Between orientalism and normalization: cross-cultural lessons from Japan for a critical history of psychology.
Cross-cultural research performs a vital role within the confirmation of psychological "truths." Its differentiations work simultaneously to establish their general applicability and the superiority of Anglo-U.S. ways of living and relating. Taking three examples of how "Japan" figures within English language psychological accounts (i.e., group/individual, shame/guilt societies, and attachment styles), I indicate how the apparent stability of these truths suppressed the violent history of their generation. Moreover, I suggest how resisting the assimilation of cultural specificity into a discourse of mere variation can challenge the hegemony of Anglo-U.S. psychology and reframe the vexed question of specificity versus universality.
Burman
Erica
E
Discourse Unit/Women's Studies Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Hathersage Road, Manchester M13 0JA, United Kingdom. e.burman@mmu.ac.uk
D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D011584:Psychology / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States