Culture Part 1 Flashcards
Definition of culture
Culture is a loosely integrated system of ideas, practices, and social institutions that enable coordination of behaviour in a population
Individualistic Cultures
- Common in Western countries
- Prioritizing the individual via self-
interest and self-expression - Driver of behaviour are internal states (own thoughts, feelings, desires)
Collectivistic Cultures
- Common in East Asian countries
- Prioritizing the group and group harmony
via suspension of self-interest - Drivers of behaviour are external factors (duties, norms, others’ expectations)
Individualistic Cultures fosters which type of self concept?
independent self-concept
Independent self-concept
- Distinguishing self from others by focusing on what makes one unique from others
- Focus on personal identity (e.g. traits, abilities, interests)
- E.g. extroverted
Collectivists Cultures fosters which type of self concept?
Fosters an interdependent self-concept
Interdependent self-concept
- Fitting self with others by focusing on aspects of identity that make one similar to close others and collective
- Focus on social roles and the self in relation to others
- E.g. daughter
Important function of culture is to provide?
Guidance for what is normal and how to be a person
(We internalize this guidance and in doing so, this shapes our self-concept)
Parenting Across Cultures - Individualistic Culture
- Mothers teach infants early on to spend time on their own
- Babies are expected to start sleeping alone without parents starting at 3 months
- Emotional self-expression is encouraged
- Babies are encouraged to smile and to make positive vocalizations
Parenting Across Cultures - Collectivist Culture
- Mothers teach infants early on that obedience and respect are important
- Co-sleeping for the first couple years of life
- Conversations with children are directive and instructional and obedience is praise
Subsistence theory
The way people in a culture historically made a
living influences culture
Farming cultures are more
Interdependent - many people work on the field + share the harvest of farming
Herding and fishing cultures are more
independent
*Food is more consistent so have to negotiate with others less
* Herders rely on working with others less
* Can move if conflict arises
Eastern cultures =
traditionally farming culture
Western cultures =
traditionally herding culture
Cultural Differences in Cognition - Individualistic Cultures
- Analytic thinking:
- Focus on individual components of a situation/object
- Attention directed at specific details rather than context
- Reasoning relies on categorization and logic
Cultural Differences in Cognition - Collectivists Cultures
Holistic thinking:
* Focus on the whole and the relationship between parts
* Attention to broader patterns
* Reasoning relies on experience and detecting patterns
STUDY: “Which two go together?”: American VS Chinese children
*American children put the chicken and cow together because focus on category
*Chinese children put the cow and grass together because focus on relationship
Rod Frame Test - Degree to which
Degree to which a person’s perception is affected by the context or surrounding environment (“field”)
Field dependent VS Field independent
- Field dependent: More affected by context/environment
- Field independent: Less affected by context/environment
Who is more field dependent?
- East Asians are more field dependent
Cultural Differences in Causal Attribution - North Americans VS Easts Asians
*North Americans should be more likely to attribute responsibility to the individual
*East Asians should be more likely to attribute responsibility to the social collective or situation
Study: Attribution of responsibility in newspapers - Americans VS Japanese
*American newspapers more likely to attribute responsibility to individuals (disposition)
*Japanese newspapers more likely to attribute responsibility to organizations (situation)
Cultural Differences in Emotion - Western Cultures
More emotionally expressive
