CH 5; Genes, Culture Flashcards
What is our most important similarity as humans?
-our capacity to learn & adapt= our genes enable an adaptive brain=a hardrive that receives our cultural hardware
What does our human biology enable in terms of culture and behavior?
-It enables our cultural diversity
What are Norms?
-Social expectations about how one should act
What negative impact do Norms have on us?
- They restrain & control us
- Are also seen as arbitrary and confining
What positive impact do Norms have on us?
-They basically grease the social machinery= making things run smoother
What makes cultures differ?
-Human adaptability
What are the big 5 Social Beliefs?
- Cynicism
- Social complexity
- Reward for application
- Spirituality
- Fate control
What is the belief of Cynicism?
-Powerful people tend to exploit others
What is the belief of Social Complexity?
-That one has to deal w/ matters according to specific circumstances
What is the belief of Reward for Application?
-One will succeed if they really try
What is the belief of Spirituality?
-Religious faith contributes to good mental health
What is Fate Control?
-Fate determines one’s success & failures
What is the Cultural Evolutionary perspective?
-It emphasizes human diversity & human kinship respectively
What “process” has made us for culture?
-Evolution
What supports the view that much of our behavior is socially programmed?
-The diversity of our languages, customs, & expressive behavior
What are the best ways to learn about the norms of your culture?
- Observe members of another culture even in mainstream culture
- Visit another culture to have good contrast of cultures
Why does cultural diversity occur?
-Due to our human biology
What are the 2 major perspectives about human similarities?
- Cultural perspective
- Evolutionary perspective
What is the opposite of Hard Wired behaviors?
-Socially programmed behaviors
What is true about personal space?
-There are cultural differences, gender differences, and age differences
What is the norm of expressiveness?
-The norm that Europeans seem more cold and uptight compared to Latin cultures
What is Nurture Assumption?
-Children developing the way their parents raise them
What percentage do genetic influences explain variants in personality traits?
50%
What do friendship norms & status norms represent?
-Cultural similarities
What are the Universal norms of friendship?
- Making eye contact while talking
- Respecting confidentiality
What is the individual variation of personality accounted for?
- Genetic influences
- Shared environment
- Peer influence
What is Gender Socialization?
-Learning the rules, roles, and norms of your gender through cultural institutions
What do friendship and status norms represent?
-They both represent Cultural Similarities
What comes from Peer influence?
-Learning bad words, musical tastes, & your culture as a whole
What is Gender Role?
-Norms for how males & females should behave
What is true about gender roles?
- There are inequalities
- The majority of people would like to see more equal gender roles
What is true about gender role and play?
- Males tend to engage in a larger group
- as the 2 genders interact w/ their specified gender, the differences grow
What do the genders do in conversation?
- Females focus on personal relationships
- Males focus more on tasks
What do Females do when they’re stressed?
-They “Tend and Befriend”= turn to family and friends for support
What do males do when they’re stressed?
Their “Fight or Flight” response is triggered
What are Female conversation styles?
-They reflect a concern of personal relationships & sensitivity
What is true about smiling?
- Females smile more than males
- It varies from situation to situation
- shows greater connectedness
What is Empathy?
-It is when a person can experience the other person’s feelings
What is the Male conversation style?
-Their style reflects their concern for independence
What is the Female conversation style?
-It reflects their concern for connectedness
What kind of aggression do males exhibit?
-Physical aggression
What kind of aggression do females exhibit?
-Verbal aggression
What is most likely to account for gender differences in empathy?
-The fact that females are better at reading emotional expressions
What is true in regards to gender and sex?
- Males seek more partners
- Females are slowly aroused
What shapes our attitudes & behavior?
-Biology and culture
What group has more permissive attitudes towards sex?
-Men
What factors predispose a sexual division of labor?
- Biological influences
- Childhood socialization
