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Cross-cultural psychology: what is it and why is it so important?
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Cross-cultural psychology studies the differences and similarities in psychological functioning between groups of different ethnocultural backgrounds. It is a psychosocial area that focuses on analyzing how belonging to one culture or another influences us.
This discipline also studies the relationships between psychological, sociocultural, biological and ecological factors within and across cultures. Thus, the main objectives of cross-cultural psychology are the following:
To test psychological models and theories in different cultures.
To discover cultural and psychological variations that may or may not be present in our own cultural experience.
To integrate common discoveries to build a more universal psychology.
Furthermore, in order to understand cross-cultural psychology, two fundamental aspects must be taken into account. On the one hand, the basic psychological processes (attention, memory, motivation, learning, etc.) are common to all mankind. On the other hand, culture is the source of the behavioral variety that shapes personal characteristics.
"All cultures, in one way or another, reflect common human needs."
-Bronislaw Malinowski
Differences between cross-cultural and cultural psychologyCultural psychology studies how social traditions and practices transform and regulate psychological functioning. In contrast, cross-cultural psychology considers that, because of cultural experiences, there are predictable and significant differences between distinct ethnocultural groups.
The former, so to speak, is an endogroup study, while the latter is an intergroup study.
Why is this discipline important?
According to recent figures, there are 258 million migrants in the world, of whom 150.3 million migrate for labor reasons and 68.5 million are forced migrants, due to conflicts or human rights violations. Spain is the third largest recipient of immigrants in the European Union.
Psychology was born and developed adopting the perspective of Western culture as a reference. This led, in cases of studies of cultures with patterns different from Western ones, to erroneous interpretations or perspectives in research.
An example of this is that, around the time of World War I, it was claimed that African-Americans were less intelligent.
One of the factors that makes cross-cultural psychology a relevant component of human knowledge is, in this regard, the possibility of relativizing and normalizing psychosocial patterns different from our own, when these differences are due to the mere fact of being different ethnocultures.
Implications of the findings of cross-cultural psychologyToday, we have a relatively extensive knowledge of the impact of a person's culture on an individual level, and of the adaptation processes of an individual as a natural mechanism.
Therefore, in view of the migrant world in which we live, and from a humanistic and integrative perspective, we must take into account certain transcultural aspects in clinical practice. For example:
About the patientAmong the patient's characteristics, in the face of a psychological evaluation or intervention, we must consider:
EthnicityEthnicity refers to a group with a common nationality, religion or history. The differences between different ethnicities help us to understand how people experience certain things differently. For example: people of Gypsy ethnicity do not experience death in the same way as a person of Germanic ethnicity.
LanguageLanguage affects everything from the possibility of interpersonal understanding, to the interpretation of different meanings, to the adaptation of assessment tests. Therefore, in order to work with people with a different language, it is important to have a good command of the other language or to use an interpreter.
Acculturation Acculturation is the process by which a person adapts, integrates or conforms to a new culture. In this process it is fundamental to take into account why the subject left his or her culture, the feelings towards the new culture, and also whether the change is voluntary or forced.
Cultural experienceTaking into account what ethnicity is found in each culture gives us valuable information about how the person may be experiencing that culture. For example, a Hispanic in Miami will not have the same experience as a Hispanic in England.
Test proficiencyThis point is especially important in the case of neuropsychological assessment. Not all cultures have trained people to be efficient in the same type of cognitive tasks. Thus, we cannot treat, for example, speed in executing a task the same regardless of culture.
Racial socialization or stereotypical treatment
Some ethnicities or races suffer from stereotypes about their abilities, beliefs and feelings. These ideas need to be considered in any assessment or intervention, as they may determine in part the behavior, attitude and performance of patients.
On assessment instrumentsConstruct validityMany instruments have been developed under the assumption that they are free of cultural influence. However, the reality is that not only are skills influenced by culture but, through education, culture itself "teaches" which skills are relevant and when and how they should be acquired.
Moreover, psychological constructs do not manifest themselves in the same way in different cultures - for example, as is the case with guilt in people from a Christian versus a Buddhist culture.
In relation to the previous section, it is of utmost importance to develop and use validated and standardized tests in the cultural population being served; average scores obtained on a sample from one culture are not applicable to samples from different cultures.
About the professionalEqually or more important are the aspects that a professional must take into account about himself/herself. Among them, we highlight the following:
Being aware of one's own beliefs and assumptions about stereotypes, values, and human behavior, and how these can negatively affect psychological praxis.
Make an effort to understand the point of view of culturally different patients.
In addition, it is important that the professional knows how to engage and strive for a sensitive clinical practice, and with the appropriate communication tools and skills, to work with culturally diverse populations.
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發表於 2022-2-4 17:55:45
