Lecture 7: Culture and cognition

Chapter 8: Culture and cognition

Cognition

All mental processes used to convert sensory information into knowledge. 

What are the 3 basic processes of Cognition?

1. Attention = the process of focusing our consciousness on specific stimuli.

2. Perception = the process by which we obtain information about the world through our senses.

3. Thinking = a complex mental system.

Culture is seen as cognition; what does this mean?

Culture is seen as a set of mental representations about the world.

What are the 3 forms of optical illusions that fool our cognition?

• Carpentered world

• Front-horizontal foreshadowing

• Symbolizing three dimensions in two

Carpentered world

People in industrialized and urbanized communities are used to seeing rectangular shapes → Subconsciously they expect to observe right angles. 

• With the Muller-Lyer illusion, you expect that an outward angle means that something extends and is therefore longer. 

Front-horizontal foreshadowing

Interpreting vertical lines as horizontal lines → Vertical lines connecting closer and closer create an illusion of distance. 

• Ponzo illusion: the vertical lines resemble a street stretching into the distance. 

Symbolizing three dimensions in two

Western cultures look more to paper, pictures and flat screens = 2D shapes → So they may be more accustomed to recognizing such pictures as Muller-Lyer illusion. 

How does culture influence attention?

Decides which objects in the environment receive attention, how they are perceived and how they influence our thinking.

Attention

The process by which we acquire information through our senses.

2 types of distinction in Attention

1. Analytic cognition

2. Holistic cognition

Analytical cognition

Occurs mainly in Western societies. 

1. Focused on single objects, is logical, and focuses on cause-and-effect relationships. 

   • Context-independent and deterministic. 

Holistic cognition

Often associated with Eastern cultures. 

1. Focused on the environment and the interdependence of elements.

   • Offers multiple explanations for events, is context-dependent, and emphasizes the relationship between object and environment.

Nisbett & Masude (2003) conducted research on change blindness in America and Japan. What did the study entail and what were the results?

Participants were shown short films in which different objects moved. Then they were shown another short film in which objects had been removed.

• Americans were more likely to notice when an object in focus was removed than when an ambient object was removed. 

• This was the opposite for Japanese. 

  Conclusion: There are differences in the focus of attention, with Americans focusing more on the information in focus and the Japanese focusing more on the environment. 

  • Western cultures have analytic cognitive style.

  • Eastern cultures have a more holistic style.

Fundamental attribution error

Westerners tend to explain the behavior of others by internal factors (dispositional attributions), such as personality. 

• In Eastern cultures there are holistic cognitions = emphasis is more often on external factors in explaining behavior, such as social roles and obligations.

Self-serving bias

Success is attributed to internal factors and failure to external factors. 

• Westerners are more likely to explain their own behavior by external factors (situational attributions), such as circumstances. 

Positive logical determinism

• Which culture?

Things are seen as good or bad and there is one correct solution.

• Western cultures.

Naive dialectivism

• Which culture?

Opposites are accepted and both sides can be seen as partially correct. 

• Eastern cultures.

Schematic table Analytic vs. Holistic cognition

Varnum, Grossman, Kitayama and Nisbett proposed that cultural differences in cognition stem from a social orientation hypothesis. What does this entail?

Different social orientations (independent vs. interdependent cultures (M3+4) affect how we see the world and think about the world. 

• Independent cultures → Tendency to focus on a single aspect (analytical cognitive pattern).

• Interdependent cultures → There is a focus on context and relationship (holistic cognitive pattern).

Varnum, Grossman, Kitayama and Nisbett proposed that cultural differences in cognition stem from a social orientation hypothesis.

• What critique did others have on this hypothesis?

This is a big overgeneralization. 

• Cultural differences in cognition may result from situational factors or experimental research designs.

• Attributional biases appear to be more universal than previously thought → it may be due to the amount of information available to make the attributions.

• It was expected that analytical perceptions would be linked to a more internal locus of control, with holistic perceptions having an external locus of control.

  • BUT this was not found in research.

• Some parts of our memory are more universal than thought.

• The effects of training are not considered here, where they should be.

Conclusion: cultural differences between East and West cannot easily be explained by their cultural systems.

Lynn & Verhanen controversial research

Claimed that the average IQ in Africa is 70 and that men are smarter than women. This is political (racism) but also scientific

What are 4 questions that can be asked regarding Lynn & Verhanen’s research?

1. Is this racist?

2. Is this good science?

3. What is the reason for the group difference found?

4. What does intelligence mean cross-culturally?

Is this racist? (Lynn’s research)

Yes, Lynn is racist. But this does not mean that his research is correct → You have to look at the scientific arguments

Is this good science (Lynn’s research)

No, using Western instruments and applying them in Africa does not translate correctly or have the same meaning.

1. Using these tests was problematic, and cultural bias was shown in the measurements.

1. It was found that the average IQ in Africa was closer to 80 (Wicherts, Borsboom & Dolan, 2010) which is significantly higher than Lynn claimed.

2. BUT despite tests such as the Catell Culture Faire Intelligence Test having been developed to reduce cultural bias, 27/46 items were still found to be culturally biased.

   1. This shows that it’s difficult to develop culture-free tests. 

      1. As a result, scores between different cultures are often difficult to compare.

Catell Culture Faire Intelligence Test

Intelligence test that has been developed to reduce cultural bias.

• But still 27/45 items were culturally biased → It’s difficult to develop culture-free tests.

  • Scores between different cultures are therefore difficult to compare.

What is the reason for the group differences found? (Lynn’s research)

1. Nature (genetic): the Bell Curve

2. Nurture (environmental factors): the Flynn effect

How does Nature explain group differences in intelligence?

The Bell Curve by Hernstein & Murray (1994) proposes that IQ is primarily hereditary.

• Cultural differences can be explained by genetics.

2 criticism on the Bell curve

They say that cultural differences can be explained by genetics, BUT:

1. Ethnicity and race are social constructs, so they cannot correspond to genetic variation. 

2. Furthermore, ethnicity is confounded with social, educational, and economic factors which could also explain variation in IQ.

How does Nurture explain group differences in intelligence?

The Flynn Effect shows that IQ scores increase over years and across generations.

1. Over the years people have become accustomed to the tests and therefore score better.

2. The environment is now also more stimulating and there is better nutrition. 

3. The effect has been found among African Americans vs. Caucasian Americans. 

   • Over the years, African Americans score higher and higher, which suggests that IQ is not something genetic.

4. Stereotype threat shows that when a widely known stereotype exists about a group, it poses a threat that causes them to behave differently.

Steele et al. research on Stereotype threat; what were the results?

Steele et al. conducted research on this among people of color and Caucasian groups.

1. In general, people of color are seen as less intelligent. 

   • When there is no assessment, people of color score as high as the Caucasian group.

   • When there is assessment, they score much lower → This reinforces their stereotype.

2. Another study supports this theory.

   • When students are asked about their ethnicity before taking an exam, they score lower than when it is asked afterwards. 

What does intelligence mean cross-culturally (Lynn’s research) → Name 2 approaches.

1. Spearman’s Psychometric approach

2. Sternberg’s Multidimensional models

Spearman’s Psychometric approach

Intelligence is viewed as a single general factor (g), that forms the basis for various mental skills, such as verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, abstract visual reasoning and short-term memory.

• ‘g’ largely determines a person’s performance on various cognitive tasks. 

  • This is a unidimensional approach to intelligence, where all intellectual abilities can be traced back to one underlying factor.

Sternberg’s Multidimensional models

Unlike Spearman’s model of general intelligence, multidimensional models such as Sternberg’s argue that intelligence consists of several independent dimensions. 

• Sternberg identifies 3 main forms of intelligence:

  1. Analytical

  2. Creative

  3. Practical intelligence

This approach sees intelligence as broader and more multifaceted, recognizing that different cultures may place greater value on specific dimensions of intelligence depending on the cultural context. 

• Intelligence is understood cross-culturally as the skills and abilities to effectively achieve cultural goals (such as maintaining a family), which requires both emotional and cognitive skills.

Sternberg identifies what 3 main forms of intelligence?

1. Analytical

2. Creative

3. Practical intelligence