Cultural Psychology

Cultural Psychology Student Name Institutional Affiliation Date Cultural Psychology Rationale for Inquiry Recent data from the International Organization for Immigration (IOM) demonstrates a drastic increase in the global population residing in nations outside their country of origin. In 2017, immigrants worldwide amounted to 258 million, a number that has since increased to 281 million in 2020 (IOM, 2021). In particular, high-income countries have witnessed an increase in immigrants from 9.6% in 2000 to 14% in 2017. For instance, the UK has experienced a sharp increase from 5.3 million foreign-born populations in 2004 to more than 9.5 million in 2021 (McAuliffe & Khadria, 2021). More than 40% of all international migrants (115 million) in 2020 were from Asia with 65 of them originating from only six Asian countries (IOM, 2022). With a significant number of migrants moving from Asia, (a collectivist culture) to Western countries (an individualistic culture), it is worth analyzing the differences in psychological processes for immigrants. The analysis will be through the lenses of the film Brick Lane (2007) to demonstrate the challenges migrants from collectivist cultures undergo in individualistic cultures. About Brick Lane (2007) The movie is an adaptation of Monica Ali's (2003) novel of the same name, where a father sends a 17-year-old Bangladesh woman named Nazneen to London for an arranged marriage with a 42-year-old man named Chanu Ahmed. Ten years into the marriage, Nazneen has given Ahmed two daughters, but she is unhappy. She does not love her husband but is submissive because of her peace and that of her children. Things change when Ahmed loses his job and Nazneen purchases a sewing machine and finishes blue jeans. In the line of her work., Nazneen meets Karim, a young handsome delivery man for the unfinished jeans. The two falls in love, become intimate, and consider Nazneen’s divorce to marry. Psychological Functioning There are significant differences between collectivist societies and individualistic societies in terms of child-rearing and gender roles. Child Rearing The problems associated with hybrid identity emerge in the rearing of children. These challenges emerge due to the inability of the expatriates to adjust to the customs and ways of the host land. In particular, Tandon (2017) indicates that memory plays a major role in the diasporic condition since it manifests continually because of memories of the homeland. The issue of accepting a new culture manifests predominantly among adults who leave their homeland to get better jobs and lives. The children born to such parents experience a dilemma because they are torn between two cultures. Tandon (2017) further demonstrates that the migrated parents tend to adhere to their traditional values from their home country and try to inculcate such values to their children in the host countries. On the contrary, such children have never been to their country of origin and cannot have the sense of nationality that their parents have. Children born in the host country find it challenging to relate to their parents' instructions to adhere to home values. In Brick Lane, Chanu, and Nazneen fear that their children might get drawn into the cultural values of the host country. While having a conversation with Chanu and Nazneen, Dr. Azad indicates that second-generation diasporic children go to pubs and nightclubs. When the children do not get an opportunity to go outside, Dr. Azad further shows that they resort to drinking at home in their bedrooms when parents consider the home to be the safest place (Gavron, 2007). The visit to Dr. Azad inspires fear in Chanu, especially after seeing Dr. Azad's wife and daughter have been assimilated fully into the Western culture. Azad's daughter wears short skirts, speaks in English, and goes to the pub. Such behaviors are not acceptable within the Bangladesh community since children are not expected to indulge in such wild pleasures. Chanu’s anxiety increases as their daughters, Shahana and Bibi continue aging. The two daughters do not ...