Culture Flashcards
What is culture? What are the layers?
- Behaviors/rituals (salient, easily visible and explainable)
- Norms/beliefs (cant see em, but can describe)
- Values/meanings (hard to articulate)
^ all learned from others!
Why is culture important - example?
Juana Maria native american accidentally left alone on an island for 18 years, survived totally all good because her culture had taught her how to make everything ever from nature and the things around her
Other situations europeans have tried to go somewhere, got lost, died immediately because didnt have that cultural knowledge
Why foes culture matter?
its whay sets us apart from other apes/intelligent mammals
experiment tested toddlers cognitive abilities with apes and very similar on typical intelligence tests, but humans kicked ass on social learning part (see someone do something and copy it)
:. allows us to work together and combine knowledge to accomplish really big things - collective intelligence! also passed up through time
What are the 6 cultural dimensions (Hofstede)
1) Individualism vs collectivism = Focus on individuals rather than groups –> autonomy vs connected, greater good (collectivism = defined by relationships)
2) Uncertainty avoidance = Preference for structure, certainty, rules
3) Power distance = Accepting that power is distributed unequally
4) Masculinity versus femininity = Preference for competition vs. cooperation, caring for others
5) Long-term vs. short-term orientation = Innovation, adaptation focused, perseverance vs. tradition, status quo focused, immediate gratification
6) Indulgence vs restraint = Tolerates indulgences (fun, enjoyment) vs. suppresses with strict social norms
How can culrural dimensions be used in advertising?
take them into account when creating an ad, especially as a global company
ex: ‘dare to be different’ ad campaign, vs ‘share a coke with’ campaign ( ind. vs coll.)
How does indiv/collectivism relate to covid? Other dimensions? Tightness/looseness?
Collectivist countries more likely to follow rules, wear masks (= individualistic countries had more infections and deaths)
more uncertainty avoidance = less covid
tighter culture = less covid bc norms enforced more intensely and more shame if deviate
What is tightness vs looseness in culture? How different from coll/ind?
Strength of social norms and tolerance for deviance (tight = strong, loose = weak)
Can be collectivist and weak or loose, same with ind.
What impacts cultural tightness?
- polulation density (solid norms help everyone operate better together)
- higher threat of natural disaster or invasion (tight means easier to follow rules and stick together)
- less natural resources (work together and share)
What is the tradeoff with tightness?
tighter = more order (less crime/debt/general deviance) nbut less creativity
Are generations a real thing really? What are the two potential reasons for why this came about?
Not really rooted in biology or sciene, outside of generations within a family tree
1) each new generation brings new beliefs and practicees (people themselves change the world with their culture)
2) historical events that different groups live through shape their culture and practices (world shapes people/culture)
What does the data say about generations?
- for some issues, opinions arent really shifting that much over time, but the people with opposing opinions are dying off
- for others, general opinion of entire society can shift over time
some issues have major generational differences, others dont (communist books in public libraries vs gay marriage)
What is the difference with stereotypes of generational subcultures? What should we conclude as a result?
Lots of people’s thoughts on generational subcultures are based on only a small amount og actual people in that group, and a stereotype is born out of that
ex: people guessed that the majority of people in 20s in 1969 were potheads, but in reality only 12% had smoked before
Conclude that generational subculture assessments are not accurate and should probably be avoided.
What are the impacts of technology on culture?
- generations probably becoming shorter (as pace of tech change makes generations to be so different)
- skills need to be upgraded lot faster (before if you were a blacksmith you were set for life, now you gotta keep updating to keep up - social media, AI, crypto, etc.)
What is moore’s law?
The number of transistors that can fit on a computer microchip doubles every two years
= we can expect the speed and capability of our computers to increase every couple of years, and we will pay less for them (exponential!)
How does tech/digital change impact the 3 parts of culture?
Behaviors / rituals, both at home and at work, are completely intertwined with tech now
Norms / beliefs: More variance, misinformation, polarization in them –> easy to get info on beliefs, algorithms help you get stuck in them
Values / meanings: Higher individualism, lower power distance, less tightness
