The distinguished psychologist Michael Cole, known for his pioneering work in literacy, cognition, and human development, offers a multifaceted account of what cultural psychology is, what it has been, and what it can be. A rare synthesis of the theory and empirical work shaping the field, this book will become a major foundation for the emerging discipline.

This book considers cultural psychology from historical, theoretical, and epistemological perspectives, building an understanding of cultural psychology as a human science and moving beyond the nature-culture dichotomy. The unique collection of chapters seeks to advance the field of cultural psychology by reviving its historical legacies and arguing for its social responsibility in future historical developments. It considers European legacies for cultural psychology as developed by leading figures such as Giambattista Vico, Wilhelm Wundt, Wilhelm Dilthey, and Ernst Cassirer in order to provide insights into a long tradition of thinking from a cultural psychology perspective. The book discusses historical pathways in the rise and repression of cultural psychology and its different historical forms, arguing for the necessity of decolonizing psychology, securing a place for culture in it, and developing an epistemology suited to humankind’s meaning-making processes in mutual shaping of psyche and culture. It provides an integrative and historical understanding of the subject and uses the diversity and heterogeneity within the field to offer critical reflections on its achievements. The thoroughly international group of contributors brings diverse analyses of self, body, emotions, culture, and society and considers the future of cultural psychology. The volume is a stimulating read for scholars and students of cultural and theoretical psychology and related areas including philosophy, anthropology, and history.

Making of the Future is the first English?language coverage of the new methodological perspective in cultural psychology—TEA (Trajectory Equifinality Approach) that was established in 2004 as a collaboration of Japanese and American cultural psychologists. In the decade that follows it has become a guiding approach for cultural psychology all over the World. Its central feature is the reliance on irreversible time as the basis for understanding of cultural phenomena and the consideration of real and imaginary options in human life course as relevant for the construction of personal futures. The book is expected to be of interest in researchers and practitioners in education, developmental and social psychology, developmental sociology and history. It has extensions for research methodology in the focus on different sampling strategies.

Bringing together leading authorities, this definitive handbook provides a comprehensive review of the field of cultural psychology. Major theoretical perspectives are explained, and methodological issues and challenges are discussed. The volume examines how topics fundamental to psychology?identity and social relations, the self, cognition, emotion and motivation, and development?are influenced by cultural meanings and practices. It also presents cutting-edge work on the psychological and evolutionary underpinnings of cultural stability and change. In all, more than 60 contributors have written over 30 chapters covering such diverse areas as food, love, religion, intelligence, language, attachment, narratives, and work.

Cultural Psychology is a radical new look in psychology that studies how persons and social-cultural worlds mutually constitute one another. With the increase of globalization and multicultural exchanges, cultural psychology becomes the psychological science for the 21st century. Encounters with others fundamentally transform the way we understand ourselves. No longer can we ignore questions about how our cultural traditions, practices, beliefs, artifacts and other people constitute how we approach, understand, imagine and remember the world. The Niels Bohr Professorship Lectures in Cultural Psychology series aims to highlight and develop new ideas that advance our understanding of these issues. This first volume in the series features an address by Prof. Jaan Valsiner, which is followed by ten commentary chapters and his response to them. In his lecture, Valsiner explores what Niels Bohr’s revolutionary principle of ‘complementarity’ can contribute to the development of a cultural psychology that takes time, semiotics, and human feeling seriously. Commentators further discuss how complementarity can act as an epistemology for psychology; a number of new methodological strategies for incorporating culture and time into investigations; and what cultural psychology can contribute to our understanding of imagination, art, language and self-other relations.

This compilation of conference proceedings consists of 44 separate "chapters" or selections that are spread over about ten sections. The sections deals with such topics as historical and epistemological factors, cognitive and intellectual perspectives, and clinical and mental health.

The first volume of its kind, this provocative book evaluates the construct of cultural competence from multiple perspectives. At the intersection of diverse disciplines and domains, contributors argue for greater clarity in understanding the cultural competence construct, a deeper level of analysis as to its multifaceted components, and call for concrete practical objectives and science-based means of measurement. Serious, nuanced discussion addresses challenges, strengths, and limitations of current cultural competence practice in terms of sociocultural concepts (e.g., race, ethnicity) and practical concepts (e.g., sensitivity in the therapeutic relationship, treatment efficacy). In addition, contributors identify future directions for research, training, and practice with the potential to spur the further evolution of this clinically important construct. This timely book: Critiques the cultural competence construct and its evaluation as it is currently disseminated within applied psychology. Compares and contrasts how cultural competence is defined within clinical, school, and counseling psychology. Analyzes difficulties and challenges in understanding the cultural competence construct as evaluated through the lens of closely related fields outside of applied psychology. Spotlights complexities in cultural competence issues pertaining to specific populations. Sets out implications for education and training, offering a detailed outline for an ideal college course in cultural competence With this level of reasoning and rigor, Cultural Competence in Applied Psychology is sure to stimulate long-overdue dialogue and debate among professionals across a wide variety of fields, such as clinical psychology, social work, child and social psychology, psychotherapy, school psychology, and counseling.

Cultural Psychology draws upon major psychological topics, theories, and principles to illustrate the importance of culture in psychological inquiry. Exploring how culture broadly connects to psychological processing across diverse cultural communities and settings, it highlights the applied nature of cultural psychology to everyday life events and situations, presenting culture as a complex layer in which individuals acquire skills, values, and abilities. Two central positions guide this textbook: one, that culture is a mental and physical construct that individuals live, experience, share, perform, and learn; and the second, that culture shapes growth and development. Culture-specific and cross-cultural examples highlight connections between culture and psychological phenomena. The text is multidisciplinary, highlighting different perspectives that also study how culture shapes human phenomena. Topics include an introduction to cultural psychology, the history of cultural psychology, cultural evolution and cultural ecology, methods, language and nonverbal communication, cognition, and perception. Through coverage of social behaviour, the book challenges students to explore the self, identity, and personality; social relationships, social attitudes, and intergroup contact in a global world; and social influence, aggression, violence, and war. Sections addressing growth and development include human development and its processes, transitions, and rituals across the lifespan, and socializing agents, socialization practices, and child activities. Additionally, the book features discussions of emotion and motivation, mental health and psychopathology, and future directions for cultural psychology. Chapters contain teaching and learning tools including case studies, multidisciplinary contributions, thought-provoking questions, class and experiential activities, chapter summaries, and additional print and media resources.

This book provides a state of the art review of selected areas and topics in cross-cultural psychology written by eminent figures in the field. Each chapter not only reviews the latest research in its respective area, but also goes further in integrating and synthesizing across areas. The Handbook of Culture and Psychology is a unique and timely contribution that should serve as a valuable reference and guide for beginning researchers and scholars alike.