It aims to understand individual cultures and their differences from other cultures "to generate a more nearly universal psychology that will be valid for a broader range of cultures," (Berry et al. 1992:3). Within even a solid group there are isolated sub-groups. Cross-cultural psychology then examines how sub-groups can develop within a larger group. These different groups within a larger one represent the idea that each culture does have its differences, but that there are some shared elements; "Cross-cultural psychology may also be practiced within a given society by studying the contrasts between its dominant culture and subcultures," (Gale Group 2001:1). There are several developments within the field of cross-cultural psychology which have spread to viewing essential concepts in two fundamental ways. The etic school of thought examines the patterns and similarities within varying cultural groups. This highlights the idea of finding a universal through examining the similarities. However, there is another branch of cross-cultural psychology. The emic branch focuses on representing the differences of various cultures as the way to show deviations from common universal patterns. However, the element of some universal aspects is present within both. Cross-culture psychology proves much different than cultural psychology in the idea that it develops...

Cross-cultural psychology seeks "to discover systematic relationships between population-level data and individual psychological data," (Berry et al. 1992:6). It is a challenging move to then compare such different variables: the uniqueness of cultural norms to the more abstract pattern of broader principles. "There are, for example, cultural phenomena that exist and can be studied at their own level," but these methodologies must not delineate into other areas of study (Berry et al. 1992:6). Thus, methodologies must focus on cultural influences on the human psych itself, and how patterns stem from those influences; rather than just describing such influences.
References

Berry, John W.; Poortinga, Ype H.; Segall, Marshall H.; & Dasen, Pierre R. (1992). Cross-cultural Psychology. Cambridge University Press.

Gale Group. (2001). Cross-cultural psychology. Encyclopedia of Psychology. Retrieved October 28, 2009 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0000/ai_2699000080/

Ratner, Carl. (2008). Cultural Psychology, Cross-Cultural Psychology, and Indigenous Psychology. Nova Science Publishers.