Cultural Psychology

When thinking about how I/O Psychology applies to different cultures I initially think about how different cultures interact with one another. Americans tend to not be very physical when communicating (low contact). When doing business we often are very verbal with our commands, as compared to other cultures who are the exact opposite. While we tend to generalize cultures as being high-contact vs. low contact, individual vs. collectivistic, it is important to also understand that some of these differences also occur on an individual level. For instance, there are people within the same culture that may be high-contact or low-contact, regardless of where they are from.

I often wonder how the primary ways cultures differ (status, time, values, priorities, context, and content) can affect how a company is run and performs. I also wonder if we were to use other cultural differences in the way we run an American company if that would help or hinder the business. For example, if we used Japan’s values with Germany’s contexts.

If this idea were to be brought to life, I believe it would create a lot of cross-cultural communication errors, as they are not custom things to do in America. So depending on what they are, I believe it could create a hindrance in an American business.

Chapter 1 Discussion Question

How do you think theories and practices of I/O psychology apply in different cultures? For more information on Cultural Psychology check on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_psychology