Introduction Flashcards
A subdiscipline within psychology that examines the cultural foundations of psychological processes and human behavior.
Cultural Psychology
It includes theoretical and methodological frameworks that posit an
important role for culture and its influence on mental processes behavior, and vice versa
Cultural Psychology
The Goals of Psychology
- Build a knowledge about people
- Allow others to take that body of knowledge and apply it to intervene in people’s lives
Most research today is based on WEIRDOS. WEIRDOS are ________
Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic cultures
A research methodology that tests the
cultural parameters of psychological knowledge. Traditionally, it involves research on human behavior that compares psychological processes between two or more cultures. This approach is primarily concerned with testing the possible limitations of knowledge gleaned from one culture by studying people of different cultures
Cross-cultural research
A psychological process that is found to be true or applicable for all people of all cultures.
universal
A psychological process that is considered to be true for some people of some cultures but not for others.
culture-specific
A unique meaning and information system, shared by a group and transmitted across generations, that allows the group to meet basic needs of survival, pursue happiness and well-being, and derive meaning from life.
culture
Factors That Influence Culture/Origin of Culture
Group Life
Environments
Resources
The Evolved Human Mind
Increase our chances for survival because they increase efficiency through division of labor.
Group Life
The ecologies of that have a major impact on how they live.
Environment
The degree to which the average temperature of a given region will differ from what is considered to be the
relatively “easiest” temperature to live in, which is 22°C (about 72°F).
deviation from
temperate climate
The number of people living within a given unit of space.
Population Density
The type of land that can sustain life by food production of some sort.
Arable Land
can be natural, such as the presence or absence of water or land to farm to grow vegetables or raise animals
Resources
The amount of money available to a person or group
Affluence
The need to eat, drink, sleep, deal with waste, and reproduce if they are to survive.
physical needs
The need for hygiene, shelter, and warmth
safety and security needs
The motive to achieve and the motive to affiliate with others.
social motives
A set of basic psychological skills and
abilities that people can use to meet their needs.
universal psychological toolkit
Contents of the Universal Psychological Toolkit
Cognitive Abilities
Emotions
Personality Traits
Knowledge about motivations concerning behaviors that are common among people in a group.
shared intentionality
The concept that humans continually improve on improvements, that they do not go backward or revert to a
previous state. An improvement never goes backward; it only goes forward and continues to improve on itself.
ratchet effect
A unique meaning and information system, shared by a group and
transmitted across generations, that allows the group to meet basic needs of survival, pursue happiness and well-being, and derive meaning from life
Human Culture
Is culture uniquely a human product?
No, animals have culture too. They have at least a rudimentary form of culture consisting of social customs.
Cumulative culture allows human cultures to differ from animal cultures on
___________, ___________, and ______________.
complexity, differentiation, institutionalization
“a system of interrelationships among people.”
Society
It refers to the structure of relationships that exist among individuals
Society
It refers to the meanings and information that are associated with those social networks
Culture
Groups That Have Culture
■ Nationality
■ Language
■ Ethnicity
■ Gender
■ Disabilities
■ Sexual Orientations
Groups That Are Not Culture
■ Race
■ Personality
■ Popular Culture
It refers to a person’s country of origin
Nationality
Difference in dialects
Language
It is derived from the Greek ethnos, meaning people of a nation or tribe, and is usually used to denote one’s racial, national, or cultural origins.
Ethnicity
Socially expected roles
Gender