General Psychology
the overarching perspective of the field ofpsychology assumes that the mind operatesunder a set of natural and universal laws thatexist independently of a person's context orthe content ofthat person's thoughts.
Nonuniversal
The lowest level of universality, which states that a given psychological process does not exist in all cultures and can be considered a cultural invention. See alsoaccessibility universal, existential universal,functional universal.
existential universal
The second-lowest level ofuniversality, which states that a given psychological process exists in all cultures,although it is not necessarily used to solvethe same problems across cultures, nor is itequally accessible across cultures.
functional universal
The second-highestlevel of universality, which states that a givenpsychological process exists in all culturesand is used to solve the same problems across cultures, but is more accessible to people from some cultures than others.
accessibility universal
The highest levelof universality, which states that a givenpsychological process exists in all cultures,is used to solve the same problems acrosscultures, and is accessible to the same degreeacross cultures.
WEIRD societies
A shorthand for the kind of societies on which the database of psychological research is largely based. WEIRD stands for Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic.
Muller-Lyer Illusion
A visual illusionin which two lines of equal length appearunequal; a line with ends that angle outwardappears longer than a line with ends thatangle inward.
colour-blind approach
Looking beyond ethnicor cultural background and focusing oncommon human nature. See also multicul-tural approach.
multicultural approach
Focusing on and respecting the distinctive aspects of different cultural groups.
Ethnocentrism
evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.