Definition
Cross-cultural research is used to refer to the systematic comparison of two or more cultures.
Description
Although culture is a widely used term, its definition is still controversial. As early as 1952, Kroeber and Kluckhohn [18] had already listed 160 definitions of culture found in anthropological literature. This is not surprising because culture is an abstract term covering various types of phenomena and preferences regarding its definitions are related to the investigator’s theoretical orientations.
Culture can be defined as a “learned and shared pattern of behaviour which is characteristics of a group living within fairly definite boundaries … interacting socially among themselves” [2, p. 9]. Culture may be explicit, as shown by observable behavior or by the use of valued objects, and implicit as manifested through values, beliefs, and attitudes. Cross-cultural psychology may generally be defined as an area of psychology which includes culture as one of the...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ahmad, W. I. U. (Ed.). (1993). ‘Race’ and health in contemporary Britain. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Berry, J. W. (1976). Human ecology and cognitive style: Comparative studies in cultural and psychological adaptation. New York: Sage.
Berry, J. W. (1980). Social and cultural change. In H. C. Triandis & R. Brislin (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (Social psychology, Vol. 5, pp. 211–279). Boston: Ally and Bacon.
Bhopal, R. (1997). Is research into ethnicity and health racist, sound, or important science? British Medical Journal, 314, 1751–1756.
Bockock, R. (1992). The cultural formations of modern society. In S. Hall & S. Gieben (Eds.), Formations of modernity. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Brislin, R. W. (1976). Comparative research methodology: Cross-cultural studies. International Journal of Psychology, 11, 215–229.
Chowdhury, A. N., Chakraborty, A. K., & Weiss, M. G. (2001). Community mental health and concepts of mental illness in the Sundarban Delta of West Bengal, India. Anthropology and Medicine, 8(1), 109–131.
Eisenberg, L. (1977). Disease and illness: Distinctions between professional and popular ideas of sickness. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 1, 9–23.
Gunaratnam, Y. (2003). More than words: Dialogue across difference. In M. Sidell, J. Jones, J. Katz, A. Peberdy, & J. Douglas (Eds.), Debates and dilemmas in promoting health: A reader. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave.
Helman, C. (1986). Culture, health and illness: An introduction for health professionals. Bristol: Wright.
Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1984). Hofstede’s culture dimensions: An independent validation using Rokeach’s value survey. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 15(4), 417–433.
Jhadav, S., Weiss, M. G., & Littlewood, R. (2001). Cultural experience of depression among white Britons in London. Anthropology and Medicine, 8(1), 47–71.
Johada, G. (1982). Psychology and anthropology a psychological perspective. London: Academic.
Kelleher, D. (1996). A defence of the use of the terms ‘ethnicity’ and ‘culture’. In D. Kelleher & S. Hillier (Eds.), Researching cultural differences in health. London: Routledge.
Pike, K. L. (1967). Language in relation to a unified theory of the structure of human behavior (2nd ed.). The Hague: Mouton. [First edition published in three volumes in 1954, 1955, and 1960 by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, Glendale, CA.]
Kleinman, A. (1978). Clinical relevance of anthropological and cross-cultural research: Concepts and strategies. American Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 427–431.
Kleinman, A. (1980). Patients and healers in the context of culture: An exploration of the borderland between anthropology, medicine, and psychiatry. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Kroeber, A., & Kluckhohn, C. (1952). Culture. New York: Meridian Books.
Lambert, H., & Sevak, M. (1996). Is cultural difference a useful concept? Perceptions of health and sources of ill health among Londoners of South Asian origin. In D. Kelleher & S. Hillier (Eds.), Researching cultural differences in health. London: Routledge.
Lonner, W. J. (1979). The search for psychological universale. In C. Tnandis & W. W. Lambert (Eds.), Handbook of cross cultural psychology (Perspectives, Vol. 1, pp. 143–204). Hertfordshire: Prentice-Hall.
Weiss, M. G., Doongaji, D. R., Siddhartha, S., Wypij, D., Pathare, S., Bhatawdekar, M., et al. (1992). The explanatory model interview catalogue (EMIC). Contribution to cross-cultural research methods from a study of leprosy and mental health. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 819–830.
Przeworski, A., & Teune, H. (1970). The logic of comparative social inquiry. New York: Wiley.
Raguram, R., Weiss, M. G., Channabasavanna, S. M., & Devins, G. M. (1996). Stigma, depression, and somatisation: A report from South India. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 1043–1049.
Ryen, A. (2002). Cross-cultural interviewing. In J. Gubrium & J. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research (pp. 335–354). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Schwartz, S. H. (1990). Individualism-collectivism: Critique and proposed refinements. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21, 139–157.
Shields, R. (Ed.). (1996). Cultures of Internet: Virtual spaces, real histories, living bodies. London: Sage.
Smaje, C. (1995). Health, “race” and ethnicity: Making sense of the evidence. London: Kings Fund Institute.
Triandis, H. C. (1990). Cross-cultural studies of individualism-collectivism. In J. Berman (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation, 1989 (pp. 41–133). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Trommsdorff, G. (1986). Future time orientation and its relevance for development as action. In R. K. Silbereisen, K. Eyferth, & G. Rudinger (Eds.), Development as action in context: Problem behavior and normal youth development (pp. 121–136). Berlin: Springer.
Weiss, M. G. (2001). Cultural epidemiology: Introduction and overview. Anthropology & Medicine, 8, 5–29.
Williams, R. (1976). Keywords. London: Fontana.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Essau, C.A., Keval, H.C. (2011). Cross-Cultural Research. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_737
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_737
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-77579-1
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79061-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science