This tutorial corresponds with Module A Lesson 1.

1. Cross Cultural Psychology
Module A Lesson 1 Tutorial
Created by: Professor Hokerson
American River College
Last Updated: Fall 2015

2. Using this Tutorial
• Use the navigation buttons across the
bottom of the screen.
• Click on hyperlinks when prompted
• Have fun and learn!

3. Table of Contents
• Objectives
• Module A Objectives #5 & 6
• Action Items
• Cross cultural psychology
• Worldviews
• Differences
• Conclusions

4. MODULE A OBJECTIVES
By the end of this tutorial you will be able to…
#5 - Compare values, behaviors, and attitudes of individualistic
and collectivistic cultures, as it relates to cross-cultural
psychology.
#6 - Differentiate cross-cultural differences in time perspective
and communication, as well as the characteristics of “tight” and
“loose” cultures.

5. ACTION ITEMS

6. Defining Culture
• Watch: What is culture?
• We belong to many cultural groups.
• Survey: Which cultural groups do you belong to?
• Gender Poll
• Ethnicity Poll
• Political Affiliation Poll
• Socioeconomic Status Poll
• Age Poll

7. Cross-Cultural Psychology
• Definition: “The study of how cultural factors influence
behavior” (Hockenbury, Nolan, and Hockenbury, 2015)
• Read Chapter 1
• The Cross-cultural perspective (p. 12)
• What is Cross-Cultural Psychology? (p. 13)
• Activity: Which countries tend to be individualistic? Which tend to be
collectivistic? Take a piece of paper, fold it in half and list the countries
on the left that fall under collectivistic and a list on the right that fall
under individualistic. You will use this over the next couple of slides.
• Summarize: What did you learn about these concepts?
• Social loafing vs. social striving
• Sleeping Habits

8. Worldviews
• Explore: This video Cultural Dimension: me or we will help to get
a better understanding of the difference between individualistic
and collectivistic cultures. Are you an “I” or a “we”?
• Hint! Individualism and collectivism influence how we perceive and
interact with the world around us!
• Outline: Use this table to help differentiate the characteristics between
these two world views using your folded piece of paper.
Individualism Collectivism
What are the values, beliefs, and
behaviors?
In what countries are these more
prevalent?
What are the values, beliefs, and
behaviors?
In what countries are these more
prevalent?

9. • Summarize: On a piece of paper summarize cultural differences in
communication (p. 1-4) of “high vs. low context”, monochromic vs.
polychromic time, and space and proxemics in this publication titled
“Improving Cross Cultural Communication Skills: Ask-Seek-Knock.”
• Caution! Although we all carry this “cultural baggage” with us,
the ways in which we were taught to view and interact with our
world:
• These differences don’t apply to every individual within a
culture.
• Situational factors can and do influence individual behavior, too.
Cultural Differences

10. More Cultural Differences
• Listen to a 4 minute podcast on NPR titled Of War and Kisses: How
Adversity Shapes Culture about cultural variations in attitudes
toward general behaviors, such as cursing, kissing, and eating.
• Activity: Which countries tend to be “loose”? Which tend to be “tight”? Take
another piece of paper, fold it in half and list the countries on the left that are
described as “loose” and a list on the right that are described as “tight.”
• You may have to pause and rewind the podcast a couple of times to get all
of the details. I also recommend listening to it one time at the end, to check
for accuracy and missing information.
“tight” “loose”
What are characteristics of this type
of culture?
In what countries are these more
prevalent?
What are characteristics of this type
of culture?
In what countries are these more
prevalent?

11. A Comparison
• Activity: Now let’s compare the list of Individualistic and Collectivistic to
the list of countries and characteristics of “loose” and “tight” cultures.
• Do you see any similarities between collectivist and “tight” cultures?
• Caution! Do not over-generalize. You should never make
assumptions or predictions about the values, beliefs or behaviors of a
person based on their nationality, gender, or ethnic background.

12. Conclusions
• Cross cultural psychology provides important information about
the experiences of cultural groups and how they may vary in
beliefs, values, and behaviors.
• These differences are not absolute.
• These differences should not be assumed.
• Our experiences are shaped by our cultural identities.
• Those experiences should be validated!

13. MODULE A OBJECTIVES
After completing this tutorial you should now be able to…
#5 - Compare values, behaviors, and attitudes of individualistic
and collectivistic cultures, as it relates to cross-cultural
psychology.
#6 - Differentiate cross-cultural differences in time perspective
and communication, as well as the characteristics of “tight” and
“loose” cultures.

14. MODULE A OBJECTIVE #5
After completing this tutorial you should now be able to…
Compare values, behaviors, and attitudes of individualistic and
collectivistic cultures, as it relates to cross-cultural psychology