The social character of psychological phenomena has never been easy to comprehend. Despite the fact that an intricate set of social relations forms our most intimate thoughts, feelings, and actions, we believe that psychology originates inside our body, in genes, hormones, the brain, and free will. Perhaps this asocial view stems from the alienated nature of most societies which makes individual activity appear to be estranged from social relations. One might have thought that the emergence of scientific psychology would have disclosed the social character of activity had overlooked....

Qualitative methodologies in cultural psychology often lack the objective and verifiable character of quantitative analysis. Author Carl Ratner corrects this shortcoming by rigorously systematizing qualitative methods. The book discusses, for example, means of systematizing such subjective reports as interviews, letters, and diaries, which often yield valuable data that is not easily quantified. Ratner argues that "complex psychological phenomena are expressed through extended responses" and hence are best studied by new, more regularized qualitative methods that go beyond measuring simple,...

This volume is designed to provide an overview of Asperger s Syndrome/High Functioning Autism for professionals, parents, and others concerned about these conditions. It is part of the library series that has been created for the many people interested in the field of autism spectrum disorders who want up-to-date, authoritative infor- tion without having to locate and read through the original sources. Our goal in this series is to review, synthesize, and organize the inf- mation so that it can be presented comprehensively and clearly. This volume is the culmination of over a decade of...

This book seeks to deepen our understanding of the cultural aspects of human psychology. These are aspects of psychology that originate in, are formed by, reflect, perpetuate, and modify social processes and factors outside the individual mind. My motivation in pursuing cultural psychol ogy is both scientific and political. I believe that construing psychology as a cultural phenomenon is the scientifically correct way to understand psychology; a cultural analysis of psychology can also provide crucial insights for political action to improve human life. The scientific and political aspects of...

Carl Ratner's new book deepens our understanding of psychology by emphasizing the role that cultural factors, such as social institutions, artifacts, and cultural concepts play in psychological functioning. The author demonstrates the impact of culture on stimulating and structuring emotion, personality, perception, cognition, memory, sexuality, and mental illness. Examples from interdisciplinary social science research illuminate a sophisticated dialectical relationship between cultural factors and psychological phenomena.
Written in an engaging style, the book articulates a new theory,...

This book aims to help resolve two urgent needs of our era: the need to develop a scientific comprehension of human psychology, and the need to reform society in order to solve pressing social ills. Author Carl Ratner seeks to explain how broad cultural factors, such as social institutions, cultural artifacts, and cultural concepts, are central to psychological functioning. Written in a straightforward and jargon-free style, this book outlines a qualitative methodology for investigating the psychology of individuals. The objective is to explain how cultural elements shape the minds of...