Cross-cultural psychology: what is it and why is it so important?

Cross-cultural psychology studies the differences and similarities in psychological functioning between groups of different ethnocultures. It is a psychosocial area that focuses on analyze how belonging to one culture or another influences us.

This discipline also studies the relationships between psychological, sociocultural, biological and ecological factors intra- and interculturally. Thus, the main objectives of cross-cultural psychology are the following:

Test psychological models and theories in different cultures. Discover cultural and psychological variations that may or may not be present in our own cultural experience. Integrate common discoveries to build a more universal psychology.

Furthermore, to understand cross-cultural psychology, two fundamental aspects must be taken into account. On the one hand, the basic psychological processes (attention, memory, motivation, learning, etc.) are common to all humanity. And on the other hand, culture is the source of behavioral variety that shapes personal characteristics.

Differences between cross-cultural and cultural psychology

Cultural psychology studies how Traditions and social practices transform and regulate psychological functioning. In contrast, cross-cultural psychology considers that, due to cultural experiences, there are predictable and significant differences between different ethnocultural groups.

So to speak, the first one carries out a study ingroup while, the second, does it in a type intergroup.

Why is this discipline important?

According to recent figures, there are in the world 258 million migrants, of which 150.3 migrate for work reasons and 68.5 forcibly, due to conflicts or human rights violations. Spain constitutes the third largest recipient of immigrants in the European Union.

Psychology was born and developed adopting as a reference the perspective of Western culture. This led, in cases of studies of cultures with patterns different from Western ones, to erroneous interpretations or perspectives in the research.

One of the factors that makes cross-cultural psychology a relevant component of human knowledge is, given this, the possibility of relativizing and normalizing psychosocial patterns different from ourswhen these differences occur due to the mere fact of being different ethnocultures.

Implications of cross-cultural psychology findings

Today, we have a relatively extensive knowledge of what a person’s culture affects at an individual leveland about the adaptation processes of an individual as a natural mechanism.

Therefore, in the face of the migrant world in which we live, and from a humanistic and integrative perspective, we must take into account certain cross-cultural aspects in clinical practice. For example:

About the patient

Between the characteristics of the patient, in view of an evaluation or intervention psychological, we must consider:

Ethnicity

The ethnicity refers to a group of common nationality, religion or history. The differences between different ethnicities help us to understand how people experience certain experiences differentially. For example: people of Gypsy ethnicity do not experience death in the same way as a person of German ethnicity.

Language

He language It affects everything from the possibility of interpersonal understanding, through the interpretation of different meanings, to the adaptation of evaluation tests. Thus, to work with people with a different language, it is important to master that other languageor go to an interpreter.

Acculturation

The acculturation It is the process by which the person adapts, integrates or conforms to a new culture. In this process it is essential to take into account why the subject abandoned his culture, feelings towards the new cultureand also whether the change is voluntary or forced.

Cultural experience

Consider what ethnicity is found in each culture, gives us valuable information about how the person may be experiencing that culture. For example, a Hispanic in Miami will not have the same experience as a Hispanic in England.

Testing domain

This point is especially important in the case of neuropsychological evaluation. Not all cultures have trained people to be efficient at the same types of cognitive tasks. In this way, we cannot treat the same, for example, the speed in executing a task regardless of culture.

Racial socialization or stereotypical treatment

Some ethnicities or races suffer from stereotypes about their abilities, beliefs and feelings. These ideas must be considered in any evaluation or intervention, as they can partly determine the behavior, attitude and performance of patients.

About evaluation instruments

Construct validity

Many instruments have been made under the assumption of being free of cultural influence. However, the reality is that not only are skills influenced by culture but, Through education, the culture itself “teaches” what skills are relevant and when and how they should be acquired.

Besides, psychological constructs do not manifest themselves in the same way in different cultures -for example, as occurs with the feeling of guilt in people from a Christian culture compared to a Buddhist culture.

Standardized scores

In relation to the previous section, it is of utmost importance to develop and use validated and scaled tests in the cultural population being served; The average results obtained on a sample from one culture are not applicable to samples from different cultures.

About the professional

Equally or more important are the aspects that a professional should take into account about oneself. Among them, we highlight the following:

Be aware of your own beliefs and assumptions about stereotypesvalues ​​and human behavior, and how these can negatively affect psychological praxis. Make an effort to understand patients’ point of view culturally different.

Furthermore, it is important that the professional knows how to commit and make an effort to carry out sensitive clinical practice, and with the appropriate communication instruments and skills, to work with culturally diverse populations.

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