Cross-cultural psychology examines psychological phenomena in people from more than one cultural background. Studying abroad is a wonderful opportunity for deepening the understanding of another culture and at the same time learning more about your own culture. This course will provide you with a scaffolding for reflecting upon cross cultural experiences in an academic way. We will take the most influential ideas in cross-cultural psychology as a starting point and look at some cultural studies afterwards. Consequently you should learn about some principles of psychological research to help you with your own field study. In order to get some ideas we will go on an excursion, diving into another culture. We will then discuss some topics that have played an important role in cross cultural psychology, as they touch upon the underlying question of “culture specific or universal.” These topics are education, happiness, communication, morality and psychological development. Additionally you are asked to keep a journal of your encounters with Austrian culture.
P.S.: Don’t be afraid of the field study. It just gives you the framework for reflecting on another culture instead of analyzing it from a purely theoretical point of view.
Prerequisites:
None
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
Give an account of principle ideas in cross-cultural psychology;
Deal with the crucial questions in the field of cross-cultural psychology;
Appreciate the diversity and affinity of different cultures;
Compare psychological phenomena among different cultures, e.g. adolescence, morality and the idea of happiness;
Look closer at education as a cultural universal;
Bring important notions in cross-cultural psychology to life by relating them to their personal situation as students in Vienna;
Know in which ways multicultural competence can be enlarged;
Conduct a field study in order to test culture-related hypotheses.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, class discussions, group work, excursion, student presentations
Required work and form of assessment:
• For some units students will be given reading assignments. Copies of the required reading are on reserve in the library or provided on handouts.
• Students are required to conduct a cross-cultural field study. However, there is no knowledge of psychological methods required. You will learn about basic principles in this course.
• Information concerning excursions will be given in advance. Students will have to complete a final exam that includes questions on the reading assignments, the field study, the excursion and a personal reflection of observations and class discussions.
Class participation 30%
Field study (presentation and paper) 20%
Mid-term-test 20%
Final exam 30%
content:
Week 1
Introduction: the basic ideas of cross-cultural psychology
Reading assignment:
Matsumoto (2002) ; Mio (2006): chapter 1, pp. 1-32; Valsiner (2000): chapter 4: pp. 49-60
Week 2
Famous-infamous studies in cross-cultural psychology and why we should regard ethnocentrism as a problem in psychology.
Reading assignment:
Banyard & Grayson (2000): pp. 159-164; 317-322; Deregowski (1972); Gould (1982); Sternberg
(2002)
Week 3
Psychological research as a way to approach cultural diversity.
Getting a basic methodological framework for doing some light research yourself.
Reading assignment:
Banyard & Grayson (2000): pp. 419-450
Week 4
Excursion (TBD) with the aim of getting inspirations for the topic of your field study.
Week 5
Cultural differences and universals in nonverbal and verbal communication: social scripts; attribution and explanation, social representation.
Reading assignment:
Mio (2006): chapter 4: pp. 85-109; Wang (2002)
Week 6
Midterm test
Week 7
How is the human psyche organized by culture? Adolescence as a crucial arena for cultural organization.
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development – are there moral differences between Americans and
Europeans?
Reading assignment:
Crain (2004): chapter 7: pp. 151-173 ; Sunar (2002) ; Valsiner (2000): chapter 13: pp. 271-300
Week 8
Cross-cultural psychology looks at psychological phenomena in people from more than one cultural background. Intrinsically motivated behaviour as one example.
Reading assignment:
Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi (1988): pp. 15-35; Sato (1988): pp: 92-117
Week 9
Education as a cultural universal. Comparing parameters of education and their impact on psychological phenomena among different cultures.
Reading assignment:
Nakamura (1988): pp. 319-326 ; Stigler (1992)
Week 10
How to increase your multicultural competence. Examining your biases, prejudices and stereotypes. Reading assignment:
Brislin (2002); Mio (2006): chapter 10: pp. 263-291
Week 11
Presenting and discussing the ideas behind and the results of your field studies
Week 12
Final Exam
Required readings:
Banyard, P. and Grayson, A.(2000). Introducing Psychological Research. Second Edition, Palgrave: 2000; pp. 159 – 164, “Mis-measuring Intelligence”; pp. 317 – 322, “Why did the antelope cross the road?”
Banyard, P. and Grayson, A. (2000). chapter 20 Introducing Psychological Research. Second Edition, Palgrave; pp. 419-50, chapter 20, “Methodology: how does psychological research get done?”
Brislin, R. (2002). Encouraging depth rather than surface processing about cultural differences through critical incidents and role plays. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Crain, W. (2004). Theories of development. Concepts and Applications. 5th edition, Prentice Hall, chapter 7, pp. 151-173.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi, I (1988). Optimal experience. Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; chapter 2, pp 15-35.
Gould, S.J. (1982). “A Nation of morons”. New Scientist (6 May 1982), 349-352
Kohlberg, L (1968). “The child as a moral philosopher”. Psychology Today, 2, 25-30.
Matsumoto, D. (2002). Culture, psychology, and education. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture. Retrieved, June 22, 2009, from http://www.ac.wwu.edu /~culture/introduction.htm.
Mio, J. S. et al. (2006). Multicultural Psychology: Understanding our Diverse Communities. Boston: McGraw-Hill
Nakamura, J. (1988). Optimal experience and the uses of talent. In: Csikszentmihalyi, M. and Csikszentmihalyi, I.
Sato, I.: Bosozuko (1988). Flow in Japanese motorcycle gangs. In: Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi, I.
Sternberg (2002). Cultural explorations of human intelligence around the world. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Stigler, J.W. & Stevenson, H.W. (1992). “How Asian teachers polish each lesson to perfection”. American Educator, Spring, 12-20, 43-47
Sunar, D. (2002). The Psychology of Morality. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Valsiner, J.(2000). Culture and Human Development. London: Sage.
Wang, J. (2002). Knowing the true face of a mountain: Understanding communication and cultural competence. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Recommended readings:
Hewstone. M. (1989): Causal Attribution: from cognitive processes to collective beliefs. Oxford: Blackwell.
Gould, S.J. (1981). The Mismeasure of Man. New York: Norton.
Moscovici; S. (1984): The Phenomenon of Social Representations. In: Farr; R.M. & Moscovici, S. : Social
Representations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Frank Pokorn, born in Vienna in 1969, MSc in Psychology, MA (Teacher’s degree) in German Languages and Psychology and Pedagogics. From 2001-03 Lecturer for German Language at the University of York, UK. Guest lectures and publications in the field of psycholinguistics, gives seminars and workshops for teachers, teaches currently at a school in Vienna.
Cross-cultural psychology examines psychological phenomena in people from more than one cultural background. Studying abroad is a wonderful opportunity for deepening the understanding of another culture and at the same time learning more about your own culture. This course will provide you with a scaffolding for reflecting upon cross cultural experiences in an academic way. We will take the most influential ideas in cross-cultural psychology as a starting point and look at some cultural studies afterwards. Consequently you should learn about some principles of psychological research to help you with your own field study. In order to get some ideas we will go on an excursion, diving into another culture. We will then discuss some topics that have played an important role in cross cultural psychology, as they touch upon the underlying question of “culture specific or universal.” These topics are education, happiness, communication, morality and psychological development. Additionally you are asked to keep a journal of your encounters with Austrian culture.
P.S.: Don’t be afraid of the field study. It just gives you the framework for reflecting on another culture instead of analyzing it from a purely theoretical point of view.
None
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
Lectures, class discussions, group work, excursion, student presentations
• For some units students will be given reading assignments. Copies of the required reading are on reserve in the library or provided on handouts.
• Students are required to conduct a cross-cultural field study. However, there is no knowledge of psychological methods required. You will learn about basic principles in this course.
• Information concerning excursions will be given in advance. Students will have to complete a final exam that includes questions on the reading assignments, the field study, the excursion and a personal reflection of observations and class discussions.
Class participation 30%
Field study (presentation and paper) 20%
Mid-term-test 20%
Final exam 30%
Week 1
Introduction: the basic ideas of cross-cultural psychology
Reading assignment:
Matsumoto (2002) ; Mio (2006): chapter 1, pp. 1-32; Valsiner (2000): chapter 4: pp. 49-60
Week 2
Famous-infamous studies in cross-cultural psychology and why we should regard ethnocentrism as a problem in psychology.
Reading assignment:
Banyard & Grayson (2000): pp. 159-164; 317-322; Deregowski (1972); Gould (1982); Sternberg
(2002)
Week 3
Psychological research as a way to approach cultural diversity.
Getting a basic methodological framework for doing some light research yourself.
Reading assignment:
Banyard & Grayson (2000): pp. 419-450
Week 4
Excursion (TBD) with the aim of getting inspirations for the topic of your field study.
Week 5
Cultural differences and universals in nonverbal and verbal communication: social scripts; attribution and explanation, social representation.
Reading assignment:
Mio (2006): chapter 4: pp. 85-109; Wang (2002)
Week 6
Midterm test
Week 7
How is the human psyche organized by culture? Adolescence as a crucial arena for cultural organization.
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development – are there moral differences between Americans and
Europeans?
Reading assignment:
Crain (2004): chapter 7: pp. 151-173 ; Sunar (2002) ; Valsiner (2000): chapter 13: pp. 271-300
Week 8
Cross-cultural psychology looks at psychological phenomena in people from more than one cultural background. Intrinsically motivated behaviour as one example.
Reading assignment:
Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi (1988): pp. 15-35; Sato (1988): pp: 92-117
Week 9
Education as a cultural universal. Comparing parameters of education and their impact on psychological phenomena among different cultures.
Reading assignment:
Nakamura (1988): pp. 319-326 ; Stigler (1992)
Week 10
How to increase your multicultural competence. Examining your biases, prejudices and stereotypes. Reading assignment:
Brislin (2002); Mio (2006): chapter 10: pp. 263-291
Week 11
Presenting and discussing the ideas behind and the results of your field studies
Week 12
Final Exam
Banyard, P. and Grayson, A.(2000). Introducing Psychological Research. Second Edition, Palgrave: 2000; pp. 159 – 164, “Mis-measuring Intelligence”; pp. 317 – 322, “Why did the antelope cross the road?”
Banyard, P. and Grayson, A. (2000). chapter 20 Introducing Psychological Research. Second Edition, Palgrave; pp. 419-50, chapter 20, “Methodology: how does psychological research get done?”
Brislin, R. (2002). Encouraging depth rather than surface processing about cultural differences through critical incidents and role plays. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Crain, W. (2004). Theories of development. Concepts and Applications. 5th edition, Prentice Hall, chapter 7, pp. 151-173.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi, I (1988). Optimal experience. Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; chapter 2, pp 15-35.
Deregowski, J.B.: (1972). “Pictoral perception and culture”. Scientific American, 202, 64-71.
Gould, S.J. (1982). “A Nation of morons”. New Scientist (6 May 1982), 349-352
Kohlberg, L (1968). “The child as a moral philosopher”. Psychology Today, 2, 25-30.
Matsumoto, D. (2002). Culture, psychology, and education. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture. Retrieved, June 22, 2009, from http://www.ac.wwu.edu /~culture/introduction.htm.
Mio, J. S. et al. (2006). Multicultural Psychology: Understanding our Diverse Communities. Boston: McGraw-Hill
Nakamura, J. (1988). Optimal experience and the uses of talent. In: Csikszentmihalyi, M. and Csikszentmihalyi, I.
Sato, I.: Bosozuko (1988). Flow in Japanese motorcycle gangs. In: Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi, I.
Sternberg (2002). Cultural explorations of human intelligence around the world. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Stigler, J.W. & Stevenson, H.W. (1992). “How Asian teachers polish each lesson to perfection”. American Educator, Spring, 12-20, 43-47
Sunar, D. (2002). The Psychology of Morality. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Valsiner, J.(2000). Culture and Human Development. London: Sage.
Wang, J. (2002). Knowing the true face of a mountain: Understanding communication and cultural competence. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Hewstone. M. (1989): Causal Attribution: from cognitive processes to collective beliefs. Oxford: Blackwell.
Gould, S.J. (1981). The Mismeasure of Man. New York: Norton.
Moscovici; S. (1984): The Phenomenon of Social Representations. In: Farr; R.M. & Moscovici, S. : Social
Representations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Frank Pokorn, born in Vienna in 1969, MSc in Psychology, MA (Teacher’s degree) in German Languages and Psychology and Pedagogics. From 2001-03 Lecturer for German Language at the University of York, UK. Guest lectures and publications in the field of psycholinguistics, gives seminars and workshops for teachers, teaches currently at a school in Vienna.