DOCSLIB.ORG

Culture and Psychology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Culture and Psychology Culture and Psychology Culture and Psychology How People Shape and are Shaped by Culture L D WORTHY, TRISHA LAVIGNE, AND FERNANDO ROMERO MMOER PHOENIX, AZ Culture and Psychology by L D Worthy, Trisha Lavigne, and Fernando Romero is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Contents Part I. Culture and Psychology Introduction to Psychology 3 Cultural WEIRDos 6 Introduction to Cultural Psychology 8 Defining Culture 10 Two Views of Culture 14 Products of Culture 15 Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions 16 Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism 20 1. Summary 23 Vocabulary 24 Part II. Cultural Learning Animal Culture 29 Uniquely Human 31 Ecological and Geographic Cultural Variation 41 Cultural Transmission 45 Summary 47 Vocabulary 48 Part III. Research Methods and Culture Advantages and Disadvantages 53 Research Issues in Cultural Psychology 55 Sampling Bias 56 Procedural Bias 58 Instrument Bias 61 Interpretation Bias 63 Summary 64 Ethics in Cultural Psychological Research 65 Other Issues in Research 69 Vocabulary 70 Part IV. Culture and Development Defining Enculturation 75 Enculturation 2. Enculturation Agents 77 Temperament 79 Attachment 82 Parenting Styles 86 Cognitive Development 89 Other Enculturation Agents 94 Summary 98 Vocabulary 99 Part V. Culture and Cognition Sensation and Perception 103 Attention 106 Social Cognitions 108 Schema 109 Attributions 111 Memory 114 Thinking and Intelligence 117 Categories and Concepts 118 Intelligence 121 One or Many 124 Intelligence and Culture 126 Intelligence Tests 127 Summary 128 Vocabulary 129 Part VI. Culture and Sexuality Sex and Gender 137 Stereotypes and Gender Roles 140 Gender Enculturation Agents 143 Gender Differences 147 Gender Roles and Culture 149 Gender Identity 150 Sexuality and Sexual Orientation 152 Sexuality and Culture 154 Discrimination 159 Reducing Gender Bias and Inequality 160 Summary 162 Vocabulary 163 Part VII. Culture and Emotion Components of Emotions 167 Emotions and Culture 171 Motivation 175 Summary 177 Vocabulary 178 Part VIII. Culture of Self and Personality Introduction to Personality 181 Trait Theory 183 Five Factor Model and Cross-Cultural Research 185 Big Five as Universals 188 Cultural Considerations and Personality 191 Self and Culture 193 Characteristics of the Self-Concept 196 Self and Culture 199 Neural Basis for Self 202 Beyond East and West Differences 203 Self-Enhancement and Self-Effacement 205 Summary 208 Vocabulary 209 Part IX. Culture and Physical Health What Does it Mean to be Healthy? 213 Global Definition of Health 215 Life Expectancy 217 Health in American Culture 219 Diet 220 Sleep Hygiene 223 Socioeconomic Status (SES) 226 Race and Ethnicity 228 Global Health Cross-Cultural Comparisons 231 Summary 233 Infant Mortality 234 Subjective Well-Being 235 Vocabulary 238 Part X. Culture and Mental Health What is Mental Illness? 243 Summary 245 Making a Diagnosis (The 3 D’s) 246 History of Mental Illness 249 Culture-Bound Disorders 251 Universal Disorders 253 Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) 254 Anxiety Disorders 257 Eating Disorders 259 Psychosis 261 Barriers to Treatment 265 Reducing Stigma around Mental Illness 267 Summary 269 Vocabulary 270 Part XI. Culture and Social Behavior Group Interactions 273 Group Interactions and Culture 276 Cooperation 278 Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination 282 Conformity 286 Obedience 288 Summary 290 Vocabulary 291 Part XII. Culture and Morality Universal Morality 295 Cultural Considerations of Kohlberg’s Theory 298 Cultural Alternatives to Moral Development 299 Social Fairness 301 Psychological Reactions to Unfair Behavior 304 Summary 306 Vocabulary 307 Part XIII. Living in a Multicultural World Acculturation 311 Culture Shock 312 Berry’s Model of Acculturation 315 Bilingualism and Culture 318 Switching 321 Cultural Frame Switching 322 Code Switching 324 Challenges to Living in a Multicultural World 326 Stereotype Threat 328 Contact hypothesis 331 Summary 334 Multicultural Identities 335 Vocabulary 339 References 341 PART I CULTURE AND PSYCHOLOGY Culture goes beyond the way people dress and the food they eat. It also stipulates morality, identity, and social roles. When you think about different cultures, you probably picture their most visible features, such as differences in the way people dress, or in the architectural styles of their buildings. Culture and Psychology | 1 You might consider different types of food, or how people in some cultures eat with chopsticks while people in others use forks. There are differences in body language, religious practices, and wedding rituals. While these are all obvious examples of cultural differences, many distinctions are harder to see because they are psychological in nature. 2 | Culture and Psychology Introduction to Psychology Before we begin talking about culture and psychology, it is important to have a basic understanding of the field of psychology. Broadly speaking, psychology is the science of behavior and mind, including conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as feeling and thought. Psychologists, practitioners or researchers in the field, xplore e the role that cognitive processes (thinking) has on individual and social behavior. Psychologists also explore the physiological and biological processes (e.g., neurotransmitters, brain, and nervous system) that underlie the thinking and behavior of individuals. There are four main goals of psychology: Describe Psychologists describe the behavior of humans and other animals in order improve our understanding of the behavior and get a sense of what can be considered normal and abnormal. Psychological researchers use many different methods to help describe behavior including naturalistic observation, case studies, and surveys. After describing behavior, it is easier for psychologists to understand and explain the behavior. Explain This goal involves determining the causes of behavior. Introduction to Psychology | 3 Psychologists try to understand why a person acts or reacts in a certain way and then they try to identify if there are other factors that may produce the behavior (e.g., something that happens before or after a behavior). Using experimental designs, psychologists establish theories which will help explain the same behavior in different situations and contexts. Predict The third goal of psychology is to predict what behavior will come next, how a person will behave or when will the behavior happen in the future. Predicting behavior is hard, unless the behavior has already been studied which is why describing and explaining behavior must happen first. A psychologist may be able to predict a behavior by looking for a pattern using past instances or examples of that behavior. Predicting behaviors is essential for psychologists if they want to change or modify harmful or dysfunctional behaviors or to promote or encourage positive or prosocial behaviors among individuals. Control Finally, and perhaps most importantly, psychology strives to change, influence, or control behavior to make positive and lasting changes in people’s lives. It is important to note that if a psychologist tries to influence, shape, modify or control someone’s behavior without asking permission or getting consent it is considered unethical. As noted earlier, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit individuals and society but we do this by respecting the rights of others. Psychology has been described as a “hub science” which means that medicine tends to draw upon psychological research mainly through the fieldsof neurology and psychiatry. 4 | Introduction to Psychology Social sciences commonly draw directly from sub-disciplines within psychology like social psychology and developmental psychology. The field of psychology is about understanding and solving problems in several areas of human activity and as a discipline psychology ultimately aims to benefit society. Introduction to Psychology | 5 Cultural WEIRDos Despite its ultimate aim to benefit society, the psychological aspects of culture have historically been overlooked because many elements of culture cannot be observed. For example, the way that gender roles are learned is a cultural process, as is the way that people think about their own sense of duty toward their family members. Also, there has been an overrepresentation of research conducted using human subjects from Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic nations (WEIRD). Findings from psychology research utilizing primarily W.E.I.R.D. populations are often labeled as universal theories that explain psychological phenomena but are inaccurately, and inappropriately, applied to other cultures. Recent research findings revealing that cultures differ in many areas, such as logical reasoning and social values has become increasingly difficult to ignore. For example, many studies have shown that Americans, Canadians and western Europeans rely on analytical reasoning strategies, which separate objects from their contexts to explain and predict behavior. Social psychologists refer to the fundamental attribution error or the tendency to explain people’s behavior in terms of internal, inherent personality traits rather than external, situational considerations (e.g. attributing an instance of angry behavior to an angry personality). Outside W.E.I.R.D. cultures, however, this phenomenon is less prominent, as many non-W.E.I.R.D. populations tend to pay more attention to the context in which behavior occurs. Asians tend to reason
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 'Translating' Emotions: Nationalism in Contemporary Greek Cinema
    ‘Reading’ and ‘Translating’ Emotions: Nationalism in Contemporary Greek Cinema by Sophia Sakellis A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Research) Department of Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences University of Sydney October 2016 ABSTRACT This study explores emotions related to nationalism, and their manifestations in contemporary Greek cinema. It also investigates the reasons and mechanisms giving rise to nationalism, and how it is perceived, expressed and ‘translated’ into other cultures. A core focus within the nationalist paradigm is the theme of national identity, with social exclusion ideologies such as racism operating in the background. Two contemporary Greek films have been chosen, which deal with themes of identity, nationalism, xenophobia, anger and fear in different contexts. The study is carried out by drawing on the theories of emotion, language, translation and cinema, to analyse the visual and audio components of the two films and ascertain their translatability to an Australian audience. Both films depict a similar milieu to each other, which is plagued by the lingering nature of all the unresolved political and national issues faced by the Greek nation, in addition to the economic crisis, a severe refugee crisis, and externally imposed policy issues, as well as numerous other social problems stemming from bureaucracy, red tape and widespread state-led corruption, which have resulted in massive rates of unemployment and financial hardship that have befallen a major part of the population. In spite of their topicality, the themes are universal and prevalent in a number of countries to varying degrees, as cultural borders become increasingly integrated, both socially and economically.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Distance, Perception of Emotional Display Rules, And
    CULTURAL DISTANCE, PERCEPTION OF EMOTIONAL DISPLAY RULES, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOJOURNER ADJUSTMENT A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science Nicole L. Gullekson August 2007 2 This thesis titled CULTURAL DISTANCE, PERCEPTION OF EMOTIONAL DISPLAY RULES, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOJOURNER ADJUSTMENT by NICOLE L. GULLEKSON has been approved for the Department of Psychology and the College of Arts and Sciences by ________________________________________________ Jeffrey B. Vancouver Associate Professor of Psychology ________________________________________________ Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 Abstract GULLEKSON, NICOLE L., M.S., August 2007, Experimental Psychology CULTURAL DISTANCE, PERCEPTION OF EMOTIONAL DISPLAY RULES, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOJOURNER ADJUSTMENT (109 pp.) With increased globalization, more individuals temporarily leave home to work and study in foreign countries. These sojourners are confronted with societal norms different from their home cultures. The present study investigated the extent to which international student sojourners perceive differences in emotional display norms between their home and host cultures, as well as the influence of such perception on adjustment. Although accurate perception of the host culture’s emotional display rules was not related to adjustment, a “guest” effect existed. Specifically, international student participants reported that one should
    [Show full text]
  • Civilization Studies 1
    Civilization Studies 1 Civilization Studies Civilization studies provide an in-depth examination of the development and accomplishments of one of the world's great civilizations through direct encounters with significant and exemplary documents and monuments. These sequences complement the literary and philosophical study of texts central to the humanities sequences, as well as the study of synchronous social theories that shape basic questions in the social science sequences. Their approach stresses the grounding of events and ideas in historical context and the interplay of events, institutions, ideas, and cultural expressions in social change. The courses emphasize texts rather than surveys as a way of getting at the ideas, cultural patterns, and social pressures that frame the understanding of events and institutions within a civilization. And they seek to explore a civilization as an integrated entity, capable of developing and evolving meanings that inform the lives of its citizens. Unless otherwise specified, courses should be taken in sequence. Note the prerequisites, if any, included in the course description of each sequence. Some civilization sequences are two-quarter sequences; others are three- quarter sequences. Students may meet a two-quarter civilization requirement with two courses from a three- quarter sequence. Because civilization studies sequences offer an integrated, coherent approach to the study of a civilization, students cannot change sequences. Students can neither combine courses from a civilization sequence with a freestanding course nor combine various freestanding courses to create a civilization studies sequence. Students who wish to use such combinations are seldom granted approval to their petitions, including petitions from students with curricular and scheduling conflicts who have postponed meeting the civilization studies requirement until their third or fourth year in the College.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural History in Spain History of Culture and Cultural History: Same Paths and Outcomes?*
    Cultural History in Spain History of Culture and Cultural History: same paths and outcomes?* CAROLINA RODRÍGUEZ-LÓPEZ An overview &XOWXUDOKLVWRU\LVFXUUHQWO\DERRPLQJWRSLFLQ6SDLQ&XOWXUDOKLVWRU\LVQRZ ÁRXULVKLQJ DQG FHUWDLQ DUHDV KDYH GLVWLQJXLVKHG WKHPVHOYHV DV DXWRQRPRXV ÀHOGVRIVWXG\WKHKLVWRU\RIFXOWXUDOSROLWLFVUHDGLQJDQGSULQWLQJDQGPHGLFDO FXOWXUDOSUDFWLFHVIRUH[DPSOH+RZHYHUZKDWLVGHÀQHGDVcultural history in FXUUHQW6SDQLVKKLVWRULRJUDSK\LVQRWDQHDV\LVVXH/LNHWKHUHVWRI(XURSHDQ HYHQ$PHULFDQ KLVWRULRJUDSKLHV6SDQLVKKLVWRULRJUDSK\KDVJRQHWKURXJKDQ H[WHQVLYHDQGLQWHUHVWLQJSURFHVVVKLIWLQJIURPVRFLDOWRFXOWXUDOKLVWRU\7KH SURFHVV KDV QRW EHHQ H[HPSW IURP SUREOHPV DQG PLVXQGHUVWDQGLQJV DQG KDV GHWHUPLQHGQRWRQO\WKHZD\VLQZKLFKFXOWXUDOKLVWRU\KDVWUDGLWLRQDOO\ÁRZHG EXWDOVRWKHNLQGVRIUHVHDUFKDQGVFLHQWLÀFZRUNVWKDWKDYHEHHQODEHOHGZLWK the cultural history title. 7KLVFKDSWHURIIHUVDEULHIRYHUYLHZRIZKDW,KDYHMXVWPHQWLRQHGDERYH ,QRUGHUWRGRVRLWLVGLYLGHGLQWRWKUHHVHFWLRQV7KHÀUVWRQHGHDOVZLWKWKH KLVWRULFDODQGKLVWRULRJUDSKLFDOFRQWH[WVZKHQWKHÀUVWUHVHDUFKDQGGHEDWHVLQ 6SDLQIRFXVHGRQFXOWXUDOKLVWRU\,QWKHVHFRQGVHFWLRQ,LQWURGXFHWKHUHVHDUFK JURXSVLQVWLWXWLRQVDFDGHPLFSURJUDPVDQGSXEOLVKLQJKRXVHSURMHFWVWKDWKDYH HQFRXUDJHG DQG DUH FXUUHQWO\ RUJDQL]LQJ 6SDQLVK FXOWXUDO KLVWRU\ NQRZOHGJH DQGSURGXFWLRQ$QGODVWEXWQRWOHDVW,SUHVHQWDÀUVWDQGWHQWDWLYHOLVWRIH[DFW- ,DPJUDWHIXOWR(OHQD+HUQiQGH]6DQGRLFDIRUGHWDLOHGVXJJHVWLRQVDQGWR3DWULFLD %HUDVDOXFHDQG(OLVDEHWK.OHLQIRUDFFXUDWHUHDGLQJRIWKLVFKDSWHUάVÀUVWYHUVLRQ 211 Carolina Rodríguez-López O\ZKDW6SDQLVKKLVWRULDQVKDYHZULWWHQRQWKHÀHOGRIFXOWXUDOKLVWRU\,QRWKHU
    [Show full text]
  • Emotions in Motion
    Ethel Brundin Emotions in Motion The Strategic Leader in a Radical Change Process Jönköping International Business School P.O. Box 1026 SE-551 11 Jönköping Tel.: +46 36 15 77 00 E-mail: [email protected] www.jibs.se Emotions in Motion - The Strategic Leader in a Radical Change Process JIBS Dissertation Series No. 012 © 2002 Ethel Brundin and Jönköping International Business School Ltd. ISSN 1403-0470 ISBN 91-89164-32-6 Printed by Ark Tryckaren AB, 2002 Preface Some twenty years ago, I started my own company together with two former colleagues. There was nothing spectacular about this, even if at the time it was considered somewhat different for a young woman to do such a thing and also act as the managing director. However, the spectacular thing was that in forming this company we tried to do so by conforming to rules, regulations and current standards – but there was a lot of hassle on a variety of issues to come to an agreement. In those negotiations we all showed, felt and expressed a good deal of emotions. However, there seemed to be a tacit agreement that those emotions were not to affect our decisions about the structure and running of the business. At least we pretended that this was the case. As a professional consultant within the field of strategic and organisational change, I often came across a great deal of emotions among strategic leaders, managers and other employees. This was even more explicit in different change processes of the companies. Nevertheless, emotions were something one tried to exclude from strategic leadership.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Acculturation' in Relation to Diasporic Cultures and Postcolonial Identities
    Paper Human Development 2001;44:1–18 Rethinking ‘Acculturation’ in Relation to Diasporic Cultures and Postcolonial Identities Sunil Bhatia a Anjali Ram b aConnecticut College, New London, Conn., bRoger Williams University, Bristol, R.I., USA Key Words Acculturation W Cross-cultural psychology W Cultural identity W Diaspora W Human development W Immigrants W Postcolonial theory Abstract In this article, we reexamine the concept of ‘acculturation’ in cross-cultural psy- chology, especially with respect to non-western, non-European immigrants living in the United States. By drawing primarily on postcolonial scholarship, we specifi- cally reconsider the universalist assumption in cross-cultural psychology that all immigrant groups undergo the same kind of ‘psychological’ acculturation process. In so doing, (1) we consider some of the historical and political events related to immigration in the United States; (2) we question the conflation of nation with cul- ture that emerges in many theories of acculturation; (3) we use the notion of diaspo- ra as theorized in postcolonial studies to rethink the concept of ‘integration strategy’ as developed in cross-cultural psychology. Our article has implications for general issues of culture and self in human development, and particular issues in the area of acculturation. Copyright © 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel Given the fact that currently 20% of all children in the United States are immigrant children [Hernandez, 1999], questions related to acculturation and migrant identity are central to human development. Much of the psychological research on the development of immigrant identity has been studied under the topic of ‘acculturation’ in cross-cultur- al psychology. Scholars working with this body of research have been primarily occu- pied with developing universal, linear models to understand the various stages of identi- ty that an immigrant might experience.
    [Show full text]
  • ESJOA Spring 2011
    Volume 6 Issue 1 C.S.U.D.H. ELECTRONIC STUDENT JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY Spring 2011 V O L U M E 6 ( 1 ) : S P R I N G 2 0 1 1 California State University Dominguez Hills Electronic Student Journal of Anthropology Editor In Chief Review Staff Scott Bigney Celso Jaquez Jessica Williams Maggie Slater Alex Salazar 2004 CSU Dominguez Hills Anthropology Club 1000 E Victoria Street, Carson CA 90747 Phone 310.243.3514 • Email [email protected] I Table of Contents THEORY CORNER Essay: Functionalism in Anthropological Theory By: Julie Wennstrom pp. 1-6 Abstract: Franz Boas, “Methods of Ethnology” By: Maggie Slater pp. 7 Abstract: Marvin Harris “Anthropology and the Theoretical and Paradigmatic Significance of the Collapse of Soviet and East European Communism By: Samantha Glover pp. 8 Abstract: Eleanor Burke Leacock “Women’s Status In Egalitarian Society: Implications For Social Evolution” By: Jessica Williams pp. 9 STUDENT RESEARCH Chinchorro Culture By: Kassie Sugimoto pp. 10-22 Reconstructing Ritual Change at Preceramic Asana By: Dylan Myers pp. 23-33 The Kogi (Kaggaba) of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Kotosh Religious Tradition: Ethnographic Analysis of Religious Specialists and Religious Architecture of a Contemporary Indigenous Culture and Comparison to Three Preceramic Central Andean Highland Sites By: Celso Jaquez pp. 34-59 The Early Formative in Ecuador: The Curious Site of Real Alto By: Ana Cuellar pp. 60-70 II Ecstatic Shamanism or Canonist Religious Ideology? By: Samantha Glover pp. 71-83 Wari Plazas: An analysis of Proxemics and the Role of Public Ceremony By: Audrey Dollar pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Theorizing Has Dramatically Increased
    Cultural CHAPTER 9 Theorizing Another Embarassing Confession Like the concept of social structure, the conceptualization of culture in sociology is rather vague, despite a great deal of attention by sociologists to the properties and dynamics of cul- ture. There has always been the recognition that culture is attached to social structures, and vice versa, with the result that sociologists often speak in terms of sociocultural formations or sociocultural systems and structures. This merging of structure and culture rarely clarifies but, instead, further conflates a precise definition of culture. And so, sociology’s big idea— culture—is much like the notion of social structure. Its conceptualization is somewhat meta- phorical, often rather imprecise, and yet highly evocative. There is no consensus in defini- tions of culture beyond the general idea that humans create symbol systems, built from our linguistic capacities, which are used to regulate conduct. And even this definition would be challenged by some. Since the 1980s and accelerating with each decade, the amount of cultural theorizing has dramatically increased. Mid-twentieth-century functional theory had emphasized the importance of culture but not in a context-specific or robust manner; rather, functional- ism viewed culture as a mechanism by which actions are controlled and regulated,1 whereas much of the modern revival of culture has viewed culture in a much more robust and inclusive manner. When conflict theory finally pushed functionalism from center stage, it also tended to bring forth a more Marxian view of culture as a “superstructure” generated by economic substructures. Culture became the sidekick, much like Tonto for the Lone Ranger, to social structure, with the result that its autonomy and force indepen- dent of social structures were not emphasized and, in some cases, not even recognized.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Neuroscience: a Historical Introduction and Overview Nicholas O
    Unit 9 Biological Psychology, Neuropsychology and Culture Article 1 Subunit 2 Neuropsychology and Culture 8-1-2014 Cultural Neuroscience: A Historical Introduction and Overview Nicholas O. Rule University of Toronto, [email protected] Please address correspondence to: Nicholas O. Rule, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, [email protected]; this work was supported in part by NSERC 491593. Recommended Citation Rule, N. O. (2014). Cultural Neuroscience: A Historical Introduction and Overview. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1128 This Online Readings in Psychology and Culture Article is brought to you for free and open access (provided uses are educational in nature)by IACCP and ScholarWorks@GVSU. Copyright © 2014 International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology. All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-0-9845627-0-1 Cultural Neuroscience: A Historical Introduction and Overview Abstract The integration of cognitive neuroscience with the study of culture emerged from independent ascensions among both fields in the early 1990s. This marriage of the two previously unconnected areas of inquiry has generated a variety of empirical and theoretical works that have provided unique insights to both partners that might have otherwise gone overlooked. Here, I provide a brief historical introduction to the emergence of cultural neuroscience from its roots in cultural psychology and cognitive neuroscience to its present stature as one of the most challenging but rewarding sub-disciplines to have come from the burgeoning growth of the study of the brain and behavior. In doing so, I overview some of the more studied areas within cultural neuroscience: language, music, mathematics, visual perception, and social cognition.
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching Expatriate Adaptation While Dealing with Reality: the Impact of a Tragedy on the Study-Abroad Experience
    342 Journal of International Students Peer Reviewed Article ISSN: 2162-3104 Print/ ISSN: 2166-3750 Online Volume 4, Issue 4 (2014), pp. 342-350 ©Journal of International Students http://jistudents.org/ Teaching Expatriate Adaptation While Dealing With Reality: The Impact of a Tragedy on the Study-Abroad Experience Kenneth J. Levine, PhD University of Tennessee at Knoxville (USA) Sally L. Levine, MArch Case Western Reserve University (USA) Abstract This paper explores the relevance of the accepted U-shaped models of expatriate adaptation to students engaged in an international educational experience when they are faced with a tragedy. In this study-abroad course, an examination of the existing adaptation models and how they provide a set of expectations for the process of cultural adjustment is presented as course material. During a particular four-week summer program, one of the nineteen students who went abroad died in an accident at the end of the first week. It became clear after the tragedy that the models studied failed to explain the impact of a personal tragedy of this magnitude on the students’ adjustment process. This unfortunate event provided an opportunity to conduct a quasi-experiment to consider the impact of personal tragedy for students to question a body of research through their own personal experience and for scholars to re-examine and update the existing models to incorporate these findings. Keywords: International education; expatriate adaptation; tragedy; U-shaped models _____________________________________________________________________________ According to the 2012 Open Doors survey, 273,996 U.S. students received academic credit for study abroad in 2010/11, a 1.3% increase over the previous year.
    [Show full text]
  • Culture Shock-One of Common Problems in Intercultural Communication
    ISSN 1712-8358[Print] Cross-Cultural Communication ISSN 1923-6700[Online] Vol. 11, No. 8, 2015, pp. 72-75 www.cscanada.net DOI:10.3968/7399 www.cscanada.org Culture Shock-One of Common Problems in Intercultural Communication WANG Mingli[a]* [a]Associate Professor, English Department, North-East Petroleum body language such as messages on hand, face and body University, Daqing, China. movements etc.. All these can create confusion and *Corresponding author. emotional stress, dealing with the differences can be very Received 10 May 2015; accepted 12 July 2015 unsettling from which you may suffer from a feeling of Published online 26 August 2015 anxiety, everyone experiences the symptoms of culture shock somewhat differently, but there are real physical Abstract and psychological impacts to those people who just arrive Communicating successfully with people from different in a new culture. cultures can be a real challenge. Cultural differences may lead to tensions, arguments, and even wars between peoples and nations. This paper deals with one of the most 1. WHAT IS CULTURE SHOCK common problems in intercultural communication- As culture is the guidelines for our behaviors, we depend cultural shock, it introduces its concepts and basic traits, on our cultures. It gives us stability and security because causes and symptoms, stages of adjustment and strategies we know how to understand and respond to what is of overcoming culture shock with the aim of improving happening. However, if we move to another culture or intercultural communication competence for smoothing encounter people from an alien culture, our views may intercultural communication. clash with the different beliefs, norms, values and Key words: Cultural shock; Intercultural traditions that exist in those countries.
    [Show full text]
  • A Workable Concept for (Cross-)Cultural Psychology?
    Unit 2 Theoretical and Methodological Issues Article 14 Subunit 1 Conceptual Issues in Psychology and Culture 9-1-2015 Is “Culture” a Workable Concept for (Cross- )Cultural Psychology? Ype Poortinga Tilburg University, [email protected] I would like to thank for comments and debate on a previous draft of this paper: Ron Fischer, Joop de Jong, and cross-cultural psychologists at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. For readers not convinced by the argument in this paper, I may note that several of these, mainly young, cross-cultural researchers insisted that culture should be seen as something real, like the three blind men who are touching parts of one and the same elephant (see footnote 5). This should bode well for the future of the concept of culture and for one prediction of this paper: that “culture” is unlikely to suffer any time soon the fate of ether or generatio spontanea. Recommended Citation Poortinga, Y. (2015). Is “Culture” a Workable Concept for (Cross-)Cultural Psychology?. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1139 This Online Readings in Psychology and Culture Article is brought to you for free and open access (provided uses are educational in nature)by IACCP and ScholarWorks@GVSU. Copyright © 2015 International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology. All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-0-9845627-0-1 Is “Culture” a Workable Concept for (Cross-)Cultural Psychology? Abstract In this essay three points are addressed: First, despite repeated findings of limited cross-cultural variation for core areas of study, research in cross-cultural psychology continues to be directed mainly at finding differences in psychological functioning.
    [Show full text]