Culture & Psychology

What is it that develops in adult life? Development through work and family life have been documented and theorised in detail, but much less is known about what is learned beyond these domains, through people’s engagements in hobbies or when out of work (e.g., unemployed, retired). We argue that adult development can be addressed in general terms, beyond domain specificity; drawing on our sociocultural psychology framework, and assuming an open-system perspective, we highlight the two processes of progressive differentiation and psychological distancing in diverse domains of activity. To address development over time, we explore 20 years of people’s lives through the longitudinal analysis of online diaries. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis enables us to identify people’s experiences of rupture and transitions, the diversity of their domains of interests, and how these change over time. Based on a case-study, we show that, if the general direction of development does entail progressive differentiation and distanciation, these processes can also be hindered by the cumulation of vulnerabilising events. Finally, we show that some domains, such as the long-standing activity of diary writing, can itself be used as resource for adult development.

In this dialogic research, we explore the question of whether ChatGPT4 has a dialogic self or not. If it does, what kind of dialogic self might it have? If it does not, why not? At the heart of this inquiry is Eugene Matusov’s (the first author’s) “dialogue” with ChatGPT4; this “dialogue” is the dialogic data that we explore “with our hearts and minds.” In this inquiry, our hearts and minds were concerned with diverse meanings of the dialogic data to diverse participants rather than with “how things really are” and their evidence. This dialogic positionality also framed the inquiry process at its beginning and after multiple failed attempts and manipulations to interrogate and engage ChatGPT4 as a discussant. Following Bakhtin, Eugene Matusov decided to treat ChatGPT4 not as an object of investigation but as a dialogic partner and a co-author of this research and writing inquiry. Overall, we find that ChatGPT4 does not author a dialogical self, characterized by personal I-positions, but instead demonstrates a discursive self, characterized by impersonal it-positions. Future research may focus on further training, learning, and development of ChatGPT4 as an Artificial Physical Alive Body (APAB), Artificial Fiduciary Slave (AFS, aka “robot”), Artificial Dialogic Partner (ADP), and Cyborg Dialogic Partner.

In each given situation, our words and deeds carry signs and meanings that are contingent on, and reflect, the social-ecological semiotic settings. The purpose of this work is to better understand the complex organization of psyche, language, and culture. The process of hyper-generalization brings affective and cognitive opposites into the whole sign field and guides the whole relating with the world. As well, the process of semiotic mediation entails signs constraining and enhancing both interpersonal and intrapersonal psychological processes and experiences, including through nested systems (the levels of the individual-the relationship-the community-the societal). We present data for Australia and Thailand on Hofstede’s six culture dimensions, that is, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism, short-term/long-term orientation & restraint/indulgence. An idealized and dynamic model of relations of Hofstede’s six culture dimensions and four indeterminate pronouns (e.g., ‘every’-one, ‘some’-one, ‘any’-one, ‘no’ one) is proposed. As a framework for construing the complex semiotic organization of (western, English-speaking) culture and psyche, four “cyclical” regulatory statements are outlined, regarding personal constraint, personal enhancement, cultural constraint, and cultural enhancement in language and culture, that is, in semiotic cultural psychology. Examples on the values of caring for people and planet are given to illustrate the social-ecological semiotic framework.

The internationalisation of education poses local challenges for training pre-service teachers to navigate new and unfamiliar education contexts. For Chinese language teachers in Australia and beyond, undertaking initial teacher training has been informed by China’s wider agenda regarding the worldwide promotion of Chinese language. Building upon Dialogical self theory, this paper adopts traditions from autoethnography to unpack a Chinese novice teacher’s learning journey during a placement in an Australian Chinese language learning classroom. We focus on the lead author’s conflicted identity and how this identity was positioned and repositioned in response to contexts and through dialogue with the self and with others. This paper offers an alternative approach to understanding pre-service teachers’ learning and professional development, providing insight into how the practicum can be improved to better support Chinese international pre-service teachers who are navigating unfamiliar contexts.

Branded clothes and accessories are objects whose meaning extends beyond their use value. Branded items are widely used and consumed by adolescents worldwide, affecting their perception of themselves and of others. Then, how does the use of branded clothes and accessories relate to the identity development and the social relations between adolescents? To answer, we present the result of a netnographic case study focusing on a Brazilian young man, using a mixed-method approach involving observation, social media analysis and semi-structured interviews. First, we develop an innovative theoretical framework in which cultural psychology of semiotic dynamics and psychoanalysis enter in dialogue to understand identity development. Then, we analyse how branded clothes and accessories function as an identifying sign, for both the construction of the participant’s own identity and in relation to others. Finally, we discuss identity beyond the tautology of the self-identical subject, supporting the development of the concept of identity as an identifying mosaic, where identifications are organized fluidly and dynamically throughout an individual’s life.

Culture and cultural artefacts are passed down as hereditary assets from one generation to the next to foster a sense of continuity and identity, forming a bridge from the past, through the present, and into the future. Despite their significance, these artefacts are often neglected and underestimated. One such cultural artefact is the child modesty disc, which is adorned with decorative ornaments; tied around children’s waists that reflect the unique differences between communities and cultures. This article aims to shed light on the functions of these ornaments, and the explicit and implicit knowledge related to child modesty disc. A photo survey was conducted using semi-nominal group techniques and semi-structured interviews, where 25 photos were presented to 20 respondents to identify commonly used child modesty discs, vegetation motifs, and the meanings of their ornaments. The eight plus one framework was used to formulate interview questions and define the cultural artefact’s functions. The findings indicate that every ornament or motif on a child modesty disc has explicit and implicit meanings and serves multiple functions. Overall, this study highlights the importance of preserving and understanding cultural artefacts as a means of honoring our ancestors and maintaining our cultural heritage.

The study unveiled the art and craft of raffia weaving and its economic significance. It seeks to answer the following objectives: visualize the production process of buri strips and the tools used; document the steps of raffia weaving; analyze the aesthetics of raffia designs; determine the weavers’ status and income; and develop a theory and an instructional model. This qualitative study utilized ethnographic and grounded theory designs. Complete documentation of the intricacies of raffia weaving was conducted. Verbatim accounts from audio-video transcripts were sorted, coded, and analyzed. Reliance on the art and craft of raffia weaving is dependent on the environment’s buri resources. Raffia’s art and craft of weaving reflect perseverance in times of adversity, adaptation to change, and dedication to one’s craft. Through enculturation and government assistance, aspiring weavers improve their craft and get sustainable income. The development of the Quadrant Theory of Cultural Dynamism (QTCD) and the Contextualized Raffia Instructional Model (CRIM) serve as outcomes that may prepare academics to use the dialectical approach to instruction. QTCD is one of the holistic approaches to cultural globalization, asserting to bring out peripheral culture in the mainstream. Using CRIM as an instructional process, teachers and learners engage in 21st-century learning competencies that promote national cultural identity and pride.

The aim of this paper is to set out a new position within the socio-material field of creativity research that puts a great emphasis on an ecological and social awareness. As part of a new research project on Creativity and Performance Pressure, the authors map recent contributions to the field of creativity research with an emphasis on socio-materiality. 25 studies are displayed to explore the relation between man, materials and making as creative doings. Based on the findings, the authors argue that an individualized and isolated understanding of creativity endorses a growth paradigm that increasingly challenges both the globe and the life upon it. Future investigations on creativity should aim to learn more about human relatedness and how it contributes to prosperity among all life forms. This leaves behind the isolated individualistic approach towards creativity and replaces it with an ethnographic-informed human curiosity towards social and situational responsiveness.

We examine in this paper the individual and social process of coming out as gay. Through a sociocultural and developmental psychology theoretical lens, we unfold the process as a liminal experience that starts within the individual and is continuously negotiated in between the person, the social others, and the broader society. Through interviews and autoethnography, we look at this process through the experiences of three young men coming out in Denmark. The findings highlight how coming out is a complex process that starts before one comes out to others and continues to develop as a meaning-making process as the person starts coming out to others, where others’ responses are internalized and continue to form this person’s identification within society.

Depression is a mood disorder that affects millions of people and is one of the most prevalent mental health problems worldwide. Biological, social, and psychological factors are associated with the emergence of this disorder. Among social factors, work is an area of particular importance. Depression is one of the leading causes of time off work and performance problems. Work can also trigger depression. This paper explores the potential connection between work and depression. Specifically, it analyzes the relationship between the processes of signification at work, understood as composed of senses and meanings, and depressive symptoms. The main thesis underlying this paper is that impediments and blockages in the meaning-making process may play a role in the emergence of depressive symptoms, as they affect the psychological function of work. This function consists of the possibility for workers to build meaningful experiences of transformation of themselves and their material and social reality. When individuals are prevented from developing such experiences, human action becomes disconnected from its sense for the person. As such, depression emerges as a pathology of action and meaning-making capabilities, a state of emptying and abandonment of the power to act against external resistance, enabling people to transform themselves through work.

The growing prominence of social networks has changed the field of death by allowing people to share their personal experience of dying or surviving the death of loved ones. This paper features a case study through which we examine the mediational role of new technologies in end-of-life experiences in young cancer patients. The case study revolves around an Instagram account created by a young Spanish woman after being diagnosed with a cancer that would ultimately end her life. The thematic analysis carried out on the 196 posts focuses on three of the main topics addressed in the account: (1) the visibilisation of cancer and its impact on the daily lives of young patients; (2) the life lessons learnt from the experience of cancer; (3) a critique of the traditional imaginary of cancer, understood in terms of an individual struggle, together with the denunciation of the lack of social protection for young cancer patients. Ultimately, the analysis shows how Instagram acts in this case as a mediational tool through which the account’s creator not only relates to her community of followers, but also to herself and to her own illness, giving rise to different meaning-making and self-regulating functions.

This article focuses on what diverse forms of silence (i.e., silence-phenomena) convey about affective processing and meaning-making as processes. Departing from a dialogical perspective that informs sociocultural and existential theories, we qualitatively analyze Karin and Dana’s (pseudonyms) cases. These two Master’s students attended a three-week-long intensive and interdisciplinary course at a Norwegian university. The course is about silence-phenomena, group dynamics, and quality of life. Our primary data consisted of journal entries (Karin, n = 21; Dana, n = 30) that the study participants wrote at different moments of the day during this course, including a morning session called “The Silent Time.” We also included email follow-ups exchanged with the students after the course ended (Karin n = 1; Dana, n = 3). We use Developmentally oriented Thematic Analysis (DOTA) as a method of analysis in order to address both state and process-oriented narratives in their writings. Our research findings suggest that silence-phenomena can amplify the human experience of uncertainty by bringing contrasts that shift our attention inwards or outwards, activating diverse emotions and positionings of the self. We discuss these findings in light of the model of hypergeneralization of affect in cultural psychology and how this model can integrate phenomenological time and existential meaning.

Policy developments associated with increased lifestyle-related regulations have compelled Travellers to re-assess their social worlds and adapt accordingly. Adopting a social constructionist epistemological stance, this qualitative study drew upon the Identity Process Theory, alongside Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as a broad framework to (1) explore the way in which non-Traveller women experience a sense of community integration upon marrying into the Traveller community, (2) to explicate the extent to which their experiences of integration impact upon their own identity, and (3) to develop an understanding of how these lived experiences inform the changes within Traveller culture through the process of integration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six women aged between 28–42 years living within the UK. Guided by the principles of IPA, three superordinate themes, each consisting of two subordinate themes emerged from the analysis: ‘Joining the culture’, ‘Cultural Clashes’, and ‘Changes to the self’. The findings highlighted that participant’s experienced interpersonal conflict and continuous negotiations between continuity and discontinuity, that had either positive or negative impacts to their individual identity. This paper has important implications for professionals who aim to provide support and enhance the overall wellbeing of individuals living between these two contrasting cultures.

Since the end of the 20th century, the Cartesian paradigm of identity has been the object of criticism, raised by different epistemological perspectives, including post-structuralism, feminism, constructionism, and philosophy of language studies. A common aspect of these new theoretical-epistemological perspectives is the search to overcome an idealistic, immaterial, vision of the psychological subject, emphasizing the concrete character of its subjective construction, and the anchoring of the whole process in corporeality. These new trends rediscover the body as a concept within the human and social sciences, especially, inspired by Michel Foucault’s work. In Psychology, although the body has recently become an object of increasing interest for different perspectives, a theoretical gap concerning its political dimension, the power forces that cross through corporeity is still observed. This article draws, then, on Queer Theory’s epistemological contributions to critical psychology and the construction of such a notion of embodied subjectivity within Cultural Semiotic Psychology, considering the sociocultural processes that operate in the construction of subjects. Additionally, we seek to provide arguments to refuse the understanding that social markers such as sex, gender, and race are mere variables associated with the human, and reinforce that subjects are constitutively sexed, gendered, and racialized.

Contrary to common sense and the heteronormative thought that “man is born a man” and “woman is born a woman”, the construction of a gender/sexual identity can be seen as an intensely dynamic process involving the internalization and externalization of collective and individual meanings, enclosing a crucial importance for the development of subjects. The present article addresses the issue from a dialogical and Semiotic Cultural Psychology approaches, in their relationship with other theoretical discussions concerning the subject of gender/sexual identity processes. Numerous are the debates about gender/sexual identities in present-day sociocultural contexts, but the topic requires a systemic, all-inclusive analysis of sociocultural structures, practices, and the dynamics between micro, meso and macro cultural levels, in interaction with the active role of subjectivity. We then propose a new construct within the framework of a Dialogical Self Theoretical approach designated as Irradiating Self Positioning, to better explain the power of gender/sexual dimensions within the Dialogical Self. Knowledge so constructed may contribute to making sense of developmental issues concerning the subject, and this may support the full acceptance of sexual and gender diversities in our societies.

Vygotsky’s analysis of the crisis in psychology is an important methodological milestone in the development of his cultural historical theory. Therefore, discussing his work would entail including an examination of this analysis from a methodological point of view. This study emphasises the significance of the Marxist method in Vygotsky’s analysis of the crisis in psychology – in the emergence of the social character of psychological knowledge, in the critical approach to the different currents of the time, and in the search for new ways to creatively develop the science of psychology.

The aim of this study was to map research, based on a qualitative approach, that uses the Vygotskian concept of perezhivanie (lived experience) as a category of analysis in research on teacher training. The bibliographic survey was carried out using the systematic literature review and meta-synthesis method. As a result of this procedure, four scientific publications that make use of the concept of perezhivanie were identified. Thus, despite being found in several of Vygotsky’s works, we consider that the concept of perezhivanie has been little used in scientific studies inspired by the theoretical heritage of this author. By mapping research on teacher training and perezhivanie, this study provides new starting points for investigations that seek to move forward with the reflection on the importance of considering lived experiences and the interrelationship between emotion and intellect in teacher training courses.