Cross-Cultural Psychology in Germany

Abstract

Cross-cultural psychology, i.e. the study of human behavior and mental processes under diverse cultural conditions, subsumes two major approaches, the nomothetic or etic and the idiographic or emic. In Germany, the bulk of recent research on cross-cultural psychology follows the nomothetic approach, with the universalistic viewpoint dominating, but there is a new trend to discuss the controversy explicitly and to work toward a synthesis of the two dialectic positions. This chapter attempts to sketch the historical development of cross-cultural psychology in Germany and its current institutionalization. It provides a survey of research on selected topics, including general and social psychology as well as developmental aspects. The chapter attempts to draw a conclusion and outlines the prospects of German cross-cultural psychology.