GLSD 3201 - Cultural Psychology and Globalization

Spring 2020
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

1. Time and location

Seminar time: Wednesdays, 10:30am – 1:15pm (13 classes, 8 Jan – 15 Apr except 29 Jan, 1 Apr)
Seminar venue: Wong Foo Yuan Building (FYB) UG02

2. Course description

What is Cultural Psychology? Besides being individual people who are similar to and different from one
another, we are also products of culture — our psychological processes (i.e., thoughts, feelings, behavior,
identities, beliefs, and assumptions) are shaped by our cultural backgrounds and experiences. In this course,
we learn about how cultures influence and shape individuals, what happens when different cultures meet one
another within an individual (resulting in multiculturalism), and what happens when individuals from different
cultures meet one another (resulting from globalization).

What is Globalization? This has been one of the most often used terms in the twenty-first century to describe
the trend of the global integration: abundant flow of goods, capital, people, and ideas around the world.
Globalization has increasingly influenced our everyday life through macro political, economic, and
sociocultural processes. In this course, we examine two key questions: How does the trend of globalization
affect our minds and behaviours as individuals? And in what sense does globalization exert influence over our
cultural ideas, values, cultural identity, and social movements?

The first part of this course is an introduction to cultural psychology and focuses on how it is relevant in an
increasingly globalized world. We will cover fundamental concepts and findings in the field of cultural
psychology, including research methods, processes of cultural evolution and transmission, how culture shapes
the ways we think and feel, intergroup relations, and the effects of immigration and acculturation. The second
part of this course explores the relevance of this body of knowledge in a time of rapid globalization, one of the
most important developments in the twenty-first century. We will cover various selected topics on
globalization as it relates to cultural psychology, including the formation of supranational identification and
attachment, the emergence of global protest, the tendency towards cultural homogenization, and the
imposition of dominant ‘global north’ idea.

This course aims to provide students with basic knowledge and analytical skills to evaluate and assess the
impact of globalization on cultural psychological behavior, and to examine how culture shapes our everyday
lives. We will use a combination of case studies, interactive activities, and discussions to critically examine
these topics.

3. Instructor contact

Instructor Name: Dr. LAY, Jennifer

Office Hours: By appointment
Telephone: 6871-5778
Email: jennlay@cuhk.edu.hk
Please begin the email subject heading with “GLSD 3201”

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4. Course topics

Topic Fundamental concepts/questions

Basic concepts What is culture? What is psychology? What is cultural psychology? What is
globalization?
Research methods How is knowledge gained in psychology? How do researchers navigate the
challenges of cross-cultural research?
Cultural evolution Why do we have culture, and how did it evolve? Where does cultural variation come
and variability from? How do cultures change and persist?
Development and How do cultures get in the head? How are cultural ideas transmitted? How are
socialization childhood and lifespan development experiences different across cultures?
Self and others How do cultures shape our sense of who we are? How do cultures shape how we
relate to others? How do cultures shape our personality and motivations?
Thinking and feeling How do cultures shape how we think and perceive the word? How do cultures shape
how we feel?
Immigration, What happens when people move to a new culture? What happens when people
acculturation, and acquire more than one culture, or lose a culture?
multiculturalism
Stereotypes and How do people identify with cultural groups? How does one group of people think
intergroup relations of another group? How do cultural groups unite and divide people?
Globalization, How does the new trend of globalization influence local politics, economics, and
culture, and cultural culture? How does globalization affect how people identify with and react to
identity different groups?
Globalization and How do people feel about globalization? How does globalization affect our
human behaviour behavior? Where do global protests and mass movements come from?

5. Learning outcomes

1. Understand the fundamental concepts and findings of cultural psychology: how culture shapes our
minds and behaviour.
2. Understand the role that globalization plays in our world today: its antecedents and consequences in
different national and cultural contexts.
3. Apply the above concepts and findings to explain cultural similarities and differences, and how
globalization affects individuals and cultures.
4. Appreciate the complexities of cultural diversity, intercultural encounters, and globalization trends,
thereby increasing cross-cultural competency.
5. Gain experience in communicating complex ideas to others with different academic and cultural
backgrounds, in conversation and in writing.

6. Course components (Learning activities)

Interactive seminar: 3 hours/week

Self-directed study: 2-4 hours/week
Assignments: as necessary

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7. Assessment

Assessment type Weight Remarks

Seminar attendance and participation 10%
Midterm Quiz 20% Multiple choice and short-answer
Online Discussion Board assignments 10% Discussion contributions on Blackboard
Individual Paper assignment 1 15% Reflect on encountering another culture
Individual Paper assignment 2 20% Globalization film analysis
Final Exam 25% Multiple choice, short-answer, and group discussion

Seminar Attendance and Participation (10%)

Credit will be given for both attendance and in-class participation. Attendance will only be taken during
randomly chosen seminars. As far as attendance points are concerned, only medical leave certificates and
official certification of leave of absence are acceptable in place of personal presence at seminars.

This class is interactive and involves in-class discussion and activities. Participation points will be awarded for
active engagement during seminars. This includes contributing actively and constructively to discussions.

Midterm Quiz (20% - 26 February, in class)

The quiz consists of both multiple choice and short-answer (open-ended) questions. Open-ended questions
will take up the bulk of the points. Content from both the seminars and the required text are examinable.

Quiz content will be based on seminar slides and the corresponding sections in the required text; any
additional materials beyond the seminar slides and text will be clearly stated (and provided).

The quiz will take place during class. Absence will be dealt with according to University guidelines.

Online Discussion Board Assignments (10% - due throughout the term; see course schedule)

There will be four (4) online discussion board assignments throughout the term, worth 1%, 3%, 3%, and 3% of
the final grade, respectively. For these assignments, you will be asked to make a brief post on the discussion
board on Blackboard, on a pre-assigned topic. For some of the assignments, you will also be asked to respond
to posts made by your classmates.

Full points will be assigned for completing your posts and responses in a thoughtful manner. Assignments are
due on Mondays at 5:00pm. Late work will be deducted 10% of the assignment grade per day late. The
discussion board assignments will also form part of our in-class discussions.

Individual Paper Assignment 1: Reflection on encountering another culture (15% - due 2 March, 5:00pm)

Write about your own experience of encountering a culture other than your own. How similar or how different
is that culture from your own? Did you experience any discomfort (or more ease)? Was any discomfort
eventually resolved, and if yes, how? Did this experience help you learn something about your own culture?
Did it create new opportunities for understanding yourself?

If possible, write about a first-hand, personal experience of living (short or long term) in another culture, or
significant interactions with a person/people from another culture. You may also, however, write about your
experience encountering another (single) culture through cultural products (more than one), such as movies

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and literature. If you identify as bicultural or multicultural, you may write about how your cultural identities
collide, clash, or blend, following the same suggested guiding questions described in the previous paragraph.

Suggested length: 700 words (minimum 500)

Individual Paper Assignment 2: Film analysis on globalization (20% - due 6 April, 5:00pm)

Pick a film about globalization and analyze it. The film must tackle a topic on globalization and its effects on
culture, psychology, or human behaviour, in depth. It can be a fictional story or a documentary-style film.
Summarize the plot or key themes of the film, and explain what globalization issue(s) the film is addressing.
Then, analyze the effects of globalization (as presented in the film) on one or more of the following: a culture
or cultures, human minds and human psychology, individual or group behaviour, or social movements. What
is the film saying about the effects of globalization? Do you agree or disagree, and why? You are free to include
your own ideas in the analysis, but you must include at least one concept learned in the course.

You may pick a film from the list provided, or you may pick another film with the permission of the instructor.
To assist you with accessing the films, we will hold an on-caompus screening of a selection of the films (details
to be announced).

Suggested length: 1000 words (minimum 800)

Film list (additional options to be announced)

- The Way Home (2002; Korean language with subtitles)
- Bombay Calling (2006)
- The Corporation (2003)
- The Cup (1999; Tibetan language with subtitles)
- We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012)
- The Shape of Water (2006)

Please email your choice of film to me by 9 March (Monday), or earlier, before you start on the serious work.

For BOTH Individual Paper Assignments 1 and 2

- Assignments must be submitted on the Veriguide system by the deadline (deadlines on course schedule).
Veriguide website: https://academic.veriguide.org/academic/login_CUHK.jspx
- Late work: 10% of the assignment grade will be deducted for every day late after the deadline.
- Hard copies of assignments should also be submitted at the beginning of class (deadlines on course
schedule).
- Please staple a signed statement generated by the Veriguide system on top of your hard copy assignment.
This statement will be generated once you submit your completed assignments onto the Veriguide system.

Final exam (25% - 15 April, in class)

The exam consists of multiple choice and short-answer (open-ended) questions, and a group discussion
component. Content from both the seminars and the required texts and readings are examinable.

Exam content will be based on seminar slides and the corresponding sections in the required text and readings;
any additional materials will be clearly stated (and provided). The final exam is cumulative; all material from
the beginning of the course is examinable.

The exam will take place during class. Absence will be dealt with according to University guidelines.

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8. Required and recommended readings

Required text:

Heine, S. J. (2015). Cultural psychology (Third edition). WW Norton & company.

(The second edition is also acceptable.)

Publisher link (e-book rental or paper purchase):

http://books.wwnorton.com/books/webad.aspx?id=4294990296

Other required readings:

Will be posted on course website (Blackboard)

Optional readings - “Popular” books related to the subject:

The Geography of Thought by Richard Nisbett

The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche by Ethan Watters

9. Feedback for evaluation

Students are welcome to provide their feedback about the course to the instructor directly, either through
email or face-to-face. Aside from an end-of-term course evaluation, students will also be welcome to
participate in a mid-term evaluation of this course. Details will be announced.

10. Course website

https://blackboard.cuhk.edu.hk

Please alert the instructor if you are unfamiliar with the operations of the course website. Online videos are
available for learning how to use Blackboard.

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11. Course schedule

Week Lecture date Topic Readings Assignments due

1 8-Jan-20 Introduction Heine chap 1

Discussion Board Assignment #1

Research methods in
2 15-Jan-20 Heine chap 4 due 13 January, 5:00pm
cultural psychology
(Blackboard)
Discussion Board Assignment #2
Cultural evolution and Heine chap 2, Part 1 due 20 January, 5:00pm
3 22-Jan-20
variability Heine chap 3 Part 2 due 21 January, 5:00pm
(Blackboard)

4 29-Jan-20 NO CLASS – Lunar New Year

Development, socialization,
5 5-Feb-20 Heine chap 5
and cultural transmission

Discussion Board Assignment #3

Cultural influences: self and Heine chap 6, Part 1 due 10 February, 5:00pm
6 12-Feb-20
others, motivation Heine chap 8a Part 2 due 11 February, 5:00pm
(Blackboard)

Cultural influences: how we Heine chap 9b,

7 19-Feb-20
think and how we feel Heine chap 10c

8 26-Feb-20 Midterm Quiz – in class

Individual Paper Assignment #1

Immigration, acculturation,
9 4-Mar-20 Heine chap 7d due 2 March, 5:00pm (Veriguide)
and multiculturalism
Submit hardcopy 4 March in class
Email film choice for
Stereotypes and intergroup Readings to be
10 11-Mar-20 Paper Assignment #2
relations uploaded
for approval by 9 March
Heine chap Discussion Board Assignment #4
12e, additional Part 1 due 16 March, 5:00pm
11 18-Mar-20 Globalization and culture
readings to be Part 2 due 17 March, 5:00pm
uploaded (Blackboard)
Globalization and human Readings to be
12 25-Mar-20
behaviour uploaded

13 1-Apr-20 NO CLASS – Reading Week

Individual Paper Assignment #2

Globalization, course Readings to be
14 8-Apr-20 due 6 April, 5:00pm (Veriguide)
review uploaded
Submit hardcopy 8 April in class

15 15-Apr-20 Final Exam – in class

a
Chapter 7 in the second edition b Chapter 8 in the second edition c Chapter 14 in the second edition
d
Chapter 10 in the second edition e Chapter 13 in the second edition

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12. Academic honesty and plagiarism

Please pay attention to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the
disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be
found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these
policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures. For group projects, all students of the same group should
be asked to sign the declaration.

For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and
submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon
students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment. Assignments without the receipt will not be
graded by teachers. Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

Veriguide website: https://academic.veriguide.org/academic/login_CUHK.jspx

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