HC 10 cultural psychology

Question 1

Health?

Answer 1

= a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity

Question 2

Disease?

Answer 2

a malfunctioning or maladaptation of biologic and psychophysiologic processes in the individual

Question 3

Illness?

Answer 3

personal, interpersonal, and cultural reactions to disease of discomfort

Question 4

Cultural differences in the definition of health: view of health in western countries?

Answer 4

• Biomedical model: views disease as resulting form a specific, identifiable cause, and genetic or developmental abnormality, or physical insult
• Biopsychosocial model: views disease as resulting from biological, social, and psychological factors

Question 5

Cultural differences in the definition of health: view of health in eastern countries?

Answer 5

Holistic view: focus on the interconnections between the individual, his or her relationships, environment, and spiritual world

Question 6

Homeostasis?

Answer 6

= maintaining steady and stable body functioning during environmental changes
–> holistic way of reasoning, you need the environmental context of an individual to
be able to identify a disease

Question 7

The three indicators of health worldwide; life expectancy?

Answer 7

1. Life expectancy:
   - Wealth/resources affect this average across and within countries
   - Ethnic majority tend to have longer life expectancies than ethnic minorities
   - Difference between males and females which also correlates with cultural heritage

Question 8

The three indicators of health worldwide; infant mortality?

Answer 8

= number of infant deaths per 1000 live births
- Disparities among ethnic groups
–> Differences of life expectancy and infant mortality across cultures is attributed to
resources (good nutrition, health care, and treatment

Question 9

The three indicators of health worldwide; subjective well-being?

Answer 9

= perception of health and well-being
- Positively related to physical health
- Higher subjective well being = stronger immune systems, fewer heart attacks
- Healthier lifestyle
- Predicted by material wealth, autonomy, and connection to others

Question 10

Genetic influences on physical health and disease?

Answer 10

• Some diseases are linked to a mutation of a single gene, but most are related to multiple factors including mutations of multiple genes that interact with the
  environment
• Individuals of a particular racial or cultural background are not genetically similar to other individuals with the same racial or cultural background
  –> more genetic variation within than between racial and cultural groups

Question 11

Frameworks: behavioral?

Answer 11

= primary focus is the behavior of the individual
–> little recognition of structural factors that limit choice (neighboorhood, labor etc.)
–> immigran paradox: despite the challenges of adapting, immigrants doing better on many health measures compared to non-immigrants

Question 12

Frameworks: cultural?

Answer 12

= the group that a person is part of
–> Group traits, beliefs, values, practices, or traditions, linked to race, ethnicity, or national origin
–> group differences shape individual behavior

Question 13

Majority ethnocentrism

Answer 13

Majority group members perceive that minority group
members have culture and they don’t, as they are in their culture, which is the norm, and they don’t see it anymore

Question 14

Minority resilience?

Answer 14

minorities see other minorities different, as some groups are very closely connected, and others are not

Question 15

Problems with cultural as a framework?

Answer 15

Problems: essentialism and stereotyping, assuming homogeneity among (different)
cultural groups
–> cultural values play a role in disease: deviating from your cultural heritage may cause stress, high individualism is correlated with high rates of heart disease

Question 16

What happens when the fit between personal and cultural values is low?

Answer 16

 more coping required
 depression and anxiety
 physical health

Question 17

How is eating influenced by culture?

Answer 17

–> In countries with low SES thicker bodies were preferred, in countries with high SES skinnier bodies were preferred
–> Differences across cultures in food choice, behaviors, and lifestyles play a role in contributing to differences in rates of overweight and obesity

Question 18

Structural framework?

Answer 18

= context in which people are living and access to healthcare
- Immigration status, living and working conditions, deportation, detention
- Focus: income, education, policies

Question 19

Theory of climatic demands?

Answer 19

= postulated the extent to which winters and summers are comforting or stressfully demanding given existential needs for heat, nutrition and health, and also the need to acclimatize and adapt to the environment

Question 20

Difference between survival and self-expression values?

Answer 20

Survival: having to survive, concerned with economic and physical security
Self-expression: self-actualization, quality of life, happiness
–> Poor countries in harsh climate are concerned with survival
–> Rich countries in harsh climates are more concerned with selfexpression

Question 21

Difference between rice & wheat culture?

Answer 21

• Rice needs irrigation –> coordination among farming communities as water is shared by all
• Wheat also needs coordination, but less extensive than in rice farming

Question 22

Modernization hypothesis?

Answer 22

• least developed provinces are most interdependent

Question 23

Rice theory?

Answer 23

Predicts highest interdependence in the south and east of China, which predicts that people are more interdependent

Question 24

Results of the rice & modernizationtheories?

Answer 24

= modernization theory fits worse than the rice theory when the study compared the regions in China –> goes together with other differences like mapping attitudes toward sexual behavior
- Rice contexts viewed premarital sex and homosexuality more traditionally
- Harsher climate demands and low income foster collective orientation

Question 25

Climatic demand theory?

Answer 25

When you move from harsh to mild climates this would be best

Question 26

Climatic-fit theory?

Answer 26

how higher your new climate deviates from your old climate, the worse the outcomes are

Question 27

Example: what happens with an individual that moves form areas with low climatic demands?

Answer 27

• sociocultural adaptation was the highest when arriving in low climatic demands
• sociocultural adaptation was the lowest when arriving in high climatic demands

Question 28

Example: what happens with an individual that moves form areas with high climatic demands?

Answer 28

• sociocultural adaptation was highest when arriving in high climatic demands
• sociocultural adaptation was lowest when arriving in low climatic demands