CONTRIBUTIONS OF MEXICAN ETHNOPSYCHOLOGY TO THE RESOLUTION OF THE ETIC-EMIC DILEMMA IN PERSONALITY

The controversy over the existence of etic (universal) and emic (idios yncntic) psychological concepts and principles can be best resolved em pirically. Data and theory pertinent to the generalizability or specif icity of theory and measurements in the area of personality are presen ted. The study of personality traits involves at least two fundamental aspects: (a) the conceptualization of the construct and its character istics, and (b) the operationalization of constructs, usually through objective psychological tests. From the cultural perspective, it is in dispensable to assess the validity of the universalistic (etic) or the particularistic (emic) approach to the various psychological concepts and phenomena. In an effort to clarify this problem, Mexican findings that support the need for the development of ''ethnopsychologies'' to explain the interaction of psychological phenomena and social and cul tural contexts are presented.