The Middle East: A Cultural Psychology (Culture, Cognition, and Behavior)

This is a very good book. I don not know the author and I have never heard about his name before. I found this book by coincidence in a small library somewhere in Vienna and from the from the first minute, I realized that this book is really worthy to read. The only negative point which I found in this book is its langauge. This book is written in very hard english and I think that it is not easy to understand for people, who have not a very good command of english + good knowledge of some theories of social psychology. But: It is a MUST for reserachers and lectureres dealing with social psychology, cross-cultural psychology and the Arab Region. A real new approach away from the well-known and "old-fashioned" dualism of cross-cultual psychology. Psychology EEn 1 The Middle East - A Cultural Psychology 2 Copyright Info 6 Foreword 7 Acknowledgments 11 TOC 13 Introduction 16 The Middle East as a "Culture Area" 17 Plan of the Book 19 Theoretical Framework 21 A Note to Readers 23 Part I - Cultural Context of Development 24 1 - Misunderstandings 26 A Cast of Returning Characters 26 Misunderstandings 38 Underdevelopment 54 2 - The Social Ecology of Psychological Development 57 Introduction 58 “Traditional” MENA Societies 59 Part 1: Traditional Social Ecology 63 Part 2: Modernization and Underdevelopment 90 3 - Honor and Islam 103 Introduction 104 Honor in the Mediterranean 105 Islam 125 Part II - Periods of Psychological Development 148 Introduction to Part II -1 Introduction 149 Periods of Life 150 Levels of Personality Organization 151 A Conceptual Framework 153 Ecological Influences on Child-Rearing 155 Summary 163 4 - Childbirth and Infant Care 166 Introduction 167 Cultural Models of Child Care 167 Conception and Birth 172 Swaddling 175 Nursing 176 A MENA “Pediatric” Model 179 Debate: Weaning and Its Discontents 183 Sources 190 5 - Early Childhood 192 Introduction 193 Part 1: Attachments and Social Behavior 195 Part 2: Gender Development 208 Debate: Routes to Masculinity and Femininity 216 Sources 223 6 - Late Childhood 225 Introduction 226 Part 1: Traditional Milieus 228 Part 2: Modernizing Milieus 252 Debate: The Question of Authoritarianism 255 Sources 263 7 - Adolescence 265 Introduction 266 Adolescence in Traditional Milieus 269 Adolescence in Modernizing Milieus 282 Debate: Storm and Stress versus Smooth Transition to Adulthood 296 Sources 298 8 - Early Adulthood and Identity 301 Introduction 302 Western Theories of Identity 304 Part 1: Identity in Traditional Milieus 307 Part 2: Identity in “Modernizing” Milieus 314 Debate: Creative Synthesis or Fragmentation? 334 Sources 336 9 - Mature Adulthood 338 Introduction 339 Western Theories of Adult Development 340 Personality Traits 346 Gender Differentiation and Reversal 352 Toward a Psychology of Underdevelopment 354 Debate: Tyranny and Psychological Development 364 Sources 369 10 - Patterns and Lives 372 Patterns 372 Lives 377 Afterword 382 Developmental Periods 383 Cultural Psychology 386 Indigenous Psychology 389 Notes 392 Introduction 392 Chapter 1 393 Chapter 2 398 Chapter 3 401 Part II Introduction 405 Chapter 4 406 Chapter 5 411 Chapter 6 415 Chapter 7 420 Chapter 8 424 Chapter 9 427 Chapter 10 433 Afterword 433 References 434 Index 464

For over a decade the Middle East has monopolized news headlines in the West. Journalists and commentators regularly speculate that the region's turmoil may stem from the psychological momentum of its cultural traditions or of a "tribal" or "fatalistic" mentality. Yet few studies of the region's cultural psychology have provided a critical synthesis of psychological research on Middle Eastern societies.

Drawing on autobiographies, literary works, ethnographic accounts, and life-history interviews, The Middle East: A Cultural Psychology, offers the first comprehensive summary of psychological writings on the region, reviewing works by psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists that have been written in English, Arabic, and French. Rejecting stereotypical descriptions of the "Arab mind" or "Muslim mentality,' Gary Gregg adopts a life-span- development framework, examining influences on development in infancy, early childhood, late childhood, and adolescence as well as on identity formation in early and mature adulthood. He views patterns of development in the context of recent work in cultural psychology, and compares Middle Eastern patterns less with Western middle class norms than with those described for the region's neighbors: Hindu India, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Mediterranean shore of Europe. The research presented in this volume overwhelmingly suggests that the region's strife stems much less from a stubborn adherence to tradition and resistance to modernity than from widespread frustration with broken promises of modernization—with the slow and halting pace of economic progress and democratization.

A sophisticated account of the Middle East's cultural psychology, The Middle East provides students, researchers, policy-makers, and all those interested in the culture and psychology of the region with invaluable insight into the lives, families, and social relationships of Middle Easterners as they struggle to reconcile the lure of Westernized life-styles with traditional values.

For over a decade the Middle East has monopolized news headlines in the West. Journalists and commentators regularly speculate that the region's turmoil may stem from the psychological momentum of its cultural traditions or of a "tribal" or "fatalistic" mentality. Yet few studies of the region's cultural psychology have provided a critical synthesis of psychological research on Middle Eastern societies. Drawing on autobiographies, literary works, ethnographic accounts, and life-history interviews, The Middle East: A Cultural Psychology offers the first comprehensive summary of psychological writings on the region, reviewing works by psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists that have been written in English, Arabic, and French. Rejecting stereotypical descriptions of the "Arab mind" or "Muslim mentality," Gary Gregg adopts a life-span-development framework, examining influences on development in infancy, early childhood, late childhood, and adolescence, as well as on identity formation in early and mature adulthood. He views patterns of development in the context of recent work in cultural psychology, and compares Middle Eastern patterns less with Western middle-class norms than with those described for the region's neighbors: Hindu India, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Mediterranean shore of Europe. The research presented in this volume overwhelmingly suggests that the region's strife stems much less from a stubborn adherence to tradition and resistance to modernity than from widespread frustration with broken promises of modernization-with the slow and halting pace of economic progress and democratization. A sophisticated account of the Middle East's cultural psychology, The Middle East provides students, researchers, policy makers, and all those interested in the culture and psychology of the region with invaluable insight into the lives, families, and social relationships of Middle Easterners as they struggle to reconcile the lure of Westernized lifestyles with traditional values. Book jacket For over a decade the Middle East has monopolized news headlines in the West. Journalists and commentators regularly speculate that the region's turmoil may stem from the psychological momentum of its cultural traditions or of a'tribal'or'fatalistic'mentality. Yet few studies of the region's cultural psychology have provided a critical synthesis of psychological research on Middle Eastern societies. Drawing on autobiographies, literary works, ethnographic accounts, and life-history interviews, The Middle East: A Cultural Psychology, offers the first comprehensive summary of psychological writings on the region, reviewing works by psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists that have been written in English, Arabic, and French. Rejecting stereotypical descriptions of the'Arab mind'or'Muslim mentality,'Gary Gregg adopts a life-span- development framework, examining influences on development in infancy, early childhood, late childhood, and adolescence as well as on identity formation in early and mature adulthood. He views patterns of development in the context of recent work in cultural psychology, and compares Middle Eastern patterns less with Western middle class norms than with those described for the region's neighbors: Hindu India, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Mediterranean shore of Europe. The research presented in this volume overwhelmingly suggests that the region's strife stems much less from a stubborn adherence to tradition and resistance to modernity than from widespread frustration with broken promises of modernization--with the slow and halting pace of economic progress and democratization. A sophisticated account of the Middle East's cultural psychology, The Middle East provides students, researchers, policy-makers, and all those interested in the culture and psychology of the region with invaluable insight into the lives, families, and social relationships of Middle Easterners as they struggle to reconcile the lure of Westernized life-styles with traditional values. For over a decade the Middle East has monopolized news headlines in the West. Journalists and commentators regularly speculate that the region's turmoil may stem from the psychological momentum of its cultural traditions or of a "tribal" or "fatalistic" mentality. Yet few studies of the region's cultural psychology have provided a critical synthesis of psychological research on Middle Eastern societies. Drawing on autobiographies, literary works, ethnographic accounts, and life-history interviews, The Middle A Cultural Psychology , offers the first comprehensive summary of psychological writings on the region, reviewing works by psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists that have been written in English, Arabic, and French. Rejecting stereotypical descriptions of the "Arab mind" or "Muslim mentality,' Gary Gregg adopts a life-span- development framework, examining influences on development in infancy, early childhood, late childhood, and adolescence as well as on identity formation in early and mature adulthood. He views patterns of development in the context of recent work in cultural psychology, and compares Middle Eastern patterns less with Western middle class norms than with those described for the region's Hindu India, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Mediterranean shore of Europe. The research presented in this volume overwhelmingly suggests that the region's strife stems much less from a stubborn adherence to tradition and resistance to modernity than from widespread frustration with broken promises of modernization--with the slow and halting pace of economic progress and democratization. A sophisticated account of the Middle East's cultural psychology, The Middle East provides students, researchers, policy-makers, and all those interested in the culture and psychology of the region with invaluable insight into the lives, families, and social relationships of Middle Easterners as they struggle to reconcile the lure of Westernized life-styles with traditional values. Also includes information on achievement, Hamid Ammar, anxiety, baraka (blessedness), Abdelwaheb Bouhdiba, China, circumcision, clientage, collectivism, colonization, core personality, Susan Davis, developmental discontinuity, Erik Erikson, etiquettes, evil eye, family, female genital cutting ritual, Sigmund Freud, Erika Freidl, gender development, Honor, honor code, Honor modesty system, identity, Imeghrane, India, individualism, Japan, jinn, Cigdem Kagitcibasi, Mediterranean, modernity (modernizing social milieus), motives, pastoralism, patronage, patronymic association, purification, rural social milieus, self, sentiments, shame, Hisham Sharabi, social persona, sub Saharan Africa, tradition, traits (personality), underdevelopment, urban social milieus, Judith Williams, etc Foreword by David Matsumoto Introduction Part I. Cultural context of development1. Misunderstandings2. The social ecology of psychological development3. Honor and Islam: Shaping emotions, traits, and selvesPart II. Periods of psychological developmentIntroduction to Part II 4. Childbirth and infant care5. Early childhood6. Late childhood7. Adolescence8. Earlt adulthood and identity9. Mature adulthood10. Patterns and lives: Development through the life-spanAfterword: A research agenda Social psychologists have identified a simple, often automatic bias in our thinking-the "fundamental attribution error"-that easily leads to the creation of misleading stereotypes.