Visual primes as culture-sensitive method to understanding acculturation processes

Scientific Conference (2021, July 31)

One facet of contemporary societies is their increasingly divers composition. With a foreign population percentage of 47, 5 %, Luxembourg is an example for a super-diverse society and provides a rich ... [more ▼]

One facet of contemporary societies is their increasingly divers composition. With a foreign population percentage of 47, 5 %, Luxembourg is an example for a super-diverse society and provides a rich context to explore acculturation processes. The majority of immigrants have European roots, but the number of non-European immigrants is rising. Within this qualitative study we examined the identity construction processes of eight Japanese women living in Luxembourg using several visual primes guiding the interview. Building on Ying-yi Hong’s work on cultural mixing we developed hybrid images to evoke affective responses and to capture the negotiation processes between cultures. The choice of images was carefully prepared and first involved an ethnographic study of cultural dimensions of Japan and Luxembourg. Based on this analysis we decided to explore the domains of beauty, food, living, leisure and family. For each domain, we chose a prototypical European and Japanese image and created a hybrid image. All images were culturally meaningful and anchored in real life experiences. The Japanese images were tested in a pilot study in Japan. The interviews were carefully planned, each phase involving different visual stimuli. In the opening phase, the interviewer presented a business card in three different designs – European, Japanese and a mixed version. Interviewees could choose their preferred version and explain their choice. Next, a series of 15 matched typical images of Japan and Luxembourg were shown and the interviewees again chose their preferred images and explained their choice. Finally, the five sets of domain-specific images were presented. These provided a context for narration and especially the reaction to the hybrid stimuli showed how participants negotiate their cultural identities. The visual primes made the negotiation strategies visible. Findings from this study and the potential of this culture-sensitive method for accessing the process of acculturation will be discussed. [less ▲]

Lev Vygotsky as a Developmental Scientist: Pedology Rediscovered.

in Van der Veer, René (Ed.) Vygotsky's pedology of the school age (2020)

Culture in the Act of Caring: Bringing Geropsychology, other gerosciences, and Cultural Psychology together

in Boll, Thomas; Ferring, Dieter; Valsiner, Jaan (Eds.) Cultures of care in aging (2018)

In the introduction of a multidisciplinary book on the role of culture in elder care the editors set the stage for a substantive integration of contributions from geropsychology, other gerosciences, and ... [more ▼]

In the introduction of a multidisciplinary book on the role of culture in elder care the editors set the stage for a substantive integration of contributions from geropsychology, other gerosciences, and cultural psychology. The authors present arguments for a life-span developmental perspective on care for the elderly and extend this to geropsychology as subsection of life-span developmental psychology. They further emphasize that these disciplines consider to some extent the role of cultural and other contextual factors and that other gerosciences specialized on historical, political, health-and nursing-related aspects of elder care can further supplement this effort. Then three major streams of cultural psychology are mentioned which are particularly relevant to topics of caring: Dialogical Self Theory, Theory of Social Representations, and Cultural Psychology of Semiotic Dynamics. The authors conclude that an increasing population aging and growing gaps between demand and supply of care create a serious practical need for an integration of geropsychology, other gerosciences, and cultural psychologies to achieve a better understanding of the individual, interpersonal, and macro social processes involved in elder care. [less ▲]

Care in aging: Cross-fertilization within and between Geropsychology, other gerosciences, and Cultural Psychology

in Boll, Thomas; Ferring, Dieter; Valsiner, Jaan (Eds.) Cultures of care in aging (2018)

Care for elderly persons is multifaceted and embedded in a rich socio-ecological context of individual, micro-, and macro-social factors. This complexity requires multidisciplinary perspectives to better ... [more ▼]

Care for elderly persons is multifaceted and embedded in a rich socio-ecological context of individual, micro-, and macro-social factors. This complexity requires multidisciplinary perspectives to better understand phenomena of elder care and to act successfully in this field. In the final chapter of a multidisciplinary book with contributions from geropsychology, other gerosciences, and cultural psychology the editors draw conclusions about major topics, new insights, and further implications for research and practice. The conclusions refer to four domains. First, the macro-social context—including demographic, historical, political, normative, and other cultural factors—opens and limits the available options for individual care giving and receipt and shapes how these issues are experienced by the participants. Second, elder care at the individual and family level is far more complex than previously thought, due to differentiated individual and social care preferences and due to consequences extending beyond single caregivers to multigenerational caring families. Third, processes involved in formal and informal care turned out to be rather differentiated: Understanding, emotional responding, motivation and acting towards suffering, care dependency and caregiver burden are influenced by multiple individual and social level factors. Fourth, future issues of elder care are shaped by macro level factors such as population aging, social trends in job and family life, and technological developments with implications for ensuring care quality, care staff, culturally sensitive care, and assistive technologies. Cultural psychology emerged as a valuable partner of the gerosciences by contributing essentially to a deeper understanding of the aforementioned issues. [less ▲]

Workshop on AMBIVALENCE IN INTERGENERATIONAL FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS: New Perspectives on Methodology

Scientific Conference (2014, June)

Melodies of life. Developmental science of the Human Life Course.

Book published by Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (2013)

Drawing on philosophy, the history of psychology and the natural sciences, this book proposes a new theoretical foundation for the psychology of the life course. It features the study of unique individual ... [more ▼]

Drawing on philosophy, the history of psychology and the natural sciences, this book proposes a new theoretical foundation for the psychology of the life course. It features the study of unique individual life courses in their social and cultural environment, combining the perspectives of developmental and sociocultural psychology, psychotherapy, learning sciences and geronto-psychology. In particular, the book highlights semiotic processes, specific to human development, that allow us to draw upon past experiences, to choose among alternatives and to plan our futures. Imagination is an important outcome of semiotic processes and enables us to deal with daily constraints and transitions, and promotes the transformation of social representation and symbolic systems - giving each person a unique style, or 'melody', of living. The book concludes by questioning the methodology and epistemology of current life course studies. [less ▲]