IB Psych Socio-Cultural Approach Studies

Chiu (1972): What did it study?

Culture influences on cognition

Chiu (1972): Aim

To carry out a cross-cultural comparison of cognitive styles in US and Chinese Students.

Chiu (1972): Procedure

A 28-item cognitive test was used where for each item there was three pictures shown and the pt had to pick which one did not belong.

Chiu (1972): Results

The US students scored much higher in an analytical sense where cow and chicken went together because they were both animals whereas the Chinese scored much higher in the contextual sense where cow is to grass because cow eats grass.

Chiu (1972): Conclusion

Chinese students group things holistically, basing grouping on relationships or symbiosis whereas the US grouped things analytically using abstract groups.

Berry and Katz (1967): What did it study

Culture dimensions, cultural influence on cognition, conformity, enculturation

Berry and Katz (1967): Aim

To investigate whether cultural differences in individualism vs collectivism affect conformity.

Berry and Katz (1967): Procedure

The researchers measured conformity through an Asch paradigm. Pts were asked to identity which line is the same length as the target however they are told that majority (either the Tenme or the Inuits) picked another line that was not the answer.

Berry and Katz (1967): Results

The tenme were much more likely to go along with the majority whereas the inuits were mostly unaffected by the suggestion.

Berry and Katz (1967): Conclusion

The more individualistic Inuits were less likely to conform than the collectivist Tenme because conformity was a group norm engrained into Tenme society.

Shah et al (2015): What did it study?

Acculturation

Shah et al: Aim

To study the association between acculturation and obesity.

Shah et al: Procedures

Pts participated in an interviewer led WHO STEPS questionnaire and BMI was calculated. Logistic regression was used to determine risk factors for being obese and to asses the relationship between years of residency and obesity.

Shah et al: Results

Migrant workers in the UAE had a significantly higher BMI than the comparison group. The longer they stayed in the UAE, the higher their BMI became.

Shah et al: Conclusion

Acculturation may contribute to unhealthy eating behaviors, resulting in obesity and being overweight. This may be explained by the fact that migrants moving into another culture may begin to develop more unhealthy eating behaviors than they would’ve in their native culture.

Ishizawa and Jones (2016): What did it study

Acculturation

Ishizawa and Jones: Aim

To compare the rates of obesity in 2nd and 3rd generation asian immigrants in the US and identify possible moderating factors for developing obesity.

Ishizawa and Jones: Procedure

Researchers used the Nation Longitudinal study of Health, to study a group of adolescents from 1994-2009, predicting a relationship of BMI to neighborhood characteristics, length of residency, etc. (social determinants of health).

Ishizawa and Jones: Results

2nd and 3rd generation migrants have a higher likelihood of obesity than 1st generation ones or people from their country of origin. However moderating factors were original language retention and neighborhoods that have a high migrant density.

Ishizawa and Jones: Conclusion

Retaining ties to original culture can serve as a protective factor from developing obesity in migrants.