Unveiling Cultural Psychology: The Impact of Culture on Perception and Behaviour

Author: Annabelle Poernomo

Graphic Designer: Jun Monteleone

The phrase goes ‘We all smile in the same language’ and whilst this may be true, culture can drastically affect our opinions on all manner of things. This can be seen across the world, most notably in three areas: communication, self-image and dressing. Religion and experiences can also affect international outlook. By analysing cross-cultural communication styles, attitudes and beliefs we can gain crucial insights into how culture can impact our understanding of the world.

Culture can be thought of as a lens, affecting our perception of our surroundings. Studies show that even from early childhood, people are influenced by their environments; subconsciously socialised into cultural normalities and values which grow to dominate our interpretation of reality. This idea is known as Cultural schema theory. According to the theory, individuals rely on cultural schemas — or cognitive frameworks — when dealing with unfamiliar situations. It has been said that experience is the fuel for cultural schemas, as it is through interaction with those of the same culture that they are created and strengthened. There are eight main governing parts of schema development and employment. They are as follows: 

1. Fact-and-concept: General, factual information

2. Person: Knowledge about people and personality traits

3. Self: Self-image 

4. Role: Expected behaviours and responsibilities which come with different social roles

5. Context: Knowledge of appropriate action in different situations

6. Procedure: Common sequences of events in common situations

7. Strategy: Different problem-solving strategies

8. Emotion: How people perceive their own and others’ emotions and actions which may arise from them.

From this, we can realise that distinct cultures would have distinctly different schemas and ergo distinctly different reactions to the same problem. To the extent that they would perceive success and relationships through a different light.

Cultural values — along with these schemas — underline the fundamental beliefs that guide individuals’ behaviours. As aforementioned, these values can vary widely across cultures, influencing numerous different areas. For example, cultures which value filial piety, strict social hierarchy and general respect for others would exhibit differential communication styles and a stronger adherence to traditional customs than a more liberal, egalitarian society. 

Developing quality understanding of this can help when navigating cross-cultural communication and forming relationships between cultural lines. The development of necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes for effective collaboration and productive collaboration as well as acknowledgment of these differences is essential to prevent potential biases during intercultural converse and promote understanding of the world in this interconnected, multicultural time we live in.

In summary, cultural psychology can offer a unique foundation for understanding the connexion between human behaviour and culture. From the exploration of cultural influences on our worldview, values and social normalities, we can observe how cultural context can shape our cognitive processes and relationships. We must learn to value cultural diversity as a mirror to our own actions and reasoning and as a source of enlightenment.

Cultural schema theory, (n.d.). Cultural schema theory. Retrieved 10, 12 , 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_schema_theory

Blair‐Loy, M., Reynders, S., & Cech, E. (2023). Productivity metrics and hiring rubrics are warped by cultural schemas of merit. Trends in Microbiology.