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Cross Cultural Psyc. Exam 1 > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Cross-Cultural Research

A

Test the cultural parameters of psychological knowledge.

Involves research on human behavior that compares psychological process between two or more cultures

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2
Q

What is WEIRD?

A

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic Cultures.
(Not representative of all humans but it is what psychological research has been based on)

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3
Q

Cross-Cultural Psychology

A

A sub-discipline within psychology that examines the cultural foundations of psychological process and human behavior.

  • It includes theoretical and methodological frameworks that posit an important role for culture and its influence on mental processes behavior, and vice-versa.*
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4
Q

Impact on Psychological Knowledge (The Study of Culture)

A

— Understands human behavior within global perspective
—> Knowledge created in psyc. should be descriptive of all ppl b/c the field of psyc. has an obligation to all whose lives are touched by its knowledge.

—Test’s people’s limited knowledge by examining whether theories and principles are culture-specific or universal

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5
Q

Universal

A

A psychological process that is found to be true or applicable for all people of all cultures

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6
Q

Culture Specific

A

A psychological process that is considered to be true for some people of some cultures but not for others

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7
Q

Impact on Our Own Lives (The Study of Culture)

A

—Encourages one to ask questions from a cultural perspective
—>Is the knowledge true for all ppl regardless of their cultural backgrounds?
—>Under what conditions do differences occur, and why?

—Understanding mental processes and behaviors across cultures is also important for individuals in their personal and professional life.

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8
Q

Growth of Cross-Cultural Research and Psychology

A
  1. Culture psychology has popularized psychology worldwide
  2. Theoretical models and books are incorporating culture
  3. Increased interest in cultural psychology is a normal and healthy development
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9
Q

What is Culture?

A

Refers to general characteristics of society, including heritage/traditions, rules/norms, learning/problem solving, define organization of a group and refers to origins of a group.

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10
Q

Origins of Culture (Enviroment):
Climate

A

Ecological differences influencing ways of living. Groups will have different dress styles, different ways of walking, different architecture, and different rituals and traditions.

Ex: Groups that live near equator, in hot, humid, tropical areas, will adopt lifestyles that are very different from that of groups living in temperate or arctic zones.

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11
Q

Deviation from temperate climates

A

The degrees to which the average temperature of a given region will differ from what is considered to be relatively “easiest” temperature to live in. Human need to regulate their body temperature and have an easier time doing so in temperate climates, which is around, 72F (22C).

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12
Q

Origins of Culture (Enviroment):
Resources

A

Includes the presence or absence of water or land to farm and grow vegetables or raise animals. Needs and relationships will foster certain psychological characteristics and attributions that complement teamwork, community spirit, and interdependence. (This lower if there is an abundance of resources)

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13
Q

Arable Land

A

The type of land that can sustain life by food production of some sort.

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14
Q

Origins of Culture (Enviroment):
Population Density

A

The number of people living within a given unit of space. In a place like a city in which a large number of people live in a relatively small space, the population density is higher than in a rural area where fewer people live in a relatively larger amount of space then the density is lower.

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15
Q

Latitudinal Psychology

A

Differences between north and south axis. A perspective that understands group differences in mental processes and behaviors according to a combination of distance from the equator and affluence.

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16
Q

Factor that influence the Creation of Cultures:

A
  1. Group Life (division of labor, efficiency, probability in survival)
  2. Environments (climate, resources, population density etc.)
  3. The Evolved Human Mind (Basic Human Needs/Motives and Universal Psychological Toolkit)
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17
Q

Universal Psychological Toolkit

A

A set of basic psychological skills and abilities that people can use to meet their needs. These include complex cognitive skills, language, emotions, and personality traits.

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18
Q

Content of the Universal Psychological Toolkit

Needs & Motive:

A

Physical needs, safety and security needs, Motive to achieve, and motive to affiliate with others

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19
Q

Content of the Universal Psychological Toolkit

Complex Cognitive Abilities:

A

Shared intentionality, Verbal language, ratcheting, memory, hypothetical, reasoning, problem solving, and planning.

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20
Q

Content of the Universal Psychological Toolkit

Emotions:

A

Basic emotions, Self-Conscious emotions, and Moral emotions

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21
Q

Content of the Universal Psychological Toolkit

Personality traits:

A

The Big Five:
Extroversion, Neuroticism, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness

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22
Q

Shared Intentionality

A

Knowledgeable about motivations concerning behaviors that are common among people in a group

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23
Q

Ratchet Effect

A

The concept that humans continually improve on improvements, that they do not go backwards or revert to a previous state. Progress occurs bc improvements move themselves upward, much like a ratchet.

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24
Q

Culture

Functions:

A

Provides guidelines or roadmaps on what to do, how to think and what to feel.

Ways of living use universal psychological toolkits to meet basic human needs

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25
Q

Culture

Definitions:

A

Unique information system share by a group, and transmitted across generations

Allows the group to meet basic needs, pursue well-being, and derive meaning from life.

26
Q

Culture (definition based on Book):

A

A unique meaning and information system, shared by a group and transmitted across generations, that allow the group to meet basic needs of survival, pursue happiness and well-being, and derive meaning from life.

27
Q

A Functional Understanding of Culture

A

Cycle in ppt. 17
Group Life-> Social Complexity-> Need for Social Coordination-> Culture-> Behaviors that increase social coordination and reduces social chaos-> (Back to group life)

28
Q

Is Culture a Uniquely Human Product?

A

“The largest cultural difference in the world is not among the various human cultures around the world, but between human and nonhuman animal cultures. “
Characteristics of human life that differentiates it from those of animals.

  1. Complexity
  2. Differentiation
  3. Institutionalization
29
Q

Complexity

A

We have many levels of social structures, groups, communities, and so on, embedded within and branching across each other, and individuals can be members of multiple groups, organizations, and communities at any one time and across time.

30
Q

Differentiation

A

Role specialized is rampant throughout many cultures, and we have people who do very different things in order for the entire cultural group to survive. We have various jobs that exist that allows our cultures to function.

31
Q

Institutionalization

A

We create organizations, governments, clubs, and many other social structures within many cultures, each with their own rules and norms. Such as churches, businesses, temples, city, state, etc.

32
Q

Identifying Groups with Cultures

A

A meaning and information associated with them that is transmitted across generations. Includes, language, countries, ethnic groups and other groups such as gender, disability, or sexual orientation.
Ex: in language dialects are developed based on local or regional cultures.

33
Q

Contrasting Culture: Race

A

More of a social construction than a biological essential. Culture provides race its meaning.
—> Racial differences are not useful for scientific or practical purposes without a clear understanding of the underlying causes of the similarities and differences observed.

34
Q

Contrasting Culture: Personality

A

Unique constellation of traits, attributes, qualities and characteristics.
Culture is stable across individuals, whereas personality is vastly different

35
Q

Contrasting Culture: Popular Culture

A

Trends in music, art, and other expressions that is popular among people.
—>Does not involve sharing a wide range of psychological attributes across various domains
—>Values come and go as fads or trends unlike cultures, which is stable over time

36
Q

What is unique about human cultures?

A

Animals have a basic form of culture
• Social beings that have clear
social networks and hierarchies
• Invent and use tools
• Communicate with each other

37
Q

Contents of Culture
Objective Elements

A

Objective Elements: We can see touch objective cultural elements

Ex: Texts, art, architecture, mass media, clothes, advertising, music, food, social media, eating utensils

38
Q

Subjective Elements of Culture

A

Values, Beliefs, Norms, Attitudes, and Worldviews

39
Q

Values

A

Trans-situational goals that serve as a guiding principle in the life of a person or group (ex: kindness, creativity). Values motivate and justify behavior and serve as standards for judging people, actions, and events.

40
Q

Values: Individualism vs. Collectivism

A

The degree to which groups will encourage tendencies for members to look after themselves and their immediate family only, or for them to belong to in-groups that look after its members in exchange for loyalty.

41
Q

Values: Power Distance

A

The degree to which groups will encourage less powerful members to accept that powers is distributed unequally.

42
Q

Values: Sacred values

A

Values considered to be nonnegotiable. They differ from normal values bc they incorporate moral beliefs that drive action in ways dissociated from prospects for success. Across the world, people believe that devotion to core values (such as the welfare of their family and country or their commitment to religion, honor and justice) is absolute and inviolable. Such a values outweigh other values particularly economic ones.

43
Q

Beliefs

A

A proposition that is regarded as true. People of different cultures have different beliefs.

44
Q

Beliefs: Dynamic Externality

A

Concerns external forces such as fate, a supreme being, and spirituality. It aids citizens to mobilize psychologically to confront environmental difficulties. “Belief in religion helps one understand meaning of life” and “good deed will be rewarded, and bad deeds will be punished”

45
Q

Beliefs: Societal Cynicism

A

This dimension represents an apprehension/pessimism of the world. Ex: “Caring about societal affairs only brings trouble upon oneself” and “kind-hearted people usually suffer losses”. People high on this tend to believe that they are surrounded by inevitable negative outcomes.

46
Q

Beliefs: Religion

A

Organized systems of beliefs that tie together many attitudes, values, beliefs, worldviews and norms. They provide guideline for living.

47
Q

Social axioms

A

General beliefs and promises about oneself, the social and physical environment, and the spiritual world.

48
Q

Norms

A

A generally accepted standard of behavior within a cultural or subcultural group.

49
Q

Norms: Etiquette

A

Culturally prescribed code of behavior that describes expectations for polite behavior.

50
Q

Norms: Tightness vs Looseness

A

A dimension of cultural variability that refers to the variability within a culture of its members to norms. Tight cultures have less variability and are homogeneous with respect to norms; loose cultures have more variability and are more heterogeneous.

51
Q

Attitudes

A

Evaluations of objects occuring in ongoing thoughts about the objects, or stored in memory.
Ex: opinions, stereotypes, prejudice

52
Q

Worldviews: Cultural worldviews

A

Culturally specific belief system about the world. They contain attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and values about the world. People have worldviews because of evolved, complex cognition; thus, having a worldview is a universal psychological process. The specific content of worldviews is specific to and different for each culture.

53
Q

Worldviews: Self Concept

A

The cognitive representations of who one is, that is, the ideas or images that one has about oneself, especially in relation to others, and how and why one behaves. Includes physical, metal, historical, and relational aspects, as well as capacities to learn and perform. Considered central to personal identity and changes over time. Usually considered partially conscious and partially unconscious or inferred in a given situation.

54
Q

Objective vs Subjective

A

Another way of viewing it is:
– Objective: What we see
– Subjective: What is hidden yet we understand

Subjective has more psychological elements

Anthropologists focus more on objective elements

55
Q

Influence of Culture on Process and Behavior

A

• Culture influences psychological processes through situational contexts

• Enculturation

• Culture produces changes in people in terms of their attitudes, values, and opinions

• Relationship between culture and individual behaviors is reciprocal, dynamic, and complex

56
Q

Enculturation

A

Process by which individuals learn and adopt the ways and manners of a specific culture

57
Q

Understanding Culture in Perspective: Universal and Culture-Specifics

A

• There are many similarities and differences in psychological processes across cultures
– The process of making attributions is found in all cultures
• But people of different cultures make attributions in different ways
• Many psychological processes are universal because humans come to the world equipped with the ability to have those processes
– Human cultures fill in the content of those processes in different ways

58
Q

Attributions

A

Inferences people make about the causes of events or behaviors, their own as well as others

59
Q

Etics

A

Universal psychological processes or behavior. Aspects of life that appear to be consistent across different cultures; universal or pancultural truths or principles.

60
Q

Emics

A

Culture-specific processes or behavior. Aspects of life that appear to differ across cultures; truths or principles that are culture specific.
– Cultural differences arise due to:
• Geography
• Climate
• Resources
• Previous culture and contact with other cultures

People around the world are often different in what they do, but they are similar in why they do them

Cross Cultural Psyc. Exam 1 (4 decks)

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