PSY490 Ethnopsychology

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2009
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: PhDr. Roman Hytych, Ph.D.
Timetable
Wed 18:00–19:30 U23
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course presents basic theoretical and methodological premises of ethopsychology, an interdisciplinary discipline exploring psychic phenomena in different social and cultural settings. Individual lectures concretely documents chosen theoretical approaches with specific focus on the following themes: ethic and values, psychic health and disease; death. Outline of relevant knowledge as well as training of basic skills of qualitative methodology used in ethopsychology is offered to the students, for example leading and facilitating of interview, preparation and recording of observation, as well as analytical coding and interpreting of dates created by researcher. On the one hand, the course supports students in exploring their own accepted cultural representations of mentioned themes. On the other hand, the course shows alternative possibilities based both on the study of relevant literature and the findings of field research in traditional Buddhist countries Sri Lanka and Burma in 2002 - 2004 proceeded by lecturer.
Syllabus
  • 1. Overview of the course, discussed themes, and course goals. Contract with students is concluded. Models of a person – how can we explain behaviour and acting of a person as dependent on social and cultural context both on the side of participant as well as the side of observer? Love, sex, and sensuousness in cultural differences.
  • 2. Different representations of research subject are pre-determinants of approach to explored domain. Even scientific models have got their cultural context. Following themes will be discussed: research ethic; bias of observer; vested interests of science; stylish trends in science; cultural store of knowledge; social representations of explored theme hold by researchers and investigated population.
  • 3. Methodological principles of exploring psychic phenomena in different groups and cultures. Exploration of relevant cultural store of knowledge and treating of researcher common sense assumptions as well as coping with "difference" will be discussed in detail. Increase of researcher self-knowledge, methodical training of introspection and practise of observation are postulated as an integral part of ethnopsychology research. Interview and observation are introduced as two basic methods of ethopsychology research. Distinguishing different data sources is discussed and various possibilities of coding and treating them are analysed. Data are viewed as an result of interaction of researcher and subjects of his (her) investigation. Solemn enrolment to final theses theme is required.
  • 4. Psychoanalysis and finding answers question about nature of culture and person relation. Development of a child. Which role do cultural patterns, educational family styles, native disposition and tendencies of a child play in the child development? How is the child evolving? What exists? General principles or significant cultural and social variations?
  • Seminary is devoted to practice of group interview leading and facilitating (theme is child development), observation recording and analytical treating of elaborated data. Individual students are gradually trained in the role of facilitator, observer and participant and simultaneously are mapping their own conception of discussed theme within the focus group. Group interviews are recorded and their analytical elaboration is the ground for the student`s final theses. In the following lecture the alternative conceptions of discussed psychic phenomenon are offered.
  • 5. Anthropology crises - is the using of statistic tools, focusing on structure or observable behaviour a solution? Freewill acting or behavioural programmes? Will, acting, behaviour, freedom, conditionality, social and cultural pressure.
  • 6. Cognitive approaches or cultural relativism? Emotions and identity. Identity definition, experiencing, emotions expression and their cognitive registration. Language.
  • 7. Ethics and values. Which role does ethics play in everyday life, profession of psychologist, psychotherapist and scientist? Resources of ethics definition and cultural differences is discussed. Does variation of value hierarchy exist in different cultures? How is the ethics important for me, what are my values, what are the preferred values of Czech society? Can the alternative approaches of different cultures enrich us?
  • 8. Mental health and disease. What is healthy and what is not? Norm and norm deviation. Norm and ideal. Exploration of mental health and disease representation at the population of course students. Discussion of traditional conception of mental health and disease according to manuals of ICD 10, DSM-IV.
  • 9. Mental health and disease. Examples of non-European cultures mental health and disease conceptions, discussion of differences, similarities and possible consequences of various concepts of psychic phenomenon.
  • 10. Presentation of final theses. Students have got ten minutes for presentation that is followed by short critical discussion. Written theses are handed till three weeks after presentation in minimal range of 7 pages.
  • 11. Death and dying in the reality of Central Europe. Death concept development - Christian background, post-modern consume, institutionalization, medicalization and professionalization of dying. Exploration of death representation at the population of course students. Death and life relation. Can positive effect of death be found for example in psychotherapy?
  • 12. Examples of non-European cultures death concepts, discussion of differences, similarities and possible consequences of various conceptions of psychic phenomenon. Does the only one truth exist?
  • 13. Presentation of final theses, course reviewing. Students have got ten minutes for presentation that is followed by short critical discussion. Written theses are handed till three weeks after presentation in minimal range of 7 pages.
Literature
  • HYTYCH, Roman. Smrt a nesmrtelnost: Sociální reprezentace smrti (Death and Deathlesness: Social Representations of Death). první. Praha: TRITON, 2008, 231 pp. Edice Psyché, svazek č. 56. ISBN 978-80-7387-092-8. info
  • MIOVSKÝ, Michal. Kvalitativní přístup a metody v psychologickém výzkumu. Vyd. 1. Praha: Grada, 2006, 332 s. ISBN 9788024713625. info
  • HYTYCH, Roman. Využití principů zakotvené teorie při etnopsychologickém výzkumu: Sociální reprezentace smrti v České republice a na Srí Lance (Applications of the grounded theory principles in the ethnopsychology research: Social representations of death in the Czech Republic and Sri Lank). In MIOVSKÝ, Michal, Ivo ČERMÁK and Vladimír CHRZ. Kvalitativní výzkum ve vědách o člověku IV. – vybrané aspekty teorie a praxe. první. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého, 2005, p. 339-351. ISBN 80-244-1159-8. info
  • SHWEDER, Richard A. Why do men barbecue? : recipes for cultural psychology. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003, viii, 419. ISBN 067401135X. info
  • PLICHTOVÁ, Jana. Metódy sociálnej épsychológie zblízka: Kavlitatívne a kvantitatívne skúmanie sociálnych reprezentácií. Bratislava: Média, 2002, 350 pp. ISBN 80-967525-5-3. info
  • MOSCOVICI, Serge. Social representations :explorations in social psychology. Edited by Gerard Duveen. 1st pub. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000, viii, 313. ISBN 0-7456-2226-7. info
  • BOCK, Phil. Rethinking Psychological Anthropology: Continue and Change in the Study of Human Action. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1999, 309 pp. 2nd edition. ISBN 978-1-57766-055-2. info
  • FOUCAULT, Michel. Psychologie a duševní nemoc. Translated by Věra Dvořáková - Richard Vyhlídal. Praha: Horizont, 1971, 83 s. info
Assessment methods
Course form: one lecture and one seminar (every week). Active attendance on seminary (80%) is required. Course is completed by the exam. Ground for evaluation is treating, presentation and discussion of final thesis findings. Goal of final thesis elaborating is conception exploration of chosen theme in the group of students as well as familiarization of alternative problem concepts, which is not commonly accept in the native culture of a given student. The detailed discussion of presented conceptions is expected that is based on active study of relevant literature and research project findings (record of group discussion) proceeds by a student (or team of students) within the chosen seminar. The overview of thesis findings is presented in seminar and is discussed by the group of students. Written final thesis is handed to the lecturer in minimal range of seven pages till three weeks that follows after its presentation. Lecturer will write an evaluation afterward. Solemn enrolment to final theses theme is required within third seminar, presentation of thesis is realized within tenth and thirteenth seminar. Besides themes offered by the course lecturer different theme can be arranged. Final thesis could be treated in the team of two or three students that means adequate extension of expected work (presentation for 15-20 minutes, minimum range of thesis is then ten pages).
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2009, recent)
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