Overview of the Case Study
The case study is about the Pacific Island families. It was conducted on several Pacific children born in Auckland, which is an island in New Zealand. The study is an analysis of the relationship between maternal acculturation and the maternal health risk indicators. The analysis on maternal acculturation was achieved through gauging an abbreviated form of general ethnicity survey. The outcome of the study revealed that infants who are strongly inclined to the pacific culture had substantially better infant as well as maternal risk factors when compared to those who are less inclined to the culture. When the findings were analysed using the Berry’s classical model, separators were found to have the best infant as well as maternal outcomes. Integrators on the other had considerable infant and maternal outcome. However, the marginalizors and the assimilators were found to have pitiable infant as well as maternal outcomes. The outcome of the study, therefore, suggested that there is a possibility that having strong cultural ties for the Pacific infants will have positive health benefits (Borrows, et.al, 2011).
According to the authors, the connection between culture and health, with the inclusion of the related psychological processes, has become a key theme in the social science literature. Culture is now recognized as an important health determinant. Concepts resulting from the cross-cultural as well as anthropologic studies have availed an alternative basis for identifying health problems. Particularly, there is a consensus that most individuals from small cultures may not benefit from the medical solutions availed by the host society. There is also a connection between migration and health. During the study, the authors discovered that the well-being of immigrants may be determined by interconnecting factors that are related to origin of the society, the migration itself and the society in which the immigrating group settles. There is, therefore, the need to consider the three sets of factors when trying to understand the health status in a given immigrant group (Borrows, et.al, 2011).
Cultural and Cross-cultural Psychology
Based on the case study, cultural psychology can be defined as the scientific study of the way psychology; behavioural tendencies and health are entrenched in and expressed in culture. The key principle of cultural psychology holds that culture and mind are joined at the hip and equally constitutive. This means that people are shaped by culture and culture is also shaped by the people. Moreover, culture determines the health status of the people. For instance, in the case study on the Pacific Families, the researchers established that strong cultural relations among the pacific infants had positive impacts on their health. Moreover, cross-cultural psychology can be described as the study of people’s behaviour as well as their mental processes. This includes their variability as well as invariance in different cultural conditions. For instance, during the study on the Pacific Families, it was revealed that the well-being of an immigrating group may be influenced by interlinking factors that are related to the process of migration, the society’s origin and the society in which the immigrants settles(Borrows, et.al, 2011).
Relationship between Cultural Psychology and Cross-Cultural Psychology
Cultural psychology and cross-cultural psychology are inter-related. Both fields are key psychological methodologies used in the study of the connection between culture and psychology. Though the two approaches have advanced in relative isolation from each other, they have both accumulated a significant amount of theory as well as empirical work. Cultural psychology involves the study of the manner in which psychological and behavioural inclinations are ingrained and expressed in culture. The primary tenet of this approach is the inseparable nature of mind and culture. The principle states that mind and culture are conjointly constitutive. According to cultural psychology, culture and people shape each other. Cross-cultural psychology involves the study of people’s behaviour together with the mental processes. The approach takes variability and invariance into consideration. Furthermore, studies in this approach are carried out in varying cultural conditions. Apart from the diverse cultural conditions in the case of cross-cultural psychological, other specifications for the approach are closely related to those of cultural psychology. For instance, the study of human behaviour and the mental processes in relation to culture is common in both approaches (Gungor & Bornstein, 2012).
Methodology associated with Cross-cultural Psychology Research.
Cross-cultural psychology employs critical thinking as well as scientific research tools that make it possible for well-articulated strategies for analysis, observation, as well as problem solving between different cultures. Cross-cultural psychology depends on cultural psychology for the basic units for the measure of and comparison of cultures in relation to psychology. Given that cross-cultural psychology is a critical and comparative analysis of cultural effects on peoples’ psychology, the approach involves a comparison of at least two cultural sets using the indispensable element of critical thinking. The methodology used in cross-cultural studies is, therefore, critical thinking and scientific research and analysis tools such as the DEQ. For instance, DEQ was used in the case study discussed above (Gungor & Bornstein, 2012).
How the Case Study Helps In Understand How Ethnicity, Race, and Worldviews Are Separate Yet Related Concepts
The case study involves the study of Pacific Families in New Zealand. More than a thousand infants from these families were studied in different cultural condition. The study is wide enough to help draw a reasonable conclusion on the connection between culture and psychology. The outcome of the case study can therefore be projected to other cultures in different countries. The fact that the study can be applied in other cultures makes it possible for me to forecast the possible outcome from those cultures. This way, the study has helped me to understand how ethnicity, race, and world views are separate but with related concepts (Borrows, et.al, 2011).
How Enculturation May Play a Role in the Case Study
Enculturation is the manner in which people learn the necessities of their surrounding cultures and obtain values and behaviours suitable or necessary in those cultures. In enculturation, a person is shaped by other people. Successful enculturation leads to proficiency in language, values as well as the rituals of the cultures (Salem Press, 2012). Therefore, enculturation may play a vital role in the case study. The researchers may first undergo enculturation so as to be able to conduct a thorough research. This can lead to a more reliable outcome from the study (Borrows, et.al, 2011).
References
Borrows, J. et.al, (2011). Pacific islands families study: the association of infant health risk indicators and acculturation of pacific island mothers living in New Zealand. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(5) 699-724.
Gungor, D., & Bornstein, M.H. (2012). Acculturation of personality: a three-culture study of Japanese, Japanese Americans, and European Americans. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(5) 1-18.
Salem Press, (2012). Cross-cultural psychology. Retrieved from http://salempress.com/store/pdfs/salem_health_psychology.pdf
