Psychology of culture in the global age
With globalisation, it becomes increasingly important that we pay attention to the cultures of people, as one’s sociocultural context shapes and influences his/her beliefs, attitudes and behaviours in significant ways. In psychology, we approach culture as a research topic from various angles, starting from examining cultural differences (and similarities), focusing on unique aspects of a particular culture, gathering indigenous knowledge and understanding different ways of life. Different terms might apply thus in describing the field of research within psychology, depending on a researcher’s own perspectives, type of research question and conceptual frameworks- and much of these explorations have implications and relevance for disciplines outside of psychology. It is also possible to focus on the cultural specificities (e.g., why suicide rates are significantly higher in some countries than others?) or to the universals (e.g., are basic human emotions equivalent across cultures?), but equally, either of these approaches can be useful in understanding how the context shapes people and their psyche. In promoting intercultural harmony and reducing racism and stereotypes, such research and its outcome can be especially useful as it can provide us with the deeper understanding of how we differ in our thoughts and behaviours, going beyond just observing differences but providing answers and considerations for why and how these differences exist. In this talk, we will discuss some of these approaches and perspectives, reflect on the role of the culture as the macro social context, go over the main concepts and research findings in cultural and cross-cultural psychology and suggest ways in which we can achieve a more harmonious society.