Some dimensions of intercultural variation and their implications for community psychology

Abstract

This essay provides a framework for studying cultural differences and similarities in social behavior and their implications for community psychology. Culture acts as a schedule of reinforcement, thereby influencing what is perceived (perceptual selectivity), how it is perceived (information-processing strategies), and how the information is organized (cognitive structures). There are four dimensions of behavior that appear to be universal: association versus dissociation, superordination versus subordination, intimacy versus formality, and overt versus covert behavior. Research findings on these dimensions are reviewed within the context of the needs of community psychology to develop multicultural paradigms for research and intervention.