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2008.01.20

Human Behavior in Global Perspective:
An Introduction to Cross-Culutural Psychology,
Second Edition

by Marshall H. Segall, Pierre R. Dasen, John W. Berry, and Ype H. Portinga

(Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999)

(ISBN 02051888613)

Table of Contents

Authors:

• Marshall H. Segall, Syracuse University
  
  
• Pierre R. Dasen, University of Geneva, Switzerland
  
  
• John W. Berry, Queen's College, Canada
  
  
• Ype H. Poortinga, Tilberg University, Netherlands

Table of Contents

Preface.

1. The Socio-Cultural Nature of Human Beings.

How to Comprehend Behavior and Culture.
The Centrality of Learning.
The Essence of Being Human.
Anthropological Perspectives on Culture.
Culture and Biology.
Race: Can This Tenacious Concept Be Supplanted?
The Point of View of This Book.
The Scope of This Book.

2. Cross-Cultural Research: Scope and Methods.

A Conceptual Framework for Cross-Cultural Psychology.
The Social and Cultural Context: Basic Concepts.
Cross-Cultural Psychology's Paradigm: A Balanced Approach.
An Antecedent of the Eco-Cultural Framework: The Culture and Personality School.
Methodology in Cross-Cultural Research: Some Problems and Some Solutions.
Conclusion.

3. Human Development and Informal Education.

Why Study Developmental Psychology Cross-Culturally?
The Developmental Niche.
Informal Education.
Adolescence, Life Span, and Old Age.
Conclusion.

4. Perceptual and Cognitive Processes.

Perception and Visual Illusions.
Categorization.
Memory.
Problem Solving.
The Cognitive Consequences of Literacy and Schooling.
Experimental Anthropology.
Conclusion.

5. Alternative Views on Human Competence: General Intelligence and Genetic Epistemology.

The Historical Legacy.
General Intelligence.
Deficiency versus Difference Interpretations of Cognitive achievement.
Genetic Epistemology.
Conclusion.

6. Everyday Cognition and Cognitive Anthropology.

The Sociohistorical Approach: Piaget versus Vygotsky.
Ethnography of Daily Life.
Cognitive Anthropology or Ethnoscience.
Everyday Knowledge of Arithmetic.
Everyday Space and Geometry.
Transfer and Generalization.
Learning and Teaching Processes.
The Sociocultural Paradigm.
Conclusion.

7. Motives, Beliefs, and Values.

Why Study Values Cross-Culturally?
Culturally-Influenced Beliefs about Illness.
Measurement of Values.
Problems Involved in Assessing Cultural Values.
Other Value Domains.
Some Concluding Observations.

8. Males and Females and the Relations between Them.

Why Study Sex and Gender Cross-Culturally?
Psychological Differences between the Sexes.
Differing Socialization for Boys and Girls: Why and with What Consequences.
Gender Identity: Self-Perceptions of Men and Women across Cultures.
Sex Role Ideology: Culture and Male-Female Relationships.
A Sociocultural Theory of Human Sexuality.
Conclusion.

9. Culture and Aggression.

How Is Aggression Related to Crime?
A Conceptual Framework for Aggression Research.
Cross-Cultural Studies of Gender Differences in Aggression.
Conclusion.

10. Intercultural Relations in a Shrinking World.

From Parochialism toward Global Consciousness?
Implications of Various Kinds of Ethnocentrism.
Ethnic Conflict.
Some Conclusions and Tentative Prescriptions.

11. Acculturation.

Culture Change.
Acculturation.
Psychological Acculturation.
An Acculturation Framework.
Some Possible Applications.

12. Conclusions.

On the Importance of the Sociocultural Context.
Cross-Cultural Psychology vis-à-vis General Psychology.
Practical Implications of Cross-Cultural Research.
Summary and Future Directions.

Bibliography.

Name Index.

Subject Index.

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Both the text and the course emphasize the need to explore human behavior in its socio-cultural context. The text incorporates landmark studies that show how cross-cultural psychology developed. It includes research done across national groups and ethno-cultural groups residing within multicultural societies. It also:

• Includes an exposition of recent biological and anthropological research on the concept of race (Ch. 1).

• Provides enhanced clarity in a presentation of "emic" and "etic" approaches (Ch. 2).

• Introduces the socio-historical and socio-cultural perspectives to the study of cognition (Ch. 6).

• Applies cross-cultural research findings to real world social issues (Chs. 8-10).

• Discusses Culture and Personality methodology.

• Expands upon discussion of social identity theory (Ch. 10).

• Incorporates recent findings from studies reported in the three volumes of Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology.

• The book ". . . aims to teach about cross-cultural psychology and not necessarily how to do it."

• The scope of this book ranges "rather widely over this rapidly developing field."

• the book only samples studies from "the many hundreds that are available."