SUMMARY CULTURAL PSY CHOLOGY – 2024/2025
Video lecture 1.1 – What is culture? ....................................................................................................................... 3
Video lecture 1.2 – Content of culture .................................................................................................................... 5
Video lecture 2.1 – Methods in cross-cultural research........................................................................................... 8
Video lecture 2.2 – Bias and equivalence.............................................................................................................. 10
Video lecture 3.1 – Enculturation cultural learning............................................................................................... 13
Video lecture 3.2 – Culture, parenting and families .............................................................................................. 14
Video lecture 3.3 – Culture and temperament ....................................................................................................... 19
Video lecture 3.4 – Culture and attachment .......................................................................................................... 20
Video lecture 4.1 – Acculturation .......................................................................................................................... 23
Video lecture 4.2 – Acculturation and assessment ................................................................................................ 27
Video lecture 4.3 – Acculturation in context ......................................................................................................... 29
Video lecture 4.4 – Current developments in acculturation research .................................................................... 32
Video lecture 5.1 – The self and self-esteem ......................................................................................................... 34
Video lecture 5.2 – Identity and multiculturalism ................................................................................................. 37
Video lecture 6.1 – What is personality? ............................................................................................................... 39
Video lecture 6.2 – Non-FFM/weird approaches to personality ........................................................................... 41
Video lecture 7.1 – Culture and cognition ............................................................................................................. 45
Video lecture 7.2 – Culture and intelligence ......................................................................................................... 48
Video lecture 8.1 – Basic emotions ....................................................................................................................... 50
Video lecture 8.2 – Cultural influence on emotions .............................................................................................. 53
Video lecture 9.1 – Culture and health (general) ................................................................................................... 56
Video lecture 9.2 – Culture and mental health ...................................................................................................... 60
Video lecture 9.3 – Culture and psychological interventions ................................................................................ 66
Video lecture 10.1 – Culture and communication: language and non-verbal communication .............................. 69
Video lecture 10.2– Culture and communication: intercultural communication and billingualism ...................... 73
Video lecture 11.1– Social behavior ...................................................................................................................... 76
Video lecture 11.2– Culture and intergroup relations: ingroups and outgroups, prejudice and discrimination ..... 79
Video lecture 11.3– Culture and intergroup relations: intergroup contact ............................................................. 83
Video lecture 12.1– Cultures and organizations: Hofstede’s cultural values model and its criticism ................... 85
Video lecture 12.2– Cultures and organizations:organizational culture, leadership and decision-making............ 89
Video lecture 12.3– Cultures and organizations: working in diverse environments ............................................. 92
1
, VIDEO LECTURE 1.1 – WHAT IS CULTURE?
What have Henrich et al. compared?
1. Modern industrialized vs. small scale socities.
2. Western vs. non-Western.
3. American vs. other Westerners.
4. University vs. non-university educated Americans.
Definition of culture: culture is a pair of glasses that we are constantly looking through – a schema to
help us evaluate and organize information. This can lead to ethnocentrism: the tendency to view
the world through one’s own cultural filters (which isn’t directly good or bad).
How does culture develop?
Origins or culture: environment comes with demands for adaptation:
Climate
Resources
Population density
VB.: mensen die in Azië in de buurt van rijstvelden zjin opgegroeid, hebben de neiging veel meer op
elkaar te vertrouwen en zijn afhankelijker van elkaar. Daarom hechten zij ook meer waarden aan
groepsnormen. Als mensen komen uit een gebied waar graan wordt verbouwd, is dat vertrouwen en de
afhankelijkheid van anderen er niet of nauwelijks.
Example of theoretical apporaches: different greetings across cultures:
1. Absolutism: psychology is everywhere the same.
2. Relativism: underlying processes are different.
3. Universalism: underlying processes are the same, expression may be different.
Etics: universal psychological processes or behavior.
Emics: culture specific processes or behavior.
Clarifying key terms:
Society ≠ culture. VB.: de eerste geboren zoon is per samenleving altijd de eerstgeboren zoon, maar
per cultuur verschilt het wat de betekenis van het zijn van de eerst geboren zoon inhoudt.
Country ≠ culture. VB.: er kunnen subtiele en duidelijke verschillen zijn tussen regio’s, binnen een
bepaald land. Ook taal kan een belangrijke rol spelen, denk aan dialecten.
2
,Race: more of a social construction than a biological essential. Culture provides race its meaning:
racial differences are not useful for scientific or practical purposes without a clear understanding of the
underlying causes of the similarities and differences observed.
Racial categories have changed overtime, clarifying that race is not self-evident, but subject to social
construction.
Ethnicity: groups characterized by a common nationality, geographic origin, culture or language.
Ethniciteit wordt vaak gebruikt als synoniem voor ras, maar daar gaan bepaalde aspecten door elkaar
lopen: je kunt bijv. etnisch Duits zijn, maar raciaal niet wit. VB.: je kunt etnisch Ethiopisch zijn, je
religie is Joods en je paspoort is Israëlisch.
Question: Latitudinal psychology is a theory that suggests that:
A. Group differences are only driven by distances from the equator, and other factors such as
affluence do not affect such differences.
B. Environmental stress is the most when habitats are close to areas with temperate climate and
the least when closer to the north or south poles of the globe.
C. Distance from the equator can predict country levels of psychological variables such as
creativity, aggressiveness, life satisfaction, individualism, trust and suicidality.
Question: One of the most important thinking abilities that humans have unlike other animals is the
ability to:
A. Believe that other people are intentional agents.
B. Maintain social networks and hierarchies.
C. Communicate with each other.
Question: Which refers to groups that are distinguished by a common nationality, geographic origin,
culture or language?
A. Ethnicity.
B. Race.
C. Nationality.
3
, VIDEO LECTURE 1.2 – CONTENT OF CULTURE
Objective elements of culture: Subjective elements of culture more important for psychologist:
Art Values Theoretical framework: Hofstede’s cultural values
Mass media o Individualism vs. collectivism
Architecture o Power distance
Clothes o Long- vs. short-term orientation
Social media Beliefs Theoretical framework: Bond & Leung’s social axioms
Food o Dynamic externality
Music o Societal cynicism
Advertising o Religions
Eating utensils Norms Theoretical framework: Gelfand’s tightness-looseness
o Rituals
Texts
o Etiquette and politeness
o Tightness vs. looseness
Attitudes
o Opinions
o Stereotypes
o Prejudice
Worldviews Theoretical framework: Markus & Kitayama’s
independent and interdependent self
o Self-concepts
o Cultural worldviews
o Attributions
Hofstede: individualism/ collectivism
Most cited general framwork to classify cultural patterns on the country level.
Examination of work related values in employees of IBM during the 1970’s.
4 (classic) dimensions:
1. Power distance
2. Individualism/ collectivism: the degree to which
groups will encourage tendencies for members
to look after themselves and their immediate
family only or for them to belong to in-groups
that look after its members in exchange for
loyalty.
3. Masculinity/ feminity
4. Uncertainty avoidance
Now 6 (after 2010):
5. Long-term/ short-term orientation
6. Indulgance (plezier).
4
Video lecture 1.1 – What is culture? ....................................................................................................................... 3
Video lecture 1.2 – Content of culture .................................................................................................................... 5
Video lecture 2.1 – Methods in cross-cultural research........................................................................................... 8
Video lecture 2.2 – Bias and equivalence.............................................................................................................. 10
Video lecture 3.1 – Enculturation cultural learning............................................................................................... 13
Video lecture 3.2 – Culture, parenting and families .............................................................................................. 14
Video lecture 3.3 – Culture and temperament ....................................................................................................... 19
Video lecture 3.4 – Culture and attachment .......................................................................................................... 20
Video lecture 4.1 – Acculturation .......................................................................................................................... 23
Video lecture 4.2 – Acculturation and assessment ................................................................................................ 27
Video lecture 4.3 – Acculturation in context ......................................................................................................... 29
Video lecture 4.4 – Current developments in acculturation research .................................................................... 32
Video lecture 5.1 – The self and self-esteem ......................................................................................................... 34
Video lecture 5.2 – Identity and multiculturalism ................................................................................................. 37
Video lecture 6.1 – What is personality? ............................................................................................................... 39
Video lecture 6.2 – Non-FFM/weird approaches to personality ........................................................................... 41
Video lecture 7.1 – Culture and cognition ............................................................................................................. 45
Video lecture 7.2 – Culture and intelligence ......................................................................................................... 48
Video lecture 8.1 – Basic emotions ....................................................................................................................... 50
Video lecture 8.2 – Cultural influence on emotions .............................................................................................. 53
Video lecture 9.1 – Culture and health (general) ................................................................................................... 56
Video lecture 9.2 – Culture and mental health ...................................................................................................... 60
Video lecture 9.3 – Culture and psychological interventions ................................................................................ 66
Video lecture 10.1 – Culture and communication: language and non-verbal communication .............................. 69
Video lecture 10.2– Culture and communication: intercultural communication and billingualism ...................... 73
Video lecture 11.1– Social behavior ...................................................................................................................... 76
Video lecture 11.2– Culture and intergroup relations: ingroups and outgroups, prejudice and discrimination ..... 79
Video lecture 11.3– Culture and intergroup relations: intergroup contact ............................................................. 83
Video lecture 12.1– Cultures and organizations: Hofstede’s cultural values model and its criticism ................... 85
Video lecture 12.2– Cultures and organizations:organizational culture, leadership and decision-making............ 89
Video lecture 12.3– Cultures and organizations: working in diverse environments ............................................. 92
1
, VIDEO LECTURE 1.1 – WHAT IS CULTURE?
What have Henrich et al. compared?
1. Modern industrialized vs. small scale socities.
2. Western vs. non-Western.
3. American vs. other Westerners.
4. University vs. non-university educated Americans.
Definition of culture: culture is a pair of glasses that we are constantly looking through – a schema to
help us evaluate and organize information. This can lead to ethnocentrism: the tendency to view
the world through one’s own cultural filters (which isn’t directly good or bad).
How does culture develop?
Origins or culture: environment comes with demands for adaptation:
Climate
Resources
Population density
VB.: mensen die in Azië in de buurt van rijstvelden zjin opgegroeid, hebben de neiging veel meer op
elkaar te vertrouwen en zijn afhankelijker van elkaar. Daarom hechten zij ook meer waarden aan
groepsnormen. Als mensen komen uit een gebied waar graan wordt verbouwd, is dat vertrouwen en de
afhankelijkheid van anderen er niet of nauwelijks.
Example of theoretical apporaches: different greetings across cultures:
1. Absolutism: psychology is everywhere the same.
2. Relativism: underlying processes are different.
3. Universalism: underlying processes are the same, expression may be different.
Etics: universal psychological processes or behavior.
Emics: culture specific processes or behavior.
Clarifying key terms:
Society ≠ culture. VB.: de eerste geboren zoon is per samenleving altijd de eerstgeboren zoon, maar
per cultuur verschilt het wat de betekenis van het zijn van de eerst geboren zoon inhoudt.
Country ≠ culture. VB.: er kunnen subtiele en duidelijke verschillen zijn tussen regio’s, binnen een
bepaald land. Ook taal kan een belangrijke rol spelen, denk aan dialecten.
2
,Race: more of a social construction than a biological essential. Culture provides race its meaning:
racial differences are not useful for scientific or practical purposes without a clear understanding of the
underlying causes of the similarities and differences observed.
Racial categories have changed overtime, clarifying that race is not self-evident, but subject to social
construction.
Ethnicity: groups characterized by a common nationality, geographic origin, culture or language.
Ethniciteit wordt vaak gebruikt als synoniem voor ras, maar daar gaan bepaalde aspecten door elkaar
lopen: je kunt bijv. etnisch Duits zijn, maar raciaal niet wit. VB.: je kunt etnisch Ethiopisch zijn, je
religie is Joods en je paspoort is Israëlisch.
Question: Latitudinal psychology is a theory that suggests that:
A. Group differences are only driven by distances from the equator, and other factors such as
affluence do not affect such differences.
B. Environmental stress is the most when habitats are close to areas with temperate climate and
the least when closer to the north or south poles of the globe.
C. Distance from the equator can predict country levels of psychological variables such as
creativity, aggressiveness, life satisfaction, individualism, trust and suicidality.
Question: One of the most important thinking abilities that humans have unlike other animals is the
ability to:
A. Believe that other people are intentional agents.
B. Maintain social networks and hierarchies.
C. Communicate with each other.
Question: Which refers to groups that are distinguished by a common nationality, geographic origin,
culture or language?
A. Ethnicity.
B. Race.
C. Nationality.
3
, VIDEO LECTURE 1.2 – CONTENT OF CULTURE
Objective elements of culture: Subjective elements of culture more important for psychologist:
Art Values Theoretical framework: Hofstede’s cultural values
Mass media o Individualism vs. collectivism
Architecture o Power distance
Clothes o Long- vs. short-term orientation
Social media Beliefs Theoretical framework: Bond & Leung’s social axioms
Food o Dynamic externality
Music o Societal cynicism
Advertising o Religions
Eating utensils Norms Theoretical framework: Gelfand’s tightness-looseness
o Rituals
Texts
o Etiquette and politeness
o Tightness vs. looseness
Attitudes
o Opinions
o Stereotypes
o Prejudice
Worldviews Theoretical framework: Markus & Kitayama’s
independent and interdependent self
o Self-concepts
o Cultural worldviews
o Attributions
Hofstede: individualism/ collectivism
Most cited general framwork to classify cultural patterns on the country level.
Examination of work related values in employees of IBM during the 1970’s.
4 (classic) dimensions:
1. Power distance
2. Individualism/ collectivism: the degree to which
groups will encourage tendencies for members
to look after themselves and their immediate
family only or for them to belong to in-groups
that look after its members in exchange for
loyalty.
3. Masculinity/ feminity
4. Uncertainty avoidance
Now 6 (after 2010):
5. Long-term/ short-term orientation
6. Indulgance (plezier).
4
