Culture refers to the many characteristics of a group of
people including attitudes, behaviors, custom and values that are transmitted
from one generation to the next.
Cross-cultural research is a scientific
method of comparative research, which focuses on systematic comparisons that
compares culture to culture and explicitly aims to answer questions about the
incidence, distributions, and causes of cultural variation and complex problems
across a wide domain, usually worldwide.
Cross-cultural studies, sometimes
called holocultural studies or comparative studies, is a
specialization in anthropology that uses field data from many societies to
examine the scope of human behavior and test hypotheses about human behavior
and culture (Ratner, C. 2011) .
There are several types of cross-cultural research. The
first of which is Regional comparative cross-cultural research which is well
represented by the works of Kroeber and Driver. Second small-scale regional
comparison advocated by Fred Eggan (1954) who called it “controlled
comparisons” on the assumption that it may make it easier to rule out possible
effects of similarity in history, geography, and language. Third large-scale
within-region research (using data on all or most of the cultural traits in the
region) which generally tries to arrive at classifications of cultures in order
to make inferences about processes of diffusion and historical ancestry. Four coding which implies that data can be
collected in two ways.
Therefore, cross-cultural research is the branch of
psychology that looks at how cultural factors influence human behavior.
The following are advantages of the cross-cultural research
in psychology.
The statistical conclusions drawn from a worldwide
comparison of all type of society are probably applicable to the entire
ethnographic record, assuming that the sample is more or less free of bias.
That is to most if not all regions and all types of societies in the
ethnographic record. Thus other thing being equal, the worldwide type of
cross-cultural comparison has a better chance than other types of comparison of
coming close to the goal of knowing that a finding or an observed relationship
has nearly universal validity, which is consistent with the general scientific
goal of more and more comprehensive explanation.
It maximizes the amount or range of variation in the
variable investigated thereby making a difference between a useful and a
useless study. Without variation, it is impossible to see a relationship
between variables. If for instance a researcher uses data from a single
society; a single region, or even from the recent historical record for
nation-states, there may be little or no variation to relate to other things.
Hence, one may assume that a relationship is positive or negative, because that
is all one observe in the region or in one type of society, but the
relationship may be curvilinear in the world. Hence, a worldwide cross-cultural
comparison is needed to be sure about the nature or shape of a relationship. A
worldwide cross-cultural sample represents the maximum range of variation in
the ethnographic record.
It helps in Inter Culture
awareness. Every culture more to say every religion has its own custom
of doing thing. As culture is group of religions performing the similar
activity of their own way. In that sense, one group may have domination and
other may not. Domination religion has power of judgments that was followed by
other too. So knowing of cultural activity of a particular or all in whole it
will be easy to act like inter cultural person. That make the person or a group
to adjust and it is one of the best way to avoid cultural shock.
It helps in separating variable. Cross-cultural research it
allows the separation of the effects of variables that may be confronting
within the culture. That means a research try to show how one variable from one
culture affect the other variable in the particular culture. Example the having
phones and the effects of academic performance.
It highlights implicit assumptions. This allows a researcher to examine the
influence of his or her own beliefs or assumption of research. Therefore, in
order to remove these beliefs, a researcher should conduct a research to know
the truth for the correction of the previous assumption.
It helps in avoiding bias in a research. Cross cultural
research in psychology help to avoid bias that would happen without apparent
reason. This can be seen when a researcher decide to conduct a research by
visiting the particular area or culture that has to be studied hence the
conclusion will be drawn from what has been collected in the research area.
It helps to separate behavior from the context or
environment. Cross-cultural research is the source of separating one behavior
of an individual from one culture to another. Example a researcher’s culture
may differ from others’ culture. Therefore in separating this, a researcher has
to make investigation so that to understand the reality about his or her
behavior versus others’ behavior.
It extends the range of variables. Due to cross cultural
research, a researcher will be in position of understanding different cultures
or tribes because a researcher touches different cultural aspects from the
different country of the world. This helps a researcher instead of studying one
tribe or culture, he or she can study different culture at the same time. In
addition to that, a researcher must range variables and concept that can be
investigated or explored.
It helps in testing and verifying theories. There different
theories that have been produced by different people in the world, in order to
examine these theories if are working, the scholars start now to test in
different part of the world so that verify them by looking its applicable and
relevance to the behavior of the people and its norms, values, culture and
attitudes.
The following are disadvantages of the cross-cultural research.
The Study might be unsuccessful and the researcher could be
stuck. A researcher is unlikely to know much about individual societies when
comparing many societies from different parts of the world. If a tested
explanation turns out to be supported, the lack of detailed knowledge about the
sample cases is not much of a problem. If, however the cross-cultural test is
disconfirming, it may be difficult to come up with an alternative explanation
without knowing more about the particular cases.
It needs someone to be professional in conducting the
research. This means that someone has to have been studied cross-cultural
studies; this will help the researcher to have knowledge on how to conduct the
research. When a researcher will not be a professional of this studies
conduction will end up with undesired conclusion of the research. In addition,
he or she can cause conflict over the studied studies due to poor methodology
that has been used.
Time consuming. In the conduction of cross-cultural research
it need more time so as to collect enough data because you need know more about
the different behavior activities and altitudes of the different societies and
understanding more deeply. When the time will be accurate it will help the
researcher to make a good analysis of the data and hence provide the desired
conclusion.
It is very expensive to manage it. Cross-cultural research
in psychology is like other science research that needs more money in order to
accomplish it. Therefore Cross-cultural research it is very cost full in terms
of money and resources which require when a researcher collect data. Example to
take a research to the field where he or she supposed to be. Also money is
needed to fulfill the needs of study.
It is difficult to reach a conclusion. In cross cultural
research in psychology it is very much difficult to reach conclusion, this is
because have various culture across the
world have different norms, traditions ,behaviors, attitudes and activities
differ from one society to another society, hence difficult in concluding.
Therefore, cross cultural research in psychology has great
importance as it can unite almost many different cultures around the world
through it, researchers and other people have an advantage in understanding the
behaviors and practices from the particular culture and hence brings about
peaceful atmosphere
REFERENCES:
Ratner, C.
(2011). Macro cultural psychology: A political philosophy of mind. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Berry, J.W.
(1980). Introduction to methodology. In H.C. Triandis & J.W. Berry (Eds.)
Handbook
of cross-cultural psychology: Vol. 2 Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon
Burton, Michael L. & White, Douglas R. (1991). Regional
Comparisons, Replications, and Historical Network Analysis.
Cross-Cultural Research, Vol. 25, Lim, R.
(2006). Clinical manual of cultural psychiatry. Washington, D.C.: American
Psychiatric Publishers
Driver,
Harold E. (1956). An Integration of Functional, Evolutionary, and Historical
Theory by Means of
Correlations. Bloomington: Indiana University Publication in Anthropology and
Linguistics
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