Dictionary of Multicultural Psychology

Issues, Terms, and Concepts

Lena E. Hall

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2004
• Print ISBN: 9780761928232, 9780761928225
• eBook ISBN: 9781452236582
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

"There appears to be a burgeoning lexicon of terms and concepts pertinent to multiculturalism. Unfortunately, this increase in the number of terms and concepts seems to be colliding with a decrease in a shared understanding of what they mean. A dictionary style volume for such terms seems an admirable and overdue quest."

-William H. George, University of Washington

 

This dictionary is an up-to-date volume that contains numerous references to relevant concepts and terms in the field of multicultural psychology.

Professor Lena Hall has collected, studied, and analyzed a multitude of terms in her eleven years of teaching multicultural psychology, and she has gathered them together in this handy, accessible reference book.

Key Features

• Definitions are written in concise language for easy comprehension.
• Standard dictionary format is familiar and convenient to use, making this book a handy reference for students and professionals alike who wish to clarify a term or broaden their knowledge on a topic.
• Relevant reference sources are included along with each entry, enabling students to do further reading on concepts they have learned.
• Dictionary entries are excellent starting points for stimulating class discussions and creative research and written assignments.

The Dictionary of Multicultural Psychology is a highly useful resource for undergraduate psychology students. The book is recommended as a classroom supplement for courses in psychology and multiculturalism, as well as for professionals and graduate students working with multicultural populations for certification.

Lena Hall is associate professor at Nova Southeastern University. She obtained her BS in Psychology from York University, her MA and MED from Columbia University, and her PhD in Counseling Psychology from University of Florida. She conducts seminars, presents papers, and teaches classes in multicultural psychology. She is presently involved in cross-cultural research on substance abuse. Her latest publication is Issues in Multicultural Psychology, a textbook for undergraduate students.

A

Abnormal There are several approaches to this definition (Bulhan, 1985): (a) the statistical approach wherein a behavior is considered normal if it is the behavior of the majority; (b) the subjective distress as reported by the individual; (c) the medical disease approach with a focus on the biochemistry of the individual; (d) the “cultural relativist” approach, which posits that some disorders are specific to a culture, with varying definitions and expression of symptoms; and (e) the ideal state approach, which fosters the idea that everyone is expected to behave within the context of that ideal state. Anyone who is unable to do so is considered “abnormal.” Marsella (1982) and Chin, De La Cancela, and Jenkins (1993) concluded that rather than searching for universal norms to define normality, such definitions should be viewed from a cultural perspective. Self-disclosure has been used as a measure of mental health. According to Sue and Sue (1990), this orientation is characteristic of the Anglo American counseling and therapy process. The fact that many minorities are reluctant to initially self-disclose would place them in a position to be judged as mentally unhealthy.

References

Bulhan, H. A. (1985). Franz Fanon and the psychology of oppression. New York: Plenum.

Chin, J. A., De La Cancela, V., & Jenkins, Y. (1993). Diversity in psychotherapy: The politics of race, ethnicity, and gender. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Marsella, A. J. (1982). Culture and mental health: An overview. In A. J. Marsella & G. M. White (Eds.), Cultural conception of mental health and therapy (pp. 359–388). Boston: Reidel.

Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (1990). Counseling the culturally different (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley.

Aborigine Aborigines are the first inhabitants of a region as contrasted with invading or colonizing people. A term such as aboriginality is derived from aborigine and is used to define the original group of people who occupied Australia before the invasion by Europeans (Coolwell, 1993). Aboriginal cultures are also found in America and Africa. The terms native and indigenous are used synonymously with aborigine, which derives from the Latin word meaning original inhabitants. There are approximately 400,000 Aboriginal people, which represents approximately 2% of Australia's population. Where the ancestors of the Aborigines came from is still debated, but increasing evidence indicates Southeast Asia. It is also assumed that there were a series of migrations over centuries (Bell, 1963). The physical characteristics of Aborigines are distinctive. Most are dark skinned, and there are regional variations in their hair color (Bell, 1963). In 1788, the Europeans arrived and destroyed Aboriginal societies (“Aborigines, Australian,” 2003). They remained unified, however, due to their strong spiritual beliefs, storytelling, art, and colonial history. They believe that their ancestors metamorphosed into nature, and they are spiritually alive (Siasoco, 2000). They maintain systems of totemism, which is the belief that there is a relationship between people and species of animals or plants (“Australian Aborigines,” 2003). In addition, they believe in the concept of dreaming, which is the creative period when spirits shaped the land and established life (“Aborigines, Australian,” 2003). In the Northern Territory, art included baskets, sculptures, and rock paintings. Yellow ochre, charcoal, and gypsum were used for painting. The subject matter of Aboriginal art is confined to hand stencils, animals, plants, human beings, and geometric designs (Bell, 1963). Their most famous instrument is the didgeridoo, which is used at ritual ceremonies (“Aborigines, Australian,” 2003). There was trade throughout the continent, and they lived by hunting and gathering (“Australian Aborigines,” 2003). In addition, religion and economics played an important role in their lives. Everyone belonged to a local descent group, which collected food and performed other activities. The tribes were connected by kinship. The kin terms indicated marriage eligibility, responsibilities, and reasons for avoidance of people (“Aborigines, Australian,” 2003). The rules of marriage, residence, and descent determine how they interact (“Australian Aborigines,” 2003). By the late 1880s, most Aborigines had joined White rural and urban communities because of forced assimilation. In the 1990s, they were given rights, which included government legislation, autonomy, increased wages, and welfare benefits. Since 1967, Aborigines have obtained legal reform, sovereignty issues, land rights, compensation for land lost, and self-governance (“Aborigines, Australian,” 2003). In 1976, the Aboriginal Land Rights Act was passed. In 1993, the Native Title Act gave Aboriginal title to the land (“Aborigines, Australian,” 2003). In 1999, the Australian government issued an expression of regret for past mistreatment of the Aborigines. The government opposed issuing a national apology, however, because it may have encouraged a movement toward compensation (“Australian Aborigines,” 2003). In 2002, approximately 460,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were identified. Less than 100,000 are of homogeneous ancestry, and the rest are mixed Aboriginal and European. Examples of Aboriginal groups are the Yir-yoroni, Wurora, Wailbri, Tiwi, Murngin, Kamilaroi, Gunwinggu, Gurindji, Bidjandjadjara, and Aranda. Most Aborigines live in fixed settlements. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission provides housing, health, and educational facilities. Aborigines engage in cattle raising, tourism, and mining (“Aborigines, Australian,” 2003).

References

Aborigines, Australian. (2003). In Grolier encyclopedia. Danbury, CT: Grolier.

Australian Aborigines. (2003). In Columbia encyclopedia (4th ed.). New York: Alacritude.

Bell, J. H. (1963). The culture of the aborigines. In A. L. McLeod (Ed.), The pattern of Australian culture (pp. 441–468). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Coolwell, W. (1993). My kind of people: Achievement, identity and aboriginality. St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press.

Siasoco, R. V. (2000). History and culture of Australia's indigenous peoples. In Columbia encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press.

Accents Accents are the way in which people pronounce words in a particular area or country. Specifically, accents are characteristic pronunciations that determine both “the regional or social background of the speaker” and “the phonetic habits of the speaker's native language carried over to his or her use of another language” (Webster's Third International Dictionary, 1993, p. 7). The word accent is derived from the Latin word accentus. Goetz (1991) notes that

accents are distinctive manners of oral expression; the inflection, tone, or choice of words associated with a particular situation, event, emotion, or attitude or taken to be unique in or highly characteristic of an individual. They are speech habits typical of natives or residents of a region or of any other group, rhythmically significant stress on the syllables of a verse usually at approximately regular intervals (p. 24)

which stands out in an utterance in comparison to the other syllables in the word or sentence. Accents are complex signs of difference in which several semiotic principles converge. They are constructs that classify people as do race, nationality, and kinship, each assuming a natural boundary (Urciuoli, 1998). As such, accents become enactments of identity (LePage & Tabouret-Keller, 1985). Accents may index underpinnings of language prejudice. For example, English-dominant students come to view Spanish language elements (accents) as signs of contamination, internalizing Anglo teachers’ perceptions of Spanish-speaking peoples’ nonstandard English as deviant and their code switching as a sign that they have no real language (Walsh, 1991).

References

Goetz, P. W. (Ed.). (1991). The new encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 1 Micropedia). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.

LePage, R. B., & Tabouret-Keller, A. (1985). Acts of identity: Creole based approaches to language and ethnicity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Urciuoli, B. (1998). Exposing prejudice: Puerto Rican experiences of language, race and class. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Walsh, C. (1991). Pedagogy and the struggle for voice: Issues of language, power and schooling for the Puerto Rican. New York: Bergin & Garvin.

Webster's third international dictionary. (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Acculturation Berry, Poortinga, Segall, and Dasen (1992) refer to acculturation as the cultural and psychological change brought about due to contact with peoples of different cultures. Baron (1991) conceptualized the process of acculturation as both multidimensional and multidirectional, whereby immigrant groups incorporate observable and unobservable characteristics of the dominant culture. Observable characteristics include dress, language usage, eating habits, and celebrations. Unobservable characteristics include beliefs, values, attitudes, and feelings. Graves (1967) coined the term psychological acculturation to refer to the change that an individual experiences as a result of going through the process of acculturation. According to Berry et al., at this individual level changes in identity, values, and attitudes occur. Acculturative changes at the group level include political, economic, and demographic changes. Individual and group acculturation do not necessarily occur at the same rate and at the same time (Olmeda, 1979). Berry et al. believe that although the population level sets the stage for individual change, individual differences in the psychological characteristics of the individual affect the acculturative process. American Indian psychologist La Fromboise and colleagues (La Fromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993) proposed models of acculturation that are applicable to ethnic minorities in the United States, including assimilation, which involves absorption into the dominant culture; acculturation, which involves competence in a second culture without complete acceptance; fusion, which is a combination of cultures to form a new culture; alternation, which is bicultural competence; and multicultural, which involves a model of acculturation involving distinct cultural identities that are maintained within a single multicultural social structure (see Assimilation).

References

Baron, A. (1991). Explorations in Chicano psychology. New York: Praeger.

Berry, J. W., Poortinga, Y. H., Segall, M. H., & Dasen, P. R. (1992). Cross-cultural psychology: Research and applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Graves, T. D. (1967). Psychological acculturation in a tri-ethnic community. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 23, 337–350.

La Fromboise, T. D., Coleman, H. L. K., & Gerton, J. (1993). Psychological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 395–412.

Olmeda, E. (1979). Acculturation: A psychometric perspective. American Psychologist, 34, 1061–1070.

Acculturative stress This is the kind of stress that one experiences as a result of the acculturation process (see Acculturation). This stress may be experienced as mild to severe. Symptoms may be as innocuous as mild anxiety or as significant as delusional paranoia. Other symptoms of varying severity include depression, feelings of loneliness and isolation, and psychosomatic symptoms (Berry, 1975). Acculturative stress will vary from individual to individual depending on the psychological makeup of the person, the age of the individual, the support from the host culture, the support from other group members in the host culture, and the presence or absence of prejudice and discrimination. Less stress will be experienced if the individual has marketable skills, is familiar with the language and lifestyle of the host culture, and is younger and married (Berry, Poortinga, Segall, & Dasen, 1992).

References

Berry, J. W. (1975). Ecology, cultural adaptation, and psychological differentiation: Traditional patterning and acculturative stress. In R. Brislin, S. Bochner, & W. Lonner (Eds.), Cultural perspectives in learning (pp. 207–228). Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.

Berry, J. W., Poortinga, Y. H., Segall, M. H., & Dasen, P. R. (1992). Cross-cultural psychology: Research and applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Adaptation Originally, the concept of adaptation related to biology in which there is population change through natural selection. Adaptation in social sciences refers to the changes that occur during the lifetime of an organism in response to environmental demands (Berry, Poortinga, Segall, & Dasen, 1992). When used in reference to multicultural issues, this term implies the social and psychological adjustment of individuals or cultural groups to the new cultural environment in which they now reside (Adelman, 1988). Immersion into a new culture challenges one's view of the self and the world as individuals are confronted with different sets of values, customs, and beliefs (Cross, 1995). According to Mio, Trimble, Arrendondo, Cheatham, and Sue (1999), successful cultural adaptation is the mutual respect for, and by, the surrounding cultures. The arriving individuals or groups do not abandon their values, beliefs, and customs but engage in a mutual exchange of norms with their environment. Eventually, both will be altered, thus enhancing the process of cultural adaptation. See Cultural Adaptation.

References

Adelman, M. B. (1988). Cross-cultural a...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Entries A Through Z
• About the Author