Cultural Psychology: Midterm 1

What is the descriptive definition for culture?

All social activities in the broadest sense, such as language, marriage, property system, etiquette, art, etc.

What is the historical definition of culture?

Total social heredity of mankind, while as a specific term a culture means a particular strain of social heredity

What is the normative definition of culture?

All standardized social procedures and customs, passed on socially, that form people's way of life

What is the structural definition of culture?

Organization of interdependent values common to a specific group forming a unique pattern per society

What is the psychological definition of culture?

Anything and everything that is done to adjust to a different specific environments

What are the three challenges when defining culture?

Lack of concrete differentiation, constant evolution over time, and vast variability within cultures itself

What is non-universal variability?

Variations in cultural practices and beliefs that are not shared across all cultures

What is existential universal variability?

Cultural practices and beliefs that are found in multiple cultures but are not used in the same way or for the same purpose

What is functional universal variability?

Cultural practices and beliefs that are found in multiple cultures and are used in similar ways, but with varying prevalence

What is accessibility universal variability?

Cultural practices and beliefs that are universally accessible and used in the same way across all cultures

What does the acronym WEIRD stand for?

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic

What is a relative task?

A task that is given that is based on an existing ratio

What is an absolute task?

A task given that is based on isolation, such as the Muller-Lyer Illusion

What are the three “rules of thumb” about culture?

People of different cultures are not fundamentally different, culture is not born but is taught, and culture is not biological but there can be biological differences.

What is the colour-blind approach?

A method of research that emphasizes similarities and ignores cultural differences which can cause subtle discrimination

What is the multicultural approach?

A method of research that appreciates and recognizes cultural differences?

What are the results when the colour-blind approach is used?

The social power majority favours this approach which leads to dislike of strong ethnic minoritiy

What are the results when the multicultural approach is used?

The social minority favours this approach due to not having to downplay their identity

How is cross-cultural psychology similar and different to cultural psychology?

Cross-cultural psychology is similar as both fields look at cultural processes in human psychology but, it is more general

How is sociology similar and different to cultural psychology?

Sociology is similar as they look into the relationship between culture and behaviours but, uses more qualitative research methods

How is multicultural psychology similar and different to cultural psychology?

Multicultural psychology is similar as they deal with the effects of culture on psychology, but its only in one geopolitical context

What is evoked culture?

The idea that humans have biologically encoded databases of behaviours activated through certain environmental circumstances

What is transmitted culture?

The idea that cultural practices are learned through social learning and/or social modeling

What is the first phase of Berry’s Ecocultural Model and what does it do?

The first phase of Berry’s Multicultural Model is ecological and sociopolitical contexts that function as the bigger picture that sets up the allowance of biological and cultural adaptations

What is the second phase of Berry’s Multiculturak Model and what does it do?

The second phase of Berry’s Multicultural Model are process variables that allows genetic transmissions, cultural transmissions, ecological influences, and acculturation to interact and shape individual behaviors

What is the third phase of Berry’s Multicultural Model and what does it do?

The third phase of Berry’s Multicultural Model are psychological processes that are individual observable behaviors that allow inference into different characteristics that could possibly change/influence the background variables

What is cultural transmission?

The process of transferring and acquiring of cultural information through social learning

What are the three types of cultural transmission?

The three types of cultural transmissions are vertical transmission, horizontal transmission, and oblique transmission which each type depends on the level of industrialization a society has

What is vertical transmission?

The process of parental teaching cultural information to their children which is usually more prevalent in smaller scale societies due to more time with parents (usually the mother)

What is horizontal transmission?

The process of passing down cultural information between peers within the same generation which is usually more prevalent in large scale societies due to more time spent with peers

What is oblique transmission?

The process of passing on cultural information from someone of an older generation to someone one a younger generation

What are the two required cognitive tools to participate in cultural transmission?

The two required cognitive tools to participate in cultural transmission are language and theory of mind

What is language?

A form of communication between individuals to convey ideas which is usually more complex in humans than animals

What is theory of mind?

The understanding that others have different beliefs, thoughts, and perspectives other than oneself

What is the theory of cultural learning?

The process through which theory of mind enables humans to have unique forms of learning that is not available cross-species which are learnt through different phases of development

What is the first phase of theory of cultural learning?

From the time an infant is born until they reach nine months, they participate in emulative learning where they learn how objects affect the environment and how to manipulate them

What is the second phase of theory of cultural learning?

The second phase of theory of cultural learning is from nine months to four years of age where cultural transmission first emerges and when they learn intention and goal-orientated behaviour through imitative learning

What is the third phase of theory of cultural learning?

The third phase of theory of cultural learning occurs from four years to six years old where children begin to recognize that people have independent throughs that could be incorrect and so, results in them learning to use deception. In this phase, they also begin to have intersubjective dialogue and engage in instructed learning

What is the fourth phase of theory of cultural learning?

The fourth and final stage of theory of cultural learning occurs from six to seven years of age where children start to recognize that people can reflect on others’ belief, think about others’ thoughts about them, engage in collaborative learning, and co-create new cultural information

What are the two types of learning?

The two types of learning are individual learning and social learning

How much of basal metabolism does the human brain uses?

The human brain uses approximately 16% of the body's basal metabolism, despite accounting for only about 2% of body weight.

What is the cephalization factor?

The relationship between animal brain weight and body weight

What is the encephalization quotient (EQ)?

A measure of brain size relative to body size, indicating an animal's cognitive abilities compared to others

What are the three propositions to why humans have large brains?

The three propositions to why humans have large brains are fruit consumption, food extractions, and Social Brain Hypothesis

Why is fruit consumption and food extractions two of the propositions?

Primates eat a lot of seasonal fruit and foods that are hard to extract such as seeds and pits

What is the Social Brain Hypothesis?

The theory that suggest the evolution of large brains in primates is largely driven by the complexities of social interactions and relationships

What is the neocortex and neocortex ratio?

The neocortex is the outermost layer of the brain involved in higher-order brain functions, and the neocortex ratio is a measure of the size of the neocortex relative to the rest of the brain, which correlates with social complexity in species

What was found in regards to the correlation between the neocortex ratio and social brain hypothesis?

Research indicates that primates with a larger neocortex ratio tend to have more complex social structures and interactions, supporting the idea that brain size is related to social behavior.

What is the ratchet effect?

The process that suggests that cultural complexity will continue to grow as time goes on and intentions change

What is prestige bias?

A tendency to attend more to models whio are better respected and get more attention

What type of learning does individual learning use?

The type of learning it uses is emulative learning

What type of learning does social learning use?

The type of learning it uses is imitation learning with the help of multiple theories such as social brain hypothesis, high EQ, neocortex ratio, cultural brain hypothesis and social brain hypothesis.

What is cultural brain hypothesis?

The cycle of social learning, group size, and brain size which theory of mind has important role in regards to cultural complexity

What are proximal causes?

They are something that has immediate and direct effects, examples includes better weapons and technology

What are distal causes?

They are initial differences that leads to effects over time, an example is migration

Why were plants and animals domesticated?

Plants and animals were domesticated for labour, reliable source of food, extra food that can be used later and allowed people to discover new technology

What is the memetic view?

The perspective the units of cultural transmissions which propagates itself by imitation which is similar to genetic evolution?

What are the three phases of the memetic view?

The three phases of memetic view are replication, variation, and selection

What are phylogeny tress of cultural traits?`

Phylogenetic trees of cultural traits are visual representations that map the evolutionary relationships and lineage of different cultural traits over time, similar to biological phylogenetics

When do fetuses reliably respond to background noise?

Around seven months

What are Baumrid’s primary parenting dimension?

The primary parental dimensions are responsiveness and demandingness

What are Baumrid’s four typologis of parenting?

The four typologies  of parenting are authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and negelcting

Which one of the four typologies of Baumrid’s theory is most favoured?

The typology that is the most favoured by Baumrid’s theory is authoritative parenting

Why can Baumrid’s theory of parenting problematic?

It can be seen as problematic because it does not take other parenting styles from other countries into account

What is noun bias?

The tendacy in children to think more about and in terms of nouns relative to other types of words which is caused by noun biases in culture

What is acculturation?

The process with different inputs and outputs of adopting cultural traits or social patterns of another group, often occurring through contact and exchange

What is heritage identification?

The process by which individuals recognize and connect with their cultural background and ancestry, impacting their sense of identity and belonging

What is mainstream identification?

The process in which individuals align themselves with dominant cultural norms and values, often leading to assimilation into the majority culture

What is considered someone’s microsystem?

A person’s microsystem consists of people who are the closest and direct influence

What are proximal processes?

Interactions and relationships that impact the person but do not involve them directly

What type of sample should you take if you are looking into cultural variability?

The sample that should be taken are cultures that are similar but exclude the variable you are researching

What type of sample should you take if you are looking into universality?

The sample that should be taken are cultures that are vastly different in any way possible

What are the three types of theory crafting?

The three types of theory crafting are deduction, induction, and abduction

What is the deduction method?

It is when a researcher starts with a theory that is the overarching framework and then leads to the creation of a hypothesis

What is the induction method?

It is when a researcher started from a hypothesis that is the foundation of the research and then leads to the creation of a theory

What is the abduction method?

It is when a researcher started with a single observation that could be explained in multiple ways and then pics the solution that fits the best

What are the different measures of quantitative measures?

The different measures of quantitative research are explicit, implicit, behavioural, neurological, and physiological

What are the response biases that can occur using surveys?

The response biases that can occur during surveys are moderacy bias, extremity bias, and acquiescence bias

What are the solutions to the different response biases?

The solutions to the different response biases include having yes/no questions, forced choice breakfast, rewording questions, and changing the scoring

What is socially desirable responding be problematic?

Societally influenced tendencies that lead respondents to answer in a manner they believe is favorable or acceptable, often skewing survey results

Why does socially desirable responding occur?

The motivations are self-deception and image management

What are the solutions to socially desirable responding?

The solutions include administering the tests anonymously, use of neutral language and separate measure to assess tendency to engage

What is the reference group effect?

The reference group effect occurs when individuals evaluate themselves and their behaviors based on comparisons to a social group that they identify with or aspire to, potentially influencing their attitudes and responses

What is ethnography?

A comprehensive collection of data and knowledge about a particular cultural group

Why are studies about indigenous people often ignored?

Mainstream psychology research are overly reliant on quantitative methods and often are not trained to understand qualitative research

What is the two-eyed approach?

A framework that emphasizes integrating both Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, valuing each for their unique contributions to understanding human experience

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the two-eye approach?

Advantages include a more holistic understanding of human experience, while disadvantages may involve potential tensions between differing worldviews and difficulties in integrating methods

What are cultural products?

Form of communication created by people with a cultural environment that can reflect overall psychology within that

Why are the three methods of translating information?

The three methods of translating are finding a bilingual collaborator, back-translation, and consensus method

What are the three types of psychological research designs?

The three types of psychological research designs are experimental design, correlational design, and quasiexperimental

What is cultural priming?

Cultural priming is a psychological technique that activates culturally relevant concepts, influencing an individual's thoughts and behaviors by exposing them to specific cultural stimuli.

What happens where there is a lack of construct equivalence in the questionnarie?

Why is factor analysis used in questionnaire creation and what does the analysis from it do?

Factor analysis is used to separate factors from data creating factor solutions which the analysis of them generates a “fit index” to determine the best solution

What are some other equivalents that need to be observed?

Another structural equivalent that researchers have to look into is methodological equivalents