10. Psychology and Culture Flashcards
What is the textbook definition of culture? and what is wrong with this definition?
the shared rule that govern the behaviour of a group of people and enable members of that group to co-exist and survive
too strong/narrow - message that culture tells us what we must do
what is Kashima’s definition of culture
systems of meaning shared by a group of people
how the group works
what its about
how things are done
reproduction and transmission of these meanings through action
what problems does culture help groups addresses?
coordination and understanding
how are cultures and groups different?
culture is not the same as a group
groups like countries are often used to denote cultures (as a proxy). e.g. chinese culture, australian culture
cultures can exist for non-country groups. e.g. organisational culture, hipster culture
what is culture specificity
the specifics of a culture
what is WEIRD according to Heinrich?
W estern E ducated I ndustrialised R ich D emoncratic countries
what did the article ‘the weirdest people in the world’ address?
that the database in the behavioural sciences is drawn from an extremely narrow slice of human diversity
behavioural scientists routinely assume, at least, implicitly, that their findings from this narrow slice generalise to the species
what are examples of how cultures differ in many ways?
the human values they find most important
their social conventions and norms for behaviour
what is analytic cognition?
pay attention to focal / key objects
use strict categories for objects
rely on formal rules and logic
(if there are two opposing views, if one is right then the other is wrong)
what is holistic cognition?
pay attention to the entire field
dont use strict categories for objects
rely on ‘dialectical reasoning’
(if there are two opposing views, both can be correct)
asian cultures
what is dialectical reasoning?
allowing multiple perspectives and logical contrasictions
what is included in spatial orientation?
egocentrism, geocentrism, allocentrism
what is egocentrism
self as main reinforcement point
“can you please move to MY left?”
what is the geocentrism
cardinal directions as main reference points
“can you please move to the south?”
what is allocentrism
‘non-self’ objects as main reference point
“can you please move to the back of the room”
“can you please go sit next to Lauren?”
what is the EMIC approach to understanding culture?
understanding driven by cultural members
attempts to understand a culture from the perspective of members of that culture - what culture members find important and meaningful
what is the ETIC approach to understanding culture?
understanding driven by researches/general theories
examine ‘culture-neutral’ theories developed by researchers to one or more cultures - what researchers find important and meaningful
what are the 5 dimensions of culture? (Etic approach)
- power distance
- individualism (v. collectivism)
- Masculinity
- uncertainty avoidance
- long-term orientation
what is power distance
level or acceptance of inequality between people in society
what is individualism
degree to which society reinforces individual achievement instead of collective achievement and interpersonal relationships
masculinity
degree to which societies reinforce the traditional masculine work role model of achievement, control of power
uncertainty avoidance
level of avoidance of uncertainty and ambiguity within a society
long-term orientation
degree to which societies embraces, or does not embrace, long-term devotion of traditional values - expectations that changes society occur
cultural psychology
examine features of cultures, and processes of culture maintenance and change within cultures
could use emic or etic approach
cross-cultural psychology
identify areas of similarities and difference between cultures
associated with etic approach
what is culture and self?
the significance and the exact functional role that the person assigns to the other when defining the self depend on the culturally shared assumptions about the separation or connectedness between the self and other
what is the independent self?
unique, autonomous, self-contained, individualistic, idiocentric
what is the interdependent self?
connected, relational, holistic, collective, allocentric, other-oriented
what is culture shock?
a feeling of disorientation and anxiety that occurs as people from one culture encounter and adapt to the practices, rules and expectations of another culture
what are the 4 phases of culture shock?
honey moon
disenchantment
beginning resolution
effective functioning
what is the honeymoon stage?
initial euphoria and excitement
disenchantment
disillusionment and even hostility towards new culture as values and habits conflict with local attitudes and beliefs
beginning resolution
recovery as confidence an understanding of the new culture grows
effective functioning
adjustments as the individual learns how to fit into new cultural environment
what is acculturation?
decisions facing immigrants and sojourners
assimilation, integration, marginalisation, separation
how is acculturation style affected by the majority group (host culture)
through their attitudes and policies
e. g. separation fostered by majority attitudes and policies supporting segregation (smetimes resulting in the establishment of ‘ghettos’)
e. g. integration fostered by majority attitudes and policies supporting multiculturalism
what are the consequences of acculturation styles?
depression
social adjustment
stress
depression as a consequence of acculturation?
integration -> lowers depression
social adjustment as a consequences of acculturation
assimilation -> high social adjustment
stress as a consequences of acculturation
integration -> lowers stress
assimilation -> moderate stress
separation / marginalisation -> high stress
