Cultural Psychology: A Perspective on Psychological Functioning And Social Reform PDF
Preview Cultural Psychology: A Perspective on Psychological Functioning And Social Reform
CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY A PERSPECTIVE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING AND SOCIAL REFORM This page intentionally left blank CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY A PERSPECTIVE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING AND SOCIAL REFORM Carl Ratner LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS 2006 Mahwah, New Jersey London This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Copyright©200 6byLawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher. LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Inc.,Publishers 10IndustrialAvenue Mahwah,NewJersey 07430 www.erlbaum.com LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Ratner,Carl. Culturalpsychology:aperspectiveonpsychologicalfunctioning andsocialreform/CarlRatner p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8058-5477-0 (cloth :alk. paper) ISBN0-8058-5478-9(pbk.:alk.paper) 1.Ethnopsychology. 2.Socialpsychology. 3.Socialproblems. I.Title. GN502.R373 2006 158.8'2—dc22 2005050058 CIP ISBN 1-4106-1731-9 Master e-book ISBN This book is dedicated to the generation of Americans who came of age in the 1960s. Their political idealism, intellectual audaciousness, and cultural creativity inspired my political passion and intellectual growth, which have culminated in this book. This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface xiii Part I: Psychology, Culture, Politics, Science Introduction to Macro Cultural Psychology 3 Mainstream Psychology Versus Macro Cultural Psychology 4 Culture Comprises the Explanatory Constructs of Psychological Phenomena 7 Culture 12 Macro Cultural Psychology 14 Ontological Principles 21 Dialectics 22 Functionalism 24 DifferencesBetweenMacroCulturalPsychology andOtherApproachestoCultureandPsychology 25 Cross-Cultural Psychology 26 Cultural Psychology 30 Methodology 32 MacroCulturalPsychology,SocialReform,andPersonal Growth:IntegratingScience,Politics,andTherapy 33 Intellectual Origins of Macro Cultural Psychology 35 vii viii CONTENTS Macro Culture 41 Enumerating and Defining Macro Culture 41 Macro Cultural Factors Are More Than Aggregates of Individuals 42 ThePrinciplesandObjectivesThatUnifyandDirect aMacroFactorMayNotBeintheThoughts andMotivesofIndividualsWhoFunctionWithinIt 46 The Social, Physical, and Conceptual Characteristics of Macro Factors Are Consciously Administered and Enforced by Social Bodies Because They Are Pivotal to Social Regularity 47 In Most Societies, Macro Factors Are Normally Regulated and Promulgated by a Powerful Elite 48 Individuals Introduce Certain Variations as They Implement Macro Factors—However Variations Must Be Limited if Social Regularity Is to Be Maintained 49 Macro Cultural Factors Are Specific to Particular Societies 49 Macro Cultural Factors Are Integrated Within a System 51 Within a Social System, Certain Macro Factors Are More Influential Than Others 52 The Components of a Social System Are Distinct at the Same Time That They Are Integrated 58 Macro Cultural Factors Unify the Behavior and Psychology of Disparate Individuals 60 Macro Cultural Factors Are the Product of Social Struggle 61 Macro Cultural Factors Are Actual Practices, Not Official Pronouncements and Policies 62 Part II: Principles of Macro Cultural Psychology The Dialectical Integration of Psychological 67 Phenomena and Macro Cultural Factors Macro Cultural Factors Were the Impetus for Humans to Develop Psychological Capacities 68 Macro Cultural Factors Are the “Operating System” of the Mind 74 CONTENTS ix Psychological Phenomena Are Part of Macro Cultural Factors 81 Macro Cultural Factors Organize Psychological Phenomena 85 Macro Factors are a Goal, orTelos, of Psychological Phenomena 85 Macro Factors are Structuring Frameworks of Psychological Phenomena 87 Macro Factors are Resources That Individuals Draw On 97 The Cultural Organization of Psychology Is Not a Mechanical Process, but Depends On Subjective Activity 102 Macro Cultural Factors Imbue Psychological Phenomena With Concrete Characteristics 103 Cross-Cultural Similarities in Psychology Are Compatible With the Cultural Nature of Mind 112 Psychological Phenomena Promote Macro Cultural Factors 113 Psychology Is a Macro Cultural Factor 116 The Relation of Psychology to Other Macro Cultural Factors Is a Unity of Differences 120 Psychology Mediates Reactions to Other Macro Cultural Factors 123 SocietyIsComposedofDiverseMacroFactorsThatGener- ateDiversePsychologicalCharacteristicsAmongIndi- vidualsandWithinaGivenIndividual 124 Macro Cultural Factors Act on Psychological Phenomena in Complex Ways 128 One Macro Factor May Be Composed of Several Associated Elements That Collectively Affect Psychological Phenomena 128 One Macro Factor May Affect Many Psychological Phenomena 128 Several Macro Cultural Factors May Contribute to One Psychological Phenomenon 129 Psychological Effects That Appear in One Macro Cultural Factor May Be a Function of Other Macro Factors 131
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