PSY 459 Midterm 1

How to define culture

• many definitions

• information acquired through social learning capable of affecting one’s behavior (Heine)

• use words like idea, knowledge, belief, value, skill, and attitude to describe information that is acquired (Richardson/Boyd)

• psychological patterns shared by a group, measurable via attitudes, values, beliefs

• transmittable generationally

• existing in same context

How to distinguish culture from society, nation, concepts of race/ethnicity

• some definitions of culture similar

• society, similar to nation

  • large group of individuals who:

    • frequently interact with each other, are part of a common unit, recognize rules and boundaries

• race/ethnicity

  • not synonymous with culture

  • race is a social construct

  • differences have little scientific use

• culture

  • ideas, worldviews, beliefs, attitudes,values, norms, rules,
    standards that are shared and given from one generation to the next

Things animals do that are arguably cultural

• behavior traditions

• Survival practices

  • chimps in different areas use different “fishing rods” to fish for termites, “twig-fishers” and “bark-fishers”

  • different groups of chimps have different behaviors

• essentially:

  • Animals learn behaviors from their parents that help with survival (not dying, finding food)

• BUT: takes longer than humans and not as salient

What differentiates social learning in humans from that in animals

• learned social regulations of individual behavior in human societies

  • enforced social norms

• humans universally develop systems of symbolic reinforcement of those regulations and show elaborate forms of display to signal adherence to a specific rule system

• role of language

• theory of mind

• imitation vs emulation

Apparent causes of uniquely human brain development

• Dunbar

• neocortex ratio: volume of neocortex relative to volume of rest of the brain

  • neocortex: outermost layer of the brain that governs higher functions, such as sensory perception, motor control, and conscious thought

• larger social group= larger neocortex ratio

• social learning found to be strong force in evolution of larger brain

• human brains need a lot of energy

Theory of mind/mentalizing

• theory of mind- ability to understand that others have minds, intentions, perspectives different than one’s own

  • ability found in humans but not in most other species

• chimps: chimps trained by humans show some signs of theory of mind

  • some species show some ToM, but skills not comparable to humans

• develops steadily through toddlerhod

Cumulative cultural learning/ ratchet effect

• over time, people gradually make modifications and improvements to some original tools/ideas

• requires:

  • reliable/faithful social transmission

  • imitative learning, sophisticated language

• not possible with emulative learning

Emulation vs imitation

• imitation- learner internalizes goals and behavior strategies of model

  • over imitate models by copying everything they do

  • focus on fulfilling goal of the model

• emulation- learner tries to figure out individually how an object can affect environment

  • focus on how to manipulate object, not change environment

  • done by apes/humans

  • does not require ToM

Similarities/differences between biological and cultural evolution

• similarities

  • some cultural ideas persist longer than others (higher survival rates)

  • some cultural ideas are more prone to being passed along to others/ reproduced more

• differences

  • cultural ideas can be transmitted horizontally across peers

    • biological evolution limited to vertical transmission from parents to offspring

Evoked culture in contrast to transmitted culture

• Evoked culture- certain environmental conditions tend to evoke certain responses from people

  • harsh environments, scarce resources

  • desert bandits (USA, Middle East)

  • Street Codes

  • Truk (deep sea fishing)—→ more rugged manhood vs Tahiti (lagoon fishing)—→ more androgynous sex roles

• Transmitted culture-cultural idea that is learned via social transmission/modeling

  • parents teaching their children cultural practices

    • ie: gender roles, traditions

What is ‘revitalization’ and and what are a few examples of revitalization movements

• process that tends to initiate whenever there is a crisis (of meaning, well-being, survival) in a culture

  • culture- contact situations are common triggers

    • brought on by culture-contact, acculturation situation

• effort to construct a more satisfying society, reorganizing elements

• implies homeostasis of society: must be maintained

• arises due to old cultural system being unsatisfactory

• examples:

  • Native American: Peyotism, Sun Dance

  • Shakers

  • cargo cults of PNG

• no revitalization —→ death of culture

Indicators of increasing individualism in societies around the world

• lower social capital

  • social capital- connections among individuals --
    social networks and the norms of reciprocity and
    trustworthiness that arise from them

• increase in unique baby names

• increase in use of individual over collective pronouns

• decrease in average household size, more divorce

What kind of intelligence has been increasing (and what kind has been decreasing) in many populations

• increasing- fluid intelligence: working intelligence

  • higher IQ scores

  • operating with abstractions

  • possibly due to greater complexity of plots in dramas, cartoons over time

• decreasing: distinguishing norms???

  • pluralistic ignorance- collectively accepting a privately rejected norm

Why/how cross-cultural studies should emphasize cultures differing a lot, not a little

• we learn more from strongly than slightly contrasting culture, so we should maximize cultural difference in research design

• if we want to demonstrate universality, then we should sample cultures that are very different

• determing cultures that are very different requires

  • many populations and many variables

What it means to ‘unpackage’ culture

• identifying underlying variables that create cultural differences

• necessary to understand what actually creates cultural differences amid many cultural practices

• 3 steps

  • 1. finding a theoretically viable variable that can explain a
    cultural difference

  • 2. Confirm cultural difference in proposed underlying
    variable

  • 3. Show that underlying variable is related to cultural
    difference in question

What is a WEIRD sample and how they can skew psychology’s database

• WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic

  • majority of samples in psych are WEIRD

  • usually not even representative of Westerners (students often sampled)

• make findings, especially cultural findings, less generalizeable

• not only using a WEIRD sample can help us see how cognitive principles differ by culture (Müller-Lyer illusion)

Methodological equivalence and how you go about acheiving it

• ensuring methods are understood in identical ways across culture

• understanding of methods like surveys may vary by culture

• may need to use slightly different method with different cultures

• many psychological items cannot be directly translated

3 methods to ensure researcher understands local cultural norms/practices in conducting culture-comparison studies

1. read existing texts/ethnographies

   1. limited by ideas authors thought were relevant

2. find a collaborator from the culture who is interested in pursuing the same research

   1. International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology

3. Immersing yourself in another culture, learning it firsthand

   1. no substitute for first-hand experience

Response biases and how to correct for them

• acquiescence- a tendency to agree with most statements

  • can be corrected by having reverse-scored items

• Moderacy/extremity bias- tendency for people in certain cultures to respond in an extreme fashion on a scale

  • correcting: avoid giving options that can be answered extremely (Likert Scale—→ yes/no)

  • standardizing: only helpful when looking at a pattern not an average

• response bias- factor that distorts accuracy of a person’s response to survey questions

• social desirability bias(Responding)- responses to survey questions are distorted by motivation to be positively evaluated by others

• reference group effect- tendency to evaluate themselves by comparison of those from their own culture

  • correcting: avoid subjective measures (I am helpful—→ In (situation) I would help my friend)

  • Physiological measures protected from effect

• Deprivation Effect- tendency for people to value something more when it is lacking in their culture

  • no straightforward technique to control, researchers must be cautious of this

Key findings in culture of honor/southern honor research

• Nisbet/Cohen study

• Historically

  • herding was more prevalent in the South

  • easier to steal animals than crops

  • had to become agressive to protect assets/reputation

• Methodolgies:

  • archival data: more homicide, esp related to argument in herding areas over farming areas

  • survey data: Southerners more likely to condone violence in defense of honor

  • Physiological data:

    • Southerners who were insulted had spike in testosterone level

Evidence for sensitive period in language

• phoneme perception

• as infants we begin to pay attention to sounds/phonemes from language most familiar to us

• study: younger infants can detect differences in phonemes but older infants cannot

  • flexible at restructuring itself and accommodating different linguistic inputs but only during a sensitive period

Evidence for sensitive period in cultural learning

study:

• found that HK immigrants to Canada who came before age 15 had greater identification with Canadian culture as they spent more time there, those who came after had no relationship between time spent there and identification with culture

• older adults show greater cultural differences between cultures due to more socialization

Important ways in which mothers’ interactions with infants differ across cultures

• In general: less individualistic cultures spend more time in physical contact with their infants

• more individualistic cultures spend more time face-to-face interacting with infants

How cultures differ in family sleeping arrangement norms

• situation: 2 hetero parents, 2 daughters (3/14) and 3 sons (8/11/15) have 3 rooms to sleep in, where should they sleep?

• Americans: parents in one room, daughters in another, sons in other

• Indian: older sons (11/15) in one room, daughter (14) with other fenales OR son (8), father with other 2 women ( mother, 3 daughter) or with son (8)

• Why??: Different Values

  • Indians:

    • incest avoidance = opposite-sex post-pubescent family members cannot share a room

    • Protection of vulnerable = young children should not be left alone at night

    • Female chastity anxiety = unmarried post-pubescent
      women must be chaperoned to prevent them from
      engaging in sexual activities

    • Respect for hierarchy = post-pubescent males are givensocial status by not having to sleep with parents
      Where Should They Sleep?

  • Americans:

    • Incest avoidance (no sharing across gender lines, unless married)

    • Sacred couple = married couples should be given
      own space for emotional intimacy and sexual
      privacy

    • Autonomy ideal = even younger children should
      be self-reliant and take care of themselves
      

What predicts magnitude of adolescent rebellion in a family

• adolescent rebellion considered natural in Western culture

• only half of preindustrial societies associated adolescence with rebellion/ antisocial behavior

• some factors that predict adolescent rebellion: individualism/modernity

What predicts magnitude of gender egalitarianism in a family

• main factors that predict HIGHER levels

  • greater individualism

  • urbanization/higher GDP

  • correlations, not causes

• males tend to have more traditional gender roles

Relation of ploughs to gender egalitarianism

• ploughs require more strength, use large animals

  • more danger to children, in these environments children stay with women

  • strong division of labor established/reinforced

• Societies that relied on ploughs before the 19th century are currently lower on gender egalitarianism and have lower female labor force participation

Indicators of collectivism based on state/nation level statistics

• different states in USA have different levels of individualism/collectivism

• Even bordering states differ (CA/OR)

• cultural role:

  • states like California have more Asian/Hispanic immigrants—→higher influence of collectivist culture

• indicators

  • % people living alone

  • % divorce rate

  • % of people who are not religious

  • % of elderly people living alone

Differences between American/non-Western populations in how self is described, and in relative consistence of self-descriptions across contexts

• In general

  • those from collectivist cultures describe themselves more in ‘collective self’ terms (relational, ie: from CA, a daughter)

  • those from individualist cultures describe themselves more in ‘private self’ terms (traits/personal characteristics, ie: kind, outgoing)

• BUT

  • varies WITHIN cultures

  • in Kenya: Nairobi undergrad students described themselves in more private self terms (personal characteristics)

  • rest of population (Nairobi workers, Masai, Samburu) described themselves in more collective self term (roles and relationships)

  • college—→ Westernizing/individualizing??

• collectivist cultures like Japan emphasize more negative psychological attributes and physical attributes

independent vs interdependent identity

• independent

  • defined by who you are as a person

  • see oneself as unique and separate from others

• interdependent

  • see self as connected to others

  • focus on roles, relationships, memberships

  • clear ingroup/outgroup distinction

• Neurally: asked to use a list of adjectives to evaluate
  themselves and their mothers

  • Westerners showed different regions of activation

  • Chinese showed activation in same regions

Incremental vs entity theory of self and how this is related to cultures

• Entity- belief that abilities are largely fixed, reflecting innate features of the self

  • respond to problems by blaming own innate lack of ability

  • common in North America/ individualist

  • believe that trying hard may not help

  • pressure towards making exams easy

• incremental- belief that abilities are malleable and are capable of being changed, with efforts

  • common in Japan/ China, collectivist

  • respond to problems by redoubling efforts

  • believe that trying hard is key

  • exams maintained as notoriously difficult

Difference between self/personality and how to define personality

• self- how you think you are, but you are really not

• personality- you don’t think you are this way but you really are

• personality- an individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with
  The psychological mechanisms – hidden or not
  – behind those patterns

five factor and two factor structures for personality and which is more universal

• Big Five originally based on those speaking West Germanic languages

• Big two (social self-regulation, dynamism) predictably emerges in a wide range of cultures

  • BUT:

    • there are subdimensions, some of which replicate better across cultures

Whether personality differences between cultures are large or small

• personality traits do not differ largely by group

  • small

Basic ideas of distributive models of culture

• culture is distributed non-uniformly, not everyone in a culture has the same valued

  • think America

• Which pieces of culture one is influenced by vary based on

  • who one has been around

  • temperamental tendencies

• role of subcultures

• non-intersecting components are important as source of cultural change

• intersecting values often represented in institutions/traditions

What is the best way of defining ‘culture’? (sa)

• Culture has been defined in many ways historically

• These definitions compare and contrast to those of society and nation

• defined as ideas, worldviews, beleifs, practices shared by a group of people and passed down from generations

• But, culture is transmitted in more ways than generationally so even this def is open-ended

What aspects of human life are most ‘cultural’ and what aspects are least cultural?(sa)

• Language is arguably the most cultural aspect

• Other species communicate, but none have structured/syntax/grammar

• Biological processes like reproduction are least cultural

• necessary for survival and carrying on genes, not a product of socialization

  • love may be but reproduction is not

When does ‘culture’ mean the same thing as ‘nation’ or ‘society’ or ‘or ethnicity’ or ‘a particular group of individuals’? (sa)

• These individuals interact with and have influence on each other

• There are recognized norms/boundaries between individuals

• They see themselves as part of a common unit/ the same social context

• Humans as cultural creatures, society is at least partially created by culture

What is the best way to discover and/or measure the cultural aspects of human behavior? (sa)

• Resarch the culture before studying it so you know what potential confounds to control for

• The best measure is one that takes cultural norms/ biases into mind

• Using a measure on two different cultures may not give representative/accurate results

• Immerse onself into culture: meet locals, participate in traditions, etc

What research methods help prevent or correct for cultural bias in psychology research? (sa)

• back translation: translate into target language, then back into original language

• having people from culture being studied on research team

• Altering questionnaires for populations

• example: changing likert scales into yes/no questions for cultures with extremity bias

What are the ways in which change most often occurs in a cultural system? (sa)

• revitalization- culture becomes ‘revamped’ due to change, blending of 2 cultures

• can be due to conflict/wars/ social movements

• other ways often due to blending/contact of cultures

• example: US culture’s impact on other societies

How do societies maintain their cultural system, and what do individuals do that contributes to that? (sa)

• Maintianed through social norms and practices

• aided by institutions that reinforce these

• individually: people model and reinforce social norms

• individuals participate in traditions that contribute to large scale institutions that further reinforce social norms

Which aspects of culture are learned especially early in child development? (sa)

• socialization has a large impact on how children learn culture

• collectivist/traditional: babies spend more time in contact with mothers

• individualist/industrialized: babies spend more time in face-to face-contact

• could lead to ideals of their children being more independent/dependent, attachment styles

How is the nature of ‘the self’ most different when one compares cultures? (sa)

• Collectivists tend to view self relationally like daughter, from (area), etc

• Individualists tend to view self in terms of personality traits like kind, hard working, etc

• Collectivists tend to emphasize negative traits/abilities because they are more concerned about group wellbeing

• Individualists emphasize personal attitudes, especially positive ones

  • want to be good to self, not others

What are universals with regard to the self (what is true of the self in all cultures)? (sa)

• Everyone has the ability to aquire cultural knowledge that impacts view of the self

• Everyone has a self-concept and can distinguish themselves from others

• Everyone feels a need to connect with others

What are examples of a culture (or cultural system) having a particular personality characteristic that it molds and socializes individuals to develop, in distinction from many other cultures that emphasize other characteristics? (If there are no good examples, explain why such examples are hard to find.) (sa)

• may be hard to find because these characteristics must be measured in a way that they can accurately compare to other cultures

• Example: maybe Masai/Samburu people of Kenya

• Example: American culture, encourages “american dream”, you can get anything if you work hard enough

What evidence supports the idea that all cultures have the same basic array of personality characteristics, with cultural differences not being large? (sa)

• an investigation across 50 cultures found that the 5-factor model (OCEAN) is applicable as long as translations are accurate

• 2 main factors: S- restraint from misbehavior, D- exploratory/creative/status-seeking behaviors

• individual differences not large

  • personality ‘regions’ in USA: differences not large

How is culture in humans most different from culture as it is found represented other species? (sa)

• humans’ unique capacity for language

  • not just communication but syntax, grammar, etc

• we learn culture much faster than animals

  • it may take them generations for something to become widespread for them