Cross Cultural And Indigenous Supplement

For undergraduates students in psychology.

Cross-cultural and Indigenous Issues in Psychology supplement summarises three issues associated with cross-cultural and Indigenous psychology from an Australian perspective.
1. The study of culture in the context of Australian culture
2. Perspectives for Culturally Contextualised Indigenous Mental Health
3. Research methods – an example of cross cultural validation research conducted between Australia and Thailand

Students may not get the opportunity to interact with and listen to indigenous people, however, it is critical that they have a basic understanding of the psychological issues arising from the cultural dismantling of Indigenous communities. The lessons learned from this will help students develop empathy and understanding for others, which in turn will reduce ethnocentrism.

Background
1. An overview of the study of culture in the context of Australian culture
The core components of culture
Culture is pervasive
Culture is integrated
Culture comprises a system of ideas and beliefs held in common by a group of people
Culture contains a set of values or ideals
Culture incorporates explicit and implicit rules
Culture is transmitted through language, both spoken and non-verbal (symbols)
Culture provides the group with a framework of meaning
Culture is dynamic, but has a continuous dimension
Culture is learned
Culture includes taken for granted ideas as well as ideologies
Culture involves dominant groups and subcultural groupings
Ethnocentrism and lessons for psychology
2. Perspectives for Culturally Contextualised Indigenous Mental Health
3. Research methods – an example of cross cultural validation research conducted between Australia and Thailand
Conclusion and Summary
References
Acknowledgements

• Figures are provided to aid visual learning.
• References located at the end of the text include website addresses for further research.

Dr Anna Chur-Hansen is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychiatry in the University of Adelaide
Mrs Jenni Caruso is the Coordinator of the Indigenous Health Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide
Dr Kaysorn Sumpowthong is an Assistant Professor at Faculty of Nursing in Thammasat University, Thailand
Deborah Turnbull is a Professor at the Department of Psychology in the University of Adelaide