Cultural vs. Cross-Cultural Psychology: Acculturation and Health
This paper examines the relationship between cultural psychology and cross-cultural psychology, highlighting their distinct yet complementary methodologies for understanding human diversity. Drawing primarily on Borrows et al. (2011) — a study using the Pacific Islands Family Study dataset — the paper explores how acculturation and enculturation affect health outcomes for Pacific Islander immigrant mothers and their infants in New Zealand. It incorporates Berry's bi-directional acculturation model, Praslova's distinction between static and dynamic approaches to culture, and the etic/emic framework to argue that retaining strong ties to one's culture of origin produces more positive psychological and health outcomes than full assimilation into a dominant culture.
- Introduction: Two Complementary Fields: Contrasting methodologies of cultural and cross-cultural psychology
- Berry's Acculturation Model and Immigrant Health: Bi-directional acculturation and Pacific Islander infant health
- Cultural vs. Cross-Cultural Psychology Methods: Static versus dynamic approaches across the two fields
- Research Design and Measurement Challenges: Quantitative tools, cultural bias, and etic/emic frameworks
- Ethnicity, Worldview, and Identity Formation: How worldview and ethnic identity shape behavioral outcomes
- Enculturation and Acculturation Defined: Distinguishing enculturation from acculturation in immigrant contexts
- Conclusion: Global Migration and Future Directions: Growing relevance of both fields amid rising global migration
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What makes this paper effective
- Anchors abstract theoretical distinctions — such as the difference between cultural and cross-cultural psychology — to a concrete, real-world dataset (the Pacific Islands Family Study), making the argument both grounded and accessible.
- Integrates multiple theoretical frameworks (Berry's acculturation model, the etic/emic distinction, enculturation vs. acculturation) without losing argumentative coherence.
- Consistently returns to a single focal study (Borrows et al., 2011) to test and illustrate each theoretical claim, creating a unified analytical thread throughout.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of a case-study-as-lens technique: rather than surveying the literature broadly, it selects one empirical study and uses it as a running example through which multiple theoretical frameworks are examined and compared. This approach allows the writer to show analytical depth while keeping the argument focused.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by contrasting cultural and cross-cultural psychology methodologically, then narrows to the Borrows et al. (2011) study as its primary vehicle. Subsequent sections examine Berry's acculturation theory, measurement limitations in cross-cultural research, the role of identity and worldview, and the conceptual distinction between enculturation and acculturation. The conclusion broadens the argument back out to the global context of increasing migration.
Introduction: Two Complementary Fields
Cultural psychology and cross-cultural psychology are closely linked and interrelated, yet offer distinct methodologies that together permit a nuanced understanding of the diversity of human experience. Cultural psychology generally uses the tools of ethnography and other anthropological methods when gathering data, and may also employ case studies and other qualitative research. Cross-cultural psychology, by contrast, applies quantitative measures that have been standardized, enabling a more rigorous data set. When these two methods are combined, it becomes possible to better understand the experiences of individuals living in complex societies — particularly immigrant societies, multiracial communities, and communities that exhibit wide diversity in other demographic areas such as income or educational attainment.
An ongoing research project in New Zealand called the Pacific Islands Family Study has provided a large dataset that researchers in multiple fields can access. Cross-cultural psychologists can use the Pacific Islands Family Study to test hypotheses like those found in the study by Borrows et al. (2011), which investigates the relationship between material acculturation and infant health risk indicators among Pacific Islander immigrants in New Zealand. The study focuses on acculturation and enculturation as psychologically protective processes, finding that strong identification with and close ties to Pacific Island culture are associated with more positive outcomes for both mothers and their infant children than is found among strong assimilators or those who adopt a more marginalized identity.
Berry's Acculturation Model and Immigrant Health
The Borrows et al. (2011) research incorporates Berry's classical acculturation model, which holds that acculturation is "bi-directional," and not simply a matter of a dominant culture being imposed upon and thereby erasing a minority culture (p. 4). Moreover, Berry's theory of acculturation explains why absolute assimilation — through identification with the dominant culture's values, norms, and language — can lead to adverse psychological outcomes. Identity formation and socialization are areas in which an individual may struggle when ties to their community of origin are weak. Conversely, when individuals retain strong ties to their community of origin through language and other core elements of culture, outcomes tend to be stronger.
The "melting pot" ideal may not be psychologically beneficial to all parties, as strong alignment to one's culture of origin mitigates some of the stress that may accompany migration and assimilation (Borrows et al., 2011, p. 4). Migration in all cases is a "significant life event" that inevitably impacts "subsequent health behavior and outcomes" (Borrows et al., 2011, p. 4). The Borrows et al. (2011) research focuses on Pacific Islander immigrant communities in New Zealand to demonstrate how specific health behaviors and outcomes — such as infant health — are linked to acculturation patterns.
Cultural vs. Cross-Cultural Psychology Methods
Although the Borrows et al. (2011) research employs methodologies more closely associated with cross-cultural psychology than with cultural psychology, the paper does reveal the relationships between these two fields. As Praslova (2008) points out, "cross-cultural psychology tends to deal with static aspects of culture, while cultural and indigenous psychology approaches are more interested in cultural dynamics" (p. 1). The Borrows et al. (2011) research transcends both these definitions by highlighting assimilation and acculturation patterns and trends.
Praslova (2008) also notes that "cross-cultural psychology typically compares two or more cultures on a number of variables to discover similarities and differences in psychological functioning, while cultural psychology aims to understand how human mind and culture define and constitute each other within sociocultural contexts" (p. 1). In the Borrows et al. (2011) research, the dominant culture is presented as a powerful force, and the authors imply that it embodies European values and norms. Importantly, the study also investigates the ways in which the human mind and culture "constitute each other" and co-create each other during the bi-directional acculturation process.
Conclusion: Global Migration and Future Directions
As population migration increases due to global trade and the expansion of free markets, cultural psychology and cross-cultural psychology become increasingly important fields of research. These fields can help illuminate — as the Borrows et al. (2011) study has — the reasons for differential health or economic outcomes among immigrant communities. Similarly, any issue that arises in a multicultural or diverse environment may be examined through the lens of cross-cultural and cultural psychology. The frameworks through which people view the world and themselves are grounded in their cultures of origin and the contextual cultures in which they live.
References
Borrows, W. et al. (2011). Pacific Islands family study: The association of infant health risk indicators. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(5), 699–724.
Cherry, K. (n.d.). What is cross-cultural psychology? About Education.
Praslova, L. (2008). Cross-cultural and cultural psychology: Are there curricular differences? Poster presented at the III International Conference on the Teaching of Psychology, July 12–16, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Ratner, C. (2011). Cultural psychology and cross-cultural psychology. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1).
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