Globalization and psychology

• Lay people associate most globalization-related items with competence and lack of warmth.
• Seeing symbols of two cultures simultaneously evokes categorical perceptions of culture.
• Cultural identification and cultural threat increase resistance to inflow of foreign culture.
• Foreign culture exposure improves creativity when culture is viewed as intellectual resource.

In globalized societies, people often encounter symbols of diverse cultures in the same space at the same time. Simultaneous exposure to diverse cultures draws people's attention to cultural differences and promotes catergorical perceptions of culture. Local cultural identification and presence of cultural threat increase the likelihood of resisting inflow of foreign cultures (exclusionary reactions). When cultures are seen as intellectual resources, foreign cultural exposure affords intercultural learning and enhances individual creativity (integrative reactions). Psychological studies of globalization attest to the utility of treating cultures as evolving, interacting systems, rather than static, independent entities.