalizations usually over simplified and exaggerated used to classify or
distinguish a group of people.

or fixed/rigid patterns of behavior assumed to characterize a group of people

 We tend to categorize people into in- groups (part of us) and out- groups (not part of us)
and assign them attributes that are perceived to exist among members of that given
category.
 From then on we process information based on this stereotype by:
o accepting anything that is consistent with the stereotype
o easily processing information that is positive about the in-group and negative
about out-group.
o When negative information belongs to the in- group, we tend to minimize it and
attribute it to external factors.
 o When positive information belongs to the in- group, you see it as a credit or due
to internal factors.
 We tend to remember better information that is consistent with our stereotypes.
 We tend to perceive in other groups the behaviour that we expect i.e. what we call
, self-fulfilling prophesies.
 Stereotypes tend to decrease our information search (we don’t want to take time
to know people, we just quickly judge where they belong and make conclusions
about their category. Stereotyping has been considered a form of intellectual
laziness) thus making our thinking less accurate, and our judgments and decision
making poor.

 Stereotypes may lead to discrimination and even denial of opportunities to people based
on perceived characteristics of their category

CULTURE SHOCK

Culture shock is a sudden exposure to unfamiliar culture, creating feelings of

confusion and anxiety experienced due to encountering an unfamiliar cultural
environment.

Culture shock may also be defined as a phenomenon encountered by people who go from
one culture to another characterized by physical and psychological symptoms
(Furnham and Bochmer, 1986)

Symptoms include combination of the following.

 Excessive hand washing
 Concern for sanitation (quality of drinking water), food cleanliness of
dishes, beddings)
 Fear of physical contact with others.
 Absent mindedness
 Development of mild psychosomatic disorders e.g. insomnia, fatigue, feelings of
helplessness, fits of anger, excessive fear of being robbed, cheated or injured.
 Overreaction to minor physical symptoms such as minor aches and skin
inflammations.
 Abuse of alcohol and drugs
 Strong feelings of homesickness.
 May have more severe effects including increased risk for suicide.

The more experienced a person has with dealing with exotic people the less the culture
shock. If one is only used to one’s indigenous people, one will be more likely to
experience culture shock
Factors responsible for culture shock may include:

1. Discrepancy in expectations

In a culturally different environment, you soon begin to realize that your expectations are no
longer valid .You are unable to predict in a new environment what happens. What happens may
not be what you expect, and what you expect may not be what happens

2. The feeling of loss of control

In new environments, we don’t know how we are going to behave. Due to the discrepancy in
expectations, one no longer enjoys the feeling of mastery of the environment hence one feels a
sense of lack of control of the new environment
3. Lack of social support

Usually in a new environment , one may be away from familiar environment and also away from
social systems that may offer support in the midst of the unfamiliar environment. e.g. the family
This may further increase cultural shock.

4. Insufficient social skills to cope with the new environment

Coping in a new environment requires certain social skills which one may be lacking.. these
may include

 familiarity with the language of the new environment,

 familiarity with norms and expectations of the new environment , etc

PHASES OF ADJUSTMENT IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT

Research suggests that when people go to new environments, they go through various phases of
adjustments found a pattern as follows.

PHASE I

This is the first phase when you immediately arrive in the new environment. You may have high
expectations, positive feelings, feelings of high motivation. However these may be short lived as
you enter the second phase.

PHASE 2

During this phase, you may begin to be confronted by the discrepancy in expectations. One
begins to feel less and less in control as he/she experiences cultures shock.
PHASE 3

At this phase the reality that one may be in a very different environment hits hard. The language,
the food, the hours, the expectations e.t.c all seem so different and confusing. Frustration
increases and one feels helpless and completely unable to cope as he/she hits rock bottom. One
may either decide to pack up and leave or decide to stay and find a way out.

PHASE 4

If one decides to remain, then he/she begins to actively engage in ways to try to learn how to
cope. One becomes positive about it and decides to invest in acquiring new skills of coping
These may include learning the local language, getting to know one’s neighbours and friends.
Things begin to get better.

PHASE 5

In this phase, one has learnt to cope in the new environment and feels at home, feels optimistic,
and feels happier. One is well adjusted .The challenge is that if one goes back to their home
environment, they may have become so used to the new culture that their original home
environment now gives them culture shock and they may now experience the same phases of
adjustment.

Factors that Determine Success in Intercultural Relations

There are several factors that determine successful intercultural relations in a new environment
.These are discussed below

Preparation of the traveller

The more one is prepared to fit in a new culture, the more likely he/she is to cope well in the
new environment,

Some aspects of a traveller’s preparation include:

 Making efforts to learn the language of the host culture e.g. the basics like how you
can greet people, say thank you, ask for directions, ask for water.
 Learning as much as possible about host culture, for example; learning little about their
history, geography of the area, heroes of their community; favorites symbols e.g. foods,
colours, dress, and objects,
 Understand how the host feels about the events in their environment so that you don’t
offend them e.g. throwing trash in the right bins.
  Understand some basics of what is expected and what will satisfy the host so as to make
the same attributions as they do by using their framework. How to make similar
attributions in behavior as the host culture so that you don’t make non- isomorphic
gestures.

TRAVELLERS PERSONALITY

One’s personality has also been identified as a factor that may contribute to successful
intercultural relations and reduction in the risk of culture shock.

Some of the personality traits that help one cope better in new cultural environments include :

 flexibility as opposed to rigidity

 open-mindedness
 being accommodating/ more tolerant/
 a broad categorizer
 being less authoritarian
 high esteem- people with high esteem seem to do better compared to those with low
self- esteem. They feel less threatened by the differences (more confident)
 Patience- being able to suspend judgment by giving yourself time before you judge
culture.

Other personal predictors of successful cross cultural interaction include:

 Cultural flexibility: Being accommodative and open minded in the face of unfamiliar
culture.
 Having a sense of humor; laughing when things go wrong. Don’t take mistakes seriously
 Willingness to attempt communicating using language of host culture without fearing
to make mistakes.

 NATURE OF ASSIGNMENT

 It is important to note that by Nature of assignment we do not mean the type of job one
has gone to do, but rather it has to do with how one will perceive the host culture.
 We say the assignment may be difficult or easy depending on the cultural distance
between the person’s culture and host culture
 If home and host culture are similar and the two require the same response, in other
words, what you have learnt to do at home is applicable for the new situation then we say
 that the assignment or task is easier. This is because you can transfer what you already
know into the new situation.
 On the other hand, if the two environments look the same but they require different
responses, in other words, what you have learnt to do at home does not apply in the new
culture, then we say that the assignment or task is difficult. This is because the
temptation to transfer what you already know into the new situation which looks
similar will not be appropriate.

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS ABROAD

Working across cultures requires a diverse skill set and a different approach from business in
general. Regardless of which cultures are being bridged, certain strategies are crucial to
international business success. Here are our top ten strategies for interacting with people from
different cultures.

1. Learn about the business beforehand. This general business strategy becomes
increasingly important when dealing with businesses across cultures. Get on their
website, check out their promotional material. Get a feel for the atmosphere, attitude, and
angle that the business has. Many cultural factors are passed down from the societal level
to businesses. However, each organization will have its own culture, personality, and way
of doing things.

2. Observe. Because your mind is processing a lot of information in new

environments, your observation skills when working across cultures may be flooded or
unfocused. Keep your observation skills engaged and alert to elements that will help you
do business. Notice how people act, dress, and treat each other. Especially if you come
from a culture that emphasizes verbal communication, make a point of looking for
messages that are conveyed without being said. Being able to read a situation will greatly
improve your ability to have a successful meeting.

3. Ask questions. Many people don’t want to reveal how little they know about
other cultures, so they don’t ask questions. Ultimately, they limit their ability to work in
other cultures. Questions show you are interested in your colleague’s culture. This
interest and consideration helps build your relationship, which is especially important if
your culture has a reputation for trying to culturally dominate others (e.g. the U.S.).
Demonstrate that you are working to create synergy between your cultures with
questions. In doing so, you create room for the mistakes you may make; people are more
willing to look past cultural blunders if they know you are trying to learn.

4. Stay aware of yourself. Some people feel like they have somewhat of an out-of-
body experience when in cross-cultural situations because they are focused on everything
new outside of themselves. There can be so much going on around you that you forget to
focus on yourself as well. Take advantage of down time (and make time for it) so you can
get in touch with your body and feelings. What’s your gut feeling? Where is it coming
from? This process can help you feel more grounded and secure in your experience
abroad.

5. Allow for more time. Working across cultures takes more time. Communication
may be slowed and logistics may be different. You may be working with a culture with a
different concept of time altogether. Expect most things to take longer than they would
when dealing with a business from your same culture or country. Also give yourself more
time to process all the information before making decisions.

5. Be careful of jargon
Watch the use of TLAs (Three Letter Abbreviations) and other organizational language that may
not be understood by others. If you use them, provide in parentheses a description of what these
are so others can learn to use the same language you do.

6. Define the basics of business.

7. Be specific.

Spell out your expectations and deadlines clearly. Instead of, ‘Please get back to me shortly,’ say
‘Please email the completed report by 5 pm Eastern Standard time on Wednesday, February 21.’

8. Choose your medium of communication effectively.

Carefully choose your form of communication (phone or video conference, email, instant
message, etc.). Be mindful not to ‘overuse’ email. While useful, there are times when the
medium is likely to be ineffective. When a message is complex and complicated or there is
tension or conflict that needs to be resolved, switch to another medium.

9. Provide information via multiple channels.

Follow phone calls with emails that summarize what’s been said. When possible, provide
presentations, agendas, etc. in advance so those working in their non-native language can get
familiar with materials.

10. Be patient.

Cross-cultural communication takes more time. If not at all times, certainly initially you cannot
expect your communication to occur with the same speed and ease as when you are
communicating with someone from your own culture.

Improving Our Intercultural Relations

Intercultural training
Intercultural training is geared towards assisting people who travel to new cultures to be better
placed to cope with the new environment. Different methods are used in intercultural training:

1. Self –insight approach

This approach is aimed at helping the person get insight into how their culture influences their
own behavior. To understand or see how their own behaviour is strongly affected by the culture
involves some sort of role playing. One person acts the role of the new (host) culture. The trainer
acts the role of your culture. The session is video- taped, after which the trainer and the trainee
evaluate the tape to help the trainee become aware of how their behaviour or their responses are
determined by his/ her culture, e.g. The greetings, gestures, etc. You will begin to appreciate how
your own behavior is a reflection of your own culture.

Disadvantage: The trainee does not really learn anything specific about the host culture
2. Experiential training

Training by experience –Trainees are brought into contact with members of the host culture
in a situation where they can make mistakes that will not hurt long-term relationship e.g. as
interns- no costs are involved, Peace Corps - interacting with people

Disadvantage: it is expensive; it may not be applicable because the right people, the right
environment may be difficult.

3. Field trips

This involves visiting the potential host culture ahead of the real training or assignment for
shorter periods. One advantage is that it minimizes the cost of field training or assignment.

Disadvantage: It may be that some people change their minds before going for the actual
assignment. Having prior visits may also be expensive.
4. Exposure to many local communities

Within your own culture, there are sub- cultures. Interact with other tribes in your country,
subgroups within your campus, culture etc. Learning how to get in and be accepted; learning
to integrate yourself into a culture may be helpful. Sample it out in your own country,
community, so you can be assisted in a completely new culture.

The subgroups give you a feel of a new culture. When you expect something, the impact is less.
Get exposed to sub- cultures within your own culture, e.g. different political, religious
affiliations, etc.

CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES

TEMPERAMENT
This is quality of responsiveness to the environment. It exists right from birth and evokes
different reactions from people. There is a probability that children of different cultures are born
with different biological predispositions to learn certain cultural practices. From the beginning,
no two babies are alike in temperament. This is as a result of differences in responsiveness to the
environment from birth. Different temperaments evoke different reactions from people in the
baby’s world.

Temperament is a biologically based style of interacting with the world that exists from birth.
Thomas and Chess (1977) described three major categories of temperament:

1. Easy temperament- this is defined by a very regular, adaptable, mildly intense style of
behavior that is positive and responsive
2. Difficult temperament- an intense, irregular, withdrawn style generally marked by
negative moods
3. Slow-to-warm-up- people with such a temperament may be withdrawn initially or
respond negatively, but given time and support they adapt and react positively.

The interaction of a child’s temperament with that of the parents, known as goodness of fit,
is a key to the development of personality. The parents’ reactions and responses to a child’s
temperament can promote stability or instability in the child’s responses to the environment and
also affect subsequent attachment.

Cross cultural studies on temperament have shown that there are differences in the way
children of different cultures respond to their environments and in turn how their
caregivers react and respond to them. Freedman (1974) did a study where a cloth was placed
on the faces of babies covering their noses. He discovered that Chinese-American babies were
calmer, more placid (easygoing), lay quietly and breathed through their mouths, less vocal,
less active and less irritable. The European-American and African-American babies in
the study were
different. They turned their heads, tried to pull the cloth off their heads and were quite
irritable.

Japanese infants also cried less, vocalized their discomfort less and are less active than the
European babies. Chinese parents value the harmony that is maintained through emotional
restraint; while in the Western cultures higher levels of emotionality are acceptable. Differences
in temperaments may be a reflection of what each culture values concerning appropriate ways of
behaving.

ATTACHMENT

The quality of attachment has lifelong effects on our relationships with others. Attachment
provides a child with emotional security. Bowlby’s (1969) evolutionary theory of attachment
states that infants have a pre-programmed, biological basis for becoming attached to their
caregivers.

Innate behavioral patterns e.g. smiling and cooing encourage attachment relationship between
child and caregiver as a survival strategy. Infants had a greater chance of survival if they
remained close to their mothers or any other primary caregiver for comfort and protection.

Ainsworth (1967, 1977) did a study in Uganda. Based on careful observations between mother-
infant relationships over a period of one year she described three attachment styles:

 Secure attachment- the child becomes distressed when the mother leaves and is easily
comforted when she returns. When the mother is around, the infants feel very
comfortable to explore their environment and play around.
 Ambivalent attachment- These children get slightly distressed when separated from
caregiver but they send out mixed signals when she returns. They want to be
comforted and yet do not accept the soothing that the caregiver will give them when she
comes back.
 Avoid attachment- children with such an attachment will not be distressed on being
left and will avoid reuniting with the mother on her return. They focus their attention
elsewhere.

CULTURE AND COGNITION

Cognitive development processes

This is all about the development of thinking skills from infancy to adulthood. Jean Piaget did
his research and developed his theory which is based on observation of Swiss children. He found
that they tended to solve problems differently at different ages. He then proposed that children
progress through four stages from infancy to adolescence.

1. Sensori-motor stage
This is between birth and 2years. At this stage children understand the world through their
sensory perceptions and motor behaviors i.e. by perceiving and doings. The most important
achievement of this stage is the capability of using mental symbols to represent objects and
events. Early in this stage, they have no object permanence but it develops later in the stage.
They come to understand that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight.
Other cognitive developments that occur include imitation or language acquisition. Imitation is
important for observational learning and language skills for proper communication in
situations of socialization and enculturation.

2. Preoperational stage (2-7yrs)

There are five characteristics that are important in the children’s thinking at this stage:

 Principle of conservation- this is the awareness or lack of that physical quantities

remain the same even when they change shape or appearance.
 Centration- this is the tendency to focus on a single aspect of a problem
 Irreversibility- inability to imagine undoing a process
 Egocentrism- inability to step into another’s shoes and understand the other person’s
point of view
 Animism- the belief that all things including inanimate objects are alive.

3. Concrete operation stage (7-11yrs)

Children acquire new thinking skills to work with actual objects and events. They are able to
imagine undoing an action- they develop the principle of reversibility. They can also focus on
more than one feature of a problem (decentration). They outgrow their egocentrism and they
are able to understand that there are different points of view. They master the principle of
conservation as well. However, instead of thinking a problem through, they usually tend to rely
more on trial-and-error strategies to find a solution.

4. Formal operation stage (11years to adulthood)

They develop the ability to think logically about abstractconcepts for example peace,

Cognition

Cognition denotes all the mental processes we use to transform sensory

input into knowledge. The first cognitive processes are sensation and
perception.
Sensation is the feelings that occur from excitation of sensory
receptors
(touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing).

Perception refers to the initial, interpretations of the sensations.

All aspects of culture e.g. norms, beliefs, values and world views are all
cognitive products. Language is another cognitive factor of culture.

Culture and Perception

Culture affects our perception. Our experiences and beliefs influence what we perceive. Other
people might not perceive things the same way as we do due to differences in culture. Our
perceptions of the world do not necessarily match the physical realities of the world.

Optical illusions

These are perceptions that involve an apparent discrepancy between how an object looks and
what it actually is.

There are many optical illusions including:

a) The Muller-Lyer illusion

To most people the top line appears longer than the bottom line. The lines are actually equal in
length.

b) The horizontal-vertical illusion

To most people the vertical line appears longer than the horizontal line although they are equal in
length.
c) The Ponzo illusion

To most people the upper line appears longer though they are equal.

Cross cultural studies using groups in England, rural India and New Guinea by W.H. Rivers
compared the responses to Muller-Lyer illusion and the horizontal-vertical illusion. He found
that the English people saw lines in the Muller-Lyer illusion as being more different in length
than the other two groups. They were fooled. He also found that the Indians and New Guineans
were more fooled by the horizontal-vertical illusion than the English.

The results were surprising. It was believed that the ‘primitive’ would be more fooled by the
illusions than the ‘educated’ English.

The results showed that the effect of the illusion differed by cultures. Whereas the English
were used to seeing things in rectangular shapes, people in India and New Guinea were more
accustomed to rounded and irregular shapes in the environment. The English perception can
relate to the carpentered-world theory whereby figures are seen as squared corners
projecting towards or away from them.
Cross cultural studies

The Indians and New Guineans, applying the front horizontal foreshortening theory, had learned
to rely more on depth cues due to fewer building in open areas. They are likely to see the
horizontal-vertical figure as 3-dimensional, misjudge the line lengths. In contrast they are less
likely to be fooled by Muller-Lyer illusion because it is more foreign to them.

Western cultures spend more time learning to interpret pictures and reading on paper. They focus
more on interpreting 3-dimensions in tow. The effect of Muller-lyer illusion was stronger for the
industrialized/urban group, while the effect of the vertical-horizontal illusion was stronger for the
non-industrialized/rural group.

Other studies were done on spatial relationships:

 People from Scotland were more accurate in depicting spatial relationships in pictures
than Ghanaian ones.
 Bantus and Americans had cultural differences in perception in terms of using the relative
size as a cue to depth.
Attention

Attention is an aspect of concentration or mental focus.

In a study, American and Japanese University students were asked to view a scene of animated
swimming fish for twenty seconds each person twice. They were then asked to recall as many
objects in the scene as possible. There were no difficulties in recalling focal main object in the
two groups. However, the Japanese remembered more of the background objects than the
Americans. The reason may be that Japanese environment may be more ambiguous and contain
more elements than American scenes. The environment therefore brings about the cultural
difficulties in perception and attention.

The manner in which people group things together into categories is known as
categorization. People tend to categorize things on the basis of similarities and attach labels
(words or numbers) to groups of objects perceived to have something in common.

We often decide whether some things belong to a certain group by comparing it to the most
common or representative number of that category e.g. Chair- it could be a dining room
chair, a lecture hall chair, a waiting room chair etc. The common factor is that they all share the
same task of providing seating.

Categorization
Categorization can also differ across cultures e.g. though all cultures have a category for chair,
the type of chair is likely to differ e.g. shape, material making the chair and material used for
that. Nonetheless, categorization is universal to all humans:

 it helps to sort out all the complex stimuli we are exposed to everyday
 Also helps to create rules and guidelines for behavior and decision making.

Some categories appear to be universal across cultures e.g. facial expressions and emotions
such as happiness, sadness, fear, anger and disgusts are put in similar categories across all
cultures.

Problem- solving
The ability to reason logically and to solve a problem has been shown to depend on the
cultural context. When presented with problems using materials and concepts already familiar
to them people draw logical conclusions effortlessly. When the test/problem is foreign to them,
they have difficulties understanding it and thus solving the problem is difficult. There is also a
marked difference in the way people of different education status approach a problem. The
ability to provide the correct answer to verbal problems was found to be closely associated
with school attendance.

Individuals from traditional societies who were ‘illiterate’ were unable to provide answers to
syllogisms containing unfamiliar information. Those from same culture but educated responded
correctly, they had developed logical reasoning
Intelligence

This is the ability to reason logically and deductively about hypothetical and abstract issues
and events. There are cultural differences in the concept and meaning of intelligence. Because of
the enormous differences in the way cultures define ‘intelligence’, it is difficult to make valid
comparisons across cultures.

Different cultures value different traits and thus have divergent views concerning which
traits are useful in predicting future positive behaviors e.g. rewarding for display of
knowledge and skills in North American societies, in some cultures it would be seen as arrogant,
rude and improper because they stress personal relationships, cooperation and modesty.

Another reason why it is difficult to compare intelligence across cultures is that intelligence
tests often rely on knowledge specific to a particular culture e.g. question-asking about
violins, pianos etc. in the USA would not bring similar effects to people in rural Africa where
another set of totally different instruments are used.

Because of such problems, Gardner (1983) suggested a theory of multiple intelligence. He

propounded that there are seven different types of intelligence:

 Logical/mathematical
  linguistic intelligence
 musical
 spatial
 bodily kinesthetic-

Time

 People of different cultures experience time differently. Cultures differ in their time
perspective and orientation. These differences according to Hall (1973) manifest
themselves in actual behavioral practices within use of time e.g. in business, farming,
rituals are affected by time cultural differences.
 Hofstede (2001) suggested that long-term versus short-term orientation was a cultural
dimension that differentiates cultures. People in long-term cultures delay gratification of
material, social and emotional needs and think more about the future. Members of short-
term cultures think and act more in the immediate present.
 In African cultures time is flexible, very accommodating. Research has shown that
Japanese are more concerned with time than Americans are. But the latter are still more
concerned with time more than developing countries. People in large cities are more time
conscious than those in the rural areas.
 Working in groups in school, at work, travelling etc. can be affected by time orientations.
The way we perceive time is a cultural aspect
.
CULTURE AND EMOTIONS

The Psychologist Paul Ekman and his colleagues have identified six basic emotions:
happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. Worldwide, most people can
identify the facial expressions that correspond to these emotions.

Emotions are an incredibly important aspect of human life and basic research on emotions for
the past few decades has produced several discoveries that have led to important real
world applications. Below we describe two of those discoveries – the universality of
facial expressions of emotion and the existence of micro-expressions.

4TWO IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

9.4.1 The universality of facial expressions of emotions

Arguably the most important contribution basic science has made to our understanding of emotion
concerns the universality of facial expressions of emotion.

Darwin (1872) was the first to suggest that emotions were universal; his ideas about emotions
were a centerpiece of his theory of evolution, suggesting that emotions and their
expressions were
biologically innate and evolutionarily adaptive, and that similarities in them could be seen
around the world.

Early research testing Darwin’s ideas, however, was inconclusive (Ekman, Friesen, & Ellsworth,
1972), and the dominant perspective in psychology was that facial expressions were culture-
specific – that is, just as every culture had its own verbal language, it had its own language of
facial expressions.

Darwin’s claims were resurrected by Tomkins (1962, 1963), who suggested that emotion was the
basis of human motivation and that the seat of emotion was in the face. Tomkins conducted the
first study demonstrating that facial expressions were reliably associated with certain emotional
states

Thus there is strong evidence for the universal facial expressions of seven emotions – anger,
contempt, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, and surprise.

Microexpressions

A second important discovery concerns the existence of microexpressions. When single

emotions occur and there is no reason for them to be modified or concealed, expressions
typically last between 0.5 to 4 seconds and involve the entire face (Ekman, 2003). We call these
macroexpressions; they occur whenever we are alone or with family and close friends.
Macroexpressions are relatively easy to see if one knows what to look for.

Microexpressions, however, are expressions that go on and off the face in a fraction of a second,
sometimes as fast as 1/30 of a second. They are so fast that if you blink you would miss them.

Microexpressions are likely signs of concealed emotions. (They may also be signs of rapidly
processed but unconcealed emotional states.) They occur so fast that most people cannot see or
recognize them in real time. The idea that microexpressions exist has its roots in Darwin’s (1872)
inhibition hypothesis that suggested that facial actions that cannot be controlled voluntarily may
be produced involuntarily even if the individual is trying to control his or her expressions.

Most recently Porter & ten Brinke (2008) demonstrated that microexpressions occurred when
individuals attempted to be deceitful about their emotional expressions.

Emotions are universal phenomena; however, they are affected by culture. While some emotions
are universal and are experienced in similar ways as a reaction to similar events across all
cultures, other emotions show considerable cultural differences in their antecedent events, the
way they are experienced, the reactions they provoke and the way they are perceived by the
surrounding society.
WESTERN AND EASTERN CULTURE

Eastern cultures, and their emotional expressions, "have been largely left to speculation, and
often labeled "mysterious," and "deviant"."(Miyahara) Miyahara,referencing a study conducted
on Japanese interpersonal communication, goes onto explain that the Japanese "are low in self
disclosure, both verbally and non-verbally’’.

Most of these attributes are ascribed to the Japanese people's collectivistic

orientations."(Miyahara) This study conducted shows how the Japanese people, members of the
Eastern culture, have a relatively low expression of emotion.

In Eastern culture, specifically Japanese culture, it is shown that the way they feel are felt
between people rather than with themselves. This proves that most Japanese people feel emotion
with the environment they are surrounded by.

Western cultures tend to express their emotions more freely, although sometimes it not always
acceptable. People in individualistic cultures are motivated to achieve closer relationships with a
selected few, and are willing to clearly express negative emotions towards others.

This is completely opposite of the findings of a collectivistic culture. In Western culture,

specifically American culture, they feel their emotions more within themselves rather than the
environment around them. Americans consider emotions as a personal journey and it can only be
experienced independently.

CULTURAL NORMS AND EMOTIONS

Culture provides structure, guidelines, expectations, and rules to help people understand and
interpret behaviors. Several ethnographic studies suggest there are cultural differences in social
consequences, particularly when it comes to evaluating emotions. For example, as Jean Briggs
described in the Utku Eskimo population, anger was rarely expressed, and in the rare occasion
that it did occur, it resulted in social ostracism. These cultural expectations of emotions are
sometimes referred to as display rules.

Psychologists (Ekman & Friesen, 1969) believe that these rules are learned during a socialization
process. Ekman and Friesen (1975) have also suggested that these “unwritten codes” govern the
manner in which emotions may be expressed, and that different rules may be internalized as a
function of an individual's culture, gender or family background.

Miyamoto &Ryff (2011) used the term cultural scripts to refer to cultural norms that influence
how people expect emotions to be regulated. Cultural scripts dictate how positive and negative
emotions should be experienced and combined. Cultural scripts may also guide how people
choose to regulate

their emotions which ultimately influences an individual’s emotional experience.

For example, research suggests that in Western cultures, the dominant social script is to
maximize positive emotions and minimize negative emotions.

In Eastern cultures, the dominant cultural script is grounded in “dialectical thinking” and
seeking to find a middle way by experiencing a balance between positive and negative emotions.
Because normative behaviors in these two cultures vary, it should also be expected that their
cultural scripts would also vary.

Tsai et al. (2007) argues that not only do cultural factors influence ideal affect (i.e., the affective
states that people ideally want to feel) but that that the influence can be detected very early.
Their research suggests that preschool aged children are socialized to learn ideal affect through
cultural products such as children storybooks.

They found that European American preschool children preferred excited (vs. calm) smiles and
activities more and perceived an excited (vs. calm) smile as happier than Taiwanese Chinese
preschoolers. This is consistent with American best sellers containing more excited and arousing
content in their books than the Taiwanese best sellers. These findings suggest that cultural
differences in which emotions are desirable or, ideal affect, become evident very early.

CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

According to Sapir (1921), “language is a purely human and non-

instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desire by
means of voluntarily produced symbols.”

Language is a part of culture and a part of human behavior. It is often

held that the function of language is to express thought and to communicate
information. Language also fulfills many other tasks such as greeting people,
conducting religious service, etc.

FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE

Krech (1962) explained the major functions of language from the following three aspects:

1. Language is the primary vehicle of communication;

2. Language reflects both the personality of the individual and the culture of his history.
In turn, it helps shape both personality and culture;
3. Language makes possible the growth and transmission of culture, the continuity of
societies, and the effective functioning and control of social group.

It is obvious that language plays a paramount role in developing, elaborating and transmitting
culture and language, enabling us to store meanings and experience to facilitate
communication. The function of language is so important in communication that it is
even exaggerated by some scholars. The most famous one is the hypothesis of linguistic
determinism concerning the relationship between language and culture, which Nida
regards as misconceptions constituting serious difficulties for cross-cultural
understanding.

The problem of the relationship between language, culture and thought bothered many
linguists and philosophers since ancient time. To think about this problem, we need to
begin with the definition of language and culture. Language is generally accepted as a
system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.

And there is a most widely accepted definition of culture: culture is the total accumulation
of beliefs, customs, values, behaviors, institutions and communication patterns that
are shared, learned and passed down through the generation in an identifiable
group of people. The definitions of language and culture imply that the two are closely
connected to each other. On one hand, culture seems so inclusive, it permeates almost
every aspect of human life including languages people use. On the other hand, when
people need to share a culture, they communicate through language.

However, the definition alone cannot provide us with a clear understanding on the
relationship between language and culture. Problems remain unsolved as: how does
culture influence people’s linguistic behavior? And does language influence the
culture in return? If so, in what way?

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis describes the relationship between language, culture and
thought. The core idea is that man’s language moulds his perception of reality. We see
the world in the way that our language describes it, so that the world we live in is a
linguistic construct.

EVIDENCE ON THE DIALECTICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE

AND CULTURE
There is plenty of linguistic evidence of culture difference. We take relationship issue for
example to explain the cultural difference between Chinese people and English speakers.
In Chinese, there are more precise terms for describing relationships than in English.
Chinese people distinguish relatives on mother’s side from those on father’s side.
We have the word
‘biao’ to call the brothers and sisters on mother’s side and the word ‘tang’ for the father’s side.
Also, the uncles and aunts are addressed differently on each side.

On the contrary, in English, there are limited words to describe relationships. This difference
indicates that relationships play an important role in Chinese culture. In a narrow sense,
relatives are always vital elements in Chinese people’s life. In a broad sense, the relationships
among people around are generally considered important for Chinese people. The precise terms
for describing family and other relationships reflect the Chinese culture, and the language may in
turn influence the Chinese way of thinking. Therefore, relationships are paid great attention in
China. The Chinese ‘relationship net’ is hard to explain, but it does works in China. Talking
about relationships, in English, we have the phrase ‘-in law’ to address a certain kind of relatives,
this may indicates that compared to relationships, law plays a more important role in the western
culture.

Another example can be found between English and French. English borrows a lot of words
from French, and a large part of them are the names of food. Pork, veal, mutton are all
French words. Even the word ‘cuisine’ is from French. Judging from the language, we can
tell that French cuisine must be more famous than English food and the catering culture is more
important in France than in English speaking countries.

There is one thing that should be pointed out that although different languages reflect and
influence different cultures: there are many concepts that are universal. Also, take the
relationship issue for example, people from the English speaking countries can distinguish
relatives on mother’s side from those on father’s side, although they do not do so, the
concepts are there. People from different cultures can understand each other although they
speak different languages and have different worldviews, because many of the basic concepts are
universal.

PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATION

Since language and cultures are intertwined with each other, learning a language cannot
be separated from learning its culture. Only by learning the culture, the learners can better
understand the language and use it in communication as native speakers do. Educators now
generally believe that it is important to help the learners to achieve the communicative
competence as well as the linguistic competence.

In language teaching, on one hand, teachers and learners should pay attention to the culture
difference since different languages reflect the different value system and worldviews of its
speaker. By knowing the culture difference, one can avoid some mistake in communicating.
On the other hand, the same concepts of the two cultures should not be neglected. By sharing
the same concept, language learning may become easier and happier. More importantly, since
languages have influence on thought, when learning a second language, the learners should at
the same time strengthen their mother tongue. Therefore, the native culture is protected.

CULTURE AND HEALTH

Culture influences physical health, disease processes and even our attempts to treat them. There
are cultural differences in the definition of health. Each of these differences accounts for the
health outcomes within a given community/culture. At least, you have also come across people
suffering from mental health in your community. Immediately, as you see them, certain thoughts
about them come to mind. Most of these are what your community says about such people. With
this end in mind, this Lecture will explore on the ways in which healthy living can be achieved
through addressing of the culture. It will also dwell upon the ways in which culture affects the
assessment, diagnosis, help seeking, and patient expectations towards treatment of mental illness.

THE RELEVANCE OF CULTURE FOR HEALTH

Culture influences physical health, disease processes and even our attempts to treat them.
There are cultural differences in the definition of health. According to WHO (1948), health is a
state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity. In the USA disease is viewed as resulting from a specific, identifiable
cause originating inside the body. In traditional models, health is characterized as the lack of
disease. In China and ancient Greece, health is viewed as not only absence of negative states but
also the presence of positive states (Yin and Yang).

Culture influences health through many channels:

1. Positive or negative lifestyle behaviours. While we often focus on the negative

influences of lifestyle behaviour—such as drug cultures, or the poor diet of some teen
cultures, for example— we should not neglect the positive cultural influences on
behaviours and practices. For example, Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists have been
found to live longer than the general population, in part because of their lifestyle
including the avoidance of alcohol and smoking, but also because of enhanced social
support.

2. Health beliefs and attitudes. These include what a person views as illness that
requires treatment, and which treatments and preventive measures he or she will accept,
as with the Jehovah’s Witness prohibition on using whole blood products.

3. Reactions to being sick. A person’s adoption of the sick role (and, hence, how he
or she or he reacts to being sick) is often guided by his or her cultural roots. For instance,
"machismo" may discourage a man from seeking prompt medical attention, and culture
may also influence from whom a person will accept advice.

4. Communication patterns, including language and modes of thinking. Beyond

these, however, culture may constrain some patients from expressing an opinion to the
doctor, or may
 discourage a wife from speaking freely in front of her husband, for example. Such influences
can complicate efforts to establish a therapeutic relationship and, thereby, to help the
patient.

5. Status. The way in which one culture views another may affect the status of entire
groups of people, placing them at a disadvantage. The resulting social inequality or even
exclusion forms a health determinant. For example, women in some societies have little
power to insist on condom use.

HOW CULTURE INFLUENCES HEALTH BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES

All cultures have systems of health beliefs to explain what causes illness, how it can be
cured or treated, and who should be involved in the process.

Western industrialized societies such as the United States, which see disease as a result of
natural scientific phenomena, advocate medical treatments that combat
microorganisms or use sophisticated technology to diagnose and treat disease. Other
societies believe that illness is the result of supernatural phenomena and promote
prayer or other spiritual interventions that counter the presumed disfavor of
powerful forces.

Cultural issues play a major role in patient compliance. Asians/Pacific Islanders are a large
ethnic group in the United States. There are several important cultural beliefs among
Asians and Pacific Islanders that nurses should be aware of. The extended family has
significant influence, and the oldest male in the family is often the decision maker
and spokesperson.

The interests and honor of the family are more important than those of individual
family members. Older family members are respected, and their authority is often
unquestioned. Among Asian cultures, maintaining harmony is an important value;
therefore, there is a strong emphasis on avoiding conflict and direct confrontation. Due to
respect for authority, disagreement with the recommendations of health care
professionals is avoided.

However, lack of disagreement does not indicate that the patient and family agree with or
will follow treatment recommendations. Among Chinese patients, because the behavior
of the individual reflects on the family, mental illness or any behavior that indicates lack
of self-control may produce shame and guilt. As a result, Chinese patients may be
reluctant to discuss symptoms of mental illness or depression.

Some sub-populations of cultures, such as those from India and Pakistan, are reluctant to
accept a diagnosis of severe emotional illness or mental retardation because it
severely reduces the chances of other members of the family getting married.

In Vietnamese culture, mystical beliefs explain physical and mental illness. Health is
viewed as the result of a harmonious balance between the poles of hot and cold that
govern bodily functions. Vietnamese don’t readily accept Western mental health
counseling and interventions,
particularly when self-disclosure is expected. However, it is possible to accept assistance if trust
has been gained.

Russian immigrants frequently view U.S. medical care with a degree of mistrust. The Russian
experience with medical practitioners has been an authoritarian relationship in which free
exchange of information and open discussion was not usual. As a result, many Russian
patients find it difficult to question a physician and to talk openly about medical concerns.
Patients expect a paternalistic approach – the competent health care professional does not ask
patients what they want to do, but tells them what to do. This reliance on physician expertise

undermines a patient’s motivation to learn more about self-care and preventive health behaviors.

Although Hispanics share a strong heritage that includes family and religion, each subgroup of
the Hispanic population has distinct cultural beliefs and customs. Older family members and
other relatives are respected and are often consulted on important matters involving health
and illness. Fatalistic views are shared by many Hispanic patients who view illness as God’s
will or divine punishment brought about by previous or current sinful behavior. Hispanic
patients may prefer to use home remedies and may consult a folk healer, known as a curandero.

Many African-Americans participate in a culture that centers on the importance of family

and church. There are extended kinship bonds with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or
individuals who are not biologically related but who play an important role in the family system.
Usually, a key family member is consulted for important health-related decisions. The church is
an important support system for many African-Americans.

Cultural aspects common to Native Americans usually include being oriented in the present and
valuing cooperation. Native Americans also place great value on family and spiritual beliefs.
They believe that a state of health exists when a person lives in total harmony with nature.
Illness is viewed not as an alteration in a person’s physiological state, but as an imbalance
between the ill person and natural or supernatural forces. Native Americans may use a medicine
man or woman, known as a shaman.

As can be seen, each ethnic group brings its own perspectives and values to the health care
system, and many health care beliefs and health practices differ from those of the
traditional American health care culture. Unfortunately, the expectation of many health care
professionals has been that patients will conform to mainstream values. Such expectations have
frequently created barriers to care that have been compounded by differences in language and
education between patients and providers from different backgrounds.
Cultural differences affect patients’ attitudes about medical care and their ability to
understand, manage, and cope with the course of an illness, the meaning of a diagnosis, and
the consequences of medical treatment. Patients and their families bring culture specific ideas
and values related to concepts of health and illness, reporting of symptoms, expectations for how
health care will be delivered, and beliefs concerning medication and treatments. In addition,
culture specific values influence patient roles and expectations, how much information about
illness and treatment is desired, how death and dying will be managed, bereavement patterns,
gender and family roles, and processes for decision making.

Cultures and the conception of the body

Cultures differ in how they view the human body. These different conceptions influence how
people of different cultures approach treatment. McLachlan (1997) suggested the most widely
held view involves the notion of balance and imbalance in the body. The various systems of
the body produce harmony or health when in balance, and when in imbalance produce illness and
disease

A theory first developed by Hippocrates suggests that the body is comprised of 4 humors:
blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Too much or too little of any of these usually
throws the body out of balance.

According to McLachlan (1997) common theories of disease in many Latin American cultures
involve a balance between hot and cold i.e. the intrinsic power of different substances in the
body.

Culture and cardiovascular disease

Triandis et al (1988), using the individualism-collectivism cultural dimension examined its

relationship to heart disease across eight different cultural groups. European-Americans, the most
individualistic of the 8 groups has the highest rates of heart attacks. These researchers then
suggested that social support or isolation was the most important factor in that relationship
(between culture and cardiovascular disease). People who live in more collectivist cultures have
stronger and deeper social ties with others which act as a buffer against stress, reducing risk of
cardiovascular disease.

However, collectivist cultures were associated with death from infections and parasitic
diseases. This may be due to hotter climates which foster the spread of pests and organisms
responsible for infections and diseases.

Culture and eating disorders

In some cultures (individualistic) as people get wealthier, they tend to become thinner. In other
cultures, as people get wealthier they tend to become larger because size is associated with
wealth. There are many cultural differences in perception of the stereotypes about thinness and
fatness. Attitudes about being overweight or thin appear to be related to cultural differences in
eating behaviors. Low-self-esteem, body image, depression, anxiety etc. are the main causes of
eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and obesity.

Culture and suicide

Japanese pilots during the World War II crashed planes into enemy targets. They place the
welfare of their country above the value of their own lives, an act of self-sacrifice due to
patriotism. Glorified acts of suicide were common in Japan in an attempt to save face rather
than be humiliated. Religious belief is a factor that is related to culture and suicide. Countries
with religions that condemn suicide have lower rates.

Cultures and life expectancies.

Culture is related to life expectancies in various ways. There are big cultural differences in life
expectancies.

1. In traditional society’s life expectancies is about 40-50 yrs while in developed

cultures it is between 70-80 due to diet and accessibility to medical care.

2. It has also been found that there are differences in amount of stress experienced
between developed and traditional cultures. Traditional cultures seem to have less
stress levels than developed societies.

3. Research has found differences across culture with regard to the role of
alcoholism e.g. cultures with less emotional dependence on adults as well as those with
more pressure on children for personal achievement seem to experience alcoholism more
compared to those cultures which encourage emotional independence from adults.

Lots of people become addicted to drugs and alcohol as a way of seeking emotional

support. Alcoholism is related to culture.

4. It has been found that the presence of social support seems to have an impact
on people’s health. This is because undesirable social events, if shared, reduce the stress
impact; it is reduced by availability of social support.

Social cohesion differs across the culture. It depends on amount of social support provided.

5. Culture defines mental health e.g. who is considered mentally ill? E.g.
HIV/AIDS is believed to be witchcraft in some communities

6. Culture and sex/gender and life expectancies

Women consist of ½ the pop, perform 2/3 of the tasks, receive1/10 of the returns and own only
1/100 property. There are more illiterate women; men earn more on average, likely to be killed in
work place, more likely to die in war etc. This brings gender differences in life expectancies.

THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON MENTAL HEALTH

The Influence of Culture on Mental Health

It is important to consider culture while developing mental health services that are more
responsive to the cultural and social contexts of racial and ethnic minorities. With a wide
range of subgroups and individual variations, culture is important because it determines what all
people bring to the clinical setting.

 Culture influences how people communicate their symptoms and which ones they report.
 Some aspects of culture may also underlie culture-bound syndromes - sets of symptoms
much more common in some societies than in others.
 Culture determines whether people even seek help in the first place,
 What types of help they seek,
 What types of coping styles and social supports they have,
 And how much stigma they attach to mental illness.
 Culture also influences the meanings that people impart to their illness
It is clear that culture shapes mental health and alters the types of mental health services they
use. Cultural misunderstandings between patient and clinician deter individuals from accessing
and utilizing care and prevent them from receiving appropriate care.

Culture of the Patient

The culture of the patient influences many aspects of mental health, mental illness, and patterns
of health care utilization.

 One way in which culture affects mental illness is through how patients describe (or
present) their symptoms to their clinicians.
There are some well recognized differences in symptom presentation across cultures.
E.g. describing ethnic variation in symptoms of somatization, the expression of distress through
one or more physical (somatic) symptoms, Asian patients, for example, are more likely to report
their somatic symptoms, such as dizziness, while not reporting their emotional symptoms. Yet,
when questioned further, they do acknowledge having emotional symptoms. This finding
supports the view that patients in different cultures tend to selectively express or present
symptoms in culturally acceptable ways.

CULTURE AND ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior,
emotion and thought.

Culture influences mental illness in many ways — assessment and diagnosis, illness behaviour
and help-seeking, the expectations of patients and health professionals and the acceptance
of appropriate therapies.

Concepts of illness vary between cultures and people from different cultures express their
symptoms differently. What may be abnormal and psychopathological in one culture may
be culturally acceptable in another. Thus, an understanding of the patient’s culture is
important in assessing the clinical significance of specific symptoms and behaviours and in the
treatment of mental disorders.

What is Abnormal?

In your opinion which of the following behaviors are abnormal?

1.Bathing only a few times a month.

2.Fearing constantly that the government is after you.

3.Washing thoroughly five or more times a day.

4. Screaming and crying in public situations.

5.Being very upset over the death of a relative for over 2 years, wearing dark clothes, and
crying every time you talk about them.

6.An adult having consensual sexual relationships with teens.

7.Using visions & hallucinations to guide important decisions.

8.Using only one hand for one activity & one hand for the other.

9.Frequently urinating in the street.

10. Feeling moody, anxious, depressed before menstruation

Cultures differ in beliefs and attitudes about abnormal behavior, perhaps viewing it as normal
part of life or as a religious or spiritual experience that should be experienced and accepted, not
cured.

CULTURE SPECIFIC ASPECTS

Which Aspects of Mental Health are Culture Specific?

Even for “universal” mental disorders, culture influences:

• Prevalence of the disorder e.g. schizophrenia occurs in higher rates in more

economically advanced, industrialized, urbanized societies.

• Way symptoms are manifested e.g. Depressed individuals in individualistic

cultures more likely to report loneliness, sadness vs. more somatic symptoms in
collectivist cultures.

• Circumstances related to the onset of the disorder e.g. Family conflicts

associated with the onset of depression in north India probably are due to cultural
emphasis on family responsibilities and expectations.

• Prognosis for the illness e.g. Recovery from schizophrenia in non-industrialized

societies is easier than industrialized societies.

CULTURE BOUND SYNDROMES

Culture bound syndromes are abnormalities or disorders thought to be culturally specific.

As many of us know, there are unlimited differences in cultures around the world from religion
to the way we communicate with one another. What many of us may not know, however, is that
there are actually specific psychological disorders found only in certain areas of the world.
There are several well-known culture-bound disorders as well as variances in disorders and
on theoretical reasons behind the disorders.

Not all of the strange things people do all over the world are disorders nor are culture-bound
syndromes limited to any one region. Anorexia/bulimia nervosa, for example, is a disorder found
in the west but not in Third World countries. This could be due to the differences in emphasis the
cultures put on thinness of women in the media or feelings of a need to be in control
(Matsumoto, 1994).

Examples

1. Witiko
Just north of the U.S., there are the Algonquin Indians in Canada who are unique in having a
disorder among them called witiko. Witiko is a delusional disorder that involves the belief
that one has been possessed by a man-eating monster. Witiko (Windigo) involves feelings of
possession of man-eating spirit, suicidal ideation to avoid acting on cannibalistic urges.

Often times the person suffering will commit suicide before acting on these cannibalistic
impulses (Matsumoto, 1994). Witiko is a rare example of a culture-bound syndrome found in
Indian culture. Many of their practices are centered on spiritual communication and therefore not
considered abnormal or disorders.
2. Arctic Hysteria is another culture-bound syndrome that falls in the somatoform category of
disorders. Arctic Hysteria is only found in Alaska, and the symptoms include dissociative
episodes with extreme excitement and are often followed by grand mal seizures and comas.

3. Amok: Moving on to eastern cultures, specifically Southeast Asia and Pacific Island
areas; prevalent among males in Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Amok is a
dissociative disorder in which a person is said to enter a trance like state. It’s a period of
anxious brooding & sleeplessness followed by rage & homicidal aggression, ending with
exhaustion-amnesia. It is attributed to loss of personal honor & spirit procession. The victim,

POSSIBLE ERRORS IN CROSS CULTURAL DIAGNOSIS

There are three possible errors that can arise from cross cultural diagnosis, and they include

 Overpathologizing
 Underpathologizing
 Misdiagnosis

E.g. – European American male therapists more likely to rate Chinese American clients as
depressed, Chinese male therapists more likely to rate White American clients as aggressive.
African Americans more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, even if same symptoms as
depression.

The Culturally Competent Clinician needs to be:

• Familiar with cultural background of client

• Aware of own biases, stereotypes, prejudices

• Not quick to dismiss symptoms as culture related

• Ask culturally sensitive/appropriate questions

Gender Differences in Diagnosis of Psychological Disorders

The DSM-IV provides information on prevalence rates for males and females for 101 of the 125
disorders it describes. Many disorders show large gender differences, with females at higherrisk.

Example:

 2 to 2 ½ times greater incidence of depression among women.

 95% of those suffering from eating disorders are women

Possible Explanations of Gender Differences
Biological Vulnerability:

Medical models assert that women are more vulnerable to depression during periods of hormonal
change (E.g. menstruation, childbirth, and menopause).

• Sampling bias: differential ability/willingness to acknowledge having a

disorder/seek treatment. Why?

 Differential socialization: E.g. Wendy Simonds (1996) investigated best-selling self-

help books geared towards females from 1960s to 1990s. She found that self-help
literature presents itself as a method for self-creation, offering the woman reader an
internal makeover.
 Differential societal reactions to symptoms in men vs. women: E.g. depression
inconsistent with traditional masculine role.
 An additional disorder may be present that affects the likelihood of seeking and
receiving treatment (E.g. alcoholism, more often diagnosed in men, may mask
depression)
• Gender Bias in Diagnosis: Stereotypic beliefs can lead to different labels being
attached to the same symptoms.

ETHICAL ISSUES

Cross-cultural psychology can be an exciting and motivating adventure; but it can also be
one that presents the researcher with a number of significant ethical issues and practical
challenges. The discussion is organized around four sections: the design of cross-cultural
studies, sampling, sensitive topics, and dealing with data and the interpretation of
findings. Many ethical considerations that all researchers must make are somewhat
universal in nature.Thus, we refer
interested readers to the American Psychological Association’s current guidelines on
Principle Ethics, which outlines five ethical principles for the conduct of research:

Beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect
for people’s rights and dignity

ETHICAL ISSUES IN CROSS CULTURAL RESEARCH

One of the biggest ethical dilemmas facing cross-cultural researchers today is the potential
for the findings from their studies to be used to vindicate powerful stereotypes about
cultural groub

Recruitment
In the United States, it is impossible to conduct research involving human participants
without first receiving approval from an institutional review board (IRB), and most IRB
guidelines require that researchers obtain consent from the participants before collectin
Sensitive topics
When conducting cross-cultural research, it’s important to be aware of the fact that there
are some topics and issues that are sensitive to study and raise interesting ethical
problems for researchers for example sex and sexuality.

DATA AND THE INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS

Analyzing data

When analyzing cross-cultural data, researchers typically rely on inferential statistics that test for
group differences, such as analysis of variance, chi-square, t tests, and the like.

The major problem with these types of statistics is that they only test for whether group.

CULTURAL INFORMANTS
The involvement of cultural informants, at least on the level of advisers and at best on the level
of collaborators, is a must in cross-cultural research.

They provide needed advice and guidance about whether or not to conduct the study in the first
place, the appropriateness of the theory and hypotheses to be tested, and the adequacy and
appropriateness of the research design.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Data need to be kept confidential, with access only to the research team. Many participants in
many other countries may worry about who has access to their data, especially if they have made
statements about issues that are politically, socially, or morally sensitive in their cultures.

IMPACT OF RESEARCH ON THE COMMUNITY

A long-term commitment to the locale is part of the research process. “One-shot” or “safari”
approaches to community-based research should be discouraged. There is a low probability that
such an approach would leave a positive impact after the project ends.

Researchers doing work in other countries and cultures should find out how research can make
positive impacts on the lives of the community.