Cultural Perspectives

Abstract

Over the previous two decades, cross-cultural research has suggested that many of the psychological processes which had been considered universal are grounded in particular socio-cultural contexts and reflect certain cultural values or models. The current chapter provides a definition of culture, introduces common themes that have been used to characterize different patterns of values and ideas, and outlines methods commonly employed in cross-cultural research. It then reviews evidence showing cultural differences in various psychological processes, including self-concepts, motivation, emotion, and cognition. Finally, it introduces processes underlying cultural differences in those psychological processes. The chapter highlights the importance of examining underlying processes at multiple levels through attention to proximal-level situational factors that bridge the gap between distal-level situational factors and psychological processes at an individual level.