Cross-Cultural Psychology: Taking People, Contexts, and Situations Seriously

Abstract

This chapter explores the role of culture for human psychology. First, the history of this relationship is briefly outlined. The early conceptualizations were characterized by a holistic understanding and methodological plurality. This wisdom, however, was ignored for much of twentieth century psychology, when different perspectives with different ideological underpinnings prevailed-notably, cross-cultural approaches, cultural approaches, and indigenous approaches. Recently the field has opened again, setting the stage for the development of integrative views. Different challenges for the future are formulated. The careful conceptualization and definition of culture for empirical studies, diverting from the practice of comparing the needs of citizens of different countries is a necessity. An integrated conception of culture and biology is an inevitable next step. The contents of cultural models need to be considered. Finally, a developmental perspective on psychological phenomena is crucial. Methodological openness and plurality of approaches is needed for the empirical realization. It is concluded that psychology in general needs to be culture-inclusive to overcome the sole representation of a minority of the human population. © 2012 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.