Girishwar Misra

On the Place of Culture in Psychological Science

Abstract Based on a positivist-empiricist mode of inquiry, mainstream psychology has been vigorously engaged in characterizing human lives in terms of mechanistic and individualistic constructions, with the aim of predicting and controlling the behaviour of acultural and decontextualized others. Committed to a belief in psychological universals, this enterprise is directed at verifying a peculiarly Western intelligibility. In doing so, it ignores the possibilities of other systems of understanding grounded in different cultures and “culture” remains margnalized in the psychological discourse. Viewed in terms of enablements and constraints, differing cultures may contribute a range of psychological intelligibilities, thus enriching the capacities for human relationship. This position is explored by contrasting an Indian with a Western conception of human functioning, with respect to grounding assumptions, and implications of a culturally informed psychology are discussed.

A Factor Analytic Study of Achievement Goals and Means: An Indian View

Abstract The present paper analyzes the meaning of Achievement in the Indian socio-cultural context. Based on earlier studies of the authors, measures of goals and means of Achievement were administered on samples drawn from rural and urban settings in north India. The responses were subjected to principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation. The results indicated that Achievement is a multidimensional cognition and its structure in the Indian context is different from the concept of Achievement employed in the traditional theory of Achievement motivation. The y implicate that a comprehensive understanding of Achievement strivings requires attention to culture-specific aspects of Achievement.

The Core and Context of Indian Psychology

This article makes an effort to conceptualise the emerging field of scholarship called Indian Psychology (IP) in the backdrop of the disciplinary developments. After situating IP in the disciplinary matrix, the article articulates the meaning and scope of IP, its critical features and misconceptions about its conceptualisation. It is argued that IP is a school of psychology primarily rooted in the diverse Indian thought systems with panhuman appeal. It has potential to offer an encompassing vision which covers the vast expanse of the human consciousness from a dynamic experiential vantage point. As a theory and practice, IP is practical and transcendental in nature. While IP chiefly addresses the existential issues from a first person perspective, it is inclusive in approach and does not ignore the mundane concerns of everyday life and social welfare.

The International Handbook of Creativity: Culture and Facets of Creativity

Sa vai naiva reme, tasmādekākī na ramate. Sa dwitiyamaichata. [He did not enjoy himself alone. He desired – I am alone, let me have a second one.] – Brhadāranyaka Upanishad , 4.3 Apāre kāvyasamāre kavirekah prajāpatih Yathāsmai rochate viswam tathetadparivartate [In the endless world of poetry the poet is the only Creator and he shapes this world, as he likes.] – Anandvardhan (1975; Dhvanyaloka Commentary on 3.42) INTRODUCTION It is often believed that creativity is demonstrated when we indulge in contributing something original or novel and useful to the domains of objects and ideas. Thus any creation, irrespective of its domain, is deemed “creative” to the extent that it is different from earlier creations and has functional value (Runco, 2004; Sternberg & Lubart, 1996). In this way, creativity challenges tradition, questions the status quo, and brings in change and innovation. At the same time, the flexibility introduced by creativity empowers people to act more effectively in relation to self as well as environment. Since creativity involves originality and novelty, it is sometimes considered to be a gift of God, but discoveries and inventions clearly imply the role of human effort. In fact, creativity is paradoxical in many respects and defies any simple characterization. Creativity is often conceptualized as a general human ability, but its apparent recognition in different areas suggests the need to accommodate diverse creative talents. Similarly, while it is related to intelligence, highly intelligent people are not necessarily highly creative.

Personality Structure in the Trait Lexicon of Hindi, a Major Language Spoken in India

The psycho–lexical approach is extended to Hindi, a major language spoken in India. From both the dictionary and from Hindi novels, a huge set of personality descriptors was put together, ultimately reduced to a manageable set of 295 trait terms. Both self and peer ratings were collected on those terms from a sample of 511 participants. Factor analyses (principal components analysis), performed separately on self and on peer ratings, suggested three up to six factors. From a comparison with an ancient but still popular system of personality description, called the triguna, and from a comparison with a recently developed comprehensive trait taxonomy in Dutch, it was concluded that only three factors, not to be confused with the Big Three, firmly stood out, all three belonging to the three–dimensional triguna. Congruence coefficients between factors based on self and on peer ratings confirmed the stability of these three factors. The three factors are called rajasic, representing ambition, friendliness, humility versus hypocrisy, deception and violence, tamasic, representing egoism, mean mindedness and concealment, and finally sattvic, representing competence, impartiality, being organized, sober and harmonious. Copyright

Adolescent Lifestyle in India: Prevalence of Risk and Promotive Factors of Health

The present study investigated the prevalence of lifestyle related concerns among school adolescents. The data were collected from 1,500 Indian school students enrolled in sixth to eleventh grades drawn from rural, urban, and metro settings. They completed an anonymous Adolescent Lifestyle Survey. The study documents the multiple concerns related to inappropriate dietary practices (fast food consumption, cold drinks, low fruit and vegetable intake), irregular sleeping habits, less religiosity, mild activity pattern, unhealthy daily routine and pursuance of different forms of risk behaviours. The study also showed an association of life style with several contextual variables (i.e., residential context, developmental stage and gender). The results suggest need for urgent attention to deal with the emerging concerns of risks and promoting factors of health through relevant policy-oriented reformulation, coordinated efforts among stakeholders, and initiating culturally appropriate lifestyle interventions among adolescents.

Beyond Scientific Colonialism: A Reply to Poortinga and Triandis

Abstract The commentary of our esteemed colleagues concentrates on the status of cross-cultural psychology (CCP), and the role of the experiment in achieving the goal of universal psychology-that is, a psychology that would “incorporate” all indigenous (including Western) psychologies. While our colleagues share our concern with cultural variation, the vision of psychology which they promote and the mechanisms they prescribe differ markedly from the position we develop. Their views essentially remain rooted in the traditional (Western) natural science model, which presumes a particular theory of mind, value-neutral methodologies, universal theoretics, and prediction as the goal of inquiry. From our standpoint, CCP within this mould suffers an essential tension in attempting to maintain its Western scientific posture, while incorporating views that are alien to the Western frame of reference. Further, the attempt to incorporate these views seems neither intellectually viable, nor sufficiently appreciative ...

Indigenous Approaches to Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Mental Disorders

Indigenous psychology (IP) shares with critical health psychology a discontent with mainstream psychology and the endeavor to offer alternative formulations of health and illness. As an alternative to the individualistic framework of health in mainstream psychology, we propose a model of the self as a multilayered concentric system. For illustration, we present a variety of indigenous traditions, with special focus on the health-related beliefs and practices in India. Implications of this alternative model of culture and self for the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders are explored. Relevance of this framework to health psychology is discussed, with special focus on the DSM-V controversy, A. E. Kazdin’s call for health reform, and visions of hybridization in the global community.

Image of Self in the Sikh Community: Continuity of the Core and Global Presence

This article explores the social, psychological and historical processes through which the Sikh community has categorised and differentiated itselffrom other communities to form a distinct self. It traces the socio-historical circumstances that have shaped and helped consolidate the Sikh communitys distinctive features including dress code, symbols, and a political ideology. The identity of this community has evolved through a series of struggles spanning a period of five centuries. This has contributed the qualities of adaptation and resilience to the Sikh psyche. The self-construal of the Sikh community is constituted by spiritual, heroic and aes thetic images. It has a core that shares certain religious, social and cultural attributes and maintains strong ties with its past while its adaptability helps accepting new challenges and seeking new opportunities and modes of expression. This unique blending of continuity and change has helped the indigenous and local Sikh community to have a global presence.

Prosocial Reasoning and Behaviour among Indian Children

This study explored the nature and development of patterns of prosocial reasoning and behaviour of Indian children (N = 167), between 5 and 14 years of age, from low and high SES, in naturalistic contexts. Prosocial reasoning of children in real life contexts was characterised primarily by authority/punishment orientation, concern for needs of others, pragmatism, mutual gain orientation, and orientation to honouring request made. Orientation to physical needs of others and to honouring request made, increased with age. Some gender and SES differences in prosocial reasoning were noted. Prosocial behaviour, however, was not significantly influenced by age, SES, or gender. Apart from a low negative correlation with authority/punishment orientation, prosocial responding was found to be unrelated to the use of any reasoning category. In most cases of non-prosocial behaviour, children could nevertheless take the perspective of the potential recipient or perceive the need for prosocial behaviour. The observations and findings have been discussed from methodological and sociocultural perspectives.