ATA5
Assignment 5 was based on current research in the field of cultural psychology. The study I chose to analyze for this assignment compared the cultural differences among American and Chinese adolescents in stereotyping the obese population. I chose this article because it encompassed many topics relevant to this course, including the psychology of social behaviors, emotions, and health, along with developmental psychology, in relation to culture. I have always been intrigued by the differences found in the Asian culture compared to American culture, and the topic of obesity is significant in my field of study, Exercise Science. Learning more about current research regarding the combination of these topics helped make the content of this class more relevant to my specific field of study.
I can relate this information to my field of study in Exercise Science, specifically, the dimensions of wellness. Since the dimensions of wellness are intertwined; for instance, emotional wellness and physical wellness have effects on each other, I argue that negative stereotypes toward the obese population have an impact on emotional wellness. Since the dimensions of wellness are dependent on one another, I cannot help but notice that the frequencies of stereotyping correlate with national obesity rates. It seems that when the frequencies of negative social behaviors are lower, as it is in China, levels of physical health are higher (obesity rates are lower.) A higher percentage of the population was obese in America compared to China, and researchers hypothesized that this would affect social behaviors such as stereotyping. I believe that with further investigation, researchers could find a strong relation regarding negative social outlooks and poor physical health.
I can relate this to working as a personal trainer in the field of Health and Wellness. Working with clients has taught me how important the other dimensions of wellness are to physical wellness. For example, if a client has stronger mental wellness, he or she is more likely to stick to healthy routines and increase physical wellness. It is interesting to take my personal experiences and what I have learned through this assignment and compare this with the ways of another culture. Research on the differences in the cultural environments, along with other factors that determine social behavior, give learners a better understanding as to why these cultural differences exist.
ATA3
Assignment 3 was based on blog posts by a student who studied abroad. I chose to analyze a series of blog posts written by a Temple University student named Connor Daly. Connor studied abroad during the spring semester of 2014 in Dublin, Ireland. I studied abroad in Donegal, Ireland last spring break, which made it easy to connect with many of his posts. Through the series of blog posts, I was able to connect Connor’s study abroad journey and transformation through the experience to culture, self, and identity. Connor became more interdependent on the scale of independent-interdependent construal of self. His relational, collective, and personal identities underwent a transformation as he discovered his intended purpose in life. His self-reflection and interactions with people of the Irish culture are what cultivated his transformation.
This assignment opened my eyes to the significant impact study abroad has on students. As a student who has studied abroad, I recognize the great impact a week in another culture can have on an individual. An entire semester abroad helped Connor to better define his culture, self, and identity. I can relate this assignment to my reflection paper from my study abroad course last semester. I was tasked to write about how the course affected the concept of my place in the world. Studying abroad for the first time, I was amazed at the small differences in the everyday lives of people of Donegal. I noticed that the people in Donegal live a much slower paced life than the people in America. We were often offered coffee or tea before we did anything, and that is just an example of how hospitable the culture is. People treat each other like family, and in many places in America, we do not see that. Connor described his relationships with the people he met in Ireland like family, and he described the way of life of the Irish the same as I did in my study abroad reflection. I found it encouraging to discover the similarities amongst myself and other American students who study abroad in Ireland, and the significance of my study abroad experience is something I will never take for granted.
ATA2
Assignment 2 was based on the article, The Values Americans Live By (Kohls). This article described thirteen values common to most Americans, and the assignment was to choose one of these values to relate to and discuss. After applying this value to my life, I reflected on the perspective of someone of a different culture regarding the chosen value. I chose the ninth value; which is “Action/Work Orientation.” I compared the action/work-oriented culture with people of cultures that value tradition over change. I argued that these cultures may value family, religion, and other traditions over work-advancement, productivity, and efficiency. I can relate this to a service-learning experience I had of working with a culture in a rural town in Blackville, South Carolina. Spending a week interacting with the citizens of this town gave me a taste of a culture that seemed so foreign to me, even in my own country. Their culture reflected the importance of tradition, family, community, religion, and living at a relaxed, slower pace than the culture in most of America. Work is valued, but only when the purpose of work is to serve the community, not for career-advancement and productivity. An individual from this culture may view the action/work-based culture as overwhelming and insincere.
This assignment was personally relevant to me because of the extent I can relate to this action/work-oriented culture. Through this assignment, I realized how much of my life is based on this value. I focus on being productive, my leisure activities often have to do with my work, and I often use my work when describing who I am. These “workaholic” characteristics I hold are norms in my American culture and have been upheld by my family for generations. Attending school full-time while holding multiple-part time jobs keeps my schedule full and encourages me to identify who I am with my work. My co-workers know me as the girl with “every job in the Student Recreation Center,” where I have held seven different positions since I started working there during my first year of college (along with holding two other part-time jobs outside of the university.) Overall, this assignment helped me realize how much of an impact this value has had on my life, and provoked me to consider how cultures different from mine view this value.
ATA1
The first assignment in this course prompted me to investigate six stages of intercultural sensitivity, and to identify which stage best described me. Then I was to reflect on why I fit into this stage, and how my previous experiences supported my stage.
Through this assignment, I learned that when it comes to viewing culture, I keep an open mind. I would describe myself as observant, receptive, unbiased, and understanding, which are characteristics that support why I fit into the “Acceptance of Difference” category. I related this to how I view expectations of time and punctuality in other cultures that I have interacted with. I am accepting of and appreciate that other cultures live at a pace that could be described as laissez-faire, but I do not think that I could live that way and still maintain productivity. I respect the ways of another culture, and I even envy the ways of a culture with a flexible schedule, but I do not have to agree that it is the best way to live. By relating this example to the intercultural sensitivity theory, this self-reflection became purposeful and relevant to my life. As a student employee, I have the opportunity to interact with people of various cultures. A common occurrence that causes some of my coworkers to feel frustrated occurs when a group of students of another culture is not punctual. After accepting that this is a normal part of their culture, I will remind my coworkers that we should respect the ways of their culture, be understanding, and work with these people to the best of our abilities.
Relating back to the introduction of Culture and Psychology, the purpose of psychology is to learn about people, and to apply what is learned to enhance their lives. I can apply what I learn about cultural sensitivity in order to improve my future interactions with people of various cultures. After self-reflection on my current stage in the intercultural sensitivity theory, I set an intention to deepen my appreciation of other cultures and to learn how to better interact interculturally through this course.