Dual-Process Model Of Cultural Psychology Essay

There are some researchers in the psychology field that are not aware of the benefits that exist when they approach their research as cultural psychologists. An analysis of the dual-process models' theories and the assumptions about cultural psychology reveals that cultural psychology forces researchers to expend a high level of cognitive effort. The current debate between cultural psychologists and non-cultural psychologists is like the Gestalt psychology and Behaviorism debate in the 20th Century (Moskowitiz, Skurnik, & Galinsky, 1999). Both debates are battles between subjective and objective information. Cultural aspects (cultural psychology) and perception (Gestalt psychology) represents the subjective information, while human processes
If researchers limit their capacity to think, then they will have selective attention. Heuristics and schemas are shortcuts we use to think because they need the least amount of cognitive effort (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). In cultural psychology, the schema is culture. Thinking in terms of culture, in research, requires less cognitive effort than thinking in terms of ethnicities and race, because group-level differences, or variation between cultures, are not as complex as individual-differences, or racial and ethnic differences. Within cultures, there are a lot of ethnicities and race. It will take more cognitive effort to get through all the information that can
The meaning that comes with sufficient cognitive effort prepares thinkers to do appropriate actions in situations. Researchers are always thinking about their research. Literature review is preparation researchers do before they complete studies. The literature review is the meaning for research and the methods are the appropriate actions. Western psychologists maybe accused for limiting their studies to western theories (Shweder, 2000). Knowledge of diverse cultural groups in research creates predictive veridicality in the research and in the participants. Predictive veridicality defines actions based on knowledge of situations (Bruner, 1957). For example, predictive veridicality help people to understand that actions done in church will not be the actions done in a nightclub. Variations exists in different situations and the actions done in any situation should account for the variation. In research, understanding cultural groups provides the predictive veridicality researchers need to create studies that go beyond generalizability in theories (Wang. 2010). Predictive veridicality in research can uncover processes that are unique to cultural groups who are