The Colorado Mesa University’s Psychology Club holds meetings Thursdays. This past week’s meeting was led by senior and public relations officer Cheyenne Pace.
The meeting was on cross-cultural psychology. This domain of psychology focuses on the differences in thoughts, attitudes and social norms between cultures. Of course, there is often drastic variability between cultures causing miscommunications and, in the worst cases, xenophobia. In order to demonstrate the feelings of being immersed into an unfamiliar culture, Cheyenne coordinated what she calls a “mocktail party.”
Club members brought food from varying cultures, including ceviche, cannoli and Mexican candies. At the beginning of the meeting, each attendee received a slip of paper, sorting everyone into one of two groups.
Each slip detailed “social norms” for the given group: Group A was to be loud, talkative and excitable, and physical contact was encouraged. Group B was to be soft spoken and should avoid eye contact, physical contact and smiling. After a few minutes separated to practice, both groups re-entered the room to enjoy the food while maintaining their assigned demeanors.
During the 15-minute “party,” interactions came off as awkward as the two groups clashed; members of group A attempted to hug members of group B, who shied away and kept to themselves. Group B members quietly mumbled to each other while members of group A loudly raved about the food.
Afterwards, everyone regrouped to discuss the implications of the activity. Often, when people from two different cultures are brought together, the normal cultural demeanor of one might strike members of the other culture as abrasive or stand-offish because of their own worldview.
“I decided to do this [activity] because it is something I am interested in and passionate about,” Pace said.
She found the idea online after searching for cross-cultural psychology activities and demonstrations. As public relations officer of the club, Pace is particularly interested in cross-cultural psychology and the ways in which people in differing cultures interact.
The meeting concluded with a discussion of the upcoming Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (RMPA) conference. The conference is held annually, and members of the Psych Club are able to rack up points toward covering the cost of attending it. The conference will take place April 12-14, 2018 in Denver, Colo. There are plenty more meetings to attend in order to receive the necessary points. The last conference took place in Salt Lake City in April 2017.
The next Psychology Club meeting will occur on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 5 p.m. in Houston Hall room 213. The upcoming meeting will focus on the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and students from any major are always welcome.
