When
Where
Announcing:
Cristina Salvador, Ph.D.
Duke University
Globalizing Psychology: Varieties of Interdependence Across Cultures
Research in Psychology has predominantly focused on Western, largely North American, and Western European populations. In this talk, I draw on prior work showing that unlike the West, which values the independence of the self, much of the non-West shares a view of the self as embedded in relationships or interdependent. However, depending on the social, ecological, and historical conditions, the way in which the valued state of interdependence is achieved varies.
I illustrate this idea by comparing Latin American and East Asian cultures. Using an EEG index of self-referential processing, I found that European Americans, but not East Asians, preferentially process self-enhancing information. Despite being similarly interdependent, I show that people from Latin American cultures, but not East Asian cultures, use the expression of the self, including the expression of positive emotions, as the primary means of achieving the valued state of interdependence.
Finally, I will discuss more recent work applying similar ideas and methods to begin to understand the form of interdependence in Sub-Saharan Africa. I will conclude by underscoring the importance of globalizing the psychology literature and discuss future directions.
Please Note:
This colloquium will be offered in person (Psychology 306).
You can also join via Zoom.
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Updated: 03/27/26