Contradictions in Counter-Intuitive Beliefs and Naïve Dialecticism

AbstractIn an article aimed at complementing Boyer and Sperber's (relatively structural) views of counter-intuitive concepts and their robustness in the religious domain, Franks (2003) has recently drawn attention to the fact that the tolerance of such conflict or contradiction appears to be less domain-specific in some cultures, such as those found in East Asia. This paper follows up on this important point by highlighting the similarities and differences of the tolerance for contradictions evident in East Asian 'naïve dialecticism' and nonnatural religious representations. It is argued that, despite their dissimilarity with respect to the content represented, both types of tolerances may be structurally similar. Both could also be anchored in intuition, albeit in qualitatively different ways. Given the general tolerance of psychological contradiction among persons of East Asian cultures and the potential role of religion, the question whether there is a place for the study of 'tolerance of contradiction' in cross-cultural psychology and cognitive anthropology is raised.

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Proculturation: Self-reconstruction by making “fusion cocktails” of alien and familiar meanings

Culture & Psychology ◽

10.1177/1354067x19829020 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 161-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Vladimer Lado Gamsakhurdia

Keyword(s):

Cross Cultural Psychology ◽

Cultural Psychology ◽

Real Life ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Global Culture ◽

Mental Processes ◽

The Creation ◽

Temporal Dimensions

This paper considers mental processes unfolding during humans’ movement in a foreign environment and aims to overcome theoretical discrepancies concerning culture and acculturation between sociocultural anthropology and cross-cultural psychology under the frame of cultural psychology. I propose to perceive culture as a multi-self-centered semiotic field, which is populated by signs and meanings, necessarily emphasizing its heterogeneity and incoherence. Cultures have hazy boundaries and are embedded into the wider web of meanings. In fact, there is one big global culture and all humans are involved in mediating it through intersubjective interactions. Further, the term proculturation is used to fill the gaps left by mainstream acculturation research, which has been mainly oriented on measuring ontologized trait-like characteristics in terms of bidimensional mechanic relationship between cultures and related correlations. Namely, proculturation specifically reflects real-life human experiences and the role of (inter)subjectivity in the process of adaptation in emigration or elsewhere in any unfamiliar environment. Most importantly proculturation implies triadic semiotic relations and the possibility of the creation of novel fusions of meanings, by mixing various ingredients in the process of mediation between familiar and unfamiliar ideas and experiences. Proculturation is catalytically conditioned by references to temporal dimensions and essentially is ever-continuing process.

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International Aid as Modern Imperialism—What Does Cross-Cultural Psychology Really Have to Offer? A Commentary on “The Positive Role of Culture: What Cross-Cultural Psychology Has to Offer to Developmental Aid Effectiveness Research, by Symen A. Brouwers”

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology ◽

10.1177/0022022118768428 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 545-553 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Brien K. Ashdown ◽

Marilyn Buck

Keyword(s):

Cross Cultural Psychology ◽

Cultural Psychology ◽

International Aid ◽

Aid Effectiveness ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Effectiveness Research ◽

Primary Concern ◽

Positive Role ◽

Cultural Appropriateness

In his article, Brouwers argues that cross-cultural psychologists (CCPs; a term he uses to include cultural psychologists and indigenous psychologists) should be a resource for agencies and organizations that engage in international and developmental aid. His argument is that CCPs can help these agencies and organizations ensure that their interventions become “entrenched”—meaning they become long-lasting aspects of life in the communities receiving the aid. We agree with Brouwers that CCPs can and should be more involved with international aid organizations. However, we argue that CCPs’ primary concern should be ensuring the ethical and cultural appropriateness of the ways in which the aid organizations interact with recipient communities. We believe this can only happen when indigenous psychologists are involved in the intervention in ways that ensure recipient communities are fully engaged with any aid-based intervention. We highlight our argument by utilizing some preliminary analyses from a related project we recently completed in Guatemala.

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Cross-Cultural Factors and Identity in Adolescence

International Perspectives in Values-Based Mental Health Practice ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-47852-0_16 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 139-147

Author(s):

Vanya Matanova ◽

Anna Hristova

Keyword(s):

Cross Cultural Psychology ◽

Family Therapy ◽

Cultural Psychology ◽

Cultural Factors ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Female Adolescent ◽

Early Child Development ◽

Mixed Marriage ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe story of 13-year-old B, a female adolescent with self-harming behavior, and her father and other family members, shows the importance and impact of multicultural factors both in early child development and in establishing identity in adolescence. Born from a mixed marriage between an English mother and a Bulgarian father, B experiences a series of traumatic separations arising from clashes between the expectations and values of her parents’ respective cultures. Presented in a series of distinct episodes, B’s story illustrates the impact of the values conflicts arising in the context of our increasingly multicultural society, and the role of cross-cultural psychology in values-informed family therapy aimed at addressing such conflicts.

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