Social–Psychological Bases for Inheriting Tibetan Buddhist Culture: A Case Study of a Tibetan Community

Abstract

The research aims at revealing the specific connotations and internal mechanisms of social psychology that supports the inheritance of Tibetan Buddhist culture by applying the theoretical framework of anthropology and psychology based on the individual case of a Tibetan community. The paper first conducts an overall investigation into the inheritance of Tibetan Buddhist culture in the Tibetan community via the approaches of interviewing and observation in qualitative researches. Then it analyzes the interaction between people’s inheritance and their corresponding psychological basis based on the social psychological model made up of social cognition, social emotion, social need and social attitude. The research results show that Tibetan Buddhist culture shapes the social psychology which is unique to Tibetan people, enabling them to balance their various internal needs and to meet all kinds of external challenges. The corresponding social psychology, in return, stimulates and drives the continuous inheritance and development of Tibetan Buddhist culture.