Positive Psychology Within a Cultural Context

Abstract

As our capacity for communication with nations across the globe increases through the advances of technology, our interactions with others with different worldviews also become more frequent. This exposure to diversity on so many levels requires a better understanding of the multiple contexts in which people from different cultural backgrounds live and the strengths they possess that help them experience well-being. In order to define the characteristics that may be viewed as strengths in different groups, we must make efforts to remember that cultural rules and norms often dictate what can be called a strength versus a weakness. It is imperative that we are able to recognize that strengths may look very different in different contexts and that these diverse manifestations may come from a variety of worldviews. More work must be done in order to develop a better understanding of the way that cultural context plays a role In the operationalization, manifestation, and measurement of strengths in diverse groups. The following chapter provides a history ofthe connections between culture and positive psychology and discusses current issues regarding the link between cultural context anlvarious personal characteristics. Examples from culturally sensitive positive psychological theory and research are also given in order to illustrate how researchers are better exploring positive psychology within a cultural context. Keywords: culture, strengths. positive psychology. contextThe good citizen is a "citizen of the world .. ." thinking about humanity as it is realized in the whole world is valuable for self-knowledge: we see ourselves and our customs more clearly when we see our own ways in relation to those of others. (Nussbaum, 1997, p. 59) As nations become more and more diverse across the world, and as we interact more frequently through trade, collaboration, and advances of technology, it becomes necessary to include a discussion of cultural context in studying any human variant. Discussions of culture fit naturally within the field of psychology at large, and particularly well within the area of positive psychology and its concentration on strength as important to, and present within, the lives of all individuals. Positive psychologists have begun to recognize this importance over the last few decades and have begun to attempt to build a community "where the word 'equality' can truly be applied to the abilities of all citizens to pursue their goals" (Lopez et aI., 2000, p. 238). In discussing strengths and virtues, it becomes imperative to define these variables within the appropriate cultural context, however, and to view their diverse manifestations from a variety of viewpoints.In this chapter, we examine a variety of frameworks that can be used to understand and foster healthy functioning. We will review a brief history 49 of the way in which culture and positive psychology fit together, and cover current debates about the level of importance it plays today in the field. We also will describe exemplars ...

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