It has been over forty years since Gordon Allport published The Nature of Prejudice (Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1954). To Allport, sociocultural factors play an important role in our prejudice, especially when we do not understand cultural differences. However, Allport\u27s book dealt little with cross-cultural research. Fortunately, Leonore Loeb Adler and Uwe P. Gielen, two experts in cross-cultural research, have presented us with their recent study on how cultural understanding helps us to be more open-minded

Lee, Yueh-Ting

English

VCU Scholars Compass

Explorations in Sights and Sounds related to their education level ,  soc ia l  mobi l i ty, soc ia l  c lass,  and rural  or urban cultural  environment . "  Th ird, there i s  l i tt le discussion of the patriarchal context within  which women's socia l  roles h ave been developed in  many of these countries .  Thus the sect ion on the USSR makes i t  clear that a woman is dest i ned to "be a mother and a homemaker" and goes on to assert that trad it ional  Russ ian fam i l ies derived strength from the " patriarchal  traditio n . "  Given th is  kind of perspective, i t  i s  not surprising that this  writer  actua l ly  appears to blame prost itution as well as juveni l e  and i nfant del i nquency on women. This  col lection of essays does present new information on some groups of women that western readers may not h ave access to ordinar i ly ( i .e . ,  Alaskan,  Tha i ,  Austra l i an) .  However, the ins ider perspective does prove to be a frustrat ing aspect of many sect ions of this  book. Sudha Ratan Georgia Southern U niversity Leonore Loeb Adler and Uwe P.  Gielen. Cross-Cultural  Topics on Psychology. (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1 994) 288 pp., $ 69.50 cloth, $ 1 9.95 paper. It has been over forty years s ince Gordon Al l port publ ished The Nature of Prejudice (Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub l ish ing Co. ,  1954). To Al lport, sociocultural  factors play a n  i mportant ro le  in  our  prejudice, especia l ly when we do not  understand cultural  differ­ences. However, A l lport's book dea l t  l i t t le  with cross-cultura l  re­search . Fortunately, Leonore Loeb Adler and Uwe P. Gielen, two experts in cross-cultural  research,  h ave presented us  with their  recent study on how cultural  understanding he lps us  to be m ore open­m inded . Thi s  book, consist ing of fifteen chapters by d i fferent con­tributors, begins  with cross-cultural  h i story and research methods ( i n  Part I ) ,  moves smoothly from development issues ( i n  Part I I )  to personal ity and belief systems in cross-cul tura l  psychology ( i n  Part I I ) ,  and fin a l ly ends with appl ications for cross-cultura l  psychology. Though " race, " "ethn icity" and "cu lture" are indeed different from one another, the book's focus i s  not on the d i fferences or s imi l ar i t ies  between these issues, but on the cultural  diversity. For exam ple, chapter contributors selected are d iverse and representative geographica l ly or cultural ly ( i . e . ,  from various coun­tries or cultures) and in terdisc ip l i n ar i ly ( not only from psychology, but a lso from anthropology, SOCiology, psychi atry, and other disci-2 Number 14  (Summer 1 994) plines) . The content of research i s  so cultural ly representati ve and diverse that i t  perta ins  to l anguage and communication, ch i ld  devel­opment, women a n d  gender roles, moral  reasoning, old age, person­al ity, emotion, belief system s, health and pathology, and m ulticultural business.  Research reports and findings are a lso cultural ly representa­t ive and diverse because they are not only obtained from subjects (or participants)  i n  North America, but a lso from Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, and Austra l ia .  This  cultur a l  d iversity approach certainly helps us  to become m ore open-minded and more sensitive to objective group d i fferences.  The content of the book i s  so fundamental that  i t  wil l  provide readers (e .g ., upper-level  undergraduates, graduates, and other who are i nterested in cross-cultural  issues) with basic ideas and knowledge in  cross-cultural research . A l m ost a l l  chapters in  each section a re well­written and easi ly u nderstood. The only cr it ic ism I have of this book is that i ts  chapters are sometimes too brief to be understood ful ly .  The editors should h ave p rovided more space for m ore detai led discussion and elaborat ion . Overall, th i s  i s  a wel l -organized and n icely written book whose cultural  diversity approach, without any doubt, helps us  to open our m i nds, regardless of whether  we a re scholars or lay persons. Yueh-Ting Lee Westfield State College Chalmers Archer, J r. Growing Up Black in Rura l  Mississippi .  (New York: Walker & Co. ,  1 992) 1 56 pp.,  $ 1 9 .95 .  Archer ' s  book i s  a n on-fictional account of  the pa in  and angu i sh  of one extended fam i ly 's  struggle and fight dur ing the 1 930s and 1 940s to survive the racist  south . At the heart of th i s  book are the relat ionships of fami ly  members, friends, a n d  neighbors i n  the  southern town of Tch u l a .  These relationships  are  rea l i st ic, a n d  their  strengths and weaknesses appear in the u l t imate tr ia l s  of racism, poverty, love, and rel igion . Archer does not d istort the truths about h i s  fam ily  relationsh ips, nor does he h ide the skeletons of a rac ist  past .  He  shares stories about the soci a l  and economi c  i n just ices d isp layed by the KKK and w hite landowners. Archer acknowl edges that  the local  sher i ff and h i s  officers were devoted K lan  m e mbers, but  does not  dwell  on name cal l ing or accusat ions.  H i s  autobiography i s  by no m eans a sordid personal accoun t  of  the nefar ious h istorica l  past .  This accoun t  of African-American l i fe in Tch u l a  has  i mpl ications about black people's 3 

[Review of] Leonore Loeb Adler and Uwe P. Gielen. Cross-Cultural Topics on Psychology

Explorations in Sights and Sounds 
related to their education level ,  soc ia l  mobi l i ty, soc ia l  c lass,  and rural  
or urban cultural  environment . "  Th ird, there i s  l i tt le discussion of the 
patriarchal context within  which women's socia l  roles h ave been 
developed in  many of these countries .  Thus the sect ion on the USSR 
makes i t  clear that a woman is dest i ned to "be a mother and a 
homemaker" and goes on to assert that trad it ional  Russ ian fam i l ies 
derived strength from the " patriarchal  traditio n . "  Given th is  kind of 
perspective, i t  i s  not surprising that this  writer  actua l ly  appears to 
blame prost itution as well as juveni l e  and i nfant del i nquency on 
women. 
This  col lection of essays does present new information on 
some groups of women that western readers may not h ave access to 
ordinar i ly ( i .e . ,  Alaskan,  Tha i ,  Austra l i an) .  However, the ins ider 
perspective does prove to be a frustrat ing aspect of many sect ions of 
this  book. 
Sudha Ratan 
Georgia Southern U niversity 
Leonore Loeb Adler and Uwe P.  Gielen. Cross-Cultural  Topics on 
Psychology. (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1 994) 288 pp., $ 69.50 cloth, 
$ 1 9.95 paper. 
It has been over forty years s ince Gordon Al l port publ ished 
The Nature of Prejudice (Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub l ish ing 
Co. ,  1954). To Al lport, sociocultural  factors play a n  i mportant ro le  in  
our  prejudice, especia l ly when we do not  understand cultural  differ­
ences. However, A l lport's book dea l t  l i t t le  with cross-cultura l  re­
search . Fortunately, Leonore Loeb Adler and Uwe P. Gielen, two 
experts in cross-cultural  research,  h ave presented us  with their  recent 
study on how cultural  understanding he lps us  to be m ore open­
m inded . 
Thi s  book, consist ing of fifteen chapters by d i fferent con­
tributors, begins  with cross-cultural  h i story and research methods ( i n  
Part I ) ,  moves smoothly from development issues ( i n  Part I I )  to 
personal ity and belief systems in cross-cul tura l  psychology ( i n  Part 
I I ) ,  and fin a l ly ends with appl ications for cross-cultura l  psychology. 
Though " race, " "ethn icity" and "cu lture" are indeed different from 
one another, the book's focus i s  not on the d i fferences or s imi l ar i t ies  
between these issues, but on the cultural  diversity. 
For exam ple, chapter contributors selected are d iverse and 
representative geographica l ly or cultural ly ( i . e . ,  from various coun­
tries or cultures) and in terdisc ip l i n ar i ly ( not only from psychology, 
but a lso from anthropology, SOCiology, psychi atry, and other disci-
2 
Number 14  (Summer 1 994) 
plines) . The content of research i s  so cultural ly representati ve and 
diverse that i t  perta ins  to l anguage and communication, ch i ld  devel­
opment, women a n d  gender roles, moral  reasoning, old age, person­
al ity, emotion, belief system s, health and pathology, and m ulticultural 
business.  
Research reports and findings are a lso cultural ly representa­
t ive and diverse because they are not only obtained from subjects (or 
participants)  i n  North America, but a lso from Asia, Africa, South 
America, Europe, and Austra l ia .  This  cultur a l  d iversity approach 
certainly helps us  to become m ore open-minded and more sensitive 
to objective group d i fferences.  
The content of the book i s  so fundamental that  i t  wil l  provide 
readers (e .g ., upper-level  undergraduates, graduates, and other who 
are i nterested in cross-cultural  issues) with basic ideas and knowledge 
in  cross-cultural research . A l m ost a l l  chapters in  each section a re well­
written and easi ly u nderstood. 
The only cr it ic ism I have of this book is that i ts  chapters are 
sometimes too brief to be understood ful ly .  The editors should h ave 
p rovided more space for m ore detai led discussion and elaborat ion . 
Overall, th i s  i s  a wel l -organized and n icely written book whose 
cultural  diversity approach, without any doubt, helps us  to open our 
m i nds, regardless of whether  we a re scholars or lay persons. 
Yueh-Ting Lee 
Westfield State College 
Chalmers Archer, J r. Growing Up Black in Rura l  Mississippi .  (New 
York: Walker & Co. ,  1 992) 1 56 pp.,  $ 1 9 .95 .  
Archer ' s  book i s  a n on-fictional account of  the pa in  and 
angu i sh  of one extended fam i ly 's  struggle and fight dur ing the 1 930s 
and 1 940s to survive the racist  south . 
At the heart of th i s  book are the relat ionships of fami ly  
members, friends, a n d  neighbors i n  the  southern town of Tch u l a .  
These relationships  are  rea l i st ic, a n d  their  strengths and weaknesses 
appear in the u l t imate tr ia l s  of racism, poverty, love, and rel igion . 
Archer does not d istort the truths about h i s  fam ily  relationsh ips, nor 
does he h ide the skeletons of a rac ist  past .  He  shares stories about the 
soci a l  and economi c  i n just ices d isp layed by the KKK and w hite 
landowners. Archer acknowl edges that  the local  sher i ff and h i s  
officers were devoted K lan  m e mbers, but  does not  dwell  on name 
cal l ing or accusat ions.  H i s  autobiography i s  by no m eans a sordid 
personal accoun t  of  the nefar ious h istorica l  past .  This accoun t  of 
African-American l i fe in Tch u l a  has  i mpl ications about black people's 
3 


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[Review of] Leonore Loeb Adler and Uwe P. Gielen. Cross-Cultural Topics on Psychology

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