Culture and psychology Flashcards
What is WEIRD?
Western
Educated
Industrialised
Rich
Democratic
What are the percentages of WEIRD participants?
96% of ppts are WEIRD
68% of ppts come from USA
27% are from UK, Canada, Australia or Europe
Undergraduates are used:
67% of the time in USA research
80% of the time in non-USA research.
What are Rad et al’s (2018) proposals for improving diversity in psychology for journal editors and reviewers?
Non-WEIRD = novel and important
Diversity targets
Diversity badges
What are Rad et al’s (2018) proposals for improving diversity in psychology for authors?
Reporting sample characteristics eg. ethnicity and religion
Explicitly tie findings to populations
Justify sampled population
Discuss generalisability of findings
What is culture?
A symbolic and behavioural inheritance received from historical/ancestral past that provides a community with a framework for other-directed vicarious learning and collective deliberations about what is the case, what is true, beautiful, good and normal
In what ways is culture external? (Jahoda, 2012)
- culture is outside the individual
- culture as a changing environment
- the social habits of a community
- the man-made parts of human development
In what ways is culture internal? (Jahoda, 2012)
- Knowledge and beliefs
- Systems of shared meanings
- Collective programming of mind
What is cultural psychology?
what is common to all cultures? and how do all cultures contribute to making peopl?
Language is universal culture
What is emic?
The view from within the social group
- how do people, think, feel, imagine, explain things?
- what is meaningful from the viewpoint of the actor?
What is etic?
View from the outside?
- a descriptive of a belief/behaviour that can be applied across cultures
- what is meaningful from the viewpoint of the observer
What are the opposing views of psychology and anthropology on facial expressions?
Ekman (American psychologist) saw facial expressions as universal.
Mead (American cultural anthropologist) saw facial expressions as part of learned behaviour
If culture shapes our development then different cultures should have different facial expressions
What did cross-cultural replications of Ash’s conformity study show compared to the original study?
- Original research by Asch on US students and adults showed 37% conformity
- 6% conformity in France
- 58% conformity among Fijian Indians
How did Geert Hofstede (1980) define culture?
The collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another
What is cultural dimensions theory? (Hofstede, 1980)
Used a large databank of survey items completed by IBM employees
Conducted a national-level factor analysis to pioneer early measurement of culture at a national level
The factor analysis revealed 4 dimensions:
- individualism vs collectivism
- Power distance
- Uncertainty avoidance
- Cultural masculinity-femininity
How has the cultural dimensions theory been developed?
The values survey module (VSM) - survey instrument with 6 dimensions (long-term orientation and indulgence) specifically designed to measure cultural values
What is a limitation of the values survey model?
Poor reliability reported of useing these dimensions suggesting constructs are poorly defined
What are examples of cultures having different normative expectations of what people should be doing with their lives?
What plays a major role in regulating various psychological processes.
America focus on self, asserting self.
Japan focus on fitting in with others
Self-construal plays a major role in regulating various psychological processes.
How do cultural differences in self-construals shape development?
In European/American countries:
- child dev framed around goals of independence eg. accumulating independence - being able to walk, moving into own bedroom, leaving home
In interdependent cultures:
- child dev measured by child taking on more responsibilities within the collective - eg. helping family, joining family business, taking on responsibilities, upholding family traditions
What is Bartlett’s (1932) war of the ghosts study?
English ppts had to read Native American folktale called war of the ghosts
Serial reproduction method: asked to recall tale days, months, and years after first reading.
- ppts shortened story when recalling
- ppts confabulated details of story in line with own cultural experiences (canoes became boats)
- ppts rationalised confusing aspects of story, even omitting ghosts altogether in some cases
What does Bartlett’s (1932) war of the ghosts study tell us about cultures?
Memories of past events are actually reconstructions informed by culture and personality rather than direct recollections.
Gaps in observations are filled by previous experiences and cultural norms.
Culture is more than a static meaning system, it is dynamic.
This method highlights the need to research transmission and transformation of culture.
What is an example of semiotic mediation?
How language mediates thought
What is an example of internal dialogues?
How culture works within the mind
What did Vygotsky believe about the social origin of mind?
Human mental abilities are shaped by use of cultural tools and language in social interaction.
Before age 2-4, manipulation is physical, after it can be psychological
How is language a mediator for child development?
First: action and thought of the child is supported by others
- talk of others accompanies action
- comments about the self
Second: child talks out-loud to themselves (Private speech)
- self-talk accompanies action and begins to guide it
Third: the social relation is fully internalised (inner speech)
- internal dialogue enables planning before acting
- self-reflection upon the self
how do caregivers provide scaffolding in zones of proximal development?
Constant talking to child.
Use of infant directed speech.
Attending to what the child is attending to:creating joint attention
What are metaperceptions?
how one thinks other people see them?
What did Amer (2020) research in relation to identity construct through interaction?
26 white British Muslim ppts (11f, 15m)
Semi-structured interviews exploring themes of self-identification, practice and visibility of identity, perceived identification by others - thematic analysis
What did Amer (2020) find in their study into identity construct through interaction?
All ppts reported:
- identity recognition (affirmation by others)
- misrecognition (racialised and stereotyped assumptions being made)
- nonrecognition (active denial and erasure)
Specifically experienced in contexts of:
- predominantly white non-Muslims
- Heritage (non-white) Muslims
What did Amer (2020) conclude in their study into identity construct through interaction?
- identities in a constant state of being shaped, contests or challenged by real or imagined others.
- perceived identity recognition is integral to performative strategies used by ppl with multiple and seemingly incompatible identities.
- White British Muslims use deliberate moments of misrecognition in order to avoid harm, discomfort or marginalisation from a context-relevant group.
- A critical aspect of resistance to address underlying power inequalities that others may control over identity.
