Cross-Cultural Psychology Exam 1 - Units 1-4 & 6

Shadi Beshai

Access to resources

The indicator of availability of material resources to a
population.

Activity

A process of the individual’s goal-directed interaction with the environment.

Availability of resources

A measure indicating the presence of and access to
resources essential for the individual’s well-being.

Collectivism

Behavior and experience based on interdependence, collective
responsibility, concern for others, and care for collective traditions and group values.

Cross-cultural psychology

The critical and comparative study of cultural effects on
human psychology.

Cultural psychology

The study that seeks to discover systematic relationships
between culture and psychological variables.

Culture

A set of attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared by a group of people and
usually communicated from one generation to the next.

Ecological context

The natural setting in which human organisms and the
environment interact.

Ethnicity

A cultural heritage shared by a category of people who also share a
common ancestral origin, language, and religion.

Ethnocentrism

The tendency (often unintentional) to view other ethnic or cultural
groups according to the preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of
one’s own culture.

Ideological (value-based) knowledge

A stable set of beliefs about the world, the
nature of good and evil, right and wrong, and the purpose of human life—all based on a
certain organizing principal or central idea.

Indigenous groups

People who identify as part of a distinct group or are descended
from those originating in areas where their traditional lands, which existed prior to the
establishment of modern-day borders.

Individualism

Complex behavior and experience based on personal independence,
self-reliance, and concern for oneself and one’s immediate primary group.

Legal knowledge

A type of knowledge encapsulated in the law and detailed in official
rules and principles related to psychological functioning of individuals.

Multiculturalism

The view that encourages recognition of equality for all cultural
groups and promotes the idea that the various cultural groups have the right to follow
their own paths of development.

Nation

A large group of people who constitute a legitimate, independent state and
share a common geographic origin, history, and, frequently, language.

Nontraditional culture

The term used to describe cultures based largely on modern
beliefs, rules, symbols, and principles, absorbing and dynamic, science-based and
technology-driven, and relatively tolerant to social innovations.

Popular (or folk) knowledge

Everyday assumptions ranging from commonly held
beliefs to individual opinions about psychological phenomena.
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Power distance

The extent to which the members of a society accept that power in
institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.

Race

A large group of people distinguished by certain similar and genetically
transmitted physical characteristics.

Religious identity

A term indicating an individual’s acceptance of knowledge, beliefs,
and practices related to a particular faith.

Scientific knowledge

A type of knowledge accumulated as a result of scientific
research on a wide range of psychological phenomena.

Sociopolitical context

The setting in which people participate in both global and local
decisions; it includes various ideological issues, political structures, and the presence or
absence of political and social freedoms.

Traditional culture

The term used to describe cultures based largely on beliefs, rules,
symbols, and principles established predominantly in the past, confined in local or
regional boundaries, restricting and mostly intolerant to social innovations.

Uncertainty avoidance

The degree to which the members of a society feel
uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.

Uncertainty orientation

Common ways in which people handle uncertainty in their
daily situations and lives in genera

Antidote

A remedy to prevent or counteract an adverse effect.

● Assimilation bias

The propensity to resolve discrepancies between pre-existing schemas and new information in the direction of assimilation rather than accommodation, even at the expense of distorting the information itself.

● Availability bias

Any condition in which the availability heuristic produces systematic errors in thinking or information processing, typically due to highly vivid although rare events.

● Availability heuristic

A cognitive strategy for quickly estimating the frequency, incidence, or probability of a given event based on the ease with which such instances are retrievable from memory.

● Barnum effect

A phenomenon that refers to people’s willingness to accept uncritically the validity of Barnum statements.

● Barnum statement

Any generic "one-size-fits-all" description of or interpretation about a particular individual that is true of practically all human beings.

● Belief perseverance effect

The tendency to cling stubbornly to one’s beliefs, even in the face of contradictory or disconfirming evidence.

● Bias

A prejudicial inclination or predisposition that inhibits, deters, or prevents impartial judgment.

● Bidirectional causation

A mutual, reciprocal relationship between two variables wherein each is both a cause and an effect of the other.

● Cognitive bias

Any systematic error in attribution that derives from limits that are inherent in people’s cognitive abilities to process information.

● Continuous variable

Any variable that lies along a dimension, range, or spectrum, rather than in a discrete category, that can theoretically take on an infinite number of values and is expressed in terms of quantity, magnitude, or degree.

● Critical thinking

An active and systematic cognitive strategy to examine, evaluate, and understand events, solve problems, and make decisions on the basis of sound reasoning and valid evidence. More specifically, critical thinking involves maintaining an attitude that is both open-minded and skeptical; recognizing and distinguishing between facts and theories; searching for factual accuracy and logical consistency; objectively gathering, weighing, and synthesizing information; forming reasonable inferences, judgments, and conclusions; identifying and questioning underlying assumptions and beliefs; discerning hidden or implicit values; perceiving similarities and differences between phenomena; understanding causal relationships; reducing logical flaws and personal biases, such as avoiding oversimplifications and overgeneralizations; developing a tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; exploring alternative perspectives and explanations; and searching for creative solutions.

● Dichotomous variable

Any variable that can be placed into either of two discrete and mutually exclusive categories.

● Fundamental attribution error

A bias in attempting to determine the causes of people’s behavior that involves overestimating the influence of personality traits while underestimating the influence of their particular situations; that is, overutilizing internal attributions and underutilizing external attributions.

● Heuristic

A mental shortcut or rule-of-thumb strategy for problem solving that reduces complex information and time-consuming tasks to more simple, rapid, and efficient judgmental operations, particularly in reaching decisions under conditions of uncertainty.

● Metathinking

The act of thinking about thinking; engaging in a critical analysis and evaluation of the thinking process.

● Metathoughts

Thoughts about thought, which involve principles of critical thinking.

● Motivational bias

Any systematic error in attribution that derives from people’s efforts to satisfy their own personal needs, such as the desire for self-esteem, power, or prestige.

● Naturalistic fallacy

An error in thinking whereby the individual confuses or equates or bad solely in terms of what is statistically frequent or infrequent

● Parataxic reasoning

A kind of "magical thinking," frequently responsible for superstitious behaviors, in which two events that occur close together in time are erroneously construed to be causally linked.

● Post hoc error

A shortened form of post hoc, ergo propter hoc ("after this, therefore because of this"), referring to the fallacy that follows Event A, then B must have been caused by A.

● Representativeness bias

Any condition in which the representativeness heuristic
produces systematic errors in thinking or information processing

● Representativeness heuristic

A cognitive strategy for quickly estimating the
probability that a given instance is a member of a particular category

● Schema

A cognitive structure or representation that organizes one’s knowledge, beliefs, and past experiences, thereby providing a framework for understanding new events and future experiences; a general expectation or preconception about a wide range of phenomena.

● Self-fulfilling prophecy

A phenomenon wherein people’s attitudes, beliefs, or assumptions about another person (or persons) can, with or without their intent, actually produce the behaviors that they had initially expected to find.

● Twitification effect

The amplification and disproportionate influence of a limited number of voices via the use of mass media platforms.

● Unidirectional causation

A relationship between two variables wherein one is the cause and the other is the effect

Absolutist approach 

A view in cross cultural psychology that psychological phenomena are basically the same in all cultures.

Application oriented strategy

An attempt to establish the applicability of research findings obtained in one country or culture to other countries or cultures.

Comparativist strategy

An attempt to find similarities and differences in certain statistical measures in a sample of cultures.

Content analysis

A research method that systematically organizes and summarizes both the manifest and latent content of communication.

Correlation coefficient

A number that summarizes and describes the type of relationship that is present and the strength of the relationship between variables X and Y.

Dependent variable

The aspect of human activity that is studied and expected to change under the influence of (an) independent variable(s).

Direct surveys

The type of surveys in which the interviewer maintains or can maintain a direct communication with the respondent and is able to provide feedback, repeat a question, or ask for additional information.

Equivalence

Evidence that the methods selected for the study measure the same phenomenon across other countries chosen for the study.

Experiment

The investigative method in which researchers alter some variables to detect specific changes in the subjects’ behaviors, attitudes, or emotions.

Focus group methodology

A survey method used most intensively in both academic and marketing research. The most common use of this method is a procedure in which a group responds to specific social, political, or marketing messages. The typical focus group contains 7–10 participants, who are either experts or represent potential buyers, viewers, or other types of customers.

Holistic

The study of systems with multiple interconnected elements.

Independent variable 

The condition(s) that is (are) controlled by the researcher.

Indirect surveys

The type of surveys in which the researcher’s personal impact is very small because there is no direct communication between the respondent and the 5 interviewer. The questions are typically written and handed in, mailed, or emailed to the respondents in their homes, classrooms, or workplaces.

Laboratory observation

Recording people’s behavior in an environment created by the researcher.

Measure of central tendency

The measure that indicates the location of a score distribution on a variable, that is, describes where most of the distribution is located.

Meta analysis

The quantitative analysis of a large collection of scientific results in an attempt to make sense of a diverse selection of data.

Naturalistic observation

Recording people’s behavior in their natural environments with little or no personal intervention.

Psychobiographical research

A longitudinal analysis of particular individuals, usually outstanding persons, celebrities, and leaders, representing different countries or cultures.

Relativist approach

A view in cross cultural psychology that psychological phenomena should be studied mostly from “within” a culture where these phenomena occur.

Representative sample

A sample having characteristics that accurately reflect the characteristics of the population.

Survey

The investigative method in which groups of people answer questions about their opinions or their behavior

Absolute threshold

The minimum amount of physical energy needed for the observer
to notice a stimulus.

Aesthetic experience

A term used to identify the feeling of pleasure evoked by stimuli
that are perceived as beautiful, attractive, and rewarding. The term also refers to
displeasure evoked by stimuli that are perceived as ugly, unattractive, and unrewarding.

Altered states of consciousness (ASC)

The general name for phenomena that are
different from normal waking consciousness and include mystic experiences, meditation,
hypnosis, trance, and possession.

Behavioral environment

A mental representation that orients people to dimensions
such as time, space, and the interpersonal world.

Consciousness

The subjective awareness of one’s own sensations, perceptions, and
other mental events.

Depth perception

The organization of sensations in three dimensions, even though
the image on the eye’s retina is two-dimensional.

Difference threshold

The lowest level of stimulation required to sense that a change
in the stimulation has occurred.

Dreams

Story-like sequences of images occurring during sleep.
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Exorcism

The spiritual practice of removing demons or any other evil spiritual entities
from an individual or a place, believed to be possessed or invaded by these evil entities.

Meditation

A quiet and relaxed state of tranquility in which the individual aspires to
integrate emotions, attitudes, and thoughts.

Perception

The process that organizes various sensations into meaningful patterns.

Perceptual set

Perceptual expectations based on experience.

Sensation

The process by which receptor cells are stimulated and transmit their
information to higher brain centers.

Sensory adaptation

The tendency of the sensory system to respond less to stimuli
that continue without change.

Sleep

A non-waking state of consciousness characterized by general
unresponsiveness to the environment and general physical immobility.

Trance

A sleeplike state marked by reduced sensitivity to stimuli, loss or alteration of
knowledge, rapturous experiences, and the substitution of automatic for voluntary motor
activity

James-Lange Theory

Emotions arise from bodily (physiological) reactions. Example: We feel fear because we notice our heart racing first.

Cannon-Bard Theory

Emotion experience and physiological response happen simultaneously. Example: Seeing a spider triggers both fear and increased heart rate at once.

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

Emotion depends on (1) physiological arousal and (2) the cognitive label we apply. Most widely supported by research—how we interpret our arousal shapes the final emotion.

Amygdala

Acts as the brain's "emotional computer," evaluating emotional significance. Hypothalamus: Manages autonomic responses (e.g., stress hormones, heart rate).

Left Frontal Lobe

More active in positive affect; linked to approach behaviors.

Right Frontal Lobe

Associated with negative affect; linked to withdrawal behaviors.

Phases of Emotion

Initiation, Physiological, Experience, Behavioral Display/Concealment, Influence on Decisions, Dissipation

Initiation

An emotion is triggered by an internal or external event.

Physiological Response

1.Bodily reactions (e.g., heart rate, sweating) begin.

Experience

The subjective feeling ("I feel afraid," "I feel happy”)