Culture, behaviour and cognition - S Flashcards
Cultural dimensions (Berry 1967)
Culture - dynamic system of explicit and implicit rules, established by groups in order to ensure their survival - involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms and behaviours.
A: To measure the level of conformity in both individualist and collectivist societies by applying a version of the Asch paradigm.
M: Two different cultures; Temne of Sierra Leone (farming, collectivist) and the Inuits from Canada (individualist) were brought into rooms on their own and given a set of 9 lines. On their own for the first two tests they had to identify which line matched the one on the top. On trials 3-6 they were given hints about how their culture may have responded, 2 being false.
R: The Temne had a much higher rate of conformity than the Inuits, which had a lower rate than the control, the Scots.
F: The study showed the impact culture has on one’s decision to conform.
C: The study supports the idea of collectivist and individualist societies.
Enculturation (Fagot 1978)
The manner in which we learn the appropriate behaviours for our culture. Understanding how we adopt the appropriate gender behaviours is done through enculturation. Key terms: direct tuition, vicarious reinforcement and social identity theory.
A: To observe the role parents play in gender development.
M: A sample was made of 24 families - the control was that both parents were 20-30 years old and white. Observers used an observation checklist with 46 behaviours/19 reactions. There were 5x60 min observations for each family over a 5 week period. The observer noted down a child’s behaviour and the parents’ response and each parent was asked to rate each behaviour as more appropriate for boys/girls/neutral.
F: Boys were more likely to be left alone than girls, had positive responses when playing with blocks, negative responses when playing with dolls, and asking for help. Fathers were more concerned with appropriate sex-typing than mothers, and parents generally acted more favourably to when the child was engaged in same-sex behaviour.
C: The parents’ perceptions of their interactions with their children didn’t correlate with what researchers observed -> not a conscious behaviour.
Acculturation (Nap et al 2014)
The process of interacting with a new culture and adjusting to life in that new culture. According to Berry’s model, there are 4 methods, integration, marginalization, separation and assimilation. Integration causes the least acculturative stress.
A: To prove that integration causes the least acculturative stress.
M: The study surveyed 5000 Moroccan, Suraminese and Turkish immigrants who moved to the Netherlands, all seeking treatment in mental health facilities
F: Not all cultures integrated equally. Suraminese had the highest integration while Turkish participants have the least = suggests that one’s heritage culture could affect the acculturation strategy used. They also found those who integrated needed less future cares.
R: Modest but negative correlation between social integration and mental health symptoms - shows there was a slight trend for those who were more integrated to have less mental health issues
