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Culture and Diversity

The field of Psychology often adopts a westernised and individualistic view of the world. Here we try to view the mind and society through a wider lens in order to gain a better understanding of different cultures and minority groups.

Our articles

Third-Culture Individuals!

“Our homes are not defined by geography or one particular location, but by memories, events, people and places that span the globe” – Marilyn Gardner

Keisha Amalia

Writer

ChatGPT: Psychology as a building stone of AI

How do intelligent machines use psychology to optimise user experience? This article will talk about the recently released beta ChatGPT as well as the potential for bias in AI algorithms. It’s certainly not exhaustive, and only serves as a small sneak-peek into the curious world of AI.

Tasina Emma Westberg

Writer

Passion, Obsession, and the Art it Makes

What awakens the madman within us when it comes to passion and obsession? Where is the fine line between the two? There is no better place to start looking for answers than art.

Tasina Emma Westberg

Writer

Cross-Cultural Tourism Studies: An Introduction

Tourism is an international phenomenon which affects the markets all around the world. Research on cross-cultural tourism looks at how psychological elements of personality, motivations and attitudes influence traveling preferences. Still, because the topic is very new, as fast, intercontinental and leisure traveling boomed in the last century, the research lacks a lot of evidence. So, This article doesn’t aim to dive into specific statistics about different nationalities’ preferences on traveling, but is rather an introduction to the field. Cross-cultural research in general, not only in tourism, is also by itself a very enlightening way to explore psychological and other themes as it adds diversity to the subjects. Enjoy!

Demi Anagnostouli

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Stereotype Threat

“The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie One thing we are all guilty of doing, is stereotyping. Do you see all those videos on social media platforms stereotyping how you behave, act and come to a conclusion without actually knowing? Our minds work by dissecting everything to categories, so it is normal that we stereotype people around us. However, we also need to learn how damaging stereotypes can be especially to minority groups.

Birsu Obalar

Writer

Life Quality in Arranged Marriages

‍Uncommon to the Western cultures, arranged marriages are very predominant in Eastern Asian cultures such as Nepal, China and India. Arranged marriages are met mostly in cultures that adhere to Hinduism and adopt the lifestyle that comes with the doctrine. Due to high caste Hindu privileges and power a lot of people even the non-Hindu ones aspire to the same lifestyles. This manner of living revolves around family respect, values and reputation. Thus, arranged marriages are not the mere bond between two souls but a bond between families. The spouses are chosen based on common values and thus a happy healthy bond is predicted. The quality of marriage is very important as it determines factors of stress, mental and physical illness and longevity. An unhappy marriage shows more detrimental effects on health than divorce. Therefore choosing wisely is a must. But are arranged marriages the response to a healthy lifestyle, or the problem? To dive into the nuances of arranged marriage I invite you to read the following article.

Diana Birjac

Writer

The Psychology of Climate Change Denial

‍Have you ever wondered why there are so many climate change deniers, despite compelling evidence from scientists? Certain psychological barriers play a role in the process of denial and can make it difficult for people to realise the emergency of the situation. What are these psychological barriers and how are they manifested in daily life? Furthermore, is it possible to promote pro-environmental behaviours in climate change deniers through politics? How so?

Keisha Amalia

Writer

The Psychology of Victim Blaming

The rise of movements such as “Me Too” highlighted the issue of victim blaming. Women who come forward as victims of sexual violence are often met with comments about their clothing or behaviour prior to the assault. But why do some people tend to automatically blame the victim for what happened to them? Part of it may be ignorance but part of it also has to do with a protective psychological mechanism and cognitive biases. But regardless of the reason, victim blaming has serious consequences. So, what can we do to reduce it? Find out in this article!

Denisa Alfoldyova

Writer

The Effect of Culture on Perception: There is more to it than meets the eye

‍Where we come from and how we are raised has an enormous influence on who we become. Our cultures shape us in terms of beliefs, values, traditions, how we dress, how we eat and so on. But have you ever thought about its effects on how we see the world? The very famous illusion of Müller-Lyer is found to have a cultural gap, and not even everyone perceives the illusion. On the other hand, what you see as an appealing place can be influenced by where you grew up. Let’s start this topic by a small experiment.

Birsu Obalar

Writer

Children in Institutions

While growing up, orphan children tend to lack social and emotional support. This often results in both mental and physical issues. Amongst the mental health issues, it can be enumerated: atypical behavior, difficulties in cognitive development, and unhealthy attachment style (which leads to later problems of creating a long-term bond with other people). Physically, due to environmental deficiency and growth hormones, in times of stress the children tend to grow less compared to their non-orphan peers. Several interventions, such as psychological therapy and community-based support, already exist. If you would like to know more about this subject, I invite you to read the following article.

Diana Birjac

Writer

Writing and creativity: Is poetry therapeutic?

‘’We do not live to write, we write in order to continue living’’

Demi Anagnostouli

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The Truth Behind Criminal Profiling

TV shows and movies like ‘Criminal Minds’ or ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ revolve around the idea of criminal profiling. They depict profiling as a fairly accurate method of catching criminals. However, the reality may not be as straightforward as seen in these movies! How accurate are psychological offender profiles in real life? Can we really catch a criminal based on these descriptions? Let’s find out in this article.

Denisa Alfoldyova

Writer

Cult Psychology: Is it still relevant today?

In 1978, Jonestown, Guyana, 917 Americans of The People’s Temple committed mass suicide by cyanide poisoning. Among the members were young children. But that was years ago. Indeed, we like to associate cults with the past, thinking that we are much more critical and informed of our environment than our grandparents were. But think of conspiracist social networking sites. Do you think they play a role in the making of cults in the digital world? This article will examine why the topic of cult psychology, with the emergence of the internet, is still relevant today.

Keisha Amalia

Writer

Honour Crimes: a peak into criminology

For those of you who studied Criminology, or opened any British newspaper on January 25th 2006, this might be a familiar subject, but for the rest it will give you goosebumps.

Diana Birjac

Writer

Trauma: are we overusing this word?

The word trauma finds its roots in the Greek word τραύμα, meaning wound...

Lilja Kanerva

Writer

Group Hazing: a perspective on social cohesion

"Baffled and enraged, I woke up in the middle of the night to a choir of loud ambiguous songs that later turned out to be the incantation of initiation. I was living on the campus at that time, it was my first week, and I have not yet been properly introduced to the concept of a fraternity."

Diana Birjac

Writer

I spy with my little eye: Privacy on social media

With the rise of social media channels, a lot of countries utilize them in different ways and purposes. In fact, privacy is an important point where all of our opinions may differ. We have all seen privacy scandals happen in the past few years and we are growing more aware of how our data is being used to “manipulate” some of our behaviors (e.g. targeted ads which influence our buying behavior). Some countries choose to be more private with what they share, whereas others really value followers, and are more open with their information and what they post on social media. Some of these differences can be attributed to cultural beliefs. In this article, we will be looking at individualistic and collectivistic cultures and how they differ in social media usage, self-disclosure, privacy outlooks, perceptions and behaviors.

Birsu Obalar

Writer

Cultural appropriation

"My Culture is not the latest trend”. Wearing braids is “cool, even exotic”, but where do we draw the line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation? Some individuals whose culture has been appropriated think that it is beautiful for other cultures to wear their garments or borrow their music, whereas others individuals believe that is disrespectful.

Diana Birjac

Writer

What influences what you buy? Understanding Consumer Behaviour

With the current state of our society, we are addicted to always consuming something. This can be content from websites such as YouTube, or it could be things we use in our day-to-day life like food, clothes, and electronics. The targeted ads that give you the exact thing you are looking for is just part of the game. The closer this industry is to predicting what, when, and why you will buy something, the more control they will have over you. However, as a society we need to see the impact this has on us and the environment. Therefore, this article will give an insight on your consumer behaviour and some factors that influence it.

Birsu Obalar

Writer

Domestic Violence: from gender to the step forward

Domestic violence is a phenomenon that affects people from all around the world. A multi-country study by Elsberg and his colleagues aimed to examine and describe consequences of such violence on people’s mental health. They found that domestic violence can severely impair people’s lives by inducing suicidal thoughts and attempts. It also influences daily activities because victims tend to suffer from pain, memory loss, dizziness and have difficulties with walking. However, little is known about male victims and the consequences of violence by female perpetrators is viewed as less serious than the one from males.

Demi Anagnostouli

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Incels and Violence Against Women

The online community of Incels is becoming increasingly more prominent. This group comprises men who are unable to develop a relationship with women. But what started as a community to offer support and relationship advice developed into a misogynistic group of men who blame women for their lack of sexual activity. Moreover, some members of the group have committed violent crimes in the name of Inceldom.

Denisa Alfoldyova

Writer

Why do we Travel? Exploring Travel Psychology

You are on the train travelling… A total stranger who sits close by approaches you and starts talking and without even realising it, she has narrated her whole life and has revealed some of her deepest secrets. The situation resembles a movie: the anonymity of the person and the fact that you may never see them again are the conditions that allowed the reveal of this person’s story. It is time to unravel the travelling experience.

Demi Anagnostouli

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The Earth is Flat: The Psychology Behind Conspiracy Theories

Recently, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has seen many conspiracy theories. Some people believe that the vaccines contain microchips for the government can track them. Some believe that the ‘pandemic’ is only a way for the government to control the population. What is it about such far-fetched theories that makes them so popular? Are some people more likely to believe in conspiracy theories than others? Let’s find out!

Denisa Alfoldyova

Writer

The Psychology of Group Polarization

Typing ‘’climate change’’ on Google, depending on the city you are in, you are going to see different results. In some cities the autocomplete will write ‘’is a hoax’’ and in other cities, ‘’is disrupting the planet’’ [8]. You don't realize that this is the case for your social media feed, different from your friends', for each based on preferences. How groups function, and if they become polarized, can be explained through different mechanisms and theories. Group polarization is extremely relevant today, but we still discard it most of the time. Read the article to find out more about it!

Demi Anagnostouli

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Through Intersectionality’s Lens

Consider an analogy to traffic in an intersection, coming and going in all four directions. Discrimination, like traffic through an intersection, may flow in one direction, and it may flow in another. If an accident happens in an intersection, it can be caused by cars traveling from any number of directions, and sometimes, from all of them. Similarly, if a Black woman is harmed because she is in the intersection, her injury could result from sex discrimination or race discrimination. [1,3]

Demi Anagnostouli

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Slum Tourism: The Cities of God

Nowadays, slum, ghetto, township, or favela tourism is offered by tourism professionals in more than 12 countries, from Jakarta to São Paulo, from Mumbai to Mexico City, from Cairo to Manila, from Nairobi to Buenos Aires. Have you ever visited these places? If yes, have you asked yourself why? How do slum residents perceive this?

Demi Anagnostouli

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