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PSY132: Psychology and Culture

A research guide specifically designed for students enrolled in PSY132 with links to databases, books, APA citation, and other helpful resources.

Background Information on Countries & Cultures

On the database page of the GCC Library - lib.gccaz.edu/databases,  you will find organized collections of information that the library subscribes to. The majority of your research in this class will be done in the psychology-specific databases.

But before diving into the psychology databases that house scholarly, peer-reviewed research articles, take a moment to learn some basic background information on the country/culture you've chosen to study. The reference information in the two databases listed below is meant to give you a general overview of your culture. To find scholarly articles, jump to the psychology database portion of this guide.

Web Resources

Psychology Databases

When searching databases, you want to use only a few search terms, linking them with AND, OR, or NOT. Do not use full sentences when searching databases. The database will look for results with every word you enter. 

Example database search:  Emotion AND cultur*

The asterisk (star) tells the database to search for both the word "culture" and "cultural."

Search for Articles

"Search for Articles" expands your search beyond a single database to search most GCC databases all at once. This will include databases not specific to psychology subjects alone. The number of search results might be a bit overwhelming, but those results can be further sorted by type. 

Using the search box below, enter the name of your culture AND:

cognition   *  culture *  development   *   morality or morals    *    gender   *    emotion

perception *  development *  family structure * marriage  * health * mental illness

 

Use terms a few at a time. In addition to the suggestions above, you might try searching for your culture AND synonyms for some cultural concepts. You can also try searching by the individual cultural dimensions of Hofstede's cultural dimensions.

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

Power distance

Individualism/Collectivism

Masculinity/Femininity

Uncertainty Avoidance

Long Term Orientation/Short Term Orientation

Indulgence/Restraint

 

To access databases off campus, simply input your MEID and password when prompted.

Search for Online Articles

       

                                    

To read an article, click on the title, then click on the database that holds it.

 

 

 

To narrow your research results, use the limiters on the left side of the screen. You can limit by a date range and by a subject, as well as by information source types.

 

Be sure to look at the subject headings of your search results to get ideas for new search terms. A subject search is much more precise than a general keyword search. You can click on subject headings to open a new search but subject, but you will lose your other limiters.

Remember to use Boolean operators as you search.

 

 

A Gale Psychology search for Denmark (in the abstract) AND social (keyword) resulted in:

 

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