Interactional Psychology: Some Implications for Psychological Anthropology

Abstract

Recent developments in psychology are bringing about a rapprochement between behaviorists, trait psychologists, and psychodynamically orzented theorists. The incipient perspective, which has been labeled "interactional psychology, "focuses on persons-insituations and raises some penetrating questions f o r psychological anthropology. Attempts by interactionists t o reconcile traditional concepts of "personality" with evidence demonstrating the power ofsituations to pattern behavior are discussed. It is proposed that the interactionist framework fits well with recent trends in anthropology that emphasize the contextualization of behavior and an interest in intracultural diversity.[psychological anthropology, personality, situation, ecology of behavior] IN THIS PAPER I EXAMINE some recent developments in psychology that have involved discussions between behaviorists, trait psychologists, and psychodynamically oriented theorists. The thrust seems to be toward a rapprochement of previously opposing viewpoints,and the incipient perspective has been labeled "interactional" psychology. Before discussing these developments, however, I will make some historical observations concerning the influence of psychological theory on psychological anthropology. PSYCHOLOGY'S INFLUENCE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGYIt is significant that the initial label for the subdiscipline was "culture and personality." These were parallel terms, both emphasizing systematic integration, on an abstract level, of behavioral patterns and/or propensities. Both were concerned with the structuring of habitual behavior, leading to a confounding of the concepts in much of the research that characterized the field. As Sapir noted during this period, "the more fully one tries to understand a culture, the more it seems to take on the characteristics of a personality organization" (1934:412). This perspective sometimes led to a rather casual use of psychological (or psychiatric) labels to describe culture configurations.The two theoretical orientations that were important to early culture and personality workers were psychoanalysis and behaviorist learning theory. The impetus toward psychoanalytic theory was facilitated by Sapir, who, in his article "Why Cultural Anthropology Needs the Psychiatrist," argued that cultural anthropology could not avoid testing ALAN its analysis of "social" and "cultural" patterns in terms of individual realities (Sapir 1938). As a dynamic theory of human functioning, psychoanalysis was congenial to anthropologists because it presented personality as an open system interacting with society (Honigmann 1976:293).Also, as Kluckhohn (1 965) pointed out, such psychoanalytic concepts as "ambivalence" helped us to understand hitherto puzzling phenomena such as death beliefs and practices; "projection" illuminated witchcraft anxieties; and similarities between compulsion neuroses and ritual activities were too unmistakable to be denied (ibid.:90). Furthermore, Kluckhohn noted, the search for meaning in the apparently chaotic and nona...

Preference and the conversation analytic endeavor

“…It is a familiar observation that initially promising theories in social science break down as more contexts are brought under consideration. Thus, for example, the move from an essentialist to a situational approach in psychology (Howard, 1982). Perhaps something similar is happening, or will happen, or should happen with preference theory.…”

Adolescence: An Anthropological Inquiry.

“…The psychoanalyst and the developmental psychologist, however, are generally more concerned with psychogenic factors, such as the ways in which the conflicts of early develo_ pment are reactivated by present conditions to affect self-image and behavior (cf. Howard 1982;Shweder 1979).…”

“…1 More recently, anthropologists have responded to the direction set by sociologists and psychologists of the interactionist or phenomenological approach (cf. LeVine 1973:46-48;Howard 1982) by including situational re-sponses as determinants of behavior. The work of Roberts and his collaborators (e.g., Roberts and Sutton-Smith 1962) combined psychogenic and sociogenic theory in the conflict-enculturation theory of involvement in games; Schlegel and Barry ( 1989) utilized this theory in their study of adolescent games.…”

“…Bolton et al (1976) found that children who herd are more independent and self-reliant than children in the same community who do not. Howard (1982) cited his research among Hawaiian children as an example of the interactional approach. Munroe and Munroe's (1989) work on birth order and behavior of children was sensitive to the situational features of child experience.…”