Projects
A Cultural Psychological Approach to Acculturation KU Leuven
In the current research program, I further develop and empirically test a cultural psychological approach to acculturation. This approach centers on the notion of ‘cultural fit’ – i.e., the extent to which an individual’s pattern of psychological functioning is similar to the typical pattern of others in the socio-cultural context. I start from the cultural psychological insights that people are socially ‘wired’ to fit their socio-cultural ...
The role of cultural concerns and 'grounding' in emotional acculturation (with reservation). KU Leuven
Within the Centre for Cultural and Social Psychology, the PhD student will focus on investigating the underlying constructs that drive the process of emotional acculturation. Emotional acculturatio1 is the process by which ethnicÂcultural minorities share common patterns of emotional experiences of ethnic-culturaI majorities in a country in such a way that they exhibit an increasing degree of similarity, or fit. How does emotional ...
A Cultural Psychological Approach to Acculturation. KU Leuven
In the current research program, I further develop and empirically test a cultural psychological approach to acculturation that centers on the notion of ‘cultural fit’ – i.e., the extent to which an individual’s pattern of psychological functioning is similar to the typical pattern of others in the socio-cultural context. I start from the cultural psychological insights that people are encouraged and rewarded to fit their socio-cultural ...
Culture, social structure, and the self: Explorations into varieties of cultural fit in self-construal, changes therein, and the predictors and outcomes thereof KU Leuven
People's self-construals—how individuals define themselves and interact with others—demonstrate systematic cultural differences (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Singelis, 1994; Vignoles et al., 2016). Such differences stem not only from ethnic-cultural factors but are also influenced by social structures (e.g., social stratification, labour relations, urbanisation, gender roles, etc.), resulting in distinct self patterns that prevail among ...
Assessing and promoting newcomer children's psychosocial, linguistic, and cultural developmental outcome: A two-phased mixed method interdisciplinary study KU Leuven
The Relationality of Feelings: A cultural comparison of affective patterns in Western and East-Asian relationships KU Leuven
Western and East-Asian cultures appear to emphasize different ideas about how to build and maintain relationships with others around us: Close relationships in Western cultures are marked by a strong focus on the individual, and are supposed to offer partners a space to foster self-esteem and meet their personal needs. In contrast, close relationships in East-Asian cultures are marked by an emphasis on the relatedness and social harmony ...
Related and autonomous: Cultural perspectives on self, acculturation and adjustment KU Leuven
How are culturally valued ways of being and relating reflected in different self-construals across individualistic and collectivistic cultural contexts? What happens to the self-construal of acculturating persons from a collectivistic cultural background who either migrate to, or who are born into, individualistic mainstream cultures? Self-construals – how people define themselves in relation to others – differ between ...
Cultural differences in obsessions: Empirical studies with Belgian and Turkish samples KU Leuven
Summary
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a clinically heterogeneous condition that has been found across the world (Sasson et al., 1997; Staley & Wand, 1995). OCD is characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses (obsessions), and the repetitive, ritualistic behaviors (compulsions) that are performed to reduce the anxiety elevated by obsessions (American Psychiatric Association, ...
What is Emotional Fit? Cultural fit across multiple aspects of emotional experience KU Leuven
A shared experience of emotions, between two people or between an individual and their cultural surroundings—termed emotional fit—, is associated with better interpersonal interactions and relational well-being. However, emotions, as complex phenomena, involve various facets such as physiological responses, cognitive appraisals, action tendencies, and more, and the existing research has captured emotional fit by assessing similarity in ...