Unit IX. Ethnopsychology

Task 1. Read and translate the text “Ethnopsychology”:

Ethnopsychology

Ethnospychology is an interdisciplinary branch of knowledge studying ethnocultural features of peoples’ mentality, psychological characteristics of ethnoses and psychological aspects of interethnic relations.

The term “ethnopsychology” is not a single one denoting this sphere. There are different titles, for example, peoples’ psychology, psychological anthropology, cross-cultural psychology and many others. As an interdisciplinary science ethnopsychology has close links with sociology, linguistics, biology, ecology, ethnography, social and cultural anthropology, psychology, philosophy, history, politics, etc.

The object of the science is represented by the notions of nations, nationalities, ethnoses. The subject covers features of behaviour, emotional reactions, mentalities, character, national consciousness and ethnic stereotypes.

Research methods consist of comparison, observation, experiment, conversation and investigation of activity products. Comparative method allows to use analytical comparative models to study mental ethnic processes, to classify and group them according to certain principles and criteria. Observation came to ethnopsychology from behaviorism. It is the study of mentality external displays in different ethnic groups in natural living conditions. Observation should be purposeful, regular and should follow the principle of non-interference. Experiment is an active method. An experimenter creates necessary conditions for activation of the process he is interested in. Mental features are established after repeated experiments under identical conditions. An experiment can be laboratory and natural. The conversational method is based on verbal communication and has a private character. It is applied to examine ethnic picture of the world. Investigation of activity products includes studying of drawings, written compositions, clothes, folklore.

Ethnopsychology is a science about facts, laws and mechanisms of mental typology display, valuable orientations, and ethnic behaviour. It describes features of behaviour and its motives within and between ethnoses, which live for centuries in one geographic and historic space.

Ethnopsychology studies social and personal mechanisms of identification and isolation which generated deep psychological phenomena as national consciousness (expressed by the pronoun “we”) and comprehension of different ethnoses (“they”). It results in ambivalent orientation of their parity: acceptance and cooperation on the one hand and isolation and aggression on the other hand (from http://en.wikipedia.org).

Task 2. Translate the words into Russian. Write down your own sentences with the original English words:

1) ethnocultural features; 2) cross-cultural psychology; 3) national consciousness; 4) to classify; 5) mentality external displays; 6) repeated experiments; 7) conversational method; 8) folklore; 9) identification; 10) comprehension of different ethnoses.

Task 3. Translate the sentences into Russian, pay attention to the words from the task two:

1) Cross-cultural studies are of paramount importance in economics of multinational corporations which have to adapt their marketing strategy and the product itself to the demand in different cultures.

2) Russian national consciousness was almost lost during the Soviet period but now it is reviving.

3) German ethnocultural features include punctuality whereas most of the time Russians don’t think that this feature is necessary at all.

4) Can you classify these psychological concepts according to a chronological criterion?

5) Mentality consists of ethnic stereotypes which are reproduced in everyday life.

6) A single experiment can not show the true phenomenon, only repeated experiments can prove an idea.

7) Conversation method is often used in psychoanalysis.

8) Russian singing folklore is associated with chastushka.

9) You can’t come in without a document. Show me your identification card.

Task 4. In the text find English equivalents to the following Russian words and word combinations:

1) ментальность; 2) психология народов; 3) этнические стереотипы; 4) наблюдение; 5) невмешательство; 6) идентичные условия; 7) этническая картина мира; 8) ценностные ориентации; 9) изоляция; 10) приятие.

Task 5. Translate the sentences into English, pay attention to the words and word combinations from the task four:

1) Основной чертой американской ментальности является индивидуализм.

2) Согласно этническим стереотипам, китайцы представляются нам работящими, а англичане – чопорными.

3) Наблюдение за лабораторными крысами позволило доказать, что некоторые наследственные признаки проявляются через поколение.

4) Швейцария проповедует принцип невмешательства в военные конфликты.

5) Чтобы доказать свою теорию, вам необходимо воссоздать идентичные условия при повторении своего эксперимента.

6) Этническая картина мира несет на себе отпечаток психологии того или иного народа.

7) Ценностные ориентации индейцев племени хопи могут показаться странными современным европейцам.

8) Длительная изоляция Австралии от остального мира привела к появлению совершенно самобытной фауны.

9) Необходимо развивать толерантность и приятие других, непохожих культур.

Task 6. In the text “Ethnopsychology” find synonyms to the following words:

1) psychological anthropology; 2) nation; 3) international; 4) name; 5) for instance; 6) connection; 7) to group; 8) criterion; 9) to produce; 10) communication.

Task 7. In the text “Ethnopsychology” find antonyms to the following words:

1) far; 2) original action; 3) physical; 4) internal; 5) without a purpose; 6) irregular; 7) disturbance; 8) passive; 9) a single experiment; 10) different conditions; 11) between; 12) they.

Task 8. Answer the questions:

1) What does ethnopsychology study?

2) What sciences does ethnopsychology have close links with?

3) What is the subject of ethnopsychology?

4) What methods of research does ethnopsychology use?

5) What does a comparative method allow a scientist to do?

6) What are the main principles for observation?

7) What is the necessary criterion for repeated experiments?

8) What are the types of experiments?

9) What activity products can you enumerate?

10) Does ethnopsychology describe behaviour and its motives within an ethnos or between ethnoses?

11) How can ethnoses make relationships between each other?

12) What is a nation identification?

Task 9. Say whether the following statements are true or false. Correct false statements:

1) Ethnopsychology as a term does not have any synonyms.

2) The object of ethnopsychology is ethnic mentality.

3) The subject of ethnopsychology includes ethnic consciousness.

4) Comparative method is used to study one separated ethnos.

5) Observation was born in cognitive science and later came to ethnopsychology.

6) Experiment is a passive method of ethnopsychology.

7) In an experiment a scientist waits for the phenomenon he is interested in to happen.

8) Conversation method uses written texts which are analysed in special laboratories.

9) Ethnopsychology is prone to study mental typology displays.

10) Ethnopsychology examines characteristic features of ethnoses which live far away from each other.

11) Friends are associated with the pronoun “we”, enemies are identified to the pronoun “they”.

Task 10. In the text “Ethnopsychology” find sentences with the word “discipline” and its derivatives, translate them into Russian. Try to form other words from this root and explain their meaning. Look through vocabulary notes and check yourself. Write down your own sentences with these words:

1) disciple – ученик, последователь, сторонник; (церк.) апостол.

2) disciplinarian – сторонник дисциплины; (ист.) приверженец пресвитерианства.

3) disciplinary – дисциплинарный, исправительный; дисциплинирующий.

4) discipline – дисциплина, порядок; дисциплинированность; обучение, тренировка; дисциплина (отрасль знания); наказание; (церк.) епитимья, умерщвление плоти.

5) to discipline – наказывать, подвергать дисциплинарному взысканию; дисциплинировать; тренировать, (воен.) муштровать.

6) disciplined – дисциплинированный.

7) undisciplined – недисциплинированный.

8) inter-discipline – дисциплина, находящаяся на стыке нескольких наук.

9) interdisciplinary – междисциплинарный.

Task 11. Translate the sentences into Russian. Pay attention to the words from the task ten:

1) Jesus Christ had many disciples but only twelve of them became apostles.

2) Don’t be such a furious disciplinarian. Dismiss your employees a bit earlier on New Year’s Eve.

3) After the court convicts go to different disciplinary institutions.

4) There should be discipline in the library.

5) At our University we study general as well as special disciplines.

6) Mr. Brown was late for his work as usual that’s why his boss wanted to discipline him with the help of a large amount of money, he just fined him, but next time he promised to discharge Mr. Brown.

7) This boy is very disciplined.

8) Ethnopsychology is an inter-discipline based on the theory and practice of ethnography and psychology.

Task 12. Translate Russian words in brackets into English:

1) Followers of cognitive science or (сторонники) are called cognitivists.

2) First, the majority of Englishmen was Catholic but historically they went to be (приверженцами пресвитерианства).

3) Taking care of pets, such as walking a dog, feeding a cat, cleaning a bird cage, is a (дисциплинирующая) activity for small children.

4) (Дисциплинированность) is the best quality for a soldier and military men in general.

5) Add more (тренировок) and your physical state will improve and a bit later your mental abilities will increase too.

6) Some military and police higher education establishments still (муштруют) their students.

7) My nephew is easy-going, smart and generous but sometimes (недисциплинированный).

8) Ethnopsycholinguistics is an (междисциплинарная) science.

Task 13. Read the text “History of Ethnopsychology” and choose the best variants of answers to the questions:

Creation of special discipline, peoples’ psychology, was designated in 1860 by M. Latsarus and H. Steintal. They defined “ethnic spirit” as special, closed notion reflecting psychological similarities in individuals of a certain nationality. At the same time it shows ethnic self-consciousness. The content of ethnic spirit could be investigated through comparative research of language, mythology, moral principles and culture.

At the beginning of the 20^th century these ideas received further development and realizations in peoples’ psychology studies by W. Wundt. Later ethnopsychology in the USA is associated with neo-freudan theory. It tried to generate national character features from the basic individual features which coincided with children bringing up principles typical of a certain culture.

Questions:

1) When was peoples’ psychology born?

1. eighteen sixty

2. eighteen sixteen

3. eighty sixty

2) Who were the founders of peoples’ psychology?

1. H. Latsarus and M. Steintal

2. M. Latsarus and H. Steintal

3. C. Marx and F. Engels

3) In what way did they define ethnic spirit?

1. it shows similarities in people of different ethnic origins

2. it reflects psychological features of individuals in general

3. it shows similar features of character in people of one and the same nation

4) What is a comparative research based on?

1. industry and product activity

2. language and culture

3. environment and historic situation

5) Who developed peoples’ psychology at the beginning of the 20^th century?

1. Wilhelm Wundt

2. Martin Luther King

3. Elizabeth II

6) What is the route of peoples’ psychology development in the USA in the 20^th century?

1. freudan theory

2. freudan practice

3. neo-freudan

7) What was the main aim of peoples’ psychology in the USA?

1. to describe national character on the basis of bringing up methods

2. to generate character features from children bringing up principles

3. to show that Americans were the greatest.

Task 14. Read an abstract and say whether the statements are true or false, correct the false statements:

Modern ethnopsychology can not be described as a single science using the same methods and examining the same problems. There are several independent branches in it:

1) Comparative analysis of psycho-physiological ethnic specific features, cognitive processes, memory, emotions, speech, etc. Theoretically and methodically they are part and parcel of certain branches within general and social psychology.

2) Culture investigations aimed at characterization of imagery or symbolic world and valuable orientations typical of a folklore. They are connected to ethnography, folklore studies and art.

3) Studies in the field of ethnic consciousness and self-consciousness which borrowed their methods and terminology from social psychology examining social conditions, rules and inter-group relations.

4) Research in ethnic features of children socialization. Its terminology and methods are linked with sociology and children’s psychology.

Statements:

1) Current research in ethnopsychology is a single, unified study.

2) There are three independent branches in ethnopsychology.

3) Modern ethnopsychology investigates the same problems as it did in the 19^th century.

4) Comparative methods of analysis are similar to those used in general psychology.

5) Ethnic speech features can be studied in social psychology.

6) Folklore could be investigated in the sphere of ethnopsychology and art studies.

7) Ethnopsychology does not cover the problems of consciousness and self-consciousness.

8) Children socialization is specific from culture to culture.

9) Ethnic features in children socialization are close to sociologic and children’s psychology subjects.

Task 15. Read an abstract and put right words into the blanks. Choose the words from the given list:

National culture properties … (1) from individuals’ ethnos features. That’s why there are some … (2) in culture and ethnopsychological studies. Today in ethnopsychology … (3) attention is paid to psychological … (4) of ethnic conflicts, finding effective ways of their … (5). It also deals with the roots of growth in national … (6) and ways of its activating in different … (7) and national settings.

Words: self-consciousness, differ, social, specialities, solving, much, causes.

Task 16. Translate into English:

Функции картины мира вытекают из природы и предназначения в человеческой жизнедеятельности мировидения. Мировидение имеет две базисные функции: интерпретативную (осуществлять видение мира) и регулятивную (служить ориентиром в мире, быть универсальным ориентиром человеческой жизнедеятельности). Без картины мира невозможным оказалось бы человеческое общение и взаимопонимание. Без нее не смог бы существовать весь социокультурный организм с его механизмами трансляции и воспроизводства опыта. Картина мира – стержень интеграции людей, средство гармонизации разных сфер человеческой жизнедеятельности, их связи между собой. Картина мира способствует тесной связи и единству знания и поведения людей в обществе.

Семиотические воплотители картины мира – различные тексты. Тексты различаются по субстанции знаков, образующих эти тексты, в качестве которой может служить письменная или устная речь, последовательность графических, живописных или скульптурных изображений, архитектурные комплексы, музыкальные или вокальные фразы, жесты, некоторые особенные формы человеческого поведения (например, состояние сна, гипноза и т.д.) и осмысленные особым образом обычные формы поведения (например, принятие пищи), а также вовлеченные в культовую сферу обычные предметы обихода. (from Роль человеческого фактора в языке 1988).

Task 17. Crossword puzzle. In the table find words connected with the topic “Ethnopsychology”. Words could be written down, up, and across, diagonally, from the left to the right and visa versa:

e	e	p	y	t	o	e	r	e	t	s	i
t	t	y	p	o	l	o	g	y	o	o	s
h	t	h	e	y	g	z	m	m	c	b	o
n	l	k	n	o	w	l	e	d	g	e	l
o	r	a	t	o	e	y	n	y	x	h	a
s	g	e	b	v	c	e	t	k	w	a	t
w	r	m	i	r	m	u	a	a	v	v	i
m	i	t	x	a	e	f	l	r	u	i	o
a	o	b	s	e	r	v	a	t	i	o	n
m	e	r	o	l	k	l	o	f	u	u	e
c	o	m	p	a	r	i	s	o	n	r	h
z	y	g	o	l	o	h	c	y	s	p	e