L05 - Culture and the Self

Question 1

What is culture?

Answer 1

“culture is a loosely integrated system of ideas, practices, and social institutions that enable coordination of behaviour in a population”

Question 2

What are the two cultural differences in social orientation?

(two types of cultures)

Answer 2

Individualistic cultures
- common in Western countries
- Prioritizing the individual via self-interest and self-expression
- Drivers of behaviour are internal states (own thoughts, feelings, and 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)

Question 3

How does culture shape self-concept in both types of cultures (individualistic vs. collectivistic)?

Answer 3

Individualistic cultures
- fosters an 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

Collectivistic cultures
- fosters an 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

Question 4

How does culture shape the individual?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

How does parenting differ across cultures?

(in individualistic cultures vs. collectivistic cultures)

Answer 5

Individualistic culture
- infants spend lots of time with mothers, and not with other adults or children
- mothers teach infants early on to spen time on their own
– toys play an important role of distraction
- babies are expected to start sleeping alone without parents, possibly in own room, starting at 3 months
- emotional self-expression is encouraged
– babies are encouraged to smile and to make positive vocalizations

Collectivistic culture
- infants spend lots of time with multiple caregivers and other children
- mothers teach infants early on that obedience and respect are important
- co-sleeping for the first couple of years of life
- conversations with children are directive and instructional and obedience is praised

Question 6

Where do the differences between cultures come from?

Answer 6

Subsistence theory: the way people in a culture historically made a living influences cultures
- Farming cultures are more interdependent:
– many people have to work on one field
– people have to share the harvest of farming for the rest of the year
- 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

Question 7

How do culture differences affect cognition?

(How does culture affect psychological processes?)

cognition

Answer 7

Individualistic cultures
- analytic thinking:
– focus on objects
– objects exist independent of context
– attributes
– categories used to explain behaviour and make predictions

Collectivistic cultures
- holistic thinking:
– focus on context as a whole and associations
– attend to relationships among objects and relationships among objects and context
– relationships are used to explain behaviour and make predictions

Question 8

Describe Masuda & Nisbett’s study on cognitive differences across cultures.

(“Which two go together?” - the cow, chicken, and grass image)

Answer 8

American children put the chicken and cow together because focus on category (both are animals)

chinese children put the cow and grass together because focus on relationshio (the cow eats grass)

Question 9

What is field dependence/independence?

(cognitive difference across cultures)

rod frame test study

Answer 9

degree to which a person’s perception is affected by the context or surrounding environment (“field”)
- field dependent: more affected by context/environment
- field independent: less affected by context/environment

East Asians are more field dependent

Question 10

What are the cultural differences in causal attribution?

(How does culture affect psychological processes?)

attributions

Answer 10

causal attribution: why did this happen? who (what) is responsible?

hypothesis: North Americans and East Asians should attribute responsibility differently
- 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

Question 11

Describe Menon et al.’s study on cultural differences in causal attribution (1999).

attribution of responsibility in newspapers

Answer 11

analyzed articles about “rogue trader” scandals reported in American vs. Japanese newspapers

counted # of references to individual (disposition) vs. organization (situation) as responsible for scandal

Results:
- American newspapers more likely to attribute responsibility to individuals (disposition)
- Japanese newspapers more likely to attribute responsibility to organizations (situation)

Question 12

What are the cultural differences in emotion?

(How does culture affect psychological processes?)

emotion

Answer 12

Western cultures
- more emotionally exressive
- value maximizing positive experiences and minimizing negative experiences
- emphasis on socially disengaging emotions
– emotions that focus on self and distinctiveness
– e.g., pride, feeling superior, frustration, self-esteem
– more important for happiness (vs. socially engaging emotions)
- suppressing emotions is distressing and can lead to negative mental and physical health outcomes
– personal expression is value

Eastern cultures
- more emotionally restrained
- value a balance of positive and negative emotional states
- emphasis on socially engaging emotions:
– emotions related to fitting in and connecting with others
– e.g., wanting to feel close, respect for others, guilt, shame
– more important for happiness (vs. socially disengaging emotions)
- suppressing emotions may not lead to negative metnal and physical health outcomes
– emotional restraint is valued

Question 13

What were the results of Soto et al.’s study on cultural differences in emotion? (2011)

Answer 13

greater emotional suppression related to poorer psychological functioning only for European Americans, but not for Hong Kong Chinese

Question 13

What are some example of independence vs. interdependence in other cultures?

(what about other cultures?)

Answer 13

most research compares Americans/Canadians to East Asians
- assumes that conclusions about individualism or collectivism in these countries can be extended to other countries

but individualism and collectivism likely to look different cultures
- Examples:
– 1. expressive interdependence in Latin culture
– 2. assertive interdependence in Arab culture

Question 13

What do cultural differences imply?

Answer 13

field of psychology focuses on people that are WEIRD, but most are not
- only 15% of the world’s population is WEIRD
- psychology as science of human behaviour?

WEIRD = Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic

Question 13

Explain assertive interdependence in Arabs

Answer 13

arabs as a cultural group are considered to be collectivistic/interdependent

BUT, may promote interdependence through self-assertion
- self-assertion as a way to sustain and protect ingroup identity and welfare
- in contrast to East Asian culture, where being self-effacing is more common and self-assertion is seen as hindering ingroup harmony

Study by San Martin et al. (2018): investigated this idea by comparing European Americans, Saudis, Lebanaes, and Japanese students on cognition and self-assertion
- Arabs showed holistic cognition similar to Japanese
- Arabs showed self-assertion similar to Americans

Question 13

Explain expressive interdependce in Latino Culture

Answer 13

Latin America is considered to be collectivistic/interdependent

but, achieves this interdependence by being emotionally expressive
- in contrast to East Asian interdependence through emotional restraint

study by Salvador et al. (2020): investigates this idea by comparing European Americans, Colombians, and Japanese students on cognition, attributions, and emotional experience
- Cognition: Columbians in between Americans and Japanese on field of dependence vs. independence
- Attribution: Columbians between Americans and Japanese in making situational vs. dispositional attributions
- Emotions: Columbians more emotionally expressive than Japanese, and similar to Americans
– BUT, express more socially engaging (vs., disengaging) emotions than Americans, similar to Japanese

Question 14

What does the research in Latino and Arab cultures imply?

Answer 14

independence vs. interdependence looks different in different cultures
- emotional restraint and conformity to ahcieve interdependence in East Asia
- expressive interdependence in Latin America
- assertive interdependence in Arab culture

one size does not fit all