Fall 2003
Donadrian Rice, Ph.D.

Office:  123 Melson Hall
Ph.        770-836-6510
Please make Appointments with Secretary
Email:  drice@westga.edu (Quick response)

Text:
 Cross-Culturral Psychology By Eric Shiraev and David Levy
Psychology and Culture By Walter Lonner and Roy Malpass
 
 

This course will cover the cross-cultural arid social explorations that examine the impact of culture on psychological life from an academic and experiential perspective. The course will include a cross-cultural examination of many of the traditional topics in psychology such as personality, mind/body psychology, psychotherapy, cognitive functioning, perception and motivation. Moreover, this course is designed to assist, encourage, and challenge students to develop more fully their awareness and knowledge of self and others in a culturally pluralistic society. Additionally, the course will explore cross-cultural behavioral expectations and foster development of the skills needed to evaluate a situation and determine the behavioral rules exiting in that situation.
 

Course Objectives:

1. To investigate the importance of people’s culture to understanding their behavior.

2. To develop a fundamental knowledge of multicultural terms and concepts in order to enhance one’s understanding of self and others.

3. To understand the ways culture guides specific behavioral choices

4. To understand the ways culture influences health and health related behaviors.

5. To examine the impact of culture on perception, cognition and intelligence.

6. To sensitize you to cross-cultural and sub-cultural variations and issues. It is hoped that this course will encourage you to view psychology in a broader socio-cultural perspective, and to appreciate the importance of culture in understanding the human condition.
 

Methods of Instruction/procedure:

This class will consist of lectures, experiential activities, guest lectures and films. I expect students to attend class, participate in group discussions and be responsible for all materials presented in class regardless of attendance on any particular day.
 

Method of Evaluation

The student’s total grade will be determined by the following:

Group Project: There is one group project required in this course. Each group will have 4-5 members and is to choose a culture or religion (some cases there may be overlap) and learn about the ways that culture arid/or religion interacts with the dominant cultural values of a particular country. At least four references must be used to determine the values, and their interaction. Each group will present the results of their research to the class as a whole. I will announce the start dates for the group presentations in class. The first group will present after mid-term. (25% of final grade)

2. Field Work: One way to “experience” a culture different from your own is to participate in the activities of that culture. For this project, go to an appropriate ethnic or culturally different event and write a description (minimum of five pages) of your experience. Another possibility is to contact members of the International student organization on campus and spend several hours with an international student. Locally, we have a Hispanic out-reach program located near the campus where you can volunteer a few hours. I will base your grade on the quality of your description of the experience and its effect on you. Additionally, I expect you to place your description within the context of theories and research examples discussed in class and in the readings. Your description should be informative and convey very clearly what is different from your own culture and how your culture interacts with (or potentially interacts) with the experienced culture. For the purpose of this project, I am excluding ethnic music concerts, restaurants, and bars. Some questions you may want to consider are:
What are the real differences between this culture and my own?
What do I experience as uncomfortable about certain aspects of this culture? Why?
What can I embrace about this culture? Why? What are some specific psychological notions (e.g. cognitive, emotion, motivation, perception, etc.) held by this culture that are different from your own? (25% of final grade)

 3. Mid-term and Final Exam. Format will be multiple choice and essay. (25% each)
 

Midterm Exam:  October 9

Final:  December: 9, From 11 am until 1 pm

Please Note!!!

Attendance Policy:  You are expected to attend every scheduled class.  After two unexcused absences, 5 points will be deducted from final grade average for each class or part of class missed.  Coming to class after the roll is called will be considered an absence.

5 points will be deducted from the final grade each time your cell phone or pager rings during class.