Culture and personality Flashcards
Define culture
It refers to the customs, values and behaviours characteristic of a nation, ethnic group, class or time period. Cultural norms are also impacted by SES - income, education,
What are some challenges of culture
- Ethnocentrism - bias towards how we percieve the other cultures
- Culture are dynamic and change very rapidly
____ variations are differences based on country, terrain, climate basically geopgraphy
Cross-cultural differences
Personality traits differ across culture - what is impacting these differences or self views?
- Geography
- SES: variation in th norms based on someones class. income and education
- Ethnicity
- Generation: norms vary ocross generations and tend to change
How does culture shape us?
Culture shapes us in the following ways:
1. Social Learning theory: the theory states that children learn social norms through socialization and caregivers influence us
- these ways get ingrained in us ans are rooted in the idea of social norms
- Language
- helps transmit culture
- shapes how we perceive the world
- communicate abstract and complex ideas - Cultural products - Tv shows, lyrics, ads are all cultural producta
- the sum of these products help identify cultural differences than distinct personlity differences
- convey cultural messages about behaviour and beliefs
- shaped by how we respond to our environemnt influencing cultural change - Mutual constituion - the idea that culture influences or shapes individuals however individuals shape cultures as well
- this indicates the dynamic nature of culture
- the reciprocal relationship b/w diff constituions refelcts that change or disturbance in one can impact the rest as well
_____ is a cultural system that favours the needs of self over those of others and society. It also focuses on personal attributes and separates oneself from others
Individualism
___ cultural system that places the needs of others and society first and believes we need people and ppl need us. It focuses on group affiliations and unites the self
Collectivism
What is the independent model of self?
The ideas of an independent model inclide:
1. Person is separate from others
2. personal control over actions and are guided by personal needs and preferences
3. Personal needs > group goals
4. unique personal choices stand out
5. Values feeling good about self
What are the interdependent models of self?
- Self is a part of the group and connected to others
- actions are guided by social norms and to be obliged by
- subordinate self to comply or cTater to the needs of the group and to maintain harmony
- values self-reflection, self-criticism and low arousal
Define horizontal/vertical collectivism and individualism
- Horizontal I - there is equality b/w people and there is no focus on social hierarchy or status
- Vertical I: The need to stand out and outperfrom others
- improving individual status - Horizontal C: There is equality among the people of the collective and there egaliatraian belief. Benovelence and sociability is the aim and not hierarchy
- Vertical C: There is acceptance of inequality in the collective and priortise group goals over personal goals.
- compliance with an authority figure
What is the interdependent view of self - in terms of the daigram given?
Interdependent view
- less relational mobiluty
- tough for outgroup to enter ingroup
- self is a product of other perceptions of u and not your individual self perception
- relationships are imp of self
- willingness to conform to ingroup norms but not flexible to strangers
- boundaries or self changes depending on relationships
Describe the independent view of self
- high relational mobility; easy to dissolve old relations and easier to form new ones
- indentity or view of self is not a by product of others perception or your relationships with them
- strong sense of identity and traits free from social norms
- self is stable across situations and is not impacted by relationships
___ is the unrealistically psotive views on self and personal abilities and is higher in ___ kinds of culture
Self-enhancement; individualistic
Collective self is esteem is ____
esteem based on group membership ofc high in collectivitsic cultures based on the relationship b/w nation branding and self esteem of the group
Why do people with high collectivistic SE have lower rates of depression or anxiety
2 factors in effect: Higher social support due to higher collectiv SE and lower rates of anxiety and depression
Does SES impact SE scores and narcissism rates?
Yes, it reduces SE and nar scores and such people are better at judging emotions of others
What are the key cultural differences between individualistic and collectivistic self views?
IND:
1. positive self views
2. values uniqueness
3. focus on winning - appraoch motivation
4. higher individual self esteem
COL:
1. sometimes high collectivistic SE based on the group membership
2. less interested in self enhancement
3. depend more on others approval
4. Avoidance motivation - avoiding failure and what can go wrong
Why are there cultural diff in the big 5 persoanlity traits?
- Reference group effect: when we compare ourselves to others when giving a personality measurement assessment.
- this can be avoided using perception of national character: describing a typical member of the culture; measures steretypes but helps in understanding overall culture - Personality measurement tool being used can also lead to diff some tools have xyz trait assessment which others may not
- Context - collectivistic culture act diff in diff situations and have more inconsistwnt traits as compared to ind cultures wherein traits are v ery consistent
What is the relationship b/w extraversion and culture type?
Higher extraversion is prevalent in more Ind cultures as compared to Col
What is the concept of power distance
Some cultures enforce or emphasize formality and greater power diff among people and these are mostly low on extraversion collectivistic cultures
What is the association b/w agreeableness and culture type? What may be the reasons?
Collectivistic cultures are higher on agreeableness
- more empathetic
- people from low SES are more agreeable and show wmpathy as compared to those from affluent families
- decline in agreeableness is also a reuslt of urabn living setup
What are the cultural differences in conscientiousness?
Reference group effect highly impacts the results of conscientiousness as people do not use a global standard rather a cultural standard to measure this trait
- lots of discrepancy as people from countries that are assumed to be conscientious report low on this trait due to the comparisons they draw among their cultural groups
- behavioural indicators measured lined up with national character and expectations
- self report measures were not correlated with perceptions of national character
- this effect is very prevalent esp when measuring C
- the effect also seemed geographical: clock time vs event time aspect also impacts the perception of conscientiouness
what are the key characteristics of cultural differences and neuroticism?
- The role of ref group effect in this case is not as prominent
- Some countries enforce formal systems of rules to minimize cultural and situational ambiguity (uncertainity avoidance)
- Uncertainity avoidance and N can are correlational - not knowing what causes what
- Low SES - high mental health issues
- N has been on the rise in modern day setup due to isolation, living alone, less community involvement
What can the increase in generational N be linked to?
Focus on
- extrinsic values
- materialism
____ is the formal systems of rules to reduce cultural and situational ambiguity
uncertainity avoidance
What is the relationship b/w cultural diff and Openness to experience?
- there is an overall shift towards reduced O
- attributed to cultural shift towards extrinsic values - money, fame and away from intrinsic values - finding self, purpose ,meaning in life
- High SES people are higher in O due to education levels
- reduced interest in abstract idea tjo increase in ethnic and cultural diff
