Abstract
Psychology teachers and textbooks continually introduce content into courses that emphasizes diversity in all forms, particularly those attributed to culture. The present study examined the effect of an assignment involving a book report and literature review that incorporated cross-cultural psychology into an introductory course. Students were assigned a book on cross-cultural applications of psychology in addition to a standard introductory textbook. Students selected a mental illness as a report topic that included a discussion of cross-cultural applications of western concepts of mental illness. A pre-test/post-test design surveying students' attitudes and knowledge revealed significant improvement in understanding how culture influences the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. The authors discuss the effectiveness of the assignment in terms of changing student attitudes and knowledge of cross-cultural issues.