Social Psychology vs. Cultural Psychology Social psychology and cultural psychology are quite similar. Both realms of psychology deal with the way the human mind responds to influence from the people around us . Specifically, social psychology deals with the influence of other people or their beliefs. Cultural psychology on the other hand, deals with the culture in which an individual grows up, behaviors that are encouraged or discouraged, values, or language/dialect. Either way in both psychologies, there are one or more people who influence the individual, be it through sharing beliefs or showing the correct values or behavior. One difference in social psychology and cultural psychology is the impact in an individual’s life. While both are
important, culture has a greater impact on how an individual will act or be like in the future. Your culture is a part of what defines you.
This paper highlights the life of one the most influential psychologist in history: Kenneth Bancroft Clark. He made many contributions to psychology, and in the process he empowered African Americans and black people in general to rise above social oppression. His research of the doll test contributed to the end of racial segregation in schools when the Supreme Court decided to rely on social science in the Brown v. Board of Education. Clark left a legacy, and the findings in his work are far reaching even to the Caribbean. In the same manner, the Caribbean that has a history of racial segregation has benefited from psychology in different areas. The information in this paper was gathered using secondary sources. The researcher discovered that
Culture can differ from society to society, however the way culture impacts humans is pretty much all the same. People are affected by culture from birth to death. The way people speak, walk, eat, learn, and anything else a person does is dictated by the culture they live in. Foreign cultures can be a wonder to people who have never came in contact with a particular society. In many cases one may see a culture that does not coincide with the beliefs of their own as negative or alien, this is known as ethnocentrism. To make sure ethnocentrism is not an issue in sociological research, sociologist go by the idea of cultural relativism, which is known as “...the recognition that social groups and cultures must be studied and understood on their
As the author M. F. Moonzajer says, “My culture is my identity and personality. It gives me spiritual, intellectual, and emotional distinction from others and I am proud of it”. One’s culture is what separates them from everyone else, but also can bring people together. Culture plays a significant role in the person we become, how we view the world and what we believe in. Every culture varies in a multitude of ways, and these differences affect the perspectives and opinions that an individual possesses. By being a part of certain groups of people and different ethnic groups, we are influenced in a way in which we are taught what is acceptable in a certain culture. Certain behaviors and social interactions are what influence us to view the world
Starting in the early twentieth century, Social Psychology emerged onto the global stage with a goal of explaining human nature. Social psychology as a science analyzes the cause and effect relationships between...
Nisbett RE, Peng K, Choi I, Norenzayan A (2001) Culture and system of thought: holistic versus analytic cognition. Psychol Rev 108:291–310
You are right that we may not realize how social psychology has played an important role in the things we do. The decisions and behavior a person has does help us to better understand others we interact with. Social influence plays a big role in social psychology in the way we are willing to react to one another by our peers, coworkers, and families. When working with people I think in any profession you would have to separate your personal feeling from your profession so you would have to be able to do you job. Your examples where great and gives great insight of how social psychology was
At the same time as the theory of Functionalism was developing in Britain; the theory of Culture and Personality was being developed in America. The study of culture and personality seeks to understand the growth and development of personal or social identity as it relates to the surrounding social environment. Barnouw (1963): 5. In other words, the personality or psychology of individuals can be studied and conclusions can be drawn about the Culture of those individuals. This school of thought owes much to Freud for its emphasis on psychology (personality) and to an aversion to the racist theories that were popular within A...
The following writing consists of my reflexion on a course that has meant a lot for me. This course was a cultural diversity class that changed the perspective I saw the different people and cultures that live in the United States. As a future psychologist, the experience from the course of cultural diversity will be of substantial help. This is because this course helped me learn important lessons about socialization between multiple ntionalities. Comming from a Caribbean Island, I always wanted to visit the United States, but there are not many different people or cultures where I am from. Furthemore, when I got to travel, I came to live in a city where many different cultures live and work together. This was shocking for me, therefore, I discovered that I had a lot to learn about what
Human beings are impact throughout the years by their cultural forces that have shaped their identities. However, people culture varies because, for example, the country that they or their parents originate. Nevertheless, there are always some forms of similarities among them. Some for example, are the foods they eat, the music they listen to, how they are raise, among others. As for me, I am highly impacted by my cultural forces, which as embedded in me by my parents’ upbringing, which is to get a college degree, stern words of encouragement, and how to obtain my goals.
Culture is an enormous part of life itself, but how much does it really affect one’s life? Culture is a part of one’s daily life, and some may describe it as just the way things are. People have different opinions on things because of their experiences when going about their lives. Since culture plays a role in how people act, it can tremendously influence the way a person is able to see something versus how another person see the exact same thing.
John, W. Berry, Ype H. Poortinga, Marshall, H. Segall, Pierre R. Dasen (2002). Cross- Cultural Psychology: Research and Applications (2nd ed.). United States of America, New York. Smith, E. E. and Kosslyn, S. M. (2009).
Cultures are a system of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. It includes a system of shared beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors. No two cultures are the same. We are living in a mixed culture setting where a wide variety of nationalities exist together. I interview my friend from class, Cynthia Wilder, who is Jamaican and compared myself to her since I am an Indian. Although Indian and Jamaican cultures are not the same, they share many things in common.
Social constructionism is a theory of knowledge which reflects the notion of everyday phenomena, objects, science and even reality itself not existing a priori but rather being socially constructed between individuals. Extending this argument, language is considered as the basic means by which social processes take place and reality is re-constructed (Leeds-Hurwitz, W. 2009). The following paragraphs will present the basic premises and assumptions of social constructionism, its historical multidisciplinary roots, a brief criticism of traditional psychology and the application of social constructionism in psychology. The main line of argumentation followed is that social reality and social phenomena are not fixed and do not reflect the character
Having different cultural and social psychology allows for different explinations of thoughts and behaviors. Psychology expains personal experiences based on what has happened in ones lifetime. Through these experiences, a person is able to develop the same cultural psychological views due to the social psychology of the area. If there was a change to a culture that added something new to the customs that were not included before, there would be a result of the new custom that would change the way the people of that culture would
Culture-based behaviors can be placed on a spectrum, individuals do not necessarily fall on one extreme end of the spectrum or another.