Cross Cultural Psychology

Cross-cultural Psychology

Elma L. Bunch

PSY/450

January 30, 2014

Dr. Angela Ramirez

Cross-cultural Psychology

A person’s behavior can be swayed by one’s natural disposition, but one cannot under estimate the power of life’s experiences to explain behavior. Many factors shape one’s identity but culture plays a huge role in how and why one behaves a certain ways. Culture consists of beliefs, behaviors, and values common to those that live around or among a group of people (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). Cultural psychology has a goal to find fundamental connections that link the influence from one’s culture to one’s behavior. Cross-cultural psychology’s goal is to compare the enormous diversity between different groups of people through critical thinking. Through quantitative research, cross-cultural psychologists can conduct specific scientific experiments to justify how culture affects a person’s behavior. However, when conducting research and experiments one needs critical thinking to help alleviate the possibility of bias information tainting the results of one’s experiment. Through the next few pages, the author will define both cultural and cross-cultural psychology, examine the relationship between the two, discuss how critical thinking is essential in cross-cultural psychology, and methodology used in cross-cultural psychologist.

Define Cultural and Cross-cultural Psychology

One might think that his or her genes only determine hair and eye color, height, and build; however, one’s genetic make-up can also determine one’s disposition and can describe in part one’s behavior. Since genetic make-up can only explain part of one’s behavior; any and all experiences also shape one’s behavior. According to Hatemi and McDermott (2012) “Genes influence behavior directly and indirectly through complex pathways of protein release and hormone regulation which in turn affect cognition, emotion, and other neurological mechanisms, and depending upon the specific...