Introduction to the

Study of Culture and

Psychology
Matsumoto & Juang
Cross-Cultural Research
• Include multiple
cultural backgrounds
• Compare data across
cultural groups
• Cross cultural
approach
• Look for universals or
• Culture specific
Defining Culture
• How do you define
culture?
Six general categories of culture

• Descriptive: activities/behaviors
• Historical: heritage/traditions
• Normative: rules/norms
• Psychological: learning, problem solving & other
behavioral approaches
• Structural: societal/organization
• Genetic: origins of a culture
 Aspects of life touched by culture
• General characteristics
• Food/clothing
• Housing/technology
• Economy/transportation
• Individual/family activities
• Community/government
• Welfare/religion/science
• Sex/life cycle
Culture: Abstract & cyclical
• Provide examples of
how culture is abstract
and cyclical.
 Definitions Culture
• Taylor (1865) defined culture as the learned habits and
capabilities of a group
• Linton (1936) referred to culture as social heredity
• Kroeber & Kluckholm (1952) believed culture was the
patterns of behavior that were acquired and transmitted
through symbols and artifacts
• Rohner (1984) stated one’s culture is the complementary
learned meanings maintained and transmitted through
generations
• Berry et al. (1992) defined culture as a groups shared way of
life
 Matsumoto & Juang (2004)

• Culture: “the dynamic system of rules,

explicit and implicit, established by groups
in order to ensure their survival, involving
attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and
behaviors, shared by a group but harbored
differently by each specific unit within the
group, communicated across generations,
relatively stable but with the potential to
change across time” (p. 10)
 Key Component of the Book’s
Definition of Culture
• Dynamic
• System of rules
• Groups & units
• Ensure survival
• Attitudes, values, beliefs, norms & behavior
• Harbored differently by specific units
• Communicated across generations & relatively stable
• Potential to change over time
Factors Influencing Culture
• Environment/resources
• Population density
• Affluence/Independence
• Technology
• Climate
 An Individual as Well as a Social
Construct
• Assumption:
individuals within the
groups are relatively
homogenous.
• Culture exists as an
individual &
global/social construct
Popular Culture
• Trends in music, art,
and style
• May share an
expression but is not a
way of life
 Pancultural Principles versus Culture-
Specific Differences: Etics & Emics
• Etics:
• aspects of life that appear to be consistent across different cultures.
• Universal or pancultural truths/principles
• Emics:
• Aspects of life that appear to differ across cultures
• Truths/principles that are culture specific