Just how psychology is the study of the behavioral and psychological processes of a human, cross cultural psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and psychological processes in relation to various cultural and social aspects. Cross cultural psychology has been steadily gaining quite a bit of popularity owing to the recent globalization trends.
The list below contains names of prominent psychologists who have added great value to the field of cross cultural psychology either directly or through collaborating with other popular psychologists. Please note that this list is not ranked in any way.
Hazel Rose Markus
Dr. Markus is a social psychologist who has been extremely influential in the initiation of the field of cultural psychology. She received her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan where she was later a faculty member and is presently at Stanford University as the Davis-Brack Professor in the Behavioral Sciences.
She is also the co-director of the Mind, Culture and Society Lab at Stanford. Her works include Clash! 8 Cultural Conflicts that Make us Who We Are (2013), Facing social class: How societal rank influences interaction (2012), and Doing Race: 21 essays for the 21stcentury (2010). Her research focuses on how social and cultural factors such as class, ethnicity, religion, influence mental aspects such as thought and feeling.
Richard Allan Shweder
Dr. Shweder is a prominent American figure in cultural anthropology and cultural psychology. He is the distinguished Service Professor of Human Development at the University of Chicago.
His strong academic background in anthropology and social anthropology from Harvard University has helped him secure his place as a famous cross cultural psychologist. Dr. Shweder has spent time and effort in India studying the various cross cultural concepts such as moral reasoning, behavior, emotions and self.
His previous position at the president of the Society of Psychological Anthropology has allowed him to further his interest in cross cultural psychology. In his home country, Dr. Shweder has published many articles on cultural wars and cultural studies in the United States of America.
Miriam Spering
Dr. Spering is a name that often surfaces in conversation about cross cultural psychology. Though she is currently Assistant Professor UBC Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, she has extensive academic background in psychology. With a Ph.D. in psychology from Germany and a Postdoc in Psychology and Neuroscience, one can imagine the vast knowledge she possesses.
In 2002, Dr. Spering consulted as a scientific expert to the Boston Consulting Group. Here she prepared a 100-page document and presentation on various topics in cross cultural psychology.
Deborah Best
Deborah Best is a professor of psychology. Her research is usually focused towards the development of gender stereotypes as was as cognitive development during the early years of a human. This makes sense since she has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology.
Dr. Best is an Honorary Fellow at the International Association for Cross Cultural Psychology and she is also a member at the Society for Cross Cultural Research. What is even more interesting is that she is the Editor at the Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology.
Some of the books she has published include Sex and psyche: Gender and self-viewed cross-culturally and Cross-Cultural Psychology which is a four volume set. She has also added value to dozens of articles and book chapters that are pertaining to the subject of cross cultural psychology. At the same time, she has presented dozens of presentations on cross cultural psychology at various professional meetings and seminars.
John W. Berry
Dr. Berry, a prominent name in cross cultural psychology is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Queen’s University. He has played a very active and important role in establishing the field of acculturation psychology which is basically a study of the process of cultural change as well as psychological change that occurs when there is an intersection or conflict of different cultures.
An often talked about theory in the field of cross cultural psychology is the four fold model of various acculturation strategies which includes assimilation, separation, integration and marginalization. His main publications include Psychology of acculturation. In Berman, John J. (Ed), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1989: Cross-cultural perspectives as well as Cross-Cultural Psychology: Research and Applications.
John Whiting
Although Dr. Whiting is no longer with us, his contributions to the field of cultural psychology cannot go unmentioned.
As a sociologist and anthropologist, his focus was on child development. With the help of his wife, Dr. Whiting developed the Six Cultures Study of Socialization which became the most comprehensive comparative study on child development. With his highly trained and experienced team, he examined the psychological development of children across six different cultures. His efforts added tremendous value to the field of cross cultural psychology with a special focus on children.
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