Annotated Bibliography of Materials for Adding an International Dimension to Undergraduate Courses in Developmental and Social Psychology

For centuries cross-cultural comparisons have contributed to attempts to understand human behavior (Herodotus being an often-quoted early example). Specialized journals for publishing cross-cultural psychological studies have been in existence for less than 20 years, however. The founding of the International Journal of Psychology took place in 1966. The first Annual Review article on culture and psychology was published only about 10 years ago by Triandis, Malpass, and Davidson, although the Annual Review had previously devoted some attention to psychology in other countries (e.g., the 1964 edition had an article on psychology in the Soviet Union). In the past decade courses devoted to crosscultural approaches to psychology have increased, although they are still offered in a relatively small percentage of departments. Attempting to stimulate cross-cultural awareness among undergraduates who are taking nonspecialized courses (introductory psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology) is even less common. Fostering this awareness through such courses requires an infusion approach—looking for places in the established course of study where a cross-cultural example is appropriate or where readings that illustrate psychological processes in other cultures can be used. M. H. Segall, writing in 1980 in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology to commemorate its 10th anniversary, noted a readiness on the part of those who teach undergraduate psychology to foster global awareness by using international resources. Such teaching could, he felt, reduce students' ethnocentrism about the field they were studying (and perhaps in their own lives as well) and help them deal more intelligently with cultural relativism.