What is Cultural Psychology?
Differences in Maori and Pacific Psychology
Difference between Race and Ethnicity:
Race does not tell us about human behaviour, but ethnicity does e.g. different ethnic groups will often share a culture
Well that's weird?
.
W E I R D
- “The weirdest people in the world?” (Henrich, Heine & Norenzayan, 2010)
- WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic
- WEIRD samples, when compared to the rest of the world are often outliers
- WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic
What culture is not:
Similarities
To answer that, first we need to ask,
What is culture?
Culture is not a static construct, and is constantly changing with surrounding influences
It can be split into four categories
Deep
Nationality:
- Political concept; the country or state that governs an individual’s environment and social opportunities
Race:
- Traditionally, is the classification of people based on genetic make-up
Ethnicity:
- Classification of people based on shared geographical, racial, linguistic, national and/or cultural heritages
Facial expressions, gestures, body language
However, deep culture can also be unobservable
Concepts of self and time
Attitudes towards work, elders
Notions of friendship, beauty
Differences
The Observable:
(Deep culture can be observable)
Behaviours
Language
Festivals
Surface
The Unobservable
Food
Holidays
Music
Games
Worldviews
Values
Beliefs
(All surface culture is observable)
Maori Psychology as a site of resistance
Kaupapa Maori Theory as a radical approach to Psychology and a tool of empowerment and resistance
Pacific psychology is still
developing
Key points
In essence:
So there you have it.
Now you know all about cultural psychology, time to get tested
Strength based approach
Holistic
Positive outcomes
diversity of peoples =
diversity of knowledge
Positive
affirmation
belonging
connections
Cultural psychology
Presented to you by Beck's Babes
Cross Cultural Pschology
Maori Psychology
A few definitions to start with
This is Ellie
(except real life Ellie
doesn't have glasses)
She likes pressing buttings
that say 'do not push'
This is Anya
Her last name "Cropper" is
synonymous with failure and
anticlimax. We sure hope this
presentation wont be too.
This is Derrian
She likes Flossing
This is Saliha
She likes changing lightbulbs
and studying in elevators
This is Emily
She likes eating cereal
out of the box
Interaction of different cultures
And this is Hugo
(except hugo isn't bald)
Hugo enjoys long walks on
the beach and singing to
blind people
Mātauranga: Education, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, skill
Tikanga: Correct procedure, custom, manner and Practise
Whānaungatanga -relationship, kinship, and sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging.
- Acculturation occurs when someone crosses one cultural context to another and chooses how to connect their own culture and the new culture they are experiencing
- (response of dominant group to the individual coming into the new culture will influence this)
Key Differences between Māori and Western Psychology
A timeline to consider:
- Māori have a unique psychology
- Te Ao Māori (Māori world View ) co exists with mainstream views of New Zealand Society
- Ethnocentrism = the idea that an individual’s culture influences the way they view the rest of the world
- Their own culture is viewed as the norm and other cultures are seen as strange and inferior – the result of this is prejudice, discrimination and race
What is it, and why is it important?
Today
Treaty of Waitangi
(Partnerships, participation
and Protection)
There is
- over representation of Māori in Prison population
- poorer health , housing and educational outcomes
- Remaining gap between Policy and Practise
and a lack of
- culturally appropriate and safe services
- consultation with Māori
Different ways to approach cross cultural psychology
Western
Māori
Why does there need to be a change?
- Comparing different cultures in different nations (eg. NZ and China)
- Comparing different cultures in same nation
- Comparing the same culture in different nations (eg. Chinese in NZ and Chinese in China)
- Māori are dissatisfied with research conducted by non-Maori (experience and methodology)
- There is misrepresentation of information, historic exploitation of Māori
- Research often presented from a deficit position reiterating negative stereotypes, not beneficial to Māori
separate the mind and body, study cognition (and other psychological processes) without considering the broader picture.
focuses on psychological processes and cognition and how they are intrinsically connected to their wider physicality, to their bodies, spirituality and ancestral influences.
- Cross cultural psychology is the study of similarities or differences between 2 or more culture groups
- In relation to psychology this means we are looking at how cultures differ in the influence/affect on psychological processes
- Understanding differences in culture can help with happy intergroup relations and an understanding for different beliefs, practises and ways of thinking
Difference in cultures can be explained using the individualist vs. collectivist focus
interests of the group given priority
interests of individual given priority
Kaupapa Maori
take a look!
- Research by Māori, for Māori and with Māori
- Based on Principles of Tikanga Māori
- Challenges the Eurocentric views presented within psychology
- Culturally appropriate
- Māori-centred agenda: issues and needs of Māori are the focus and outcomes
The Research...
- gives full recognition to Māori cultural values and systems
- considers Te Ao Māori (the maori perspective) at every stage of the journey
- is a strategic position that challenges dominant Pakeha (non-Maori) constructions of research
Indigenous and Pacific
Psychologies
Participatory Action Research
- Works to acknowledge the contributions communities make to research (seen as co researchers, not subjects or participants)
- Research outcomes are based on change within the community, changing it from the inside.
- Influenced by understanding the history, culture, and local context and embedded in social relationships within communities.
- Empowering and leads to people having increased control over their lives.
What you need to know:
Pacific people make up 7.4% of NZ
• There are many Indigenous psychologies, including Pacific psychologies; not all Pacific nations entertain the same cultural values, customs and practices
• Pacific people in New Zealand have a median age of 22.1, the youngest median of all of the country’s ethnic groups
• Pacific people in New Zealand have higher rates of Mental Health Problems, substance abuse and others; however they have higher rates of ethnic pride. These come as a result of historical contexts
• Pacific cultures generally differ from Western cultures greatly; for example collectivist vs. individualistic, and geronotocratic vs. democratic
There are two frameworks used to understand pacific psychologies, here's the first:
And here's the second...
Te Vaka Atafaga (Tokelauan)
- The person is the boat.
- The mind, the navigator, guides one; spirituality is the sail, an unseen force also guiding; the outrigger, the support, represents the social side of one’s life; family is the lashing which holds a life together; the physical body is the hull and the environment is everything surrounding the vessel.
There exists a foundation (family), roof (culture), and four supporting beams (health, spirituality, mental, and other). The person is the fale and thus someone needs family as a strong foundation and culture to protect them from harm. The cocoon shape of the fale is also meant to represent the environment, time, and present context.
Also important in Tokelauan culture is the idea of inati, a value support system embedded in Tokelauan culture that ensures everyone is supported. E.g. If a mother is widowed, the community will ensure she gets enough food to feed her family.
Based on a fale