Culture & Psychology

Intersubjectivity, the coordination of people’s beliefs and actions, is central to human psychology and society. However, a legacy of Cartesian dualism has fragmented research along two dimensions (psychological vs. interpersonal; structural vs. interactional). This fragmentation obscures how the psychological and interpersonal aspects of intersubjectivity mutually reinforce one another. I argue that, despite epistemological differences, these literatures converge on recurring formal correspondences: three recursive levels of perspective-taking (direct, meta, meta-meta), three-turn interaction sequences (initiation-response-feedback), and triadic self-other-object relations. Building on these convergences, I propose a minimal model of dialogical intersubjectivity that entails three-turn social interaction generating and sustaining three levels of perspective-taking. Each turn can take the prior turn as its object, thereby adding a level of perspective-taking. The exchange of turns rotates participant positions (e.g., speaker becomes listener), introducing an external vantage point on the prior contribution, thus ratcheting up intersubjectivity by one level. This model explains how implicit assumptions become explicit and how social interaction patterns give rise to psychological processes.

This paper critically examines the phenomenon of empathy by contrasting mainstream and socio-cultural psychological perspectives. While mainstream psychology conceptualizes empathy as a stable, measurable cognitive-affective trait, while cross-cultural psychology often overlooks cultural, linguistic, and historical specificities. Drawing on Vygotsky’s notion of higher mental functions, as well as the works of Jan Valsiner and Barbara Rogoff, the paper argues that empathy should be studied as a culturally mediated and developmentally emergent process shaped by symbolic interaction, internalization, and participation in communal practices. Through critical review of literature, the paper reveals key epistemological and methodological limitations of mainstream approaches – particularly their universalist assumptions and reliance on decontextualized measurement tools while illuminating socio-cultural perspective that, in contrast, foregrounds the dynamic, situated nature of empathy, embedded in cultural narratives, value systems, and power relations. The paper concludes by proposing a research agenda grounded in qualitative, context-sensitive methodologies and outlines implications for pedagogy, social justice, and democratic life. Specifically, it argues that empathy should be cultivated as a communicative and moral phenomenon, essential for fostering emotional literacy, collective responsibility, and intercultural understanding in educational and civic contexts.

Human beings have long struggled to explain the relationship between the external world and the inner life of the self. Across philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, objectivity and subjectivity are typically treated as mutually exclusive categories, a division that obscures their deep interdependence. This paper argues for a conceptual shift: from viewing objectivity and subjectivity as antagonists to understanding them as co-constitutive dimensions of human existence. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship—phenomenology, cultural psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy of science—I examine how subjective experience permeates all acts of knowing, including scientific inquiry itself. Empirical evidence from contemporary Q methodology highlights the diversity of perspectives on subjectivity, while historical analyses reveal the persistent but unacknowledged role of subjective factors in knowledge-making. I propose that action is not merely the expression of an inner subjectivity but the very actuality through which subjectivity becomes objective. Recognizing this continuum invites a cultural psychology that integrates mind, world, and history, challenging the residual dominance of mechanistic naturalism and opening new possibilities for understanding the human condition.

Being human involves encountering losses to which grief is a common response. No one can escape grief—it is the price of affection and love. In this paper, we aim to understand how grieving unfolds as described in university students’ short narratives of their childhood. Applying a cultural-historical approach, especially the notion of emotional configuration, we explore the interplay of emotion, sense-making, and practice in grief-related childhood life events. Our research problematizes the binary classification of “little and large griefs” and shows that focusing only on death-related grief may devalue losses in childhood that are not related to death. Our findings demonstrate that grief is never isolated, but configured with a variety of other emotions and feelings, and strongly related to children’s own sense-making and worldviews. Attention to emotional configuration shifts our focus from individual grief to the wider cultural-historical practices and sense-making processes in which grief is always intertwined.

In this study, we examine how adults narrate and make meaning of their death-related childhood grief as an existential question of how to be with loss, and how to relate to a lost loved one. Death is a significant interruption in a child’s life, and inevitably invites the griever to question not only the life of the deceased and its ending, but also one’s own mortality. The data of this study consists of grief narratives written by university students recalling their childhood experiences of grief. This study adopts a cultural-psychological theoretical framework and draws on educational theorist Gert Biesta’s conception of education as an existential challenge. Methodologically, it employs critical event analysis as an analytical tool. We show that grieving can be understood as a disruption that puts the narrators’ subject-ness under question. Grieving offers an aspect of ‘being taught by’ loss, and thus, it can reveal something valuable about the “I”, teaching us how to exist as human beings.

This study explores the emotional experiences of students using Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT in higher education from a Bakhtinian, dialogic perspective. This perspective helps understand emotions arising within communication between humans, non-humans, and the self), and examines the unique I-It emotional tensions in human-AI interactions. LLMs are considered dialogic partners, not mere tools. Current research lacks studies on whether AIgenerated emotions differ from human-generated emotions. This study aims to understand the lived emotional experiences and their subjective meanings to students. Through an anonymous open-ended survey of 195 students, four key emotional themes were identified: Empowered Curiosity, Ethical Anxiety, Cognitive Relief, and Ambivalent Transformation. Findings indicate that AI systems introduce new emotional responses distinct from those generated in human interactions, characterized as ambiguous assemblages of liberating and morally questionable meanings. This research contributes to new cultural understandings of the psychological impact of AI in education and discusses the development of emotionally aware AI-enhanced instruction to help students gain and develop their emotional authorial agency in and through learning.

The objective of this study is to advance a theoretical and methodological proposal for the analysis of subjectivity construction in independent musicians. Existing social and cultural theories of subjectivity have not satisfactorily addressed the artistic experience of musicians. We present an analytic model that highlights the place of language from a perspective informed by dialogical theories and which also incorporates the aesthetic dimension of subjectivity in the occupational field. By analyzing six narrative interviews, we offer a qualitative insight into how independent musicians subjectively experience their musical activity. We constructed dialogical dimensions associated with four subjective movements in the interviewees’ discourse: aesthetic, activity, authorship, and reflectivity. Our findings about the configuration of musical subjectivity yielded three core points of articulation: musical self, existential self, and musical-occupational self. The musical self emerges as a particular subjective configuration, since creative activity represents a point of vital and occupational grounding where the boundaries between work and subjective experience appear to fade. Employing the aesthetic dimension of subjectivity made it possible to add complexity to the articulation and integration of various subjective elements of a psychological and social nature that have traditionally been studied in isolation.

The production of mainstream scientific knowledge in Psychology has long been guided by positivist paradigms that universalize constructs and processes based on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) populations. This has contributed to establishing normative standards that marginalize or render invisible individuals, groups, and societies whose subjectivities, conduct, and corporeality diverge from dominant epistemologies. Consequently, psychologists may still inadvertently reproduce stigmatizing frameworks in their practices, reinforcing existing social inequalities. In postcolonial contexts such as Brazil, these dynamics become even more pronounced, as psychological theories and practices remain largely permeated by individualistic frameworks that overlook broader sociocultural and geopolitical dimensions of experience. Grounded in Cultural Psychology of semiotic dynamics and centered on the unit of analysis between subjectivity and culture, this theoretical paper argues for interdisciplinary, intersectional, and decolonial approaches to reconfigure knowledge production in Psychology. Our aims are: (a) to explore the heuristic value of these approaches within Psychology, particularly in postcolonial contexts as Brazil; and (b) to demonstrate how they enrich critical understandings of psychological and social phenomena. Thus, the paper contributes to global critical debates in Psychology, while also responding to local challenges by advocating for a situated, and socially responsible discipline committed to transformation.

This paper discusses the need to decolonize mainstream counseling practices, predominantly influenced by Eurocentric perspectives, by incorporating non-Western views and experiences. It highlights the importance of recognizing the fluidity of self and identity within diverse social and ecological contexts, particularly in countries like India, where mental health issues are on the rise. The paper critiques the limitations of Western therapeutic approaches in non-Western cultures. It emphasizes the significance of integrating local knowledge systems, such as indigenous healing traditions like the Siri cult, which promotes communal healing and addresses the spiritual dimensions of mental health. It advocates for a holistic approach to therapy that incorporates spiritual elements, encouraging self-transcendence and interconnectedness, and ultimately challenges the individualistic focus of Western psychotherapy. Integrating traditional practices and philosophies, such as Bhakti and mindfulness, is essential for fostering a more inclusive and effective mental health framework.

This narrative review article examines the intricate interplay between Phulkari embroidery, Punjabi folksongs, and the articulation of indignation within the cultural landscape of Punjab. Moving beyond their aesthetic and narrative appeal, the study investigates how these traditional art forms function as mediums for expressing and processing experiences of social injustice and emotional unrest. Employing an interdisciplinary framework grounded in Indian psychological concepts, it explores the symbolic motifs embedded in Phulkari and the thematic undercurrents of discontent in folksongs. In order to analyse Punjab’s oral and visual traditions—which are essential for sociocultural evaluation, emotional fortitude, and collective memory—this study combines viewpoints from cultural psychology and indigenous knowledge systems.

The decline in traditional institutional religion has paralleled the rise of New Age and new spiritualities, which seek to reconnect individuals with nature through holistic practices for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. This article examines how holistic therapists and consultants in the Los Lagos region of Chile conceptualize nature. This region, a gateway to Chilean Patagonia, is noted for its biodiversity and striking landscapes, making it an ideal setting for the emergence of new spiritualities. A qualitative study of descriptive-interpretative scope was carried out, following a multiple case study design, involving 34 local holistic informants (14 therapists and 20 consultants). Semi-structured individual interviews were the primary data collection method, analyzed with Atlas. ti software. Six categories emerged: nature as a healing agent, a protective source/mother, a harmonic whole, a refuge for introspection, a source of wisdom, and a home/habitat. The study discusses the implications of these views on nature in the search for spirituality, life meaning, and moral guidance. It also addresses the idealization and moralization of nature, highlighting potential risks, including the cultural appropriation of local indigenous beliefs.

People in the Global North are alienated from the meat they consume, as industrial animal production obscures the processes that transform animals into meat. However, meat can also be acquired through hunting. In hunting, the life and death of an animal are tangible; this provides unique opportunities to explore the human-animal relations embedded in modern food systems. Social representations theory is applied as the principal theoretical framework. This research asks how are game animals socially represented by hunters in Finland? It is argued that social representations form the basis of hunters’ human-animal relations and governs their beliefs, practices, and orientation towards animals. Two complementary methodological approaches – participant observation and in-depth interviews – were used to answer the research question. The research identified two social representations among the hunters: one that others the animal, and the other that subjectifies it. These two representations allow hunters to address critical questions about food of animal origin both while hunting and in their everyday urban lives as consumers. The co-occurrence of these social representations indicates cognitive polyphasia, enabling hunters to maintain a coherent worldview regarding human-animal relations should conflicts arise.

This qualitative study aimed to explore the cultural transmission and psychological adaptation of the Indian-origin Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic repatriates (SLTER) in the context of life in repatriation (LIR). Participants were SLTER living in the northern interior regions of Kerala. Thematic analysis derived two major themes, “Psychological consequences and expectations of repatriation” and “Mechanisms for coping with the aftermath of repatriation”. Desire for settlements in Sri Lanka despite not holding Sri Lankan citizenship, psychological consequences of repatriation, including longing for the land of origin, manifestations of cultural and emotional shock, and the adoption of food styles analogous to Sri Lankan Tamil Culture (SLTC) were highlighted in the study. Gender and generational differences in psychosomatic symptoms upon arrival were observed. The coping mechanisms included rationalization and language internalization. Participants used ostensive and pointing gestures as initial steps to internalize Indian culture. They are also connected with their Sri Lankan Tamil culture and transmitted that culture to subsequent generations through various socially acceptable forms. They try to find a middle ground between citizenship and refugee status, often feeling torn between their Indian culture and their connection to Sri Lanka due to limited social and economic rights and experiences of marginalization in both countries. Although these aspects have been little investigated, they warrant significant scholarly attention in the context of ethnic repatriation.

This article will outline in general lines the tenets of Lotmanian and Peircean semiotics, observing their possible intersections and interactions as well as their theoretical incompatibilities. As history would have it, both traditions stem from different roots, and their playing along cannot be taken for granted. In examining these historical roots in light of the naturalizing project of current (bio)semiotics, we can hope to find some points to connect the more general points of the theories, despite potential conflicts in their views. It will be argued that the more mainstream accounts of biosemiotics can offer a productive prospect for the interface in the analysis of culture and cognition, while a rereading of Lotmanian commitments to a specific form of cultural semantics can bridge theoretical positions held within the Peircean paradigm of biosemiotics.

This paper aims to justify that the concept of “archetypal images” proposed by Jung and later developed by Erich Neumann is enriched when understood through the philosophy of Hans-Georg Gadamer. Specifically, we will argue that Gadamer’s philosophy enables at least three things: to understand that archetypal images participate in aesthetic rationality (i); to justify that the tension between universality and singularity, from which the meaning of archetypal images emerges, allows to consider them as participating in the realm of practical reason (ii); and to interpret the relationship that, according to Jung, we must establish with these archetypal images in a hermeneutic-dialogical key (iii). The roadmap guiding our research is as follows: we will begin by explaining Jungian concepts “archetype” and “archetypal image” and analysing the tension between universality and singularity they entail. Then, we will explore Gadamer’s reflections on what the subject brings to every act of understanding—its horizon—and how these thoughts align with Jung and Neumann’s ideas. Once we establish the link between these thinkers, we will examine Gadamer’s premise that aesthetics is a mode of knowing (not mere subjectivism) and argue that this idea illuminates the practical rationality behind the symbolic-historical nature in which, according to Jung and Neumann, the unconscious reveals itself (archetypal images).

Culture has been studied in numerous fields of knowledge for many years. Clifford Geertz, an anthropologist who significantly influenced the study of culture in the 20th century, proposed that human beings cannot be understood separately from their culture and highlighted the role that symbolic networks play in controlling human behavior. The present article aimed to discuss possible intersections between Geertz’s Anthropology and Behavioral Science (BS) concerning the theme of culture and the role of symbols. The discussion was conducted considering the changes in BS over time, from B. F. Skinner’s proposals, through Stimulus Equivalence, to Relational Frame Theory (RFT). Despite Geertz’s critiques of the behaviorism of his time, there appear to be some convergences between the two approaches, particularly regarding the analysis of culture. However, the main divergences are observed concerning the concept and role of symbols in behavior control. These divergences seem less significant in light of new concepts and evidence demonstrated by Stimulus Equivalence and RFT, which focus on the study of symbolic behavior. We propose that BS could benefit from Geertz’s Hermeneutic Anthropology by continuing to develop theoretical propositions that may (or may not) prove useful in scientific research on symbols and culture across different research areas.