An Essay on the Analysis of Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Families

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of cross-cultural perspectives in families, exploring the influence of culture on family dynamics and psychological processes. It examines methodological issues, research findings, and specific concepts such as emotion, social influence, and environmental fa...Read More

Running head: THE ANALYSIS OF CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILIES
THE ANALYSIS OF CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILIES
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1THE ANALYSIS OF CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILIES
Introduction
The essay is going to be discussed by providing an analysis of cross-cultural
perspective in families, along with specific methodological issues, will be presented for better
understanding. Specific concepts, as well as researches, will be provided on the desired topic
in order to support the causes and to find out the desired solutions. Families are referred to as
the member or group of members who are co-related through blood relations, marriage,
adoption, and who are living in the same house as well as share the same economic resources.
In the field of psychology, cross-cultural perspective is focused on the formation of a
different set of cultural impacts through psychological processes. Certain other limitations are
related to cross-cultural perspectives such as personality disorder, emotions, language
acquisition, social behaviour, family and social relationships, along with child development.
The primary purpose of the essay is to gather valid details and essential elements that will
benefit the readers to stimulate their personal ideas as well as thoughts on the desired subject,
families. Specific issues need to be highlighted such as environmental, cultural, key ideas,
practical studies and relevant researches so that it will help to incorporate a better sense of
understanding about the cross-cultural aspects.

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Discussion
Psychologists have researched and have analysed that the concept of families or the
group of individuals is a system where examining their individual behaviours, patterns of
communication, along with emotional bonding (Riemer et al., 2014). Family is like a unit of
individuals, who are always available to solve their problems as well as will provide the
desired solutions to every problem. In several kinds of research, families have also been
defined as a group of individuals who are just sharing their household. They share a similar
ancestral connection as well as a social unit consisting of parents along with their kids. The
approach of families has been structured as the inter-communication, along with their societal
roles in the prevailing culture (Hareven, 2018). They can be of different kinds of families
such as nuclear, as well as joint families. Each member of the family is driven by their
individual duties as well as responsibilities.
Cross-cultural perspective is defined as one of the main branches of psychology that
shows the factors related to culture can influence human behaviour. In some cultures, like
culture can generate stress towards individualism along with the significance of personal
autonomy (Lamb et al., 2014). Other types of cultures may position a higher value on
cooperation as well as collectivism among the members of a group (Thomas & Peterson,
2016).
One of the authors has presented a set of the idea, which is related the capacity of
emotion that one possesses through the processing, as well as, reacting to the environmental
transformations for the survival of an individual. According to Cole and Tan, the authors
have discussed the concept of emotion that has been defined as the occasional feelings along
with behavioural expressions, which serves as the broader aspect related to conscious
awareness (Cole & Tan, 2015). Social influence is one of the significant elements that

3THE ANALYSIS OF CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILIES
primarily affects the social standards of one’s behaviour. It is the crucial aspect from which
emotion arises that has been detected for generations after generations (Thomas & Peterson,
2016). The author has also mentioned that it is culture generates the various socialisation of
the global capacity for the concept of emotion. In developing science, several pieces of
research have been produced to discuss the characteristics related to cultural values. The
cross-cultural, as well as environmental issues, do reflect on an individual’s behaviour and do
affect in their separate lives.
Now speaking about communities, several environmental factors are also responsible
that can influence the cross-culture among the families. In another article, the author
Bornstein has discussed some critical environmental issues that are surrounding between
parents and their children (Bornstein, 2013). Parenting can be defined as providing immense
care as well as managing tasks in their individual lives. Environmental factors are co-related
with cross-culture perspective, where certain limitations can be traced during the
developmental stages of a child. In the field of psychology, the ecological aspects are focused
on the interplay between individuals as well as their surroundings. An individual’s mind, as
well as culture, is absolutely inseparable and culture is the main element that helps in shaping
their personalities and several other characteristics (McBride, 2015). The whole article is
addressed upon societal issues along with environmental issues, which will provide enough
lessons to all the individuals.
Specific other challenges are related to cross-cultural perspectives such as language
acquisition, personality disorder, social behaviour, emotions, family and social relationships,
and child development. The impact of cross-culture is noticed in the patterns of values,
attitudes, beliefs, along with behaviours (Kim, 2017). Inevitable consequences are quite
obvious to relate the cross-cultural aspects such as affecting little children, families,
environment and cultural barriers. Therefore, all the researches are concerned, they are some

4THE ANALYSIS OF CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILIES
desired outcomes on the analysis of the desired subjects, cross-cultural psychology, which
can be concluded through various solutions such as avoiding social barriers, child’s proper
well-being, accepting the cultural diversity and so on (Gallagher & Savage, 2013). The
relationship between ethnicity and race that will generate an essential connection with the
critical approaches. There is a range of beliefs that can be looked upon as the brighter aspect
such as developing the economic factors, appropriate awareness of human behaviour and so
on. Therefore, individuals should also consider specific methodological approaches for
creating particular limitations on the single-subject and will help the readers to understand the
most apparent solutions through real-life stories.
Therefore, to conduct an appropriate process to find out the methodological issues,
then an article can serve this approach very well. The authors Gauvain, Munroe and Beebe
have shared some methods through which they have coordinated their work and have
established their researches for the desired subject on children about the cross-cultural
perspective. The questions that surrounded the study were focused on that do children living
in non-western ask informative seeking questions more than Western cultures? And, do
children ask similar sort of questions as observed in the United States samples? The study has
been conducted by acquiring data from nighty-six children from age three to five-year-old
belonging to four non-western cultures including Logoli in Kenya, Samoans in America
Samoa, Garifuna in Belize, along with Newars in Nepal. There were almost twenty-four
children from each group of culture and both the ages were present in half and half, age three
and five respectively. A specific set of questions were asked among the children for acquiring
certain information in their individual communities.
The answers were collected through western samples, and the desired outcome was
revealed through their progression or degradation in cognitive development. It was quite
difficult for the researchers to incorporate all the ideas as well as thoughts to gather

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competent answers to the set of questions. The authors also focused on the social factors that
were severely affecting their cognitive development. Children were quite comfortable
answering at their home rather than in their nursery school and that also coordinated a big
difference in their thought process and developing factors. Different western settings also
created a big difference concerning their respective family, along with the social class. Thus,
the research on cross-cultural aspects was necessary for examining the patterns as described
earlier, and the examinations are required all across the developmental contexts (Gauvain,
Munroe & Beebe, 2013).
There are some advantages as well as disadvantages of sampling method that may
help in collecting the researches for the required subject. The prior advantages are that it
serves as the lowest cost, consumes less time along with the scope of gathering the
information is high and the accuracy of the data is high as well. Unfortunately, it does consist
of disadvantages such as there is a severe chance of biasness while collecting the data, and it
is quite challenging to select the original representative sample. Some of the researches may
also provide inadequate knowledge and may change some units as well for their personal
preferences.
The sampling technique can be very useful in selecting a group of individuals in order
to participate in their respective study. It is the method that consists of a large group of
individuals, which are required to do certain examination. The main purpose is to provide
several types of statistical data including quantitative as well as qualitative data in order to
follow up the examination in some selected units (Larson & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).
Therefore, it will definitely affect on the desired results if the process of gathering the
information does not fall under biasness. It will help the readers to get to know about certain
essential data about different individuals and a group of individuals belonging to different
cultural background.

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Certain methodological limitations influence one’s behaviour and the influential
factors are proposed under the causes of cultural approaches. Psychological science has
coordinated a study on culture, and the research has involved a different set of cultural
variables in the field of developmental, personality, clinical, along with social psychology. In
various journals, different researchers have debated that methodological factors are essential
to support the expanding elements of cultural science in field psychology. Therefore, specific
methods are required to analyse cross-cultural aspects especially:
The model of Hofstede is based on the cultural dimensions theory and discusses the
theoretical elements of cross-cultural communication, and Geert Hofstede developed it
(Dartey-Baah, 2013). He has introduced the diverse effects of the individual communities,
along with their individual cultural approaches of each and every member. Those values and
cultural aspects are directly or indirectly linked with an individual’s behaviour (Khlif, 2016).
It can be examined throughout the whole world by utilising factors like surveys and
questionnaire (Venaik, Zhu & Brewer, 2013). The primary objective of this model is to
provide a study so that the individuals can determine the cultural dimensions due to which the
variety of cultural aspects can be understood appropriately.
This model can be utilised to detect and determine the primary causes of cultural
dimensions among a different set of individuals (Minkov et al., 2017). Six essential elements
are power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity,
uncertainty avoidance, long versus short-term orientation, along with, indulgence versus
restraint and, it helps in detecting the problems appropriately (Favaretto et al., 2016,
September).
Power distance is focused on measuring the cultural views that are involved in power
relationships among individuals (Andrijauskienė & Dumčiuvienė, 2017, October). Cultures

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help in associating as well as demonstrating the unequal distribution of the view of high
power distance.
Individualism is focused on the goals of the individuals as well as the rights of that
individual and collectivism is defined as the goals that are focused on the group of
individuals simultaneously (Minkov et al., 2017).
Masculinity is the dimension that represents particular preferences in the community,
which is related to higher aspects such as achievements, assertiveness, heroism, along with
distributing rewards for achieving the desired success. On the other hand, Femininity is
referred to as the sorted out preference were caring, modest, cooperation, along with weaker
dimension in the eyes of the society.
In the field of cross-cultural psychology, uncertainty avoidance is defined as the
community’s tolerance for ambiguity as well as uncertainty. It does reflect on the individuals
of society and attempts to adjust with depression by diminishing uncertainty.
Long-term orientation is focused on future aspects whereas, short-term orientation is
focused on the issues related to present and past events. Individuals are divided between both
the orientations and if they consider short-term direction, then they will definitely value
tradition (Venaik, Zhu & Brewer, 2013).
Lastly, indulgence is based on society, which will allow independent gratification for
the real and necessary human drives, which is related to having fun and enjoying their
respective lives. Restraint shows the spotlight on the society, where it suppresses the needs
for gratification as well as regulates the means of restricting social norms.
The model of Hofstede is quite useful to determine the actual causes behind cross-
cultural perspectives, and it will help to examine the desired consequences among family
members.

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9THE ANALYSIS OF CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILIES
Conclusion
Therefore, in the field of psychology, the study of families based on cross-cultural
perspectives are quite challenging to understand, and thus, it is necessary to examine different
types of families and their cultural background. Several families constitute a separate cultural
characteristic belonging to their respective communities. There are no such broader concepts
that can justify the subject of Family, but individual researchers have to claim different
perspectives towards the desired subject. It has been recognised that culture is affecting the
mental health of the individuals, and the process of parenting is getting disturbed severely.
The cross-cultural norms are responsible for unfolding the understanding among parents and
their children. The other aspects such as the awareness of the complexities should be looked
upon, and after doing all the analyses on cross-cultural aspects as well as human
development, it should be acknowledged that many children have been suffering from this
acute pressure among their individual communities along with their respective environment.

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References
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