Culture and its Influence Flashcards
What is culture, and how can it influence behaviour and cognition?
Culture refers to the shared beliefs, values, practices, and behaviours that characterise a group. Culture influences behaviour and cognition through cultural dimensions, such as individualism and collectivism. These dimensions shape how people think, behave, and interact, influencing cognitive processes like memory.
What is the difference between individualistic and collectivist cultures?
Individualistic cultures prioritise personal goals, independence, and self-expression, while collectivist cultures emphasise group goals, interdependence, and social harmony. Collectivist cultures value strong family ties and community well-being over individual achievement.
What was Kulkofsky’s study about, and what did it investigate?
Kulkofsky’s study explored how cultural differences in individualism and collectivism affect the way people recall flashbulb memories—vivid, emotional memories of significant events like natural disasters. The study compared participants from the US, China, Germany, Turkey, and the UK.
What did Kulkofsky find in his study on flashbulb memories?
Kulkofsky found that collectivist cultures (e.g., China) focused more on group reactions (family/community), while individualistic cultures (e.g., the US) emphasized personal emotions and individual experiences when recalling significant events.
How do cultural values affect memory recall?
In collectivist cultures, memories often include group contexts and emphasise social harmony, whereas in individualistic cultures, memories are more focused on personal emotional responses and individual experiences, reflecting cultural values in the encoding and recall of memories.
What is enculturation, and how does Social Cognitive Theory explain it?
Enculturation is the process of learning the norms and values of one’s own culture. Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) explains that cultural behaviours are learned through observation, imitation, and reinforcement, particularly by watching role models like parents and peers.
What was the focus of Odden and Rochat’s 2004 study on enculturation?
Odden and Rochat studied how children in Samoa learned cultural norms and practices, particularly fishing skills and the “chief system,” through observation rather than direct teaching. The study showed how passive learning through observation plays a key role in enculturation.
What did Odden and Rochat find in their study on enculturation?
They found that children in Samoa learned cultural norms primarily by observing others, such as adult males fishing. They also understood social norms, like respecting higher social ranks, through similar observation, without direct instruction.
What is acculturation, and what are the four strategies according to Berry’s model?
Acculturation is the process by which individuals or groups adopt elements of another culture. Berry’s model outlines four strategies: assimilation (adopting the dominant culture), separation (maintaining one’s original culture), integration (adopting both cultures), and marginalisation (losing connection to both cultures).
What did Zaidi & Shuraydi’s study explore?
Their study explored the attitudes of second-generation Pakistani Muslim women living in Canada and the US toward arranged marriages. The study examined how these women’s views on marriage were influenced by their exposure to Western individualistic culture versus their traditional Pakistani background.
What were the findings of Zaidi & Shuraydi’s study on acculturation?
The study found that most second-generation Pakistani Muslim women preferred greater choice in marriage partners and valued romantic love over traditional arranged marriages. They experienced acculturative stress from navigating the clash between their traditional Pakistani culture and Western cultural norms.
What is assimilation, and how can it affect memory?
Assimilation is the process of adopting the customs and values of a new culture while losing one’s original cultural identity. Assimilation can influence memory by shaping how people recall and interpret significant events, as seen in Kulkofsky’s study on traumatic memories.
What did Kulkofsky’s 2011 study on assimilation find?
Kulkofsky found that participants who assimilated more into Western individualistic cultures (e.g., the US) focused on personal emotions and individual aspects of traumatic events. In contrast, participants from collectivist cultures recalled events in a more collective context, emphasising social relationships and family dynamics.
What conclusion can be drawn from Kulkofsky’s study on assimilation?
The study concluded that assimilation into a new culture affects how memories are constructed and recalled. In particular, assimilating into individualistic cultures leads to more self-centred recollections, while stronger ties to collectivist cultures result in memories focused on social contexts and relationships.
