I have just finished my BSc (Hons) in Applied Psychology at IADT. I am hoping to continue my studies in the field of psychology with a focus on Developmental or Neuropsychology. I have particular interest these fields for different reasons; Developmental for its focus on the development of individuals across their lives including neurodivergence and learning disabilities and Neuropsychology for the physical effects of conditions and disorders on the human brain and how we can see their effects. I learned a lot from my thesis and found it as a challenging yet interesting part of my studies.
I conducted my major research project by looking at past research into the field of stereotypes and social psychology. I looked through numerous papers and studies and found four primary papers to focus on, each of these helped to generate themes that were discussed in later parts of the paper. I chose this topic to complete my major research project on due to nature of stereotypes today, especially in my own life, due to working in tourism in Dublin City. It is an area of interest especially around the concepts of multiculturism and the impact of it on every party involved in it as a whole.
The goals of the current study are to look at existing papers on topics of intracultural relationships, interactions and stereotyping models; to then focus on the themes that are generated from these areas, finding their relevance in the current literature in psychology, with a conclusion that draws on all that is gathered from the papers and studies that are collected here and how these could affect the view individuals have on people from other cultures and the stereotypical images held about them. The current study will first focus on four papers and related data from each, then discuss four themes surrounding the issue of cultural images and the stereotypes that are generated or connected with them after which there will be a discussion on the themes and their relevance to modern psychology.
Overall, the outcomes of my paper were the discussion points on multiculturalism and how it can effect daily lives. It was also the difference between stereotyping, appropriation, and appreciation of different cultures. It also looked into cultural change and the idea of one unified culture. These topics were all discussed using current information gathered from papers and studies found across various psychological papers and resources such as the IADT Library and JSTOR. These outcomes help to open the door into discussion of these topics and show the relevance of this area in the psychological field today. This was an interesting area to focus on for my Major research project because of this
An Investigation into Cultural Biases and the Stereotypes generated from them