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Cross-Cultural Psychology DOCUMENT RESUME ED 240 437 CG 017 266 AUTHOR Triandis, Harry C.; Brislin,Richard W. TITLE Cross-Cultural Psychology. PUB DATE Aug 83 NOTE 45p.; Paper presentedat the Annual Convention ofthe American PsychologicalAssociation (91st, Anaheim, CA, August 26-30, 1983). PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070)-- Speeches/Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Cross Cultural Studies;Cross Cultural Training; *Cultural Awareness; CulturalDifferences; *Psychology; *Research Utilization;Social Science Research ABSTRACT Cross-Cultural psychology refersto the collective efforts of researchers who work among people who live indifferent societies, with differentlanguages and different forms of government. There are a numberof benefits to the study ofhuman behavior which can be accruedby carrying out research invarious cultures, largely concerned withbetter theory development andbetter conceptualization of importantvariables. Some of the benefits include theory expansion,increasing therange of variables, unconfounding variables, andstudying the context in whichbehavior occurs. Another way of looking atcross-cultural psychology is to look at its contributions to both general and appliedpsychology, including cultural influences'onperception, cognition, motivation, interpersonal attraction, andgroup dynamics. Applications of cross-cultural psychology includevalidation of employee selection and appraisal procedures ineach of the cultures in whichthey are to be used. To reduce the negativeeffects of cultural differences, kinds of cultural training six have been identified: (1) informationor fact-oriented training; (2)attribution training; (3)cultural awareness; (4) cognitive-behavior modification;(5) experiential learning; and (6) the interactionapproach. Cross-culturalpsychology can contribute to a more internationally-orientededucation for college students. (JAC) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRSare the best that can be made from the original document.' *********************************************************************** M O CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY Harry C. Triandis University of Illinois Richard W. Brislin East-West Center U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER IERICI iThis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization In originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. %011 Points of view or opinions stated in this docu TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ment do not necessarily represent official NIE INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." CV position or policy. N. o Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the AmericanPsychological Association, CO Anaheim, CA, August 26-30, 1983. C3 Cross-Cultural Psychology Harry C. Triandis University of Illinois Richard W. Brislin East-West Center The general goal of the AmericanPsychological Association's project which commissioned this paper is to contributeto a more internationally oriented ecucation for undergraduates. Psychologists can and have contributed in severalways (see chapters in Landis & Brislin, 1983: Mestenhauser on learning withinternational students; Hughes on adding international content to curricula). There are classroom exercises whichencourage students to take into account the viewpoint of people in countries other than theirown. Foreign students have been employedas guest lecturers, and programs have been established whichencourage learning through intercultural contact. The competencies of people wholive and work successfully in other cultures could be examined for insights intowhat should be expected of internationallyminded students. All of these could be the focus of a paper, and indeed contributions from theseareas will occasionally be referredto in this paper. Space limitations, however, limit our coverage to what is probably the best knownarea which combines psychology andinternationalism: the activities collectively called "cross-culturalpsychology." Studying Culture. Definitions of psychologyusually include the phrase, "scientific study of humanbehavior." A direct implication Cross-Cultural Psychology 2 of this definition is that human behavior inall parts of the world must be investigated, not just those aspects of behavior whichare conveniently available to investigators in highlyindustrialized nations with a long history of scientific endeavor. Cross-cultural psychology refers to the collective efforts ofresearchers who work among people who speak various languages, live in societies ranging from technologically unsophisticated to highly complexand industrialized, and who submit to various forms of political organization. Ideally, various aspects of people's cultureare carefully identified and are related to important theoretical issues in psychological theory, resulting in conclusions about culture's influenceon behavior which improve the theory. Like many highly complex concepts suchas intelligence, personality, or emotion, research involving culture proceeds vigorously despite the lack of widespreadagreement on an exact definition. Formal definitions have numbered in the hundreds (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952), leading to the jokethat culture is defined by the latest anthropological monograph. For the purposes of this presentation, a mix from various definitions willbe presented. The goal is to identify those aspects of definitions which seem to indicate best what psychologistsactually do when they carry out research in various parts of the world (seeBrislin, 1983, and Triandis, 1972 for more materialon definitions). Anthropologists have written most extensivelyabout culture. Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952, p. 181) concluded theirinfluential 4 Cross-Cultural Psychology 3 review by suggesting that many definitions cu.,. .1d these common elements: "patterns, explicit and implicit,of for behavior transmitted by symbols, constitutingthe distinct:,,e achievements of human groups...Cand] ideas and their attached values." It is interesting to note that theconcept of "patterns transmitted by symbols" predated the currentpsychological concern with "scripts" as a method of how people organizeinformation in their memories (Abelson, 1981). Scripts are like short dramaticpresentations with guidelines to characters, settings, props, and even dialogue. Scripts also clearly differacross cultures: how one approaches potential marriage partners; how one behaves toward female subordinates;or how a person calls a meeting for important decision makingactivities. Melville Herskovits (1948,p. 17) proposed the important generalization that "culture isthe man-made part of the human environment." Triandis (1972) benefitted)fromHerskovits' contribution and made a distinction between physical and subjective culture. The former would include man-madeobjects such as houses, tools, and gardens; and the latter would includepeople's cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors associated withthose objects in the form ofvalues, roles (e.g., who has a right to builda house), and beliefs (e.g., when is the best time to plant). Culture should not be definedso broadly that it is all-encompassingand thus indicative of nothing very much in particular. Earthquakes are not best conceptualizedas part of a culture, even though the written or unwritten record ofa society may indicate their frequent occurrence. However, people's Cross-Cultural Psychology 4 beliefs about how best toprepare for earthquakes, or even people's tendency to deny the possibility of earthquakes in theirlifetimes, are part of their culture. While early attempts at cross-cultural research too oftenimposed the researcher's own framework (from his or her culture)on other people, current standards demandthat evidence be presented which indicates how concepts are seen and experienced by the peoplein the culture under study. Given this goal, the influenceof work in cognitive psychology as well as cognitiveanthropology has been strong. Psychologists have studied people'sknowledge about their world, the ways in which this knowledge is passed on to future generations,and the conflicts experienced when various cultures withinthe same country have very different interpretations of events. Clifford Geertz's (1973, p. 89) definition captures this major research area: "Culture denotes a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodiedin symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolicforms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and developtheir knowledge about and attitudes towardlife." There are a number of benefitsto the study on human behavior which can be accrued by carryingout research in various cultures. Such research, however, is admittedlymore difficult given the physical demands of field work, language differences, and varyingnorms toward participation in research as held by members of differentcultures. The benefits of cross-cultural researchare largely concerned with better theory development and better conceptualization ofimportant Cross-Cultural Psychology 5 variables. The difficulties are largely based on addedmethodological btmdehs. Both will be discussed. Benefits of Cross-CulturalResearch Various behavioral scientists have discussedthe advantages which cross-culturalresearch has over investigations carriedout within any one country (Brislin, 1983;Naroll & Cohen, 1970; Strodtbeck, 1964; Triandis, 1972; Whiting, 1968). Space limitations permit examination
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