The Ancestry of a Model

Abstract

After a brief initial consideration of historical aspects of the concept of 'culture', the focus is on the eco-cultural model originally developed by Berry (1976) and subsequently incorporated in the text by Berry, Poortinga, Segall and Dasen (1992). It is shown that several of the basic ideas underlying the model, notably those relating mind and behaviour to eco-cultural settings, have been frequently discussed over several centuries. From the Enlightenment onwards quite sophisticated schemes have been put forward, and some of these bear a close resemblance to salient aspects of the Berry et al. model. The status of that model is discussed in the light of its historical background, which also indicates that the current division between universalist and particularistic approaches to psychology and culture can be found to some extent in the writings of past thinkers.