development across cultures Flashcards
broadly, what is culture?
knowledge, customs, beliefs, art, law, traditions, morals/values, memes
what is a meme?
unit of cultural transmission, evolves organically, differs from internet memes
what allowed the movement from hunter gatherer to agricultural
human migration caused people to live in different environments
settlement allowed a movement from hunter gatherer to agricultural
in order to settle, farming is needed - what did intensive farming lead to
social changes - housing, markets, population growth, division of labour
towns developed, new jobs emerged
animals were domesticated, disease increased, immunities developed and passed to next generations
birth of agriculture allowed people to find new roles in society
cities thrived, written language developed, cultural transmission occurred
east versus west contrast - individualist/collectivist
eastern cultures = collectivist
western cultures = individualist
why is there an individualist/collectivist divide?
western cultures may have had more fertile soil, allowing people to live more individually
eastern cultures may have had difficulty with irrigation, so people had to work together to feed their communities
philosophy in the west vs east
Aristotle, for example, focused explanation of the world on objects
the chinese saw that actions occurred in a field of forces
what is a culture shock
experiencing difficulty adjusting and understanding an unfamiliar culture
adaptation to some cultures is easier than others
what does WEIRD stand for
western
education
industrialised
rich
democratic
what is the issue with WEIRD
96% of samples in psychological studies came from countries comprising of 12% of world’s population
the overwhelming majority of psychology studies have been conducted on these samples
therefore, they produce weird results, as we’re trying to build theories based on people
what kind of people comprise the samples in the west
university students, due to convenience sampling
there are many differences across cultures, but what is something that is generally universal?
facial expressions
monkeys also produce similar facial expression
cultural differences: visual perception
study using Muller-Lyer illusion, where lines are the same length but look different
found that some cultures did not perceive the illusion at all, while some saw a huge difference
cultural differences: visual perception - Muller Lyre illusion, why?
argued that exposure to corners found so frequently in modern environments cause this illusion, which are not part of our illusionary history
cultural differences: Kung infancy
foraging is frequent and efficient, so adults only need to work about 3 days a week
spend time together and engage in social contact
mobile lifestyle so cannot gather possessions
therefore, opinions are valued and shared, and children’s first words are usually “here take this” and “give it to me”
cultural differences: sleeping arrangements
common in the west for a new baby to have their own room
however, in 90% of countries this is not practiced - mothers will lay with their infant
cultural differences: motor development - Ainsworth
noticed that Ganda infants sit, crawl and walk earlier than western babies
due to certain practices that stimulate the muscles
ainswoth also reported earlier development of language, social behaviour and prehension (grasping)
cultural differences: attachment (Ainsworth)
evidence of broad differences in attachment styles across cultures
germany: avoidant most common
Israeli Kibbutz: anxious most common
Japan and Dogon (West Africa): no children showed avoidant attachment
cultural differences: colour perception
in a study, the Himba and Namibia do not distinguish between blue-green in colour terms. they do show discrimination between colour boundaries that English speakers do not
cultural differences: positive self views and the above average effect
above average effect - belief that you are above average
Cross et al found that 94% of American academics rated themselves as better than the average academic
however studies in non western countries do not mimic these findings
cultural differences: American outliers
educated Americans appear to be different to other Americans
Americans are highly individualistic, but students are even more so
conformity motivations are weaker among non college educated Americans
working class Americans are more interdependent and holistic than middle class people
cultural differences: portraits
background more important in east
