Cross-Cultural Psychology

I chose this picture because this was a tough semester, regardless of everything going on outside and in my personal life, I survived Summer A semester!

Part 1: Final Reflections

1a. After looking over my initial blog post, I’ve realized that I met and went beyond my goals for this class was to understand what the field of cross-cultural psychology is about and why this field of psychology is important. I’ve noticed at what point I found answers to questions I didn’t know I had, for instance, how can I use the knowledge gained in this class in a clinical setting. This question was answered when we completed the case study and had to incorporate the cultural background of our clients. For the most part, the tone of my blog post has the same pattern but as the class moved further along, I see the change in writing as it reflects more knowledge and critical thinking.

1b. After looking over the entries of my peers, I have learned we all have very similar experiences in life. We’ve had microaggression said towards us, we strive to be better as human beings, and we want to connect with others but didn’t know how or want to step outside our comfort zones to interact with those different from us. I learned that educating people that are from other groups will allow them to develop a different perspective so we all can begin to understand each other. 

Part 2: What did you learn?

2a. The most useful thing I learned in this class is the incorporation of culture in effectively treating mental issues as we practiced within the case study assignment. I found this to be useful as I am always searching for ways to relate the courses I take to real-world practice. This was especially useful as I plan on working with clients who’ve experienced trauma in their lives. I’m understanding how culture and family have a huge influence on the client’s treatment plan and what support groups I could gather for them to increase their results. Within this aspect of using culture to help clients, surprisingly the article by Duran et. al. (2008), discusses the envisioned that I would include in my practice. Since there is an emphasis on integrating culture in an individual’s healing process it is important to also address their spiritual needs and heal their soul wounds. The article talks about how the psychic and spiritual suffering further generations will face if it’s not effectively dealt with. Culture and the culture’s history can affect the present mental well-being of the culture’s descendants (Duran et. al, 2008). This an interesting and surprising thing to read as I assumed there was no research on this type of method, and I was delighted to see that other people have the same ideas as I do.

2b. The most upsetting thing I learned in this course came while I watched the video ‘The Difference Between Us: Race – The Power of an Illusion’ (2003). The DNA tests and the research of different racial groups was upsetting as certain individuals decided the fate of Jew, Blacks, Italians, etc. They determined that their race was the reason they deserved the consequences of hate. Racial identity, a social-political construct, was and still is a way to control people and who has power.

2c. Going forward, I can use this information to remember to remain aware of my bias and how my culture influences how I react and respond to others. I can use this information to challenge current individualist methodologies of treatment. Using this information, I can be the change I hope to see within the field of psychology by promoting cultural psychology and creating conversations surrounding topics relating to culture.

2d. Future directions in cultural/cross-cultural/multicultural psychology should include additional research on groups that do not primarily consist of white Americans. It should create a conversation on the benefits of using cultural psychology methods to help clients and identify ways specific to each culture that these methods can be used. It should also identify similar methods that overlap in effectively helping different cultures. Yes, psychology’s and psychologists’ responsibility to engage in social justice as it’s within one to the goals of psychology, to control/modify inappropriate behavior. There cannot be healing in hate, we need to actively identify social justice issues and work to create communities that do not enable these issues. These issues are also the main reason why people seek treatment, to be effective we must stop the problem at the source.

References

Duran, E., Firehammer, J., & Gonzalez, J. (2008). Liberation Psychology as the Path Toward Healing Cultural Soul Wounds. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86(3), 288-295. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2008.tb00511.x

Part 1: Reflections on individual differences

1a. My growth edge this week places emphasis on the learning of why. In the last module, we learned about the how. How minority groups are overlooked within psychology, how privilege impacts race, and how to be more mindful of our impact on others. This week’s modules gave us an insight into why and what continues to happen that cause minority groups and their inequalities to be overlooked in psychology. We also looked into why we identify with “our people” and then what social categories we also identify with.

1b. After listening to “The Power of Categories,” I realize “my people” are my tribe, they are like me, we share the same goals, and we like doing similar activities. My people are those that are spiritual, love traveling and trying new foods, and are dedicated and determined to change the world positively. I think others would categorize me as a black woman who is calm, kind, truthful, and very caring of people. I have been in situations where these labels have been too constriction. For example, people see me as soft, kind, and quiet. When faced with injustice people assume, I am acting out of character because I assert myself and get loud. These labels that people see don’t always fit me.

1c. When thinking about culture as a protective factor, I thought back to the text where Ayunerak et al. (2014), mentions how the Yup’ik culture believed that sickness, injury, bad luck, and misfortune have a spirit. The text goes on to mention how the spirit of suicide visited their tribe and they were able to overcome it by having the elders protect their young, in the same way musk ox's encircle their young. This gathering of the community with the same goal in mind saved many lives and brought the people in the community together. I’ve always believed we are stronger in numbers. My culture has empowered me many times throughout my life. It never lets me forget that I am a strong black woman who can do anything that I put my mind to and that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. My culture brings us together in times of need, similar to the Yup’ik tribe when the spirit of suicide visited them. My culture, at times, has been a hindrance. There have been things that I’ve done that are outside my cultural norm that has led people to look down on my actions.

1d. After reading the chapter by Bryant-Davis and Comas-Diaz (2006), I’ve determined that I don’t meet all the criteria for being a womanist. I do identify with love, spirituality, and strength as seen in womanists. I celebrate life through my arts, as I create art in many forms and through dance, as I’ve been a professional dance throughout my life. I am community orientated and my goals in life are always to unite people. I do want the wholeness and survival of the entire people but with that comes the issue of racism. I agree that the fights against racism and sexism are necessary and central, but I do feel at this time the fight against racism should be higher on the hierarchy. At this time in the world, black men and black women are being killed unreasonably, after fixing this issue we can then move onto the issues between man and woman.

Part 2: What are we not seeing?

2a. Whiteness is the result of having a Euro-American worldview and allowing this narrow perspective to shape lives. Whiteness is put on a pedestal and seen as the default standard. Whiteness is invisible because it adopts the denial of differences as seen in the study of color blindness (Sue, 2004). This prevents the discernment of discrimination and inequalities experienced by people of color. People are conditioned to attribute whiteness to the standard of which everyone should reach. People are even rewarded for remaining unaware and oblivious of their Euro-cultural beliefs. They also continue to lack the knowledge and empathy of how their actions may unfairly oppress people of color.

2b. My reaction to Sue’s (2004) statement was a lightbulb coming on in my head, suddenly dots had connected in my brain. I’ve personally wondered why white people denied their advantages associated with being White”, I now realize that one reason is due to the negativity associated with this. Sue mentions that white people live the illusion of fairness. This is the belief that everything is fair and just, and that people reach the top based on their merit and perseverance. They don’t have to think about their race and the system works for them. This claim affects people of other cultures because they are then viewed based on the Euro-American cultural standard. This assurance of being the superior group results in the group being unable to see, understand, and empathize with the experiences and viewpoints faced by those in the out-groups. This also leads to the lack of change for those who cannot experience the same privileges as those of the white race.

The invisibility of Whiteness has impacted my life as I often time have to code-switch. I think to myself that this type of behavior or speech is too black for this environment or group of people that I’m talking to. My culture is not accepted due to whiteness as seen as the standard of America. There are also times where I experience a lack of empathy, for instance, at work. Currently, protests are going on around the world concerning the death of George Floyd, my white co-workers don’t understand why these protests are happening and lack the empathy to understand why my mental health is negatively affected by this.

References

Ayunerak, P., Alstrom, D., Moses, C., Charlie, J., & Rasmus, S. M. (2014). Yupik Culture and Context in Southwest Alaska: Community Member Perspectives of Tradition, Social Change, and Prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 54(1-2), 91–99. doi: 10.1007/s10464-014-9652-4

Bryant-Davis, T., & Comas-Diaz, L. (Eds.). (2016). Womanist and mujerista psychologies: voices of fire, acts of courage. Washington, District of Columbia: American Psychological Association.

Spiegel, A., & Miller, L. (2015, February 6). The Power Of Categories. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/384065938/the-power-of-categories

Part 1: Reflections on race as a social construct

1a. Last week I learned about what exactly is cross-cultural psychology because before this class I could only assume what cross-cultural psychology really entailed. I also learned the difference between cross-cultural and cultural psychology and the history of the two. I also learned about the impact of emotional resonance in the fight against dementia. Lastly, I learned about finding a new perspective to overcome conscious and subconscious bias that I may have about another group. From there the learning ended as it was just the foundation to what I’ll be learning in this class. My growth edge is that the new module built upon how different and minority groups are overlooked in psychology. Module two also built upon how we are impacted by things that happened within life as we learned to access our privilege.

1b. My emotional response after watching the ‘The Power of Illusion’ videos was personal hurt as my ancestry included a native American tribe. All I could think about is the stories my grandfather would tell me of white man forcing them from their land and killing those who fought back and then later selling it back to them for a ridiculous price with enforcement of rules like the grass must be mowed on a specific day each week. The rules were similar to rules of the HOA. I’m also in disbelief and disgust that black americans were studied and were concluded that we would go extinct based of of flawed reasearch. Also that fact that people with negative characteristics could be blamed upon having black american blood. My analysis is that those not of the black race tried to justofy their hate and dislike of black americans by attemptign to prove that they are an inferior race who were nothing but trouble.

1c. My score was 105 for the privilege survey. I thought the survey included a variety of different situations and thoughts that I am in on a daily basis. This is useful for my professional trajectory as it provides me with information on what I am up against while on the road to becoming a psychology professional. With this knowledge I can better prepare for the future that lies ahead.

Part 2: Learning about critical scholarship

2a. The purpose of research is to use the scientific method to determine whether a hypothetical or theoretical idea has truth to it. It also has the purpose of laying groundwork for future research by creating a foundation on which future research and ideas can build upon. It can also be used gather more information on why certain things happen.

2b. My previous Research Methods classes did not address activist methodologies meaning we didn’t think about the problems faced by the participants. We didn’t include community input when conducting certain studies especially when the research studies in large part were determining and learning about a group of participants from a specific community in certain situations. I think this was left out because the class was primarily to teach us, as undergrads, how to create a research study. The aim of the class may have been to give us the basic blueprint on the start to finish of conducting research. Another reason could have been the lack of time to teach activist methodologies. For example, I remember us touching briefly on biases within research within my undergraduate Research Methods class and thankfully this was further expanded upon in the optional advanced Research Methods class.

2c. In the article written by Cole (2009), she discusses the need within research to understand and take into consideration that people are a part of multiple social categories. She notes that minority groups have been overlooked and/or excluded leading to those that are part of the larger category as a representative of the group as a whole. She then goes on to mention that there is a need to determine the role of inequality as research has the power to illuminate the experiences of disadvantaged members within groups (Cole, 2009). Lastly, she encourages research to determine the similarities and differences between those in groups that differ in social categories. This has impacted my understanding of research in general as this article makes it known that research studies are based upon a majority group and lack implications that could be used to help those who are members of multiple categories. In regard to participation in constructing research, I aim to allow for reviewing what groups are represented within the research. I would also consider the role of inequality as there is culturally deep roots that has shaped the participants in the study. Reading this article ignited a desire to create and conduct research with the questions presented in the article in mind. Focusing on creating a study that can be used to predict and explain behavior of overlooked group and also to find the similarities within groups to determine what can be generalized to the population.

References

Cole, E. R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64(3), 170–180. doi: 10.1037/a0014564

Part 1: Introduction

Hello, my name is Khadijah! I’m in my first year (3rd semester) of the Master of Science in Psychology program. My dream is to become a neuropsychologist for children and adults. I live in Florida also known as the Sunshine State! I work as a case manager for an absence management company. In my free time after work, I’m either cleaning, doing homework, or binge-watching Lucifer. On the weekends, you can find me working in my mixed media art journal, hanging out on my balcony chilling with my plants, and reading The Origin by Dan Brown!

Part 2: Reflection

2A. After taking this class, I hoping to understand what the field of cross-cultural psychology is about and why this field of psychology is important. I have never taken cross-cultural psychology, but I have always heard great comments about the course. I want to understand where this field is the understanding of cultural issues on behavior. I also want to know the different treatment methods that are used when treating people from a variety of backgrounds. I hoping to gain a new perspective and expand my psychology toolbox. I find that with taking different psychology courses I learn a new way to think and different methods to reach the main goal of psychology, which is being able to describe behavior, understanding behavior, predicting behavior, and modifying behavior. I am hoping to find a way to integrate this knowledge in my career and future research.

2B. After reading the article Why Can’t We Just Get Along, I picked up on its discussion of race relations and the different perceptions that lead to interatrial distrust.  This distrust is due to subtle bias, unconscious negative feelings, and negative beliefs (Dovido et al., 2002). I found an article where a psychology professor named John Dovido who studies social power and social relations was interviewed on his view of the era of president Barack Obama.  This article does a good job at discussing interracial relations as he further examines how having a black president has impacted the attitudes towards black people and the key psychological factors that shape this attitude. He notes that people saw an exceptional black person in office, and this allowed America to change their perception of black people due to new experiences with Barack as president. He goes further to discuss adverse racism as whites are more associated with positive qualities and blacks with negative associations such as crime. There is discussion of underlying negative feeling that whites have towards black people and how this shows in situations where discrimination is not clearly defined as wrong. Overall, my reasoning for choosing this article is it directly relates to the reading and it provides clear and concise information on the line of subtle forms of prejudice within interracial interactions.

2C. After reading the article on cross-cultural psychology’s appropriation of cultural psychology by Ellis & Stam (2015), I understood how the two were very similar and it seemed to be that one was stealing an idea and rebranding it. After diving further into the article, I understand how these two fields of psychology are different. For example, cross-cultural psychology has an individualistic approach, it determined that the variable, culture, should be included as it affects individual’s behavior but maintains the stance that it is apart from the individual and only influences behavior (Ellis & Stam, 2015). This subfield aims to see if the principles of psychology could be applied universally with cultural context being a factor. In comparison, cultural psychology has determined that culture cannot be studied separate from the mind as it influences everything. It explores how culture causes the psyche to adapt and change based on cultural conditions.

I subscribe to cultural psychology more closely because my culture has shaped the way I think and view the world. When we are able think about culture as integral in everything, we do there is less “culture-blindness”. Cultural psychology studies patterns in behaviors and how culture influences these behaviors within an individual living in a specific culture. Cross-cultural psychology studies patterns between various cultural groups and compares them in order to determine the diversity between the two and the universals that the cultures share. I choose cultural psychology in my thinking of being a counselor. To assist the individual, I would explore how their culture has shaped them rather than how their culture differs from another. I feel that finding the universal truth between two culture would be too general.

References

Dovidio, J. F., Gaertner, S. E., Kawakami, K., & Hodson, G. (2002). Why cant we just get along? Interpersonal biases and interracial distrust. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8(2), 88–102. doi: 10.1037/1099-9809.8.2.88

Ellis, B. D., & Stam, H. J. (2015). Crisis? What crisis? Cross-cultural psychology’s appropriation of cultural psychology. Culture & Psychology, 21(3), 293–317. doi: 10.1177/1354067x15601198