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Understanding Culture

Theory, Research, and Application

Understanding Culture
  • e-Book: 538 pages
  • Also available in Hardback
  • Published: January 2009
  • ISBN: 978-1-4416050-5-4
  • Publisher: Psychology Press

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This volume contains contributions from 24 internationally known scholars covering a broad spectrum of interests in cross-cultural theory and research. This breadth is reflected in the diversity of the topics covered in the volume, which include theoretical approaches to cross-cultural research, the dimensions of national cultures and their measurement, ecological and economic foundations of culture, cognitive, perceptual and emotional manifestations of culture, and bicultural and intercultural processes.

In addition to the individual chapters, the volume contains a dialog among 14 experts in the field on a number of issues of concern in cross-cultural research, including the relation of psychological studies of culture to national development and national policies, the relationship between macro structures of a society and shared cognitions, the integration of structural and process models into a coherent theory of culture, how personal experiences and cultural traditions give rise to intra-cultural variation, whether culture can be validly measured by self-reports, the new challenges that confront cultural psychology, and whether psychology should strive to eliminate culture as an explanatory variable.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Theoretical Approaches. Y. Hong, A Dynamic Constructivist Approach to Culture: Moving from Describing Culture to Explaining Culture. D. Oyserman, N. Sorensen, Understanding Cultural Syndrome Effects on What and How We Think: A Situated Cognition Model. Y. Kashima, Culture Comparison and Culture Priming: A Critical Analysis. C. Wan, C. Chiu, An Intersubjective Consensus Approach to Culture: The Role of Intersubjective Norms versus Cultural Self in Cultural Processes. A.B. Markman, L.R. Grimm, K. Kim, Culture as a Vehicle for Studying Individual Differences. Part 2. Dimensions of National Cultures and Their Measurement. M.H. Bond, K. Leung, Cultural Mapping of Beliefs about the World and their Application to a Social Psychology Involving Culture: Futurescaping. S.H. Schwartz, Culture Matters: National Value Cultures, Sources and Consequences. P.B. Smith, On Finding Improved Ways of Characterizing National Cultures. A.S. Tsui, S.S. Nifadkar, A.Y. Ou, Nagging Problems and Modest Solutions in Cross-Cultural Research: Illustrations from Organizational Behavior Literature. Part 3. Ecological and Economic Foundations of Culture. H.C. Triandis, Ecological Determinants of Cultural Variation. N.T. Tavassoli, Climate, Psychological Homeostasis and Individual Behaviors Across Cultures. S. Oishi, J. Kisling, The Mutual Constitution of Residential Mobility and Individualism. W. Tov, E. Diener, W. Ng, P. Kesebir, J. Harter, The Social and Economic Context of Peace and Happiness. Part 4. Psychological Manifestations of Culture: Cognition, Perception and Emotion. G.R. Semin, Language, Culture, Cognition – How Do They Intersect?. D. Matsumoto, Culture and Emotional Expression. E.J. Wang, N.R. Toosi, N. Ambady, Cultural Dialects: Nonverbal Behavior and Person Perception. A.Y. Lee, G.R. Semin, Culture through the Lens of Self-Regulatory Orientations. D.A. Briley, Cultural Differences and Similarities in Time Orientation. Part 5. Bicultural and Intercultural Processes. S.H. Ng, S. Han, The Bicultural Self and the Bicultural Brain. R. Friedman, W. Liu, Biculturalism in Management: Leveraging the Benefits of Intrapersonal Diversity. C. Sedikides, T. Wildschut, C. Routledge, J. Arndt, X. Zhou, Buffering Acculturative Stress and Facilitating Cultural Adaptation: Nostalgia as a Psychological Resource. R.W. Brisli, Theory, Critical Incidents, and the Preparation of People for Intercultural Experiences. R.P. Bagozzi, W. Verbeke, F. Belschak, Self-Conscious Emotions as Emotional Systems: The Role of Culture in Shame and Pride Systems. K. Leung, F.P. Brew, A Cultural Analysis of Harmony and Conflict: Towards an Integrated Model of Conflict Styles. Part 6. Integration and Reflection. R.S. Wyer, Jr., Culture and Information Processing: A Conceptual Integration. C. Chiu, M.M. Chao, Society, Culture, and the Person: Personalization and Socialization of Cultural Psychology. Part 7. A Dialogue: Problems and Solutions.