Approaches to studying personality
There are three approaches that can be used to study personality in a cultural context, the cultural-comparative approach; the indigenous approach; and the combined approach, which incorporates elements of both views. Answer the following questions:
Which approach do you support?
Why do you most support this particular approach?
Give an example of how you envision this approach being used in a real world context.
Secondly, go to your group discussion forum and introduce yourself to your group members.
This combination approach recognizes both modern psychological research as well as traditional accounts of psychology in various cultures. It seeks to understand personality through an examination of attitudes and behaviors within social groups or communities. This comprehensive understanding allows researchers to take into account factors like family dynamics, language barriers, and other sociocultural nuances when examining aspects of personalities such as temperament or motivation. Through this method we can gain insight into how different cultural values may be impacting individuals’ lives and their overall development.
An example of how this combined approach could be used in a real world context would be looking at the influence of acculturation on the mental health outcomes among immigrant populations in North America. By combining perspectives from both Western psychology with insights from other traditional belief systems—such as those found among some Native American tribes—researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding about how individual experiences of acculturation are related to psychological distress or positive mental health outcomes over time. By using both modern and traditional ways for exploring these issues we can uncover new ways for supporting individuals that may not have been considered before due to limited perspectives offered by just one lens on its own.
My name is Samira Robinson and I am currently pursuing my Master's degree in Psychology at New York University School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS). My areas of interest include multicultural counseling/therapy; identity development; intersectional feminism; critical race theory; social cognition; group dynamics/interaction styles; resilience studies; and program evaluation research methods & techniques. Outside academia I'm passionate about singing & songwriting music, poetry writing & spoken word performance artistry!