The Study of Human Thought & Behaviour:

Looking Back & Looking Forward

Mark H.B. Radford

The 5th International Workshop on Cultural and Ecological Foundations of The Mind, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

April 7, 2003

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Introduction

The last 10 years

Employee attitudes, corporate culture Fad vs. Competitive Advantage

Reflection of social psychology?

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Some Constraints

Behavioural science – the study of psychological phenomena taking into account person, society, culture & environment

Applied environment – “What?”, “So What?”, “Now What?”

Sharing of ideas Universal ideal Global, generalist approach ‘Ideas in progress’

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Lecture Format

Issues in social psychology & cross-cultural psychology

2 examples of current research interests

Future & conclusions

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Issues in Social Psychology & Cross-Cultural PsychologyThe ‘Crisis’ Wilhelm Wundt, 1879 – first laboratory

Two approaches:1. Laboratory Approach

2. Descriptive Approach

Universal Laws Behaviourism 1940s – Psychology was empirical,

mechanistic & quantitative

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‘Crisis’ Continued

Behaviourism in crisis in 1960s Limited internal & external validity Issue of viable paradigms & appropriate methodologies

‘Crisis of confidence’ in many areas of psychology

Social Psychology (Hogg & Grieve, 1999): 1. reductionist, immature in theories;

2. positivist & unsophisticated in methods;

3. blind to role of language, history, culture

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The Reaction

Approaches:

1. Radical rejection of traditional theories & methods

2. Less radical approaches that incorporated wider range of variables (e.g. culture, society) – ‘social cognition’, ‘social identity theory’

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The Role of Culture

Cross-Cultural Psychology Culture is antecedent behaviour, outside

individual, ‘universalist’ approach Cultural Psychology

Culture is inside individual, ‘contextualist’ approach

Indigenous Psychology Folk theories into formal psychological theories,

‘integrationalist’ approach

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Culture, expectations & behaviour in real-life

Saudi Arabian bank employees

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”

Television Show

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The challenges

Perceptual inference

Globalisation through migration, technology & economy

Continual change & adaptation within cultures

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Globalisation

Long history…

Migrant groups & ‘time warp’ cultures

Multinational companies Individual preference & selection Hofstede & collectivism in Japan

Massive changes in last 20 years

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The ‘Issues’

Consider psychological phenomena in their context Comprehensive conception of culture Culture is not a ‘static, unchanging’ variable Combining both qualitative & quantitative measures Extension of laboratory research to real settings Application of problems to real-life settings Educating non-psychologists of our research

findings

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Two Examples

Impact of culture on depression & anxiety

Work attitudes & behaviour

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Cultural impact on depression & anxiety disorders

Depression & anxiety exist in all cultures so far examined, although variation in prevalence, type, nature & severity of symptoms

Biological diversity between some racial groups have implications for efficacy of some treatments

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We know…

Depression can result from a specific event or experience, or from genetic and/or chemical imbalances

Depression can have both adaptive & maladaptive consequences depending on severity & social environment

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We know…

Differences occur between Asian & Caucasian subject in terms of biochemical tolerance to & absorption rates of medication

Food intake, herbal remedies & cigarette smoking can interact with drug treatments to increase or decrease efficacy of drug treatments

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So…

Understanding the causes of depression & anxiety (biological, chemical, social, environmental, psychological) becomes essential to understanding the ways they are manifested, how they will impact behaviour & thought, & how they can be treated

Research from many different disciplines has made clear that there is no simple answer

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Culture-biology interactions (Lin, 2002)

cognitivecoping

social support

Culture-biology interactions(cf. Lin, 2002)

genetics

environment

ETHNICITY

CULTURE

vulnerability

‘BIOLOGICAL MARKERS’

‘State’‘Trait’

psychopathologyclinical

syndromes

course & outcome

Stress

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An example…Japanese Work Setting Negative impact of depression often masked

by traditional social support systems & norms about what is appropriate behaviour

Dramatic changes in society (age distribution, urbanisation, loss of traditional social support)

Economic changes (increase in unemployment, change, uncertainty)

Deterioration in mental health

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Sources of stress in the workplace includes: Role ambiguity Role conflict Career uncertainty Job insecurity Lack of control &

authority

Poor relationships with supervisors

Poor relationships with colleagues

‘Work overload’ ‘Work underload’

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Japanese work environment

Encourages conformity & consensus at expense of individual responsibility & self-direction greater sense of helplessness & hopelessness

Long working hours impact on physical & mental health

High prevalence of depressive symptoms ‘Karoshi’

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Research has shown…

Hopelessness predictor of suicidal intent & behaviour

Markus & Kitayama’s research on self Yamagishi & colleagues’ research on trust

Suicide in the workplace

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Summary

Enormous consequences of mental health problems – psychological, social & economic

Understanding the cultural, social, psychological & biochemical interactions helps us devise appropriate treatment programmes

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Work attitudes & behaviour

Employee Attitude & Organisational Climate Surveys

Philosophy

Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied

Employees Customers Owners

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Problems…

Lack of theoretical framework

Badly designed instruments“My boss beats me and doesn’t pay me enough”

Inappropriate comparisons

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Little attempt is made to…

Develop model of employee satisfaction that identifies those elements that drive satisfaction & those that contribute to low morale

Ensure instruments are designed appropriately (cf. conceptual, linguistic & metric equivalence

Conduct appropriate analyses - not just provide descriptive statistics but also identify causal relationships

Understand results in terms of local social, cultural & economic conditions

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And so…

Lots of statistics but little information telling you what is happening, why it is happening & what needs to be done

False conclusions

Frustrated employees

Wasted exercise?

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A model of employee satisfaction & commitment Four essential ingredients for a happy

employee:

1. Satisfying or satisfactory relationship with colleagues & supervisors

2. Personal satisfaction

3. Reward & recognition

4. Brand image of organisation (or product)

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Organisational Environment

(culture/style, work organisation, work practices,

work environment, communication)

Organisational Environment

(culture/style, work organisation, work practices,

work environment, communication)

Employee Satisfaction/Commitment;Productivity

Affiliation(working relationships, employee involvement, identification & image)

Affiliation(working relationships, employee involvement, identification & image)

“Take”(leadership/management,

supervision, training performance appraisal, personal development)

“Take”(leadership/management,

supervision, training performance appraisal, personal development)

“Give”(ethics/values, customer

focus, quality – products & services)

“Give”(ethics/values, customer

focus, quality – products & services)

Basic Needs(rewards, recognition)

Basic Needs(rewards, recognition) Aspiration

(career development)

Aspiration(career development)

OrganisationalStrategy, Goals, Values

OrganisationalStrategy, Goals, Values

“Context”

“Social Exchange”

“Needs”

© Mark H.B. Radford, 2002

The Model

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The Future

Old Concept? Universities as places of intellectual learning

New Concept? Competitive environment – people & resources Relevance & application of thinking & research

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Conclusion

The Elephant story

Subject vs. discipline based research

Four important questions:

1. What am I looking at?

2. Why am I looking at it?

3. How has it come about?

4. What I am I going to do now that I have that knowledge?

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Finally…

Perhaps it is time for another revolution in psychology…

Thank you