Lecture note for cross-cultural psychology for undergrades.....

2. SOCIALIZATION
The process through which a
man develops into a social
being (Arnold Green, 1972).
Socialization is a long term
process that begins at birth
time and continues till death.

3. SOCIALIZATION
• Socialization is a lifelong social
process of learning cultural patterns,
behaviors, and expectations.
• Through socialization, we learn
cultural values, norms, and roles.
• We develop a personality, our unique
sense of who we are.
• We also pass along culture and social
patterns to our children through
socialization.

4. SOCIALIZATION
The lifelong
social experience
by which people
develop their
human potential
and learn culture

5. AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
The Family Peer Group
The School
The
Mass/Social
Media

6. Enculturation
• What is the difference between socialization
and enculturation?
• How is enculturation related to socialization?
• How are society and culture similar and
different?

7. • Society is different from culture.
• There are many cultures within a society.
• While members of society share many of the
same expectations and experiences, the
cultural groups create ones that differentiate
them from others in society.

8. Socialization & Enculturation
• Socialization and Enculturation are two related processes
through which individuals learn the customs, values,
beliefs, and norms of their society
• Both processes are important for the development of an
individual’s identity and their ability to navigate social
interactions
• However, there are some key differences between the two
concepts
• Socialization refers to the process through which
individuals learn the social norms, values, and expectations
of their culture.
• It is a lifelong process that begins in the infancy and
continues throughout an individual’s life.

9. • Socialization is the process through which people learn to
understand the societal norms, expectations, and values as a
member of the society.
• It occurs through the various agents of socialization(see
above)
• Enculturation, on the other hand, refers to the process
through which individuals learn the culture of their society.
• It is a more comprehensive process that includes socialization
as a component.
• Enculturation involves learning the beliefs, customs,
traditions, and practices that define a culture which helps
individuals acquire an understanding of the world around
them and their place in it.
• Enculturation is the process by which an individual adopts the
behavior patterns of the culture in which an individual is
immersed.

10. Socialization & Enculturation compared
Socialization Enculturation
Is a means to an end An end in itself
Helps individuals acquire the skills and
knowledge necessary to function within
their culture
Is about understanding and embracing
the culture itself
Often focused on the individual Focused on the culture as a whole
While socialization and enculturation are related and interdependent processes,
they are not always in sync. For example, an individual may be socialized to value
individualism and independence, but their culture may place a higher value on
collectivism and interdependence. In this case, the individual may experience a
conflict between their socialization and enculturation. Such conflict can create a
sense of cultural dissonance where an individual feels disconnected from their
culture.

11. Acculturation
• Acculturation - Acculturation is the process of learning about and adapting
to a new culture. Immigrants learn about the new culture, have adapted and can
function in it, but still retain strong components of their culture, i.e. food,
language, customs.
• Acculturation results when cultures meet and is changes in a cultural group or
individuals as a result of contact with another culture(Berry, et al., 2002).
• Acculturation is a process in which members of one cultural group adopt the
beliefs and behaviors of another group..
• Assimilation - Assimilation is the act of changing multiple aspects of one's
identity, including cultural identity, to blend in with the dominant society
• Multiculturalism – Recognizes that each ethnic group has a right to its
own identity, practices and culture, and the right to speak (and work) in
their own native languages. Schools include the histories, perspectives
and perhaps texts from differing cultures.

12. Acculturation Strategies: Framework

13. Acculturation Strategies
• On the left are the terms used for the strategies of
ethno-cultural individuals and groups.
• On the right are the terms used for the strategies
adopted by individual members of the larger
society, and for societal policies used to manage
acculturation.
• The terms define various locations in the
acculturation space.
• Individual and groups explore these various
options during the process of acculturation, but
eventually settle on one place as their preferred
way to acculturate.

14. Acculturation Strategies: Ethno-cultural Groups
• When these two issues are crossed, four acculturation strategies are defined:
• For non-dominant ethno-cultural groups, orientations to these issues intersect to
define the four acculturation strategies of assimilation, separation, integration and
marginalization.
• When individuals do not wish to maintain their cultural identity and seek daily
interaction with other cultures, the Assimilation strategy is defined.
• In contrast, when individuals place a value on holding on to their original culture,
and at the same time wish to avoid interaction with others, then the Separation
alternative is defined.
• When there is little possibility or interest in cultural maintenance (often for reasons
of enforced cultural loss), and little interest in having relations with others (often for
reasons of exclusion or discrimination) then Marginalization is defined
• Finally, when there is an interest in both maintaining one’s original culture, while in
daily interactions with other groups, the Integration strategy is defined. In this case,
there is some degree of cultural integrity maintained, while at the same time
seeking, as a member of an ethno-cultural group, there is a desire to participate as
an integral part of the larger society.

15. Acculturation Strategies: Larger Society
• From the point of view of the larger civic society other concepts are
often used:
• Assimilation when sought by the dominant group is termed the
Melting Pot.
• When Separation is forced by the dominant group it is called
Segregation.
• Marginalization, when imposed by the dominant group is called
Exclusion.
• Finally, Integration, when diversity is a widely accepted and valued
feature of the society as a whole, including by all the various ethno-
cultural groups, it is called Multiculturalism.
• The multiculturalism hypothesis is that when individuals and
societies are confident in, and feel secure about, their own cultural
identities and their place in the larger society, more positive mutual
attitudes will result.

16. Summary on acculturation strategies
Individual Strategies Societal/ethno-group strategies
• Assimilation: Abandoning culture of
heritage & fully embracing the new
culture
• Integration: Maintaining one’s original
culture and embracing the new culture
in a balanced manner
• Marginalization: Lack of or little
interest in maintaining the original
culture and embracing the new culture
• Separation: Holding on the original
culture & avoiding the new culture
• Melting Pot: When assimilation is
imposed on ethno-cultural groups by
the dominant group
• Multiculturalism: When diversity is
widely accepted and valued by both
the dominant group and the ethno-
cultural groups
• Segregation: When separation is
imposed on ethno-cultural groups by
the dominant group
• Exclusion: When marginalization is
imposed on ethno-cultural groups by
the dominant group

17. Activity: Compare and contrast Enculture & Acculturation
Enculturation Acculturation

18. Individualism vs. Collectivism(Revision)
• Individualism- Societal structure and world view in
which people prioritize standing out as an
individual over fitting in as a group member; self,
autonomy, independence, privacy, etc.
emphasized over group membership and
interdependence
• Collectivism- Societal structure and world view in
which people prioritize group loyalty,
commitment, and conformity, belonging and
fitting into groups over standing out as an isolated
individual

20. Culture and behavior: Three perspectives
Absolutism
• No cultural variations in psychological phenomena.
• Culture is not important in the explanation of the
development or display of human behaviour.
• Comparisons are made easily and without regard
to cultural factors.
Relativism
• All psychological phenomena are so embedded in
cultural context that behaviour in each culture must
be examined in its own terms.
• Hence, comparisons are impossible.
Universalis
m
• Basic psychological processes are common to all
human populations.
• Culture plays an important role in their development
and display.
• Comparisons can be made on the basis of these
underlying commonalities

21. Emic & Etic approaches
• These terms derive from linguistics where
phonemics and phonetics are distinguished
• Emics are local and culturally-specific phenomena.
• Etics are culturally-general.
• They are of two types of etics:
-Imposed etics- imported from outside.
-Derived etics- generated from inside.
• Both approaches are required to ‘gain perspective’
on a phenomenon (Pike).

22. Emic & Etic compared

23. Emic & Etic Approach cont’d
• Many cross-cultural psychologists choose to focus
on one of two approaches:
• The etic approach studies culture through an
“outsider” perspective, applying one “universal”
set of concepts and measurements to all cultures.
• The emic approach studies culture using an
“insider” perspective, analyzing concepts within
the specific context of the observed culture.
• It is also common for cross-cultural psychologists
to take a combined emic-etic approach.

24. Ethnocentrism
• The tendency to view the world through
your own cultural filters.
• Not necessarily bad or good

25. • The process of socialization within a circle of relationships, a
community, and ultimately a culture, results in enculturation
and ethnocentrism.
Ethnocentrism is defined as an attitude according to which
one’s own ethnic group is placed in the centre.

26. • Ethnocentrism is universal and built into all cultures’
communication systems and value orientations.
• Ethnocentrism may result in prejudice, discrimination, and
even ethnic cleansing.

27. • Ethnocentrism obstructs inter-cultural relations
• Ethnocentrism leads to ‘‘self-centered dialogue’’
• A higher level of ethnocentrism reflects a lower level of
intercultural competence (Bennett, 2004).
• Ethnocentrism negatively influences intercultural
communication and especially one’s motivation to interact with
persons from different cultures.
• As cultural competence increases, ethnocentrism decreases, or as
ethnocentrism increases, cultural competence decreases.
• Ethnocentrism, which can be conceptualized as a preference for
one’s own cultural standing or values can adversely affect
harmonious intergroup relations.
• It has also been linked to lower cultural sensitivity and can
increase out-group negativity (Logan et al., 2015).

28. Measure Your own ethnocentrism: GENE scale
Show your agreement or disagreement with the
statements(next slides) using the scale below:
5 =STRONLY AGREE
4 =AGREE
3 = ARE NEUTRAL
2 =DISAGREE
1 =STRONGLY DISAGREE

29. No 1 2 3 4 5
1 Most other cultures are backward compared to my
culture
2 My culture should be the role model for other
cultures.
3 People from other cultures act strange when they
come into my culture.
4 Lifestyles in other cultures are just as valid as those in
my culture.
5 Other cultures should try to be more like my culture.
6 I’m not interested in the values and customs of other
cultures.
7 People in my culture could learn a lot from people of
other cultures.
8 Most people from other cultures just don’t know
what’s good for them.
9 I respect the values and customs of other cultures.
10 Other cultures are smart to look up to our culture
11 Most people would be happier if they lived like
people in my culture.

30. Steps to compute your score
• Step 1: Add your responses to scale items 4, 7, and 9.
• Step 2: Add your responses to scale items 1, 2, 5, 8, 10,
11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, and 22.
• Step 3: Subtract the sum from Step 1 from 18 (i.e., 18
minus Step 1 sum).
• Step 4: Add the results of Step 2 and Step 3.
• This sum is your generalized ethno-centrism score.Higher
scores indicate higher ethnocentrism. Scores above 55 are
considered high ethnocentrism.

31. Xenocentrism
• Xenocentrism- When someone believes that another
culture is superior to their own.
• Xenocentrism means a preference for foreign cultures,
products, languages…
• It is the exact opposite of ethnocentrism-It is the belief
that our own products, styles or ideas are necessarily
inferior to those which originate elsewhere.
• There are many occasions when people seem happy to
pay more for imported goods on the assumption that
anything from abroad is better.
• In every society some persons reject their group or some
part of its culture.

32. Are you xenocentric? Check yourself
Show your agreement or disagreement with the
statements using the scale below:
5 =STRONLY AGREE
4 =AGREE
3 = ARE NEUTRAL
2 =DISAGREE
1 =STRONGLY DISAGREE

33. 1 2 3 4 5
1 I recommend foreign products to my friends
and families.
2 I tend to prefer foreign products compared to
national ones.
3 I admire foreign products.
4 I like buying products of foreign origin.
5 I value foreign products a lot.
6 I tend to reject national products.
7 I think foreign products are superior to national
products.
8 Generally, I don’t value products made in my
country.
9 Sometimes I undervalue products made in my
country.
10 Sometimes I feel embarrassed about products
made in ETHIOPIA when I compare them with
similar products made in foreign countries.