Keeping culture in mind: A systematic review and initial conceptualization of mentalizing from a cross‐cultural perspective

By: Aival-Naveh E., Rothschild-Yakar L., Kurman J.
Published in: Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice
SDGs : SDG 03  |  Units: Social Sciences  | Time: 2019 |  Link
Description: In this review, we call for a cross‐cultural examination of mentalizing. To this end, we first outline theoretical direc tions for understanding mentalizing in the context of the universalism–relativism debate. Next, we systematically review cross‐cultural studies of five concepts, each of which overlaps with separate dimensions of mentalizing: Theory of Mind, empathy, perspective‐taking, alexithymia, and mindfulness. Based on healthy and clinical samples investigated across more than 45 cultures, we draw several conclusions. First, mentalizing profiles may vary between cultures (e.g., self > other mentalizing in individualistic cultures, self