Cross-cultural differences in perception, cognition and emotion Flashcards
What are some potential problems when conducting research on culture in psychology?
researcher's own bias (western psych model of thinking) sampling language confounding concept (many variables) concept is vague
The three dimensions of cross-cultural studies are?
Contextual factors or no Contextual factors
Exploratory or hypothesis-testing
Structure-oriented or level-oriented
What is the difference between structure-oriented and level-oriented studies?
Structure-oriented: look at relationship between variable (e.g. qualitative- the nature of x)
Level-oriented: look at the size of the difference (e.g. quantitative- severity of x)
How did Hofstede (1980) and Matsumoto & Jung (2008) define culture?
Hofstede: mental programming
Matsumoto & Jung: a meaning and information system to meet basic needs
What were Hofstede’s 6 cultural dimensions?
PIMULI: Power Distance Individualism vs Collectivism Masculinity vs Femininity Uncertainty Avoidance Long term orientation vs Short term normative orientation Indulgence vs restraint
In the animated fish scene experiment, what did Masuda and Nisbett (2001) find?
The difference between analytic and holistic perception.
Analytic: focus on objects
Holistic: focus on context and relationships between objects
What is the difference between dialectical thinking and non-dialectical thinking?
Dialectical: reconciles contradictions (sees from both sides; Collectivist)
Non-dialectical: argues one view point (Individualist)
What is the relationship between language and culture?
Language functions to galvanise (bundle) culture and shapes the way we think and the way we conceptualise our world
What is emotion?
Transient (brief) neurological reactions to events
Which emotions did Ekman (1972) find were universal across cultures?
Happiness/ Joy Anger Sadness Disgust Fear Surprise
How does culture influence emotion?
Calibration and adaption of culturally available events (triggers) &
Display rule norms (who can show emotions and when)
How do Americans and Japanese differ in their experience of fear?
Americans: show more fear in achievement related situations
Japanese: in relationship related situations
How is pain influenced by culture?
Pain perception: lower in cultures that see enduring pain as a virtue (India) and higher in cultures that see pain as an acceptable and bad feeling (America)
Emotional expression: more emotion shown in cultures where pain is accepted
How do apologies differ between Japanese and Americans?
Japanese: value humility, formulaic expressions
Americans: value originality, personal touch, elaboration and promise of future change
When talking about culture’s influence on emotion, what are a few topics that have been covered?
universal expressions calibration (available triggers)and display rule norms fear - context pain - value apologies - value
