Culture and Behaviour (Kulkofsky)

Question 1

Intro Culture and Behaviour (Culture is a dynamic set of rules that is made up of specific…)

Answer 1

Culture is a dynamic set of rules that is made up of specific behaviours and attitudes that are shared by a large cultural group. Culture can affect both cognition and behaviour, as it is both explicit and implicit (what is spoken about such as cultural traditions vs. what can be inferred by the way people interact within that community).

Question 2

What is surface culture?

Answer 2

what we can see eg. their food, their music

Question 3

What is deep culture?

Answer 3

certain beliefs, values and attitudes of a group that is seen as socially acceptable or not eg. a group’s perception of time, their relationships with each other etc.

Question 4

Kulkofsky

Answer 4

A- Study the role of individualist vs. collectivist cultures on the difference in rates of flashbulb memories

P-

• 274 adults from 5 diff countries (China, Germany, Turkey, UK, USA)
• 5 minutes to recall as many memories of public events in their lifetime (memories must be 1+ year old)
• Used these events to create a ‘memory questionaire’
• 5 questions that were centered around the event
  
  • “Where were you when you first learned about this event…?”
  • “How surprising…?” (Emotion)
  • “How important…?” (Personal)
  • “How often…?” (Rehearsal)
• Translated into the respective languages

F-

In a collectivistic culture like China, personal importance and emotion played less in predicting the rate of FBM - different to individualistic cultures where personal significance and emotion play a much bigger role

The environment influences FBM → personal experiences are less talked about (less rehearsal) as collectivist cultures (China) place more importance on the needs and wants of the group and not the individual, lower chance of FBM

National importance was spread across all cultures

Link: The difference in characteristics can be explained due to the cultural dimension of individualism vs. collectivism- FBM is dependant on the environment of the individual (there is a difference in how individualist and collectivist cultures approach national events) eg. in a collectivist culture like China, personal importance and intensity of emotion decreased the likelihood of developing a FBM, and in individualist societies, these two aspects are valued greater due to the fact that having a personal opinion is seen of much greater importance in **individualist societies.

Question 5

How does Kulkofsky link to culture on cognition and behavior?

Answer 5

This study supports the effect culture has on cognition and behaviour as the difference in approaches towards these public events can be explained due to the differences in views of people living in individualist and collectivist societies- people in collectivistic societies emphasize conformity and social harmony, where individualist societies place more importance on personal needs.

Question 6

Why are individualist cultures more likely to develop FBM? (Culture and Behaviour)

Answer 6

FBM is dependent on the environment of the individual (there is a difference in how individualist and collectivist cultures approach national events) eg. in a collectivist culture like China, personal importance and intensity of emotion decreased the likelihood of developing an FBM, and in individualist societies, these two aspects are valued greater due to the fact that having a personal opinion is seen of much greater importance in individualist societies.