Stereotypes in social psychology: The “West-East“ differentiation as a reflection of western traditions of thought

Abstract

Notwithstanding the fact that stereotypes and ethnocentrism constitute central topics of social psychology a cultural psychological question has almost been completely neglected in the discipline's refl ections on its own scientifi c endeavors: How has Western psychology's construction of the "Indian" and the "Eastern psyche" been infl uenced by stereotypes that are embedded in culture-specifi c traditions of European scholarly and non-scholarly thinking? The problems tackled in this article are related to current social and cross-cultural psychological perspectives on the Indian context. In addition, they are related to social and cross-cultural psychological contributions to the well-established differentiation between the "West" and the "East," which many psychologists have become used to and which are the foundation of current psychological theories about so-called "West-East differences."

Co-creating stakeholder and brand identities: A cross-cultural consumer perspective

“…In addition, such binary opposition between cultures often shunts finer, within-cultural differences, which can be equally important in understanding cross-cultural differences (Triandis, 2001). Traditional binary oppositions between different cultures are becoming less relevant as cultural values evolve toward uniformity and convergence and behaviors and modes of thinking traditionally observed in certain parts of the world spread to other areas, thus challenging cultural stereotypes (Chakkarath, 2010;Craig, & Douglas, 2001;Tamura & Kobayashi, 2014;Yan, 2009).…”

Diversity and Inclusion in Integral Education: A Teaching Perspective of Integral Psychology

“…Students have been acculturated according to their specific cultural and historical backgrounds, which in turn have shaped their cultural positionality and references, creating gaps and barriers in the ways they relate in the classroom and, in the future, in their professional lives. The risk of ethnocentrism (Chakkarath, 2010) in any psychology curriculum, indicated by "a tendency to interpret or evaluate other cultures in terms of one's own based on thinking patterns and attitudes in which one's own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated in reference to it" (p. 19). The following section discusses additional means for acknowledging ethnocentrism, diversity, and inclusiveness in the classroom highlighting the "liberal ideology" and "transgressions" concepts of hooks (1984,1998).…”

“…It is not rare in my courses that students will examine, for the first time in their academic lives, their social and cultural identities and the ramifications of that in relationship to other students and to their positions in society. Contributors to decolonizing education (Chakkarath, 2010;Hollinsworth, 2016;Ranzjin & McConnachie, 2013) have found that the concepts of White supremacy and unearned White privilege are often met with resistance, proclamations of "color blindness" or even displays of hostility. In addition, while some students may identify as social activists and have sophisticated language and ability to engage in productive dialogue, others may never have had the opportunity to deeply think about their social and cultural identity.…”

Is Authoritative Parenting the Best Parenting Style?

“…The theory explains four parenting styles, one of them is authoritative parenting that is mostly applied in Europe and America. The impact of globalization and the stereotype that everything comes from western is the best [9] make authoritative parenting considered the best parenting style and can be applied universally to optimally support children's development and academic performances. However, research in China [10] suggests that authoritative parenting is not related to a student's academic performances.…”