There exist three diverse approaches to the study of personality in cultural contexts. The three approaches are comparative, indigenous, and combined approaches (Cheung et al., 2017). Among the three, I not only support but also advocate for the indigenous approach. After Western approaches dominating the study of personality in settings that are not Western, the indigenous approach was invented as a response to Western approaches being used in settings that are not Western. Indigenous approaches have resulted in the development of equipment that captures the personality constructs of diverse cultures.
I support the indigenous approach since Western-based personality assessment approaches cannot wholly capture or measure people's personality traits from other cultures. It is disastrous to assume that cultures are the same, and therefore Western-dominated approaches can capture personalities from all cultures and have no-fault. Personally, the indigenous approach is the one I support because it is less likely to be faulty. People are different in terms of personalities, and so are they different in terms of culture. Therefore, instruments or models that do not make assumptions like the indigenous approach should be applied in testing personalities in a cultural context.
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In real life, the indigenous approach can be used by psychologists in their work. For example, for an American psychologist who studied in a medical school in India, in her practice, he or she should not let the culture she adapted in India affect how he or she handles her American patients. The psychologist should not let the Indian beliefs come in between her and how he or she handles clients. The psychologist should be extra careful because the field of psychology is significantly affected by culture (Cheung et al., .2017). If the psychologist also conducts individual or group counseling, they should ensure to maintain cultural boundaries to avoid blocking during the counseling sessions.
Reference
Cheung, F. M., van de Vijver, F. J., & Leong, F. T. (2017). Toward a new approach to the study of personality in culture. American Psychologist, 66(7), 593.
