Kwok Leung lets delegates know, “Diversity can work both ways.”
Culture can be a problem... And an excellent resource T
he 21st Congress of the IACCP kicked off in Stellenbosch on Tuesday. On the first day, Professor Kwok Leung, IACCP President since 2010, reflected on what cross-cultural psychology and the association have contributed to psychology and the world. How is cross-cultural psychology helping the world evolve? We’re globalising and cultures are coming into contact, and people with different cultural backgrounds often have to work together. There are many international companies that operate around the world. When we have people from different cultures interacting, sometimes problems can occur – misunderstandings, conflicts and communication problems. So one contribution of our field is to understand how culture shapes behavior, which helps us understand why crosscultural interaction can be a problem. Sometimes these interactions are very productive and synergistic. We like to turn cultural diversity into a resource instead of a problem. In other words, cross-cultural psychology is emerging as an instrument for conflict resolution? That’s one contribution we’re making. Crosscultural psychology is about comparing societies and cultures. If people only rely on their own cultural perspectives, they miss so much. But if you adopt a comparative perspective by looking across many
BY NTARYIKE DIVINE JR. cultures, each may have a slightly different perspective about the issue. That enables you to come up with a more integrated perspective on issues and might help you actually generate better solutions. Since the establishment of the IACCP in 1972, would you say cross-cultural psychology is getting fair recognition worldwide? I think initially, culture wasn’t given the attention it deserved. This association was founded, we launched a journal, and we’ve been around for forty years; over time, and because of the research we do, many researchers now understand that culture is major force that shapes human behavior. So what are you hoping this meeting would leave behind for Africa? This is my first trip to Africa. But from what I know, it’s a very diverse continent. There are many countries and they’re very diverse in certain ways. I hope this conference will bring the awareness to Africa that culture is really important. It can be a problem sometimes, but it can be a huge resource if you are able to leverage it positively. Diversity as the theme of this conference can work both ways. It can create a lot of conflict across cultures, but it can also be a huge resource.
Cross-cultural psychology needs to make big strides in Africa
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he 21st Conference of the IACCP is finally underway. Among its organisers is Deon Meiring, an Industrial Psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Stellenbosch since 2007. As co-chair of the local organizing committee, Meiring spent years lobbying for the global assembly of cross-cultural psychologists to come to South Africa. Although he admits his field is still in its embryonic stage in Africa, he is convinced the continent will benefit from hosting the biennial gathering. He spoke with the IACCP 2012 newsletter after Tuesday’s opening ceremony. Were you happy about the opening ceremony of the 21st IACCP Congress? Yes, I think we’re very happy because we showcased South Africa and showed the diversity that we have here. I think for the visitors, seeing this diversity and seeing what we’re doing here, opens their eyes. But what is this tangibly going to leave behind for Africa, after the more than 500 delegates have returned home? Well, the issue is that we need to start with the education of our people on cross-cultural psychology. We don’t have a cross-cultural psychology program at any university in Africa, despite the fact that we’re so diverse. I think this conference is going to champion this. We’ll put in place an interest group of cross-cultural psychologists to make it happen. Fifteen, twenty years ago, cross-cultural psychology was not a part of mainstream psychology. Since its incorporation, what has been its contribution to the better understanding of human behavior? Well, the main thing is that it shows us the similarities and
BY NTARYIKE DIVINE JR. the differences, and enables us to be sensitive to these things. And if we don’t sensitise people, they wouldn’t know what’s going on. How do you envisage the future of cross-cultural psychology in Africa? Well, it’s in its infancy, and we need to make big strides. There are a lot of projects. For instance, in South Africa we’re running an indigenous personality project where we’re looking at the eleven languages. There’s no thesis that has been developed in South Africa that accommodates the eleven languages. We have put this on the table of developing our own universal structure of personality. And at the end of the day, what we like to say is that personality differs, there are similarities between people and there’s also cultural uniqueness. We would like to understand people better. We live in a world that is changing fast, with globalization, emerging forms of terror and conflicts, greater human interaction, increasing openness on sexual orientation et cetera… Does cross-cultural psychology help us understand these changes? I think cross-cultural psychology is bringing forward the theories. If we just look at acculturation, how you adapt to different environments, we have got the theories of how this adaptation works. So we can make a huge contribution in terms of informing about how to adapt, about being sensitive, and treating people with dignity. And I think that’s what cross-cultural psychology is bringing to the fore.
Morality researcher scoops Triandis Award
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elanie Vauclair of the University of Wellington in New Zealand has won the Harry and Pola Triandis Doctoral Thesis Award for her thesis in cross-cultural psychology. The award was presented on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology’s 21st Congress. The goal of the Harry and Pola Doctoral Thesis Award is to encourage high quality cross-cultural research and encourage early-career excellence, said Márta Fülöp, the chair of the committee that awarded the prize. Vauclair’s winning thesis is called: What is right? What is wrong? And does the answer tell something about culture? An investigation into culture and morality using the values concept. “I focused on morality, culture and values because it’s a fascinating topic. Also, it
BY LEOCADIA BONGBEN has not been researched much in cross-cultural psychology before,” Vauclair, 34, said. Combining values research with morality research, Vauclair addressed the question of whether morality is culturally relative or universal. “Cultures have ‘shoulds’ and ‘oughts,’” she said. One should behave in a certain way, and if you don’t adhere to this, people consider it a violation of moral values and standards. But morality can be both universal and cultural, said Vauclair, who worked on her thesis for three and a half years. A jury from different regions of the world selected Vauclair’s work from 24 entries from 15 countries. The two-stage selection process started with the submission of abstracts; the authors of ten best ones were asked to submit their full thesis for further scrutiny.
Thanks to the award, Vauclair attended the IACCP Congress for the first time, giving her an opportunity to meet researchers in her field from around the world. She also bagged a $500 cash prize, a one-year IACCP membership, and partial airfare to attend the next congress. The Triandis Award is supported by the Harry and Pola Triandis Fund, established in 1977.
Melanie Vauclair
A celebration of diversity BY ROSALIA OMUNGO
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ore than 500 delegates gathered in Stellenbosch on Tuesday night for the opening of the 21st congress of the International Association for Cross Cultural Psychology (IACCP). The biennial conference is being held on the African continent for the first time. In keeping with the theme of the conference, Nurturing Diversity for Sustainable Development, delegates enjoyed a musical showcase of South Africa’s rich cultural diversity. Professor Kwok Leung, President of the IACCP and a specialist in social and organisational psychology at the City University in Hong Kong, underscored the importance of diversity among cultures. “Diversity can be a problem but it can also be a resource, whereby different cultures share ideas,” he said. “By studying diversity we can address some of the issues that affect us in a negative way.” The congress seeks ways of integrating the good ideas emanating from participants. One of the main expectations of the conference is to enhance research among scientists, which can lead to them working together on various projects long after the conference is over. “We hope that by disseminating our findings, people can learn about new research to develop new ideas”, he said in an interview. “This will go a long way in boosting research on the African continent, as some people may work together, because they have similar interests.” Professor Leung explained that one of the aims of the meeting is to increase the capacity of researchers in the little known area of crosscultural psychology. Cross-cultural psychology is the study of how cultural factors influence human behaviour. Professor Russel Botman, Rector and Vice Chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch, welcomed the delegates and acknowledged the
Delegates are entertained by traditional dancers challenges that South Africa faced in the past. He reflected on the challenges that South Africa faced in the the struggle against racism and segregation. It is fitting that this conference, which looks at what brings us together, should be held in the week of Nelson Mandela’s 94th birthday. “We need to continue to build a more inclusive society, which aims at promoting dignity, and not disunity.” “We have developed a pedagogy of hope, and it is in meetings like these where we will begin to answer serious questions,” he said. The next annual conference will be held in Los Angeles in 2013.
Childhood abuse linked to risky sexual behaviour M
en who have sex with men (MSM) and who have a history of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to abuse drugs and be sexually compulsive. This results in an increased risk of HIV compared to those who had never experienced abuse, a study has found. The study, done by Shelley Heusser and Dr Diane Elkonin from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, also found that MSM who were sexually abused as children, were likely to be involved in abusive relationships and casual sexual experiences such as one night stands. It was the first study in SA that looked into the history of childhood sexual abuse among MSM. The study was carried out through an online questionnaire. It found that 23 percent of MSM in the sample were abused as children - an experience that resulted in their risky sexual behaviour in their adulthood. Done as part of Heusser’s Masters in Clinical Psychology thesis, the two year study sampled 230 mostly white, gay men with tertiary education. The researchers asked several behavioural questions, including whether the respondents had experienced any childhood sexual abuse, how many one-night stands they had had, whether they had unprotected sex in the past three months and the number of sexual partners they had in the past year. About 23 percent reported sexual abuse as children, 41 percent had unprotected sex, 69 percent had one or more one-night stands, 38 percent reportedly used recreational drugs and 35 percent abused drugs during their sexual activity.
BY SIPOKAZI FOKAZI Heusser found that MSM who were abused sexually were 1.9 times more likely to engage in drug abuse generally and were 3.1 times more likely to use drugs in sexual situations than those who never experienced abuse. Those who were abused as children were also twice as likely to have been in a recent abusive relationship. Heusser said an impaired sense of self-worth and a reduced capability to identify boundaries seemed to play a role in the risky behaviour that MSM were engaging in. “Re-enactment of victim-perpetrator relationship seems to make MSM likely to attract dominating partners. They are more likely to be in abusive relationships and are less likely to know boundaries because their sense of worth was impaired during their childhood,” he said. He said despite mental health outcomes that showed big problems with childhood sexual abuse among MSM, there had been very little research carried out. The country’s HIV intervention programmes focus on HIV risks such as drug abuse, but they do not take into account factors that led into those mental health outcomes. “We need programmes that focus on the root cause of some of the problems. If you only focus on substance abuse, you are neglecting why they (MSM) abuse drugs. We need to look at the importance of childhood experiences and how those lead to mental health outcomes that increase HIV risk,” he said.
Non-acceptance of Muslim minorities hinders integration
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he failure of Western societies to accept Muslims living in their midst is holding back the integration of these minority groups, according to a study by Jonas Kunst, a psychologist at University of Oslo who studies acculturation, biculturalism, and identity. “Muslim minorities have been criticised for not integrating and adapting to their societies of residence,” Kunst said. But some societies fail to realize
BY LEOCADIA BONGBEN that acceptance is a pre-requisite to integration. Kunst’s study, presented on Wednesday at the IACCP Congress, is entitled “The influences of religious stigma on Muslim minorities’ national affiliation and engagement.” Kunst says that since the terror attacks of 11 September 2001, Islamophobia, the fear of Muslims and Islam, has been on the rise in Western Europe.
His study of 210 Pakistani Norwegians and 216 Turks living in Germany showed that their religion has become a “stigma” that keeps them from fully participating in society, Kunst said.
Jonas Kunst
Psychology Unveils Pathways To Better Cerebral Malaria Therapy
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ver the years malaria has remained unwavering BY NTARYIKE DIVINE JR. in its ravages, killing hundreds of thousands worldwide yearly, defying drugs and sapping household Kilifi, disclosed yesterday. coffers of hard-earned income. His research has shown that brain damage resulting The disease, prevalent in the tropics, is transmitted from cerebral malaria may improve over time, but will via bites of female bloodsucking Anopheles mosquitoes never go away completely. In the worst cases it may infected with parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Of even result in epilepsy, he stated. the five Plasmodium species, research has proven that The exact cause of brain damage in cerebral malaria P. falciparum is particularly dangerous. patients remains unknown. Speculatively, it is thought It causes the most severe form of malaria, cerebral to be associated with repeated seizures and high blood malaria, in which infected red blood cells go to hide pressure within the brain. in deep-lying blood vessels, particularly those in According to Professor Newton, further research is the brain. They eventually impair blood circulation; necessary to pinpoint the mechanisms that culminate provoke seizures, agitation, psychosis, diminished in brain injury. “What we’d like to do is to try and consciousness, coma and even death. understand the mechanisms to prevent the brain damage But what has apparently eluded researchers all these that occurs from malaria in children so they are left with years is the fact that children with cerebral malaria a better life,” he said. thought to be cured, leave hospital with lifelong His work is attracting attention across Africa with afflictions. This fresh insight is not coming from malaria researchers in Malawi, Uganda, the DR Congo, conventional medical research institutions, but from Nigeria and Gambia banking on his findings to deepen psychologists. their probes. They believe the probe will culminate in “Psychology is unveiling new and better therapies for cerebral malaria which pathways for better therapy for infects some 500 million worldwide each year. the damage caused by cerebral Nonetheless, experts say the absence of malaria. We’ve found out that psychologists and especially cross-cultural psychology over a quarter of children who research institutions across Africa is a huge impediment survive cerebral malaria remain to similar research ventures on the continent. stuck with neurocognitive “Basically, to be able to do psychological research impairment which affects their you not only need a critical mass of specialists who functioning within society and understand the cultural contexts and I think the their ability to acquire input of psychologists in understanding the knowledge,” Professor impacts of malaria in Africa is very Charles Newton, Head crucial,” Amina Bubakar Ali of of Kenya’s Medical the Department of Cross-Cultural Research Institute Psychology at the University Wellcome Trust of Tilburg in the Netherlands Professor Charles Newton programme based in concluded.
Drive for recognition of cross-cultural psychology S
outh African members of the International Association for Cross Cultural Psychology (IACCP) are working on a plan to introduce crosscultural psychology modules at universities as part of efforts to improve the visibility of the field on the continent. Leon Jackson, Professor of Change Management at North West University’s Potchefstroom campus and co-chair of the local organising committee, said the low visibility of cross-cultural psychology partially accounted for poor attendance by African psychologists at the congress. “Cross-cultural psychology is a fairly new field to us in Africa,” Jackson said. “There is no university that has an official stand-alone course in crosscultural psychology in Africa. Most universities offer it as a merger or a transition.” Jackson said the organising committee visited and compared international universities that already offer
BY JENNIFER DUBE the course as part of their research into what they need to put together a good course. “We are using this conference to let universities and government know about the importance of having such a course,” he said. “We will soon set up a cross-cultural psychology interest group which will research on cross-cultural issues and attend meetings and events to further push this agenda.” He said the South African members will collaborate with colleagues in other countries to have the course introduced in their countries as well. “We expect it to be easy for us to take our agenda to such countries as Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya for example as we have already established links with some colleagues there,” he said. “We will have to look for colleagues we can work with in other countries where we are yet to establish links.”
Professor Leon Jackson of the North West University’s Potchefstroom campus
Meet the delegates M
Comfort Oben Ojongnkpot
BY LOMINDA AFEDRARU
y name is Comfort Oben Ojongnkpot and I come from Cameroon. I am a university lecturer at the University of Buea in Cameron and I am PHD student. My thesis focuses on the attitude of young people towards their indigenous language in the Manyu division in the South West of the country. Why did you choose to come to this conference? This meeting is very important to me because we have delegates from across the globe. I am particularly interested in hearing presentations about the various
ethnic groups in the world. What is the most interesting thing you have heard today? I have enjoyed a talk on the subject of intercultural relations. Michal Bilewicz of the University of Warsaw, Poland discussed the fact that contact is effective only when psychological needs are met. He made special reference to Polish-Israeli reconciliation groups. I was particularly interested in the intercultural relationships which bring together all people throughout the globe. I also learned more about the differences between cultures.
Meet the delegates I
Professor Steven Heine
BY LOMINDA AFEDRARU
am Professor Steven Heine from the University of British Columbia in Canada and I lecture Cultural Psychology at this University. Why did you choose to come to this conference? I am a member of the executive committee of the Congress of the International Association for Cross Cultural Psychology (IACCP) and I am entitled to attend conferences organized by the association. Secondly it is interesting to be in South Africa which has a sad history of apartheid and I
am looking forward to seeing progress in the last twenty years or so. What is the most interesting thing you have heard today? I attended two lectures today but I enjoyed the one presented by a Professor from South Africa talking about the post apartheid effect on South Africans and the cross-cultural relations among the younger generation. I hope this kind of action will help shape the young generation to work towards the sustainable development of the country.
SMILE WITH CAUTION W
hile people in many cultures accept that smiling is good and healthy, a Polish crosscultural psychology researcher’s preliminary research results show people should smile with caution if they are interacting with people from other cultures. Kuba Krys of the Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Psychology said a study he embarked on in 2011 shows there are cultural differences in the social perception of intelligence and honesty in people who are smiling. Krys’ study entailed taking two sets of pictures of eight people, one showing them smiling and the other showing them without smiles, and asking 382 students at universities in Poland, Germany, Norway, the United States and Iran to assess the pictures for perceptions of intelligence and honesty. “Results I have so far show that most students in Germany think smiling is a sign of intelligence while most from Iran said this showed they were less intelligent,” Krys said. “Smiling women were said to be honest by most people in all the
BY JENNIFER DUBE universities but only those in the US said smiling men were honest.” Krys said the idea for his study had been sparked by an entry in a guidebook on Poland which advised strangers not to smile as they would be perceived to be stupid. He said his study, which is continuing, is relevant for such practical things as applying for jobs where some people attach pictures of themselves. “It is also important for business communication as those who come from places where people smile may need to consider whether or not to smile when they meet those from places where smiling is not the norm,” he said. He said his study may also be relevant to those who interact with various cultures on social networks like Facebook where many people tend to post pictures of themselves smiling without considering how these will be interpreted. Krys’ research forms part of his Phd studies at the Institute.
Happy 94th Birthday, Nelson Mandela
IACCP Congress organiser Deon Meiring (Top left) lit candles while delegates sang to honour former South African president Nelson Mandela, who turned 94 on 18th July 2012.
Girls just wanna have fun
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elegates to the 21st IACCP meeting were treated to some of the best wines and cheeses the Western Cape has to offer during a tasting on Wednesday night in central Stellenbosch. Among the wines on offer: a sparkling rosĂŠ, said to be especially made for ladies and called Naughty Girl.
About this newsletter
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or the first time this year, the IACCP Congress has a dedicated newsletter, written by a group of science and health journalists from across Africa who are attending the meeting. The newsletter will be printed and distributed to all delegates on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. The journalists are mentees in
SjCOOP, a mentoring program run by the World Federation of Science Journalists to support science journalism in Africa and the Arab world. Their stories are edited by two mentors in SJCOOP who are also at the meeting: Lynne Smit, a science writer and owner of Hippo Communications in Cape Town, and
Martin Enserink, an Amsterdambased reporter and editor for Science, the weekly U.S. journal. The design and layout is by Simon Wilson from DefineDesign. FOR MORE STORIES, VIDEO AND AUDIO GO TO: IACCP2012.blogspot.com