文化と心の相互構成プロセス

――文化心理学における文化概念と方法――

抄録

  This paper reviews the theory and methodology of cultural psychology. In general, in traditional experimental psychology, little research has been conducted on the interaction between culture and the human psyche, as the universal functions of the human mind have been considered to be more central, and the effect of culture has been treated as peripheral. Cultural issues have been mainly studied by anthropologists, who have used ethnography as their primary method of research. From the 1990s, however, cultural psychology has reevaluated the interplay between culture and the human mind and presented the idea of “mutual constitution between culture and mind”. In terms of the theory and methodology of cultural psychology, culture is not defined as a rigid entity but as symbolic recourses having dynamic systems that organize daily practices and meanings in human society. Empirical research has shown that cognition, emotion, motivation, self-systems, and social relationships are constructed through participation in daily cultural practice.

  This paper introduces several types of research involving different methods, such as studies of online behavior, studies analyzing meaning systems, studies using priming strategies and situation sampling, and studies involving the analysis of cultural products. Most of the research has shown that there exist cultural differences between North American and East Asian cultures; however, future research would be able to show more specific individual variations within cultures. The implication for the relationships and future collaboration between cultural psychology and related disciplines, namely, anthropology, is also discussed.