Unit 1: Understanding Ourselves
Module 1: Introducing Cultural Psychology
•Psychological processes are shaped by experiences, both unique experiences, & experiences shared with all others in the cultural group.
•Our understanding of psychological processes is mostly limited to people that have western cultural experiences.
Module 2: Culture & Human Nature
•Though animals seem to have culture, human culture is unique.
•Human reliance on cultural learning rather than instincts explains why we as a species have been so “successful”.
Module 3: Biological Evolution
•Before we dive in deep on cultural differences, we need to first explore what all humans have in common.
•Humans are the product of a long history, a history which we carry with us today.
Module 4: Cultural Evolution
•Cultures are very fluid, constantly changing.
•But, despite this fluidity, there is also some elements of stability.
•With these thoughts in mind, it is interesting to contemplate where culture will be in 100 years.
Module 5: Methods for Studying Culture & Psychology
•This Module does not fit cleanly into any of the units, so here it is.
•Studying culture is extremely complex because it is so fluid.
•Some research methodology has been devised that is unique to the study of cultural psychology.