Okay, so, today I decided to look into “Cultural Psychology, 4th Edition”. I’d heard a bit about it, and it sounded interesting enough, so I thought, why not give it a shot? First off, I spent some time trying to find a good copy of it. Not as easy as I thought, to be honest.
After a bit of digging around, I finally managed to get my hands on a decent copy. I cracked it open and started reading. It’s written by this guy, Steven J. Heine, who’s apparently a professor at the University of British Columbia. Sounds smart, right?
The book starts off by giving a general overview of cultural psychology. It’s pretty dense, but I managed to get through it. It talks about how important it is to understand different cultures, especially if you’re working with people. Makes sense, I guess. I mean, you wouldn’t want to offend anyone, right?
I read on, and the book started getting into some specific examples of cultural differences. It wasn’t just listing them out, though. It actually tried to explain why these differences exist. That was pretty cool. I started to see how complex this whole culture thing really is.
- I tried to take some notes while I was reading.
- Mostly just key points and some interesting examples that stood out to me.
- It got a bit messy, but I think I got the gist of it.
There was one part that talked about how families deal with crises, especially those with special needs. It listed out these “crisis stages”, but it was missing one. I guess that’s something I’ll have to look up later. I jotted down a note to research this “Boss” person, who apparently wrote about it in 1999 and 2002.
Then, it went on about the DSM-5, which I guess is some kind of manual for diagnosing mental stuff. It mentioned something called “culture-bound syndromes,” with an example called “Sutso.” Sounds weird, but okay. I made a mental note to maybe check that out sometime, too.
Overall, I spent a good few hours with this book today. Did I become an expert on cultural psychology? Definitely not. But did I learn a thing or two? Yeah, I think so. It gave me a lot to think about, that’s for sure.
Some Thoughts:
- It’s a lot to take in. I think I’ll need to read it a few more times to really get it.
- It’s making me think. I’m starting to see how culture plays a role in everything.
- I have more questions now. Like, what are these missing crisis stages? And what’s up with Sutso?
So, that was my day with “Cultural Psychology, 4th Edition.” It was a bit of a brain workout, but I think it was worth it. Might have to pick it up again tomorrow and see what else I can learn.
