Pre-Mid Assignment

Culture and Clinical Psychology

Topic: Culture and Psychology

Participants’ Name:

Sehrish Khan (F2020381060)

Sec: (A)

Resource Person

Dr. Taskeen Zahra

Submission Date:

April 01, 2024

Department of Clinical Psychology

University of Management & Technology, Lahore

Culture and Psychology

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Introduction

Culture

Culture is the set of values, beliefs, language, rituals, traditions and other behaviors

that are passed from one generation to another within any social group (APA, 2023).

In other words, culture is a set of attitudes, behaviors and symbols that shared by large

group of people and transferred in generations. It encompasses both the tangible aspects (e.g.,

food, clothing, architecture) and intangible aspects (e.g., language, religion, social norms)

that are learned and transmitted from generation to generation (Feldman, 2019).

The examples of culture mainly include the individualistic culture (such as western

culture) and collectivistic culture (such as Asian culture particularly Pakistani Culture).

The attitudes, behaviors and symbols varied from culture to culture.

Behaviors: are the variety of norms, roles, customs, traditions, practices and habits existed

within the group. The behaviour examples in the western culture is the individualistic

behaviour to live alone after the maturity age, while that of the eastern culture is the

interdependence behaviour on the parents throughout the life of an individual.

Attitudes: are simply defined as the beliefs including political, ideological a religious etc.

the example of attitude in western culture is the belief behind the individualistic behaviour

that success is solely passed on personal effort and ability. On the other hand, the belief

behind the interdependence behaviour is to give respect to their elders in taking all decisions

of their life; indicating harmony.

Symbols: are the tangible things or abstract ideas that represents the meaning within the

social group. Examples of symbol in western culture is wearing white dresses on funerals in

Asian culture indicating a symbol of death while wearing white dresses on the wedding day

representing a symbol of purity in western culture.

Psychology
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Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour. It seeks to understand how

we think, feel, and act, and how these processes are influenced by biological, social, and

environmental factors (Wade and Tarvis, 2017).

The Intersection: Culture & Psychology

The study of cultural psychology focuses on the dynamic interaction between the

mind and culture. It highlights the ways in which culture influences psychological processes

and, in turn, how people shape by their culture.

Role of Culture in shaping Humans

Cultural values act as invisible blueprints, defining what's important within a society.

According to the Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions’ theory (1980) highlights the

major differences among different cultures and their impact on individuals’ behaviour. The 3

main dimensions include:

Individualism Vs Collectivism

Collectivistic societies place more value on interpersonal harmony and

interdependence than individualistic cultures do on personal success and independence.

Individualistic cultures, like the United States, emphasize personal achievement and

independence. Collectivistic cultures, like Japan, prioritize group harmony and

interdependence (Feldman,2017).

Power Distance

This component shows the degree to which cultures tolerate power imbalances. Low

power distance cultures cherish equality, while high power distance cultures accept hierarchy.

Pakistan has high power distribution as compared USA and western countries.

Uncertainty Avoidance
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This dimension is the amount of ambiguity that a culture can tolerate. Low

uncertainty avoidance cultures are more at ease with flexibility, whereas high uncertainty

avoidance cultures require precise regulations and structure (Hofstede, 2011).

The country like South Korea has high uncertainty avoidance strict rules as compared

to the western countries like Jamaica, Ireland, Sweden etc.

Psychological Processes across cultures

Culture has an impact on even our most fundamental mental processes including

cognition, perception and emotions.

Emotion

Although emotions are probably universal, there are cultural differences in the ways

that they are expressed and controlled (Morris and Maisto, 2017). For example, whilst some

cultures stress emotional regulation, others promote the free expression of emotions.

Perception

Our worldview is shaped by our backgrounds in culture (Wade and Tavris, 2017). For

instance, whereas some cultures emphasize analytical perception (concentrating on specific

details), others emphasize holistic perception (seeing the big picture).

Cognition

Cultural differences can be seen in thinking patterns and approaches to problem-

solving (Feldman, 2017). For instance, although certain cultures place greater value on

analytical, linear thinking, others emphasize relational, holistic methods.

Importance of Culture within Psychology

Psychology values culture because it influences people's thoughts, emotions, and

behaviors. The importance of culture in psychology is due to the following reasons:

Identity Formation
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An individual's sense of identity, which encompasses their ideas, values, and

behaviors, is greatly influenced by their culture. Cultural norms and practices can affect

people's self-esteem, self-concept, and general well-being, as well as how they see

themselves and others.

Socialization

Culture influenced the individual’s behaviour that how they interact with each other

within the society. Relationship formation, conflict resolution, and interpersonal interactions

can all be influenced by cultural norms and beliefs.

Perception and Cognition

Culture influenced the way people interpret the information or the things around

them. Language, cognition, and perceptual differences across cultures can affect people's

ability to process and react to information, as well as to make decisions and solve problems.

Based on the above reasons, culture play a crucial role in shaping the human mind and

behaviour. So, culture based studies help psychologists to study the nature of symptoms

according to the culture they are working in, helping to perform the culture based

assessments and to design the interventions that are relevant the culture.

Culture Based Differences

Broadly Culture is divided into two cultures: Individualistic Culture and Collectivistic

Culture. Understanding the traits of each culture in psychology may help to develop a more

accurate and precised research and treatment plan in psychology.

For the understanding of these two broader divisions; the traits or characteristics are

as follows:

Characteristics of Individualistic Culture

The main characteristics include:

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1. Emphasize on ‘I’: Individualistic cultures prioritize the wants and needs of the individual

over those of the group.

2. Independent Self: Dependency is considered as shameful or embarrassing that’s the

reason independence is highly valued.

3. Self-reliant: People tends to be self-reliant considering and focusing of their own needs

over the group thus reducing the concept of social support.

The Examples of Individualistic Culture include Western nations like the United States,

Canada, and the United Kingdom are often linked to individualistic cultures.

Characteristics of Collectivistic Culture

The main characteristics include:

1. Avoidance of ‘I’: In Collectivistic Culture, people define themselves in relationship to

others and thus there is a greater emphasize on the share goals of a group compared to

self.

2. Inter-dependent Self: Dependency is encouraged and hence people more likely to see

themselves in terms of relationship with others.

3. Group-reliant: Individuals as members of in-groups pursuing the group’s interest.

Examples of Collectivistic Culture include Pakistan, Indonesia, Panama and Colombia.

Cultural Differences in Mental Health: Manifestation, Assessment, and Intervention

Individualists who are "acultured" in a collectivistic society may suffer greatly as a

result of collectivistic cultures' tendency to view individuality as a source of discord.

Collectivist cultures tend to have lower suicide rates as a whole (Eskin et al., 2020). In

addition, lower levels of mastery and self-esteem are linked to collectivist cultures (Yetim

2003).

Compared to people from collectivist cultures, individuals from individualistic

cultures have smaller and less fulfilling support networks, less emotional regulation skills for
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both themselves and others, a lower intention to ask family and friends for help with personal

or suicidal problems, and higher levels of hopelessness and suicide ideation (Scott 2004).

Manifestation of Psychological Symptoms

Collectivistic cultures

 Physical complaints, or somatic symptoms, may be more common than outward

expressions of emotional discomfort.

 People may place a higher priority on maintaining social harmony and refrain from

expressing uncomfortable feelings that can disturb the group.

 Symptoms might manifest as social withdrawal or neglecting personal needs to avoid

burdening the family.

Individualistic cultures

 Openly expressing emotional distress, including verbalization of symptoms are more

cognitive than somatic like anxiety or sadness, may be more prevalent.

 Focus might be on individual well-being and seeking help to improve personal

functioning.

Cultural Differences in assessment of Psychological Disorders

Some psychological disorders are more prevalent in culture as compared to others.

For Example, according to the report of National Centre of PTSD, PTSD (Post-traumatic

Stress Disorder) is more prevalent in individualistic cultures including America as compared

to collectivistic culture due to the lack of social support.

In addition, there is prevalence of conversion disorder in the countries like Pakistan.

According to the Ali et al.,2013, reported that in Pakistan, Dissociative disorders (including

Conversion Disorder) represent between 5% and 13% of all inpatient psychiatric admissions.

Cultural Bound-syndrome
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"Clusters of symptoms and attributions that tend to co-occur among individuals in specific

cultural groups, communities, or contexts" are referred to as cultural syndromes.

Some of them are:

Amok: This condition is a dissociative episode characterized by depression followed by

outbursts of violence, aggression, and homicidal behavior. Amok is prevalent only among

males from Malaysia, Laos, Philippines, and Polynesia.

Koro: There is a syndrome called Koro that is associated with severe anxiety caused by the

concern that the genitalia would protrude into the body and bring death in certain East Asian

societies.

Susto: The condition known as susto, which is common among Latinos in the US, is

associated with a terrifying experience that causes the spirit to depart from the body and

results in sadness and illness. Numerous somatic issues, insomnia, and hunger disorders are

common neuro-vegetative symptoms that patients may exhibit (Spexoto et al., 2018).

Thus the sensitivity of culture creates a need to develop indigenous tools (culture-

specific tools) for the precise assessment of the psychological problems which are either

common in all world but with different manifestations or that occurred only in a specific

culture (culture bound syndrome).

For Example, Depression is a psychological disorder occurred worldwide but in west

it has more cognitive nature complaints to which Beck-Depression Inventory is used. BDI is

initially developed in English language by Aron. T Beck and is self-report measure. It has a

world-wide validity but some cross-cultural differences have been noticed, especially in the

Spanish (Nuevo, 2008).

In Pakistan, as the complaints are more somatic nature (such as ‫ پٹھوں‬،‫مجھے نیند نہیں آتی‬

‫ )میں درد رہتا ہے۔‬are more common and hence Siddiqui Shah Depression Scale is primarily
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used which is also a self-report measure developed by Siddiqui Shah to measure depression in

both clinical and non-clinical Pakistani populations.

Culture Based Interventions

Collectivistic cultures

 Group or family therapy may be more beneficial in collectivistic cultures because they

focus on social harmony and the general well-being of the group.

 Interventions that emphasize restoring balance within the social network might be crucial.

 Techniques that promote emotional expression within a safe and supportive group setting

can be beneficial.

Individualistic Culture

 Individual therapy is a common approach, focusing on improving individual well-being

and coping skills.

 Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or other individual-focused interventions might be

readily adopted.

 Techniques that promote self-awareness and assertiveness can be helpful.

Ethical Considerations

Collectivistic Cultures

 Obtaining informed consent might involve seeking family or community approval before

proceeding with an assessment.

 Confidentiality might need to be balanced with the needs of the family or community.

Individualistic Cultures
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 Informed consent procedures typically focus on the individual client.

 Confidentiality is generally held in higher regard.

Sub-Cultures within the Pakistan

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References

Cheng, L. C. (2013). Bridging cultures in counseling and therapy. Routledge.

Draguns, J. G. (2001). Culturally competent mental health service delivery: A guide for

practitioners. Thomas Learning.

Feldman, R. S. (2019). Introduction to psychology (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Fogel, A., Nazir, S., Hirapara, K., & Ray, S. (2022, September 26). Cultural assessment and

treatment of psychiatric patients. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482311/

Heine, S. J., Lehman, D. R., Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2018). Introduction to cultural

psychology (3rd ed.). Psychology Press.

Heine, S. J., Lehman, D. R., Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2018). Introduction to cultural

psychology (3rd ed.). Psychology Press.

Hofstede, G. (2011). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and

organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Hofstede, G. (2011). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and

organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Lehman, D. R., Chiu, C., & Schaller, M. (2004). Psychology and culture. Annual Review of

Psychology, 55(1), 689–714.

https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141927

Morris, C. G., & Maisto, A. A. (2017). Psychology: A complete introduction (15th ed.).

Pearson Education Limited.

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Nickerson, C. (2023, October 18). Individualistic cultures and example behavior. Simply

Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-are-individualistic-

cultures.html

Nickerson, C. (2023a, October 16). Understanding Collectivist Cultures: Overview &

Examples. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-are-

collectivistic-cultures.html

Scott, G., Ciarrochi, J., & Deane, F. P. (2004). Disadvantages of being an individualist in an

individualistic culture: Idiocentrism, emotional competence, stress, and mental health.

Australian Psychologist, 39(2), 143-154. doi:10.1080/00050060410001701861

Seppänen, M., Lankila, T., Auvinen, J., Miettunen, J., Korpelainen, R., & Timonen, M.

(2022). Cross-cultural comparison of depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression

Inventory-II, across six population samples. BJPsych Open, 8(2).

https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2022.13