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This book is part of a project to understand the cultural aspects of human psychology. The academic discipline devoted to this subject is called cultural psychology. The field of cultural psychology draws together research from cross-cultural psychology, psychological anthropology, history, sociology, and economics.
To become a scientific discipline, cultural psychology requires a sound theoretical perspective and a rigorous methodology. In a previous work I explained a conceptual foundation for cultural psychology. I used Vygotsky's sociohistori cal psychology as the core of this conceptual foundation. Entitled Vygotsky's Sociohistorical Psychology and its Contemporary Applications, the book presented contemporary research in psychology, anthropology, history, sociology, and bio logy which substantiated Vygotsky's sociohistorical conception of human psychology. In the course of reviewing this research, I found that certain kinds of studies illuminated psychology's cultural character more than others.
Extensive descriptions of complex behaviors in meaningful situations were more informative than studies which employed standardized, quantitative measures of simple, overt responses. At the same time, the reader of "qualitative" stu dies can't help asking "how did they arrive at their interesting conclusions about cultural psychology?" "How can I know if these conclusions are valid?" Little information is provided about the methodology that was used; indepen dent verification is generally lacking; and the reader has no way to evaluate the trustworthiness of the data and conclusions.
lt. became obvious to me that qualitative methods need to be systematized in order to be useful to cultural psychology. The present book attempts to meet this need. Certain humanistic psychologists and philosophers, humanistically oriented sociologists, and researchers in education have devised principles and procedures for analyzing the psychological significance of subjective reports (intervi ews, letters, diaries). While these methods are useful as far as they go, they remain rudimentary. Moreover, humanistic researchers have primarily used qualitative methods to study personal experience ("I felt such and such," or "I intended such and such"). They have generally ignored the manner in which emotions, self concept, perception, and psychological dysf unction embody cultural values.
If these qualitative methods could be developed and reoriented toward elucidating cultural aspects of psychology, the result would be a very useful qualitative cultural psychological methodology. Developing qualitative cultural psychological methodology is the task of this book. It involves reviewing existing qualitative methods, systematizing them around core epistemological and ontological principles, informing them with a theory of cultural psychology which will guide them to elucidate cultural aspects of psychology, and enhancing their scientific status - i.e., their comprehensiveness, objectivity, validity, ability to detect general tendencies and causal relationships.
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One. Shortcomings of Positivistic Methodology for
Researching Cultural Psychology
Fragmentation (atomism)
Variables
Fragmented stimuli and responses
Quantification
Reducing qualitative differences to quantitative
differences
Quantifying behavior
Statistical calculations and tests of significance
Operational Definitions
Attitude questionnaires
Content analysis
Positivistic Validity
Chapter Two. Principles of Qualitative Methodology for Psychology
The Nature of Psychological Phenomena
Psychological phenomena are complex configurations of
multiple components
Complex psychological phenomena are expressed through
extended responses
Psychological phenomena are mental and have no fixed
behavioral expressions
Methodological Principles
Interpret behavior
Interpret verbal statements
Identify situations in which phenomena occur and
do not occur
Ascertain the quality of a psychological phenomenon
through it relationships with other phenomena
Employ all qualitative research principles in concert
Subordinate positivistic methods to qualitative methods
Chapter Three. The Cultural Character Of Psychology
The Importance of Practical Social Activity for Psychological
Phenomena
The Concrete Social Character of Psychological Phenomena
The Dialectical Relationship between Activity and Psychology
Chapter Four. Qualitative Methodology for Describing The
Cultural Character of Psychology
General Principles
Qualitative Cultural Psychological Methodology
Reorient qualitative methods to consider culture
Interpret statements
Compare diverse modes of responding
Identify situations in which phenomena occur and
do not occur
Develop social relationships which are conducive to
psychological expression
Ascertain the cultural quality of each psychological
phenomenon through its interrelationships with other
phenomena
Utilize qualitative cultural psychological methodology
before quantifying psychological phenomena
Ascertain the cultural character of psychological phenomena by
employing the foregoing principles in concert
Rectify research which fails to employ the principles of
qualitative cultural psychological methodology
Chapter Five. Qualitative Cultural Psychological Methodology
and Science
Is Qualitative Cultural Psychological Methodology Scientific?
Objectivity
Validity
Generalizing Findings
Causal Explanation
Naturalistic strategies
Explanation by resemblance
Naturalistic experimentation
Controlled experimentation
Chapter Six. Sociopolitical Underpinnings of Positivism and Qualitative
Cultural Psychological Methodology
Notes
References