Introduction w/1

Question 1

Why does culture matter in psychology?

Answer 1

→ Culture profoundly influences human behavior, cognition, and emotion (Kitayama, & Salvador, 2024) . In psychology, understanding culture is crucial to accurately interpreting human experiences across diverse populations.

Question 2

What is the problem of culture-bound research?

Answer 2

→ Psychological theories and research often stem from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) contexts (Heine et al., 2010). Leading to the limited applicability of psychological principles worldwide.

Question 3

What is cultural psychology?

Answer 3

→ Cultural psychology, is a more focused on psychological processes within a particular culture.

Question 4

What is cross-cultural research?

Answer 4

→ Cross-cultural research, analyses characteristics and behavior across different cultural groups, with an interest in variation as well as human universals across cultural groups.

Question 5

What is culture?

Answer 5

→ Culture, is a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs, policies, procedures, and behavioral conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that influence (but do not determine) each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of the other people’s behavior (Spencer-Oatey, 2008)

Question 6

Explain culture?

Answer 6

1. Culture is manifested through different types of regularities, some of which are more explicit than others (Products, Practices, Perspectives)
2. Culture is associated with social groups
3. Culture affects people’s behavior and interpretations of behavior
4. Culture acquired and/or constructed through interactions with others

Question 7

What is Socialization?

Answer 7

→ Socialization, is a process by which we learn and internalize rules and patterns of society (which can constitute of groups with different cultures).

Question 8

What is Enculturation?

Answer 8

→ Enculturation, is the process of learning and adopting ways and manners of a particular culture.

Question 9

Explain Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems.

Answer 9

→ Suggests socialization and enculturation agents that consist of a CHRONOSYSTEM (Patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course; sociohistorical conditions).
It consists of 4 stages (Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem)

Question 10

Explain the relationship between Culture, Parenting & Families.

Answer 10

• Family: the most important microsystem to a child’s development
  → According to (Margaret Mead, 1975) by observing parents, we are observing the essence of a culture, it tells us what is important to that culture.
• Parental ethno-theories: parental cultural belief systems
  → motivate and shape what parents think is the “right” way to parent

Question 11

What are the origins of culture?

Answer 11

1. Pathogen prevalence Theory (Fincher et al., 2008) (diseases)
2. Subsistence style theory (Talhelm et al., 2014) (resources)
3. Modernization theory (Ingelhart & Welzel, 1981)

Question 12

Explain the Pathogen prevalence Theory (Fincher et al., 2008) (diseases)

Answer 12

→ suggests that the prevalence of infectious diseases in a region significantly influences the development of cultural values, norms, and behaviors.

→ Results show that the regional prevalence of pathogens has a strong positive correlation with cultural indicators of collectivism. This shows how ecological factors like ‘disease’ exposure have played a significant role in shaping human social behaviors and cultural norms.

Limitations -
- Oversimplifies cultural development, ignoring other factors like economic systems or political history.

Question 13

Explain the Subsistence style theory (Talhelm et al., 2014) (resources)

Answer 13

→ argues that some forms of substance require and cultivate more functional interdependence than other forms. Historical agricultural practices impact the cultural orientations we see today, even long after those subsistence styles have disappeared.

Limitations -
- Oversimplifies cultural development by focusing primarily on subsistence styles, potentially neglecting other influences.
- Difficult to disentangle the long-term effects of historical subsistence styles.

Question 14

Explaine the Modernization theory (Ingelhart & Welzel, 1981).

Answer 14

→ suggests that industrialization and modernization lead to predictable shifts in cultural priorities, from survival-focused values to self-expression and individual autonomy, alongside changes in social and political systems.

Limitations -
- May not fully account for cultural resilience, where traditional values persist despite economic growth.