Cross-cultural Psychology

Course Description

Summary

In this course, we will carefully consider the ways in which certain cultural practices and ideologies shape individual psychology. Using a comparative lens, we will explore how people’s sense of self and identity differ in individualistic compared to collectivist cultures. How do differences in cultural codes associate with differences in thinking styles, emotional expression, and sense of agency? We will use a sociocultural approach to examine how child development and learning differ across cultural communities (e.g., Mexico, United States, Madagascar and China). We will consider the ways in which different languages (grammar and words) shape speakers’ worldviews (i.e. Sapir–Whorf hypothesis). Students will complete a term project focused on immigrant, refugee or cosmopolitan identity and processes of acculturation.  As part of this research, students will become familiar with basic statistical methods in the social sciences. In the context of an increasingly transnational and globalized world, students in this class will become even more proficient in cross-cultural engagement.