Chapter #1: A Psychology for a Cultural Species Flashcards
Culture has 2 definitions
- Particular kind of information acquired from others
- Group of individuals existing within a shared context
T/F: Cultures has vast variability within?
True
*each individual inherits a distinct temperament
*each person ebelongs to a unique distinction
What is the definition of Culture in terms of Cultural Psychology?
A dynamic group of people who:
* share a similar context
* are exposed to many similar cultural messages
* contain a borad range of different indivdiauls
Who is considered the father of Modern Cultura Psychology?
Richard Shweder
What is General Psychology?
School of thought that assumes that the mind works based on natural and universal laws that are INDEPENDENT from context
What is the goal of General Psychology?
To provide glimpses of the central processing unit (CPU), so we can understand universal laws of thought
What is the Universalist Perspective?
suggests that differences reflect the contamination of various sources of “noise” - like an error
What is the Cultural Perspective?
argue that to fully understand the mind, the cultural of others must be considered; mind and culture are intertwined
What is the goal of Cultural Perspective?
content, process, and context affect “meaning systems”, shape the brain structure/connectivity
What was the results of the Figure Line Task?
European Americans on relative tasks need more attention, shown in LEFT lobe
East Asians on absolute tasks need more attention, RIGHT lobe
What does the Case Study of the Sambia tell us?
- Views of topic such as sexuality and sexual identity differs between cultures
- evidence that our beliefs are shaped by our cultural beliefs and practices
What is a Nonuniversal?
a psychological process can be said to NOT exist in all cultures
ex: cultural inventions: siesta, privacy, etc
This reflects an absence of universality
T/F: Nonuniversals are Cognitively Availble to everonye
False
They are not available, they are cultural inventions
What is a Existential Universal?
a psychological process that is DOES exists in all cultures but:
(1) may not be used for the same problems
(2) may not be equally accessible
What is an example of an Existential Universal?
Personal Space
* Some culture may have personal space for different reasons, or have different concepts of personal space
What is a Functional Universal?
a psychological process that DOES exists in all cultures, serves the same function, but:
(1) may not be accessibl in all cultures
What is an example of a Functional Universal?
Language
* language is used for the purpose of communication of ideas, not every culture has the same level of access
What is a Accessibility Universal?
a psychological process that DOES exist in all culture, is used to solve the same problems, and accessible to the same degree
Why Study Cultural Psychology?
(1) to understand the role of cultural experiences
(2) How does learning about cultural psychology affect the ways people think and lead lives?
What is the Color-Blind Approach
People will interact with others without giving much attention to anyone’s ethnic or cultural background
Multicultural Approach
people do identigy strongly with their groups, and most group identites are far more meaningful
Ethnocentrism
judging people from other cultures by the same standards of one’s own culture
Culture Shock
depends on how different your culture is from what you are visiting
What do Cultural Psychologists do?
use culture-specific constructs and relate them to behavior
T/F: Cultural Psychologists study cultures based on countries
False
Where does culture come from?
- Geo-environment: harshness, open/close, resources
- Population desnity: group need rules, reduce conflict
- Human needs/motives
What are Ethics?
universal psychological processes
studied from outside the culture
What are Emics?
cultural processes, studied from insie the culture
Culture can be:
(1) Multiplier
(2) Creator
(3) Enabler
(4) Suppressor
What are the Pros/Cons of the Color Blind Approach?
Pros: emphasizing commonality and ignoring differences
Cons: majority rules, ignoring group difference can lead to negative reactions
What are the Pros/Cons to the Multicultural Apporach
Pro: respect important group identites, especially of smaller/marginalized groups
Cons: discrmination leads to “us vs. them”, increases resistance to majority practices
What is Experience Expectant?
the brain coming ready for a variety of different stimuli
* universal brains
What is Experience Dependent?
the way you grow is shaped by everyday experiences
* plasticity
