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PSY30400

Academic Year 2024/2025

Cross-Cultural Psychology (PSY30400)

Subject:
Psychology
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Psychology
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Ciara Greene
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module will address the role of cultural factors in determining and explaining behaviour. We will explore two main approaches to cross-cultural psychology: the search for psychological commonalities across all peoples, and the exploration of differences in thought, emotion and action that can be attributed to cultural variation. We will also investigate the view that an ethnocentric, predominately Western approach to psychology has shaped the discipline in unexpected ways.

There is no single text book associated with this course – essential and recommended readings from the scientific literature will be provided for each topic.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, you should be able to:

- Describe the discipline of evolutionary psychology and discuss the interaction between culture and biology
- Critically analyse the role of culture in thought, behaviour and language
- Discuss the impact of culture on lifespan development, personality and mental health
- Summarise and describe the main methodological approaches to cross-cultural psychological research.

Note on academic integrity:
All sources used in the production of assessments for this module must be cited using APA standards.
Please note that the use of generative AI tools is NOT permitted in the assessments for this module.

Indicative Module Content:

Key topics in this module will include:

• Evolutionary psychology: exploring universalist and relativist positions on the role of culture in human life.
• The relationship between culture and mental health
• Lifespan development across cultures
• Variation in social behaviour and values across different cultural settings
• The impact of culture on personality development
• Culture and cognition: can cultural factors affect basic cognitive processes?
• Language: does the language you speak affect how you see the world?
• Experience and expression of emotion across cultures

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

101
Total

125

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Key Teaching and Learning approaches used in this module include lectures, group work, peer evaluation, student presentations and critical writing.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

None

Learning Recommendations:

As this is a Level 3 module, it is recommended that students should have completed at least one introductory module in Psychology.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Group Work Assignment: Group project on the topic of culture and mental health. Each group will give a powerpoint presentation on their assigned topic in class and answer questions. Week 9 Graded No
40
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): 2000 word essay. Select from a choice of two titles. Week 14 Graded No
50
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Engage in group discussions each week during class time, and record your participation. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
10
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

The mid-semester assessment for this module is a group presentation, the grade for which is weighted by peer evaluations. Written feedback and the overall group grade will be provided to each group via Brightspace after the presentation has been completed and peer evaluations have been received. Each student will receive their own grade confidentially via SISweb. The end-of-semester assessment is an essay. Individual written feedback will be provided via Brightspace.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 15:00 - 16:50
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