Cultural Psychology by Steven J. Heine

Introduction

Table of Contents

Cultural psychology is a field which has flourished in the recent years with the creation of various literature materials based on the study. Cultural psychology studies ways in which culture influences the psychological thinking and process of cognition, reasoning, attention and perception. Much research on the field majors on the relationship between individualism and collectivism in a cultural dimension. This relationship studies the way individuals relates to the society they live in. through the studies, it has been established that there are two types of societies. The individualistic societies like those in North America are which individuals are considered to be autonomous and independent of others. There are collectivist’s societies which on the contrast integrate in the social networks they are in obligations and roles. In such a society there is a very narrow boundary between the others and the self.

Cultural Gender

Though it is assumed that there area equal number of women and men in the society or a given sector, but at aggregated level, the society is segregated along the lines of gender, subgroups and in media. The printed media, performing arts and journalism depict high level of segregation. Gender is highly influenced by the representation of sexes get through mass media and other environmental factors like family and childhood culture. Cultural psychology according to Heine (2008) influences how people think and perceive various aspects in life. Gender representation is influenced through environmental factors such ads family and childhood culture.

When one is born, the immediate family instills information to a child about gender. Such massages clearly indicate the role of the sexes. For example for a girl, she will be told to perform house activities such as cleaning and cooking. The boy child on the other hand will be given out door duties. These passed ideas get to be accepted or rejected by others. Childhood experiences therefore could have a great influence in how to define the gender concepts. The culture one is born in and raised enhances how the person will have gender views. The mass media has exposed various gender presentations starting from children‘s advertising, cartoons, films and stories.

In a recent survey on Ghanaian media’s coverage, it was found out the in a total of 6053 issues in the editorial news, 96 editorial frequency only was on women and female aspects the youth editorial frequencies was at 126 while the youth issues was at 115. These statistics were carried out between the year 2005 to 2009 (Human Rights advocacy Center, 2010).

This research was meant to establish the media coverage in Ghana in general based on gender and non gender issues. from such a research is can be evident that the traditional African Ghana society plays a major in determining gender relations and its consequences on women’s in decisions making, access to resources and other social difficulties. The success set up in the Ghana society is strongly patriarchal. Women since childhood have specified roles and duties to perform. They have no influence in decisions making process especially in political, social and economic aspects in the country. Generally women have limited options both by the specified set traditional roles and women accepting this limitation. The Ghanaian woman are psychologically affected in their perception , thinking and reasoning by the strong patriarchal societies they have grown up in. Therefore, they will be featured minimally by media house and publishing presses.

Emotions reported in the media

Steven Heine in his book Cultural psychology offers a broad-based research on the filed. He touches on topics such as emotions, relationship, motivations and identifies. He examines the every day living in various regions around the world to demonstrate cultural psychology which is closely related to the way we behave and think. Emotion is a combination of concept of desires attitude and beliefs but are bound within specified contexts are specific to culture and developed over history (Heine, 2008, pp 123). There are some emotions which are culturally specific. Emotions are important part of our every day living as well as how we think and treat about the emotions. An emotion like anger his not common to all the cultural groups in the world. For example the Utka Eskimos according to research by Jean Briggs says that they never get annoyed even in circumstances which can any us to respond with outrage.

This shows that it is extraordinary how cultural physiology even has an impact on our emotions. In the Utka Eskimos society, they were not socialized to get angry in any circumstance and that is why they are the way they are. Therefore the emotion like anger is ubiquitous cultural realism affects our thinking as well as our emotion (Jean L Briggs, 1963).

Another controversial emotion is love. The coming Valentine day, is a day to show love. Many countries in the world are acknowledging and celebrating valentines day but Islamic countries like Iran and Ukraine have banned valentine day claiming that it is beyond the Islamic believes. Each day according to Muslims is a day to show love and not only on the 14^th February each year. (Island crisis, 2011) this shows the differencing cultural psychology shaped from peoples religious believes.

. Cultural Personality topics reported in the media

Culture has a great impact on ones personality. This is because there is a close relationship between human behaviors and childrearing customs which vary from one society to another. Culture facts human nature according to Heine (2008), the theory of personality and culture is based on Fraud’s psychoanalysis in early childhood and cultural relativism. This indicates that because we are not similar in personality we have a society which is highly diverse. Cultural differences instill the way we thinking and cat which shape our personality.

According to the current media news about Egypt, a lot has been highlighted concerning the personality of the recently stepped down president Hosni Mubarak. His personality based on the cultural set up he has grown in, makes him to be an authoritarian and dictator president. He is mainly accused of delaying the changes Egyptians need due to his “cult of personality which has endured”. It is until the protesters have demonstrated for more than a week that the president as finally decided to step down. He strongly believed that the Egyptian people are barbaric and violent and they need a strong dictatorial form of government to ensure there is peace and order in the country. This perspective is mainly influenced by his childhood experience and cultural influence which could have been highly authorities and dictatorial. He has also been trying to use Hitler’s, Saddam Hussein and Joseph Stalin tactics to rule his people (Global realm, 2011)

4. Cultural mental health topics

Culture plays an important role in determining the mental health of an individual. Culture plays a role in treating and diagnosis’s mental illness. in developing nations a critical part is played by one’s social network in the recovery and healing of patients to live normal lives and not to be isolated. In the United States some racial groups have reported high rate of schizophrenia diagnosis that others (Haine, 2008, pp 443). Current reports have shown that there is a crucial link between societal factors and the diagnosis outcome and treatment of mental illness.

Recent news in Washington D.C post gave a story about woman from the Latino community at the Cambridge hospital hearing voices from the walls. She was diagnosed with psychotic and depression. The doctor’s diagnosis was however mistaken because the desire of the woman even to go ahead and want to murder her son was within the cultural context .This shows culture has an influence on distress idioms just like how symptoms are experiences by different patients( the Washington Post , 2005). Depression and psychotic conditions are highly stigmatized in various parts of the world and among some minority groups. Stigmatization therefore hinders patients from being mentally healthy.

Reference:

HumanRightsadvocacyCenter, (2010) Ghanaian media devote minimal space to gender issues

http://www.hracghana.org/newsdetails.php?newsID=14&ShowNews=Selected

Island crisis, (2011) Valentines Day Banned In Iran – Stupidity 2011

http://www.islandcrisis.net/2011/01/valentines-day-banned-iran/

Global realm, (2011) Mubarak’s cult of personality endures. Retrieved from

http://theglobalrealm.com/2011/02/08/mubaraks-cult-of-personality

On February 11, 2011

Heine, S (2008) Cultural psychology Publisher W.W. Norton

Washington Post (2005) Culture and Mental Illness. Retrieved from

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/06/27/

On February 11, 2011