Cultural Psychology

The chapter presents an overview and the historical background of what can be considered the family of “cultural psychologies,” that is, those approaches that, since the 1990s, have brought back the cultural context and the meaning-making at the center of psychological theories. First, the core principles of cultural psychology are defined. The historical roots and main authors are briefly presented, reconstructing the historical trajectory of an apparently new perspective with solid historical bases. Then, the current scholarly global landscape is sketched. The ideal curriculum of cultural psychology program is presented in terms of learning goals and descriptors. Afterward, selected instructional approaches are illuminated with examples of pedagogical scenarios that an instructor can implement and easily adapt to the different learning contexts. As a matter of conclusion, the challenges that cultural psychology is launching to the current curricula in psychology are presented. We emphasize the potentialities of cultural psychology to fertilize the different sub-areas of psychological sciences by introducing a perspective of integral humanism, that is, to re-appreciate the rich educational background that characterized psychology since its beginnings.