Cultural Psychology: An Introduction

The introductory book presents the current state of cultural psychology in terms of theoretical approaches and methods comprehensively. It also demonstrates how deeply it is anchored in various fields of action. Cultural psychology is an interdisciplinary field of research that aims less to objectively and causally explain human behavior and experience, but rather seeks to understand psychological phenomena in their respective sociocultural context. In doing so, it follows a theoretical understanding of humans as actively acting beings. Compared to the prevailing nomothetic-oriented psychology, it emphasizes different theoretical and methodological approaches, particularly highlighting intentionality, meaning structuring, and ultimately the cultural aspects of human existence. Cultural psychology incorporates both hermeneutic approaches from psychology, philosophy, sociology, and ethnology, as well as qualitative methods for studying human behavior and experience.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Uwe Wolfradt is a professor at the Institute of Psychology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the 1. chairman of the Society for Cultural Psychology.

Dr. phil. habil. Lars Allolio-Näcke is a lecturer in religious psychology and managing director as well as the scientific coordinator of the Central Institute ＂Anthropology of Religion(s)＂ at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg.

Paul Sebastian Ruppel is a lecturer at the Faculty of Social Science, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology Section at Ruhr University Bochum and a research associate at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, Department of Applied Human Sciences, and a freelance associate at the Institute for Qualitative Research at the International Academy Berlin.