Methodology of Cultural Psychology

Nov 3, 2024

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In both the chapter and the article, the main concern was about methodological issues and ways to reduce them. These problems primarily occur in four main areas: causation, operationalization, sampling, and interpretation. In cross-cultural studies, these challenges are often amplified. For example, sampling in cross-cultural contexts must consider the diversity within cultures to avoid overgeneralization.

I am familiar with some methodological challenges, as I presented an hour long presentation on the article “Cognition does not affect perception: Evaluating the evidence for top-down effects” in the perception class I took. Even in well-defined topics like perception, there can be numerous methodological discussions and the article I presented focused on criticizing methodological issues in cognition and perception, with peer discussions extending to 72 pages. That article emphasized the importance of methodology for me, so especially in cross-cultural studies issues are prone to being even more significant and numerous.

One intriguing part was about how cultural practices are not always optimal. We see this today in many customs and rituals. Traditional medicine, for instance, is one area where modern medicine is often a better choice, yet many elderly people prefer traditional methods first due to customs originating from a time without modern medicine. Arranged marriages and perhaps dowries are other examples of customs that persist beyond practicality. There are even many customs that persists despite the shift in religion or environment. Numerous pagan rituals kept on going with Christianity under different names. Consuming raw meat and wine in order to replicate the birth of Dionysus transforms into bread and wine, thus celebrating the Christ.

Another topic I see in my environment is the contrast between institutional influence and psychological attunement. In my opinion, many people’s moral values in Turkey arise from societal norms or sanctioning systems. So much so that many people admit this and behave according to society’s ethics only when there is someone to observe or punish and morality is only in appearance therefore lacks internalization. Since the justice system declines and punishment is not there for the “evil”, moral decay begins leading to societal decay. So either the internalization or an outside force have to be there.

When it comes to indigenous psychology, i see it as an ideal that we should strive to reach but will ultimately not reach the desired state. I just didn’t understand when to stop specifying when doing a research on a society. Can we generalize that to any other society or even to that specific society’s subsocieties? What I mean by that is when Turkey is getting researched, can it be generalized to east side and when east side is researched can we generalize it to Erzurum spesifically and where does this lead us eventually? Regardless, indigenous studies should be conducted and should be tried to delve deeper than typical western view. By delving deeper than western perspectives, indigenous psychology could help create a more inclusive, general theory. Although generalizing across cultural or subcultural boundaries remains a challenge, each study brings us closer to a richer understanding of the human experience.

Firestone, C., & Scholl, B. J. (2016). Cognition does not affect perception: Evaluating the evidence for “top-down” effects. The Behavioral and brain sciences, 39, e229. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X15000965

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2 responses to “Methodology of Cultural Psychology”

alperen orhan

November 5, 2024

A great way of blogging. We were supposed to criticize, but I think you did it much better than I do, so I really don’t have anything to add to your writing. The only thing I can say is perhaps you should focus more on COSI and how they would affect the outcome and what some possible solutions to issues they brought. You have barely touched on the main idea, and you really did not talk about the details. Adding these details, however, might make your writing unnecessarily long. So, I don’t know if this is a fair criticism.
I generally agree with your ideas on Indigenous psychology, but I do not think it will fail in the end. Even though we cannot generalize our results, it might help us find shared psychological aspects of different subcultures and help us generate a more inclusive, general theory.

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yusuf talha bozkurt

January 9, 2025

Methodology of Cultural Psychology (Revised Version):
In both the chapter and the article, the primary focus was on addressing methodological issues and finding ways to reduce their impact, especially in cross-cultural research. These challenges -causation, operationalization, sampling, and interpretation- are often amplified in cross-cultural studies. For instance, sampling must account for the diversity within cultures to avoid overgeneralization, as failing to do so can significantly affect the validity of findings.
Reflecting on my previous experiences, I encountered similar methodological challenges during a presentation in my perception class. I presented the article “Cognition does not affect perception: Evaluating the evidence for top-down effects,” which delves into methodological criticisms in cognition and perception research. The article, followed by extensive peer discussions spanning 72 pages, highlighted how even in narrowly defined fields like perception, methodology remains a critical focus. This reinforced my understanding of how methodological issues can be even more complex and significant in cross-cultural contexts, where cultural and contextual factors introduce additional layers of complexity.
The concept of COSI -causation, operationalization, sampling, and interpretation- is very important here. For example, in causation, isolating variables becomes harder in cross-cultural studies due to the cultural, social, and economic factors and these factors intervening with each other. Operationalization often struggles with ensuring that constructs are defined and measured consistently across cultures. Sampling risks either overgeneralization or overspecification, as it must balance between inclusivity and representativeness. Finally, interpretation is vulnerable to biases, especially when researchers unconsciously impose their own cultural lens on the findings. Addressing these challenges might involve mixed-method approaches, triangulation of data, and greater collaboration with local researchers to ensure cultural sensitivity.
One particularly intriguing section discussed how cultural practices are not always optimal or functional. I see examples of such practices in my own environment. Traditional medicine, for example, often persists among elderly people despite the availability of more effective modern treatments. Similarly, practices like arranged marriages and dowries continue even when their original functions are no longer relevant. Beyond these, we see cultural rituals adapting to new environments or religions, such as the transformation of pagan rituals into Christian practices like consuming bread and wine to commemorate Christ, echoing earlier traditions honoring Dionysus. These examples remind us of the dynamic yet persistent nature of cultural customs.

Regarding indigenous psychology, I share the belief that it represents an ideal worth striving for, even if challenges like generalization seem a bit hard to attain. For example, when researching Turkey, how do we decide whether findings apply to the entire country, to specific regions like the east, or even smaller subgroups like Erzurum? While generalizing results remains a challenge, indigenous psychology can still contribute to identifying shared psychological aspects across subcultures. By moving beyond a Western-centric perspective, indigenous studies could enrich our understanding and lead to a more inclusive, general theory of psychology.

References:
Firestone, C., & Scholl, B. J. (2016). Cognition does not affect perception: Evaluating the evidence for “top-down” effects. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 39, e229. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X15000965

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Methodology of Cultural Psychology

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2 responses to “Methodology of Cultural Psychology”

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