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Research Reflection

STUDENT NAME

College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University

PSY-362: Social Psychology and Cultural Applications

Jessica Louis

DATE

Running head: ASSIGNMENT TITLE HERE

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Research Reflection

Within research, there are many important variables often overlooked. Being informed about social and cultural dynamics when conducting research is necessary for many reasons. After defining social and cultural competency, it’s importance in research, providing an example of a social psychological concept, and acknowledging the impacts of ignoring these perspectives, it will be clear as to why social and cultural competency is critical in the research process.

Social and Cultural Competency

According to Collie (2020), “Social and emotional competence refers to the ways in which individuals navigate and manage the social and emotional experiences in their lives” (p. 663). This is important to note because if one is lacking in social competency, then they are unable to properly deal with social situations in a way that would be considered or deemed normal and accepting. Cultural competence is similar in that it is being able to comprehend and respond to others that are culturally different from oneself in a respectful, helpful, and responsive manner (Lekas, Pahl, & Fuller Lewis, 2020). Those that are not culturally competent lack the skills and knowledge of other cultures which can result in hostile situations or miscommunication. Comment by Jessica Louis: Define social and cultural competency (10.0%) Comment by Jessica Louis: Use of paraphrasing throughout, along with a citation to make that connection to the research as laid out in the rubric.

Importance

Social and cultural competence is important when considering social psychological research. It is vital to know that, “Social psychology can be defined as the scientific study of the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals in social situations” (Gilovich, Keltner, Chen, & Nisbett, 2018, p. 5). Research that is conducted based on social psychology requires one to value social and cultural competence. Without being aware of other cultures and why social interactions occur, one would not be able to properly gather data. Having knowledge of different cultures will allow researchers to comprehend social situations better because culture often drives behavior. Being aware of how social dynamics function and the roles that are played during interactions is also necessary for reliable research. Comment by Jessica Louis: Evaluate the importance of social competence and cultural competence in scientific inquiry (C3.5) (15.0%)

A Concept and Why It Matters

There are many social psychological concepts that can be understood from a cross-cultural perspective, one is social anxiety. Social anxiety is something that anyone can experience, and it can be defined as “a common human experience characterized by intense fear of evaluation by others in social situations” (Liu, Zhang, Pan, Hu, He, Chen, & Wang, 2017, p. 40). When researching a concept like this one, cultural competency matters a great deal. Because all cultures value different things, some cultures may be more likely to experience social anxiety than others. By understanding what each culture values and how that impacts their interactions with others, it allows for researchers to better understand the aspects of social anxiety and why it may occur. Cultural competency matters when researching because it lets scientists have a better idea of what life aspects may contribute to the concept of study, and it can overall help gather more factual data. Comment by Jessica Louis: Example of a social psychological concept that can be understood from a cross-cultural perspective. (15.0%) Comment by Jessica Louis: Discuss why cultural competency matters when researching one of the concepts mentioned above (15.0%)

Neglection of Cross-Cultural Perspectives

There are many problems that may occur if cross-cultural perspectives are neglected in research. For example, American culture values independence and freedom, and if research were to take place in a different cultural environment, such as Russia where there is not a lot of freedom, confusion may arise if one is uneducated. Being uneducated about different cultures can lead to stereotyping and stigmas (Lekas et al., 2020). In other words, it can be easy to generalize a stereotype to a culture when uninformed. In research, this can be detrimental because it can create a bias environment with false data. Comment by Jessica Louis: Discuss problems that might occur if cross cultural perspectives are neglected in the research. Include examples of the problems. (15.0%)

Conclusion

Social and cultural competence are vital to social psychological research. Without competency, social situations and cultural influences would not be represented in research and in data. After learning what social and cultural competency means, why it is important to research, providing an example of how it is impactful, and explaining what may happen when one is incompetent, it is evident that competency is necessary when researching.

References Comment by Jessica Louis: APA style reference page with proper formatting

Collie, R. J. (2020). Social and emotional competence: advancing understanding of what, for whom, and when. Educational Psychology, 40(6), 663–665. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/01443410.2020.1775936

Gilovich, T., Keltner, D., Chen, S., & Nisbett, R. E. (2018). Social psychology (5th ed). New York, NY: W.W. Norton Publishing. ISBN-13: 9780393667707.

Lekas, H.-M., Pahl, K., & Fuller Lewis, C. (2020). Rethinking Cultural Competence: Shifting to Cultural Humility. Health Services Insights, 1–4. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1178632920970580

Liu, G., Zhang, D., Pan, Y., Hu, T., He, N., Chen, W., & Wang, Z. (2017). Self-concept clarity and subjective social status as mediators between psychological suzhi and social anxiety in Chinese adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 108, 40–44. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.067