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Mutual Shaping Minds: How Does Culture Influence Our Emotions and Behavior?
Cultural psychology is the study of how culture reflects and shapes the psychological processes of its members. It is based on the premise that mind and culture are inseparable and mutually constitutive. Cultural psychology emphasizes two key points: first, people are the product of a culture; second, culture is also shaped by people. Scholars have attempted to define the nature of culture and its function in psychological phenomena. Gerd Baumann once explained: "Culture is not an entity, but an abstract analytical concept." And Richard Shweder defined cultural psychology as: the study of how cultural traditions and social practices regulate, express and transform the human mind. .
This has led to national divisions in the human psyche rather than spiritual unity.
History
When Yoshihisa Kashima talks about cultural psychology, he divides it into two meanings: tradition and movement. Cultural psychology as a tradition can be traced back to Western Romanticism in the 19th century. Giambatista Vico and Herder are regarded as important early intellectual inspirers. The institutional origins of cultural psychology began with the founding of the Journal of Folk Psychology and Linguistic Science in 1860. Wilhelm Wundt expanded on this view, and his work Ethnopsychology was one of the early psychological documents related to the cultural perspective.
The rise of cross-cultural psychology has brought about the intersection between cultural psychology and other branches of psychology. Although the two fields influence each other, they differ in focus. Cross-cultural psychology uses culture as a means of testing the universality of psychological processes, whereas cultural psychology focuses on how the social practices of a specific culture influence the development of psychological processes.
Importance
According to Richard Shweder, Western psychological research has repeatedly failed to replicate in non-Western contexts. Therefore, a major goal of cultural psychology is to allow multicultural contributions to basic psychological theories to be revised so that these theories more fully explain the behavior of all people.
W.E.I.R.D. refers to Western, educated, industrialized, wealthy, and democratic groups that are grossly overrepresented in psychological research.
Recent research shows that differences in logical reasoning and social values between different cultures mean that findings based on the W.E.I.R.D. group may not be generally applicable to other cultures. Most psychological research is based on the psychological claims of this 12% of the global population, which may lead to misunderstandings of psychological theories and neglect of the diversity of psychology.
Shape each other
The mutual shaping model shows the mutual influence between society and individuals. Society is made up of individuals, so the behaviors and actions of individuals will directly affect society, and the composition and values of society will also affect the individuals themselves.
Although cultural psychology has established this theoretical model, social systems often fail to fully recognize the influence of individuals in communities.
Criticism
Research in cultural psychology has also faced criticism, one of which is the issue of cultural stereotypes. People’s differential interpretations of social psychological phenomena between East Asian and North American cultures often fall into the trap of overgeneralization.
Method
Psychologist Richard Shweder emphasizes that mind and culture are mutually constructed and inseparable. Although self-report is a commonly used data collection method in cultural psychology, the reliability of this method in different cultural contexts is often questioned.
Cultural Model
In order to understand the social world, people can use cultural models to help adjust behavior in time. These models carry the wisdom of cultural roots. The 4 I's cultural model proposed by Hazel Rose Markus and Alana Conner emphasizes the relationship between the four levels of cultural influence: individuals, interactions, institutions and ideas.
This cultural cycle reflects the mutual shaping of culture and individuals.
With the joint efforts of cultural psychology, the development of theory and its application will help us gain a deeper understanding of the inevitable cultural influences in our lives. Think about it, how are you influenced by culture in your daily life?
