Cultural Issues in Psychology

Does our cultural background influence the way we think and feel about ourselves and others? Does our culture affect how we choose our partners, how we define intelligence and abnormality and how we bring up our children? Psychologists have long pondered the relationship between culture and a range of psychological attributes. Cultural Issues In Psychology is an all round student guide to the key studies, theories and controversies which seek to explore human behaviour in a global context. The book explores key controversies in global psychology, such as: Culture: what does it mean and how has it been researched? Relativism and universalism: are they compatible approaches in global research? Ethnocentrism: is psychological research dominated by a few regions of the world? Indigenous psychologies: what are the diverse research traditions from around the world? Research methods and perspectives: how can we compare and contrast cross-cultural psychology and cultural psychology? The book also includes detailed examinations of global research into mainstream areas of psychology, such as social, cognitive and developmental psychology, as well as abnormal psychology.With insightful classroom activities and helpful pedagogical features, this detailed, yet accessibly written book gives introductory-level psychology students access to a concise review of key research, issues, controversies and diverse approaches in the area of culture and psychology.

Andrew Stevenson has been teaching Psychology since 1990 at a variety of levels, including A-Level and undergraduate. He now divides his time between writing, freelance training and lecturing.

"This book is up-to-date, showing familiarity with contemporary debates within the discipline. It is also very readable, thought provoking and broad in its coverage. Difficult concepts are introduced in a gentle fashion, and the whole book should develop the students' understanding and thinking about this fascinating area." - Peter Banister, Department of Psychology and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK "In this engaging text, the author offers a multilateral perspective on the cultural construction of the human psyche. Using accessible language, the author presents his vision of a new cultural science for a globalized world. Andrew Stevenson is a superb communicator." - Chi-yue Chiu, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore