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    African Vs Western Psychology

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    Duduzile Nongalewa
    This document discusses the differences between Western mainstream psychology and African psychology. Mainstream psychology views human behavior as influenced primarily by internal cognitive processes and is focused on individuals, while African psychology sees behavior as connected to broader social and cultural contexts. Where mainstream psychology promotes individualism and future orientation, African psychology emphasizes holism, interconnectedness with community, and the importance of traditions from the past. The document provides several examples to illustrate these contrasting perspectives on topics like the definition of self, approaches to mental illness, views of human nature, and relationships with the environment.

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    African Vs Western Psychology

    Uploaded by

    Duduzile Nongalewa
    106 views4 pages
    This document discusses the differences between Western mainstream psychology and African psychology. Mainstream psychology views human behavior as influenced primarily by internal cognitive processes and is focused on individuals, while African psychology sees behavior as connected to broader social and cultural contexts. Where mainstream psychology promotes individualism and future orientation, African psychology emphasizes holism, interconnectedness with community, and the importance of traditions from the past. The document provides several examples to illustrate these contrasting perspectives on topics like the definition of self, approaches to mental illness, views of human nature, and relationships with the environment.

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    This document discusses the differences between Western mainstream psychology and African psychology. Mainstream psychology views human behavior as influenced primarily by internal cognitive processes and is focused on individuals, while African psychology sees behavior as connected to broader social and cultural contexts. Where mainstream psychology promotes individualism and future orientation, African psychology emphasizes holism, interconnectedness with community, and the importance of traditions from the past. The document provides several examples to illustrate these contrasting perspectives on topics like the definition of self, approaches to mental illness, views of human nature, and relationships with the environment.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    106 views4 pages

    African Vs Western Psychology

    Uploaded by

    Duduzile Nongalewa
    This document discusses the differences between Western mainstream psychology and African psychology. Mainstream psychology views human behavior as influenced primarily by internal cognitive processes and is focused on individuals, while African psychology sees behavior as connected to broader social and cultural contexts. Where mainstream psychology promotes individualism and future orientation, African psychology emphasizes holism, interconnectedness with community, and the importance of traditions from the past. The document provides several examples to illustrate these contrasting perspectives on topics like the definition of self, approaches to mental illness, views of human nature, and relationships with the environment.

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    University of the Witwatersrand

    Psychology Assignment 2017

    Nhlakanipho Macmillan Zikalala

    Introduction

    The transfer of knowledge and information technologies from the Western countries to the
    rest of the world lead to the domination of scientifically based Western worldviews,
    philosophies and theories of understanding human behaviour (Mkhize, 2006: 25). However,
    an African based psychological phenomenon emerges as an alternative to mainstream
    psychology through philosophical engagements with the self and human behaviour. It is
    within this framework that this essay shall seek to describe some of the fundamental tenants
    of these competing schools of though. This will be done by highlighting and compering
    central ideas inherent in each perspective.

    Westernised Mainstream Psychology Vs African Psychology

    At the empirical level, mainstream psychology is a scientific study focused on internal


    cognitive processes that influence human behaviour. As a Westernised study, mainstream
    psychology is interpreted as being value free, objective and universal (Mkhize, 2006: 24).
    This means that mainstream psychology perceives human beings as independent subjects that
    are separated from social and cultural influences. It follows from this that human behaviour
    in mainstream psychology is construed beyond ‘superficial differences’, in that all social
    groups are made up of human beings with similar biological traits and therefore share
    universal values, despite their different cultures (Hills, 2002: 3).

    However, the perception that mainstream psychological worldviews, theories and ideologies
    are considered to be universal and therefore seen as being applicable to everyone has been
    largely discredited by African psychology (Mkhize, 2006: 25). This is largely based on the
    fact that societies embrace different culturally based worldviews in terms of shared values,
    theories and practices of acceptable and inacceptable human behaviour. Notwithstanding that
    human beings share universal values such as courage, love and wisdom, African psychology
    examines individual behaviour in the context of attributes external to an individual and
    acknowledges that Western psychology is not universal (Nsamenang, 2007: 8).
    African psychology is focused on indigenous knowledge systems based on cultural ideologies
    and theories aimed at examining the behaviour of African people, which is considered to be
    distinct from Western based psychology. Hence, in examining human behaviour, mainstream
    psychology focuses on the normative standard of individual human cognition. African people
    cannot be understood through such a Western based approach because it gives too much
    attention to internal processes within the person, autonomous of social and contextual
    determinants (Mkhize, 2006: 27).

    African psychology echoes the notion that psychologists can adopt a subjective approach
    when conducting research and can impose values. An example here would be a psychologist
    who uses symbols related to culture when examining human behaviour. Cultural symbols like
    statues and images bear a unique meaning within a particular group of people and invoke
    mutually assured responses within that group (Hills, 2002: 5). Therefore, mainstream
    psychology can produce a wide range of inadequacies when being applied to African people.
    This is largely influenced by the fact that Westernised mainstream psychology was developed
    through the examination of the Euro-American white middle class who do not share similar
    indigenous knowledge systems with African people (Adelowo, 2015: 8).

    Furthermore, mainstream psychology is oriented within the culture of autonomous individual


    liberty which dominated Europe and North America in the ages of Enlightenment. In
    contrast, African psychology is entirely premised on a worldview that presents a different
    frame of reference towards the self. The self is understood in relation to certain expectation,
    duties and obligations that one holds in relation to others. African psychology rejects the
    notion of autonomous individualism and promotes holism. Holism refers to the idea that an
    individual should harmonise his or her interests with that of the collective (Mkhize, 2006:
    29). Therefore, the definition of self in African Psychology is connected to communal
    interconnectedness.

    Adelowo (2015: 5) argues that in an African context an individual’s cultural worldviews and
    philosophies influence his or her reality and his behaviour. This means that African
    psychology is based on comprehensive lived experiences, values, beliefs, customs and
    philosophical traditions that influence individual agency and behaviour. An example here
    would be that in contrast to Western psychology, mental illness is not focused on individually
    based intra-psychic malfunctioning. Instead, the African worldview observes a broader
    context of collective social and political based realities that contribute to mental illness
    (Kwate, 2005: 226).

    In terms of the value orientation method, mainstream psychologists believe that human nature
    echoes the notion that people are complicated species, in that some are good and some are
    bad. Therefore, one must examine the nature of each individual separately and if such an
    individual proves to be bad it is possible to change him or her through guidance. In contrast,
    African psychologists believe that every human being is born with a good heart and is
    therefore bestowed with good traits (Schwartz, 2006: 140).

    In relation to orientation towards the environment, African psychology considers that human
    beings are inseparable with the environment and therefore should live in harmony with it.
    This means that African cultures emphasise spiritual oneness with nature (Schwartz, 2006:
    140). However, mainstream psychologists are of the view that humans are bestowed with the
    ability to control and dominate the environment (Hills, 2002: 5). This emphasises a mastery
    approach, in which human beings must work the environment to his benefit.

    Furthermore, African psychology places emphasis on past traditions, which are considered to
    be important for the present and the future, in that human beings derive their lessons and
    values from the past, strive to apply them in the present and preserve them for the future
    (Delowo, 2015: 1). On the other hand, mainstream psychologists believe in future orientation
    which requires setting up goals and a great deal of sacrifice in order to see a better future.
    Moreover, in contrast to mainstream psychology, human orientation activity in African
    psychology does not echo the notion that the worth of human beings should be measured by
    material computations acquired through hard work (Schwartz, 2006: 140).

    Conclusion

    This essay has attempted to discuss some of the fundamental tenants enshrined within
    Westernised mainstream psychology and African psychology, which emerges as an
    alternative perspective. The essay has found that there are competing central ideas inherent
    within these competing schools of thoughts with regards to examining and understanding
    human behaviour. Whilst mainstream psychology focuses on the cognitive process of the
    individual as a solitary subject, African psychology examines individual behaviour within
    social and contextual influences.
    References

    Adelowo, A. (2015) ‘African Psychology: The Psychological Adjustment of African Women


    Living in New Zealand’: Papers on Social Representations, Manukau Institute of Technology,
    Auckland, New Zealand Vol. 4 pp 1-21

    Hills, D.M. (2002) ‘Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's Values Orientation Theory’ Online Readings
    in Psychology and Culture, 4(4) pp 1-14. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2307-
    0919.1040 accessed on the 17th of March 2017.

    Kwate, N.O.A. (2005) ‘The Heresy of African-Coloured Psychology’ Journal of Medical


    Humanities 26(4) pp 215-236

    Mkhize, N. (2006). Psychology: An African perspective. In D. Hook (Ed). Critical


    Psychology UCT Press: Landsdowne, pp 24-50

    Nsamanang, A.B. (2007) ‘Origins and Development of Scientific Psychology in African


    Noire’ IUPSYS Global Resource pp 1-45

    Schwartz, S.H. (2006) ‘A Theory of Cultural Value Orientations: Explication and


    Applications’: Comparative Sociology, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden 5(2-3) pp 137-184

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