Heine Cultural Psychology Pdf: A Review of the Latest Research and Theory

There are several universal physical features of attractiveness:Clear skinIt is possible that this is a universal physical feature of attractiveness because a clear skin indicates good health, making mating more viable. This is an evolutionary reason why clear skin is attractive.SymmetryIt is possible that this is a universal physical feature of attractiveness because symmetry indicates developmental stability, which is an indication for good health. This is an evolutionary reason why symmetry is attractive.Average facesIt is possible that this is a universal physical feature of attractiveness because average faces are less likely to have genetic abnormalities, indicating good health (1) and because average faces are cognitively easier to process (2).It is possible that mixed-ethnicities faces are more attractive because genetic diversity is a marker of healthy genes (1) and it is more average than a one-ethnicity face (2). There is cultural variation in the ideal body weight of women with smaller-scale societies finding women with a higher body weight more attractive whereas societies which have been exposed to Western culture more finding women with a lower body weight more attractive. People in lower social-economic settings find heavier bodies more attractive whereas higher social-economic settings finding thinner bodies more attractive. Body dissatisfaction and a desire for thinness are more common in societies with more exposure to Western ideals and high social-economic settings. There also is cultural variation in the preference for and kind of body decorations.There are two effects that can influence attractiveness:Propinquity effect (universal and powerful)This effect states that people are more likely to start a relationship (e.g. friendship) with whom they interact frequently. It operates through the mere exposure effect as higher exposure leads to familiarity (1) and easier processing (2), which results in people...

The present article will provide a cultural psychology perspective on the development of religiosity, spirituality, and secularism in adolescence. While the focus of this special issue of Adolescent Research Review is on adolescent religiosity and spirituality, this article will also address secularism because of its worldwide growth and the fact that it sometimes intersects with religiosity and spirituality. The focus will be on adolescent development, but relevant research with children and emerging adults will also be included.

Heine Cultural Psychology Pdf

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Culture is defined here as symbolic, behavioral, and institutional inheritances that are shared and co-constructed by members of a community (Goodnow 2010; Jensen 2015a). Culture is not synonymous with country or ethnicity, but rather describes communities whose members share key beliefs, values, behaviors, routines, and institutions. Of course, cultural communities include heterogeneity within groups, as scholars addressing cultural issues have long observed (Gramsci 1971). Variation also exists between cultural communities, including on their degree of heterogeneity and change over time (Weisner et al. 1997; Whiting and Edwards 1988). An important source of variation both within and across cultures is access to power. Power differentials occur along lines such as region of the world, nationality, socioeconomic class, ethnicity, gender, and religion (e.g., Abo-Zena and Ahmed 2014; Hammack and Toolis 2015; Kapadia and Gala 2015; Super 2010).

The articles in this journal issue present different disciplinary approaches to the study of religious and spiritual development in adolescence. Since the charge of the present article is to introduce the cultural psychology perspective, rationales as to why this perspective is necessary will be the starting point. Next will follow a section that describes key theoretical and methodological considerations when conducting cultural psychology research. While the key points of these first two section are germane to research with all age groups, the explanations and examples provided will focus on adolescents. The third section highlights additional important cultural psychology studies that have contribute to the study of the development of religiosity, spirituality, and secularism in adolescence. Suggestions for future research will be presented at the end.

One reason that cultural psychology is necessary is that humans have evolved to be a uniquely cultural species, capable of inhabiting almost any part of the globe (Tomasello 2011). Our large brains have enabled us to adapt to most environments by inventing new methods of survival and passing them on to our children as part of a cultural way of life. The less mature brain of the human child at birth relative to other species also makes for a longer period of dependency and for extensive brain maturation and learning within local physical and cultural environments (Jensen and Arnett 2020). Successfully surviving in vastly different environments, from equatorial Africa to the Arctic, requires the highly flexible set of cognitive and emotional skills afforded by the human brain and the ability to create cultural communities. The extent to which religion was a part of this evolutionary process is currently being debated, but it undoubtedly became a salient component of culture over time (e.g., De Waal 2013; Turner et al. 2017). Apart from adapting to new environments, humans have also become capable of altering their environments, such that it is no longer natural selection alone but also the cultures we create that determine how we live. In short, being cultural is a fundamental part of what it means to be human, and cultural psychology addresses this fact.

In lieu of one-size-fits-all theories, cultural psychology theories typically involve multiplicity. For example, they differentiate between multiple kinds of identities, intelligences, parenting styles, and creativities (e.g., Kağitçibaşi and Yalin 2015; Mourgues et al. 2015; Nsamenang 2011; Sternberg 1985). The differentiation between religiosity and spirituality can also be taken to represent a movement toward multiplicity, since it aims to better reflect the different ways that cultural groups and individuals believe in the supernatural or sacred or ultimate reality, and the diverse behaviors in which those beliefs find expression.

The broadening of moral development theory to include an Ethic of Divinity has generated new lines of research. Studies have shown that moral reasoning in terms of the Ethic of Divinity is present across many cultures, even as it varies considerably in frequency between cultures (Jensen 2015b). Research has also shown that some cultural groups use the Ethic of Divinity when reasoning about public issues where their moral judgments apply to everyone, whereas other cultural groups privatize this ethic and use it only when judging their own moral behaviors (Jensen and McKenzie 2016).

A cultural psychology perspective has implications for who is studied and how they are studied. With respect to sampling, the still limited amount of psychological research on religiosity, spirituality, and secularism in adolescence (and all other periods of the life course) entails a need for research with samples from all over the world. The role of culture, however, needs to be considered explicitly in the conceptualization and write-up of the research.

Conducting research with an American sample, for example, and presuming generalizability of results to everyone else is unscientific. Yet, it is an approach that has been common and continues to be so. Cultural psychologists who seek to publish research from the majority world are routinely asked by reviewers and editors to justify their samples and to explain the cultural context. Research conducted in the United States is not necessarily held to the same standard. Studies are often published that provide no justification for the selection of an American sample and no information about the cultural context. Not only is that unscientific, it misses an opportunity to adequately inform readers from different parts of the world about American culture or cultures.

Cultural psychologists differentiate etic and emic concepts. Etic concepts are the ones that researchers have formulated prior to going into a culture to do research, and which they now intend to use in studying a new culture. In contrast, emic concepts derive from the study of a culture. They are concepts that people in the culture use. While cultural psychologists may use etic concepts, the use of emic ones is necessary in order to achieve ecologically valid knowledge.

The types of moral reasons detailed in the coding manual for the three ethics have been generated over time through research with diverse cultural groups. As new cultures are studied, however, new emic types sometimes become necessary to add. Currently, for example, interviews with children and adolescents from low- and high-SES backgrounds in India are highlighting the importance of the emic concepts of dharma, an idea pertaining to the obligations of an inner self or soul, and paap, an idea pertaining to sin and divine punishment (Pandya et al. 2020).

In order to arrive at emic concepts, it is necessary for researchers to elicit them through their measurements and methods. This may involve having open-ended questions on surveys. It may involve ethnographic research. It may involve naturalistic observations aimed at generating knowledge of culturally-situated behaviors. It may involve using culture-sensitive prompts in experiments or interviews. In the interviews with low- and high-SES Indian children and adolescents, for example, they respond to scenarios constructed on the basis of local knowledge (Pandya and Bhangaokar 2015). One of these scenarios reads:

Cultural psychology research has called attention to the widespread presence of religion, and how adolescence is an important time for the development of religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors across cultures. Cultural psychology research has also called attention to the rise in secularism among youth, and ways in which their secular beliefs overlap with religious and spiritual notions. We now turn to a description of some of this research which, in turn, informs subsequent recommendations for future research. 2ff7e9595c