Psychological anthropology

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Psychological anthropology is the field of anthropology dealing with the relationship between cultural anthropology and mental processes. It is comprised of four schools, each of which has varying approaches within.

Contents 1 Schools 1.1 Psychoanalytic Anthropology 1.2 Culture and Personality 1.2.1 Configurationalist Approach 1.2.2 Basic and Modal Personality] 1.2.3 National Character 1.2.4 Cross-Cultural 1.3 Social Structure 1.3.1 Materialist 1.3.2 Positionalist 1.3.3 Interactionist 1.4 Cognitive Personality 2 References 3 External links 4 Sources

[edit] Schools

[edit] Psychoanalytic Anthropology

This school of psychological anthropology is based upon the anthropological work of Sigmund Freud. Its basic assumption is that "culture is to society as neurosis is to the individual." [1] With this guiding premise, cultural studies examined cultural practices using psychoanalytical theories and techniques., Prominent thinkers in this field include psychonanalysts Erich Fromm, George Devereux, and Erik Erikson, and anthropolgists Robert LeVine, Clyde Kluckhohn, and Geoffrey Gorer.

[edit] Culture and Personality

[edit] Configurationalist Approach

This approach describes a culture as a personality; that is, interpretation of experiences, guided by symbolic structure, creates personality which is "copied" into the larger culture. Leading figures include Edward Sapir, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead.

[edit] Basic and Modal Personality]

[edit] National Character

[edit] Cross-Cultural

[edit] Social Structure

[edit] Materialist

Leading figures include Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

[edit] Positionalist

Leading thinkers include Max Weber and Thorstein Veblen.

[edit] Interactionist

Prominent figures include George Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman

[edit] Cognitive Personality

[edit] References

[1] Rethinking Psychological Anthropology, Second Edition, Philip K. Bock

[edit] External links

• Andrew Lang, ’Anthropology and Hallucinations’, The Making of Religion, (Chapter VI), Longmans, Green, and C°, London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp. 106-127.

[edit] Sources

• Rethinking Psychological Anthropology, Second Edition, Philip K. Bock