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Optimal Experience Across Cultures

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Psychological Selection and Optimal Experience Across Cultures

Part of the book series: Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology ((CAPP,volume 2))

Abstract

In this chapter we will contextualize the investigation of optimal experience across culture within the theoretical framework of cultural studies. In the last few decades, psychological studies evolved from an ethnocentric western perspective to a broader view that takes into account the role of culture in shaping human behavior and experience. This allowed for the development of different approaches, such as cross-cultural psychology, cultural psychology, and indigenous psychologies, and for the conceptualization of basic constructs, such as individualism/collectivism and independent/interdependent self-construal, which presently represent the cornerstones of most psychological studies endorsing cultural aspects. The exploration of optimal experience and psychological selection across cultures will be exemplified through findings derived from adult and adolescent participants. Similarities and differences between cultures will be highlighted, and interpreted in the light of the theoretical assumptions on culture—on the one hand—and on flow and psychological selection—on the other hand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche Luigi Saccos, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20157, Milano, Italy

    Antonella Delle Fave (Professor of Psychology), Fausto Massimini (Professor of Psychology) & Marta Bassi (Assistant Professor of Psychology)

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  1. Antonella Delle Fave
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  2. Fausto Massimini
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  3. Marta Bassi
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Correspondence to Antonella Delle Fave .

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Delle Fave, A., Massimini, F., Bassi, M. (2011). Optimal Experience Across Cultures. In: Psychological Selection and Optimal Experience Across Cultures. Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9876-4_7

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