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A Macropsychology Perspective on Culture and Behaviour

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Macropsychology

Abstract

Cross-cultural psychology seeks to understand human behavioural similarities and differences in the contexts within which they develop and are displayed. One framework to guide this search is the ecocultural framework, which shares many characteristics with the macropsychology approach. This framework posits two features of the habitat (ecological and sociopolitical) to which the cultural and biological features of a population adapt. These features shape the development of human behaviour through transmission variables, moving key cultural and intercultural experiences from being “out there” (in the group) to being “in here” (in the individual). Variations in the cultural, biological, and psychological features of a population provide the basis for making inferences about what we all share as a species. Commonalities in these phenomena provide a basis for the development of a global psychology. Such a global psychology may serve as a basis for developing programmes that promote human well-being in personal and social domains.

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Acknowledgement

This chapter was prepared within the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) and supported within the framework of a subsidy by the Russian Academic Excellence Project “5-100”.

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  1. Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada

    John W. Berry

  2. International Laboratory for Sociocultural Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

    John W. Berry

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  1. Department of Psychology and Assisting Living & Learning (ALL) Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland

    Malcolm MacLachlan

  2. Department of Psychology and Assisting Living & Learning (ALL) Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland

    Joanne McVeigh

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Berry, J.W. (2021). A Macropsychology Perspective on Culture and Behaviour. In: MacLachlan, M., McVeigh, J. (eds) Macropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50176-1_6

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