About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about what culture is and why it is relevant in psychology, focusing in particular on: (i) understanding culture to be the shared knowledge of any given group; (ii) the universalist perspective, which posits that the human brain remains undifferentiated by culture or any other kind of societal division; (iii) the relativist position, which posits the expectation that the brain differs in certain ways, based on factors like culture; (iv) humour and motivation as examples of cross-cultural differences which can impact attitudes, identity and behaviour; (v) Sussman and Rosenfeld’s 1982 research, exploring how culture, language and sex affected preferred physical distance when in conversation; (vi) findings from Sussman and Rosenfeld’s research, which suggested that people are socialised by their culture to prefer different amounts of personal space during conversations; (vii) understanding the acquisition of culture in the context of a sensitive period; (viii) the case of Genie (pseudonym) who, due to abuse and neglect, acquired no language as a child; (ix) genie’s inability to learn English as a teenager acting to support the sensitive period theory in the context of language; (x) work by cultural psychologists like Steven Heine on assessing the applicability of the sensitive period theory to culture; (xi) the process of enculturation, which refers to the acquisition of culture by an individual through the surrounding of that individual by the culture; (xii) contrasting this to socialisation, which refers to the deliberate teaching of the developing individual; (xiii) children’s parents being a key source of their cultural development; (xiv) Keller and colleagues’ 2004 research on culturally formed parenting styles; (xv) sleeping arrangements between children and their parents as another key cultural difference which may impact attitudes and behaviours later in life.

About the lecturer

Dr Sam Parker is a senior lecturer in social psychology in the Department of Health and Social Sciences at the University of the West of England, after moving from a lecturing position at Birmingham City University. Dr Parker’s research interests are in discursive psychology, forced migration and sexuality. Some of Dr Parker’s recent publications include ‘Just eating sleeping: Asylum seekers’ constructions of belonging within a restrictive policy environment’ (2018) and ‘It’s ok if it’s hidden: The discursive construction of everyday racism for refugees and asylum seekers in Wales’ (2018).