Lecture 12 - Cross-cultural Psychology Flashcards
What is culture?
A group’s system of shared values and norms, that are learned, not innate. They dictate how people live their lives within this group.
What is the difference between values and norms?
Values: abstract ideas about morality. Less specific and used to understand what is important, and this guides behaviour (e.g. honesty) -> the ‘goal’.
Norms: specific rules/guidelines for how to behave in specific situations and, in a way, lead to values (e.g. expectation of not cheating on an exam meets the value of honesty).
What is the debate between natural science and cultural-historical science?
Natural science argues that there is a stable, universal process of the mind that are timeless operating principles (Aristotle).
Cultural-historical science seeks to understand the current organisation of life for people through the lens of culture (Hippocrates).
What is Shweder’s argument in the natural science side?
There is a common and natural ‘CPU’ that is shared by all. To understand it, noise must be minimised, including culture. Culture is a construct so it does not have a natural part in the CPU.
According to Schwartz, why did we develop values?
To meet three basic requirements: needs of an organism, coordinated social interaction, and a smooth functioning group. From this, he could grouped values together when similar and put them at odds with one another when different.
What are the six dimensions of Hofstede’s view of culture?
- Power distance: how people react to inequalities.
- Individual vs. collective: the degree of interdependence in a society.
- Uncertainty avoidance: how people deal with not being able to know everything.
- Masculinity vs. femininity: degree to which a society is competitive vs. caring (100-0).
- Pragmatism: how people respond to what is not explainable.
- Indulgence: the extent to which people try to control desires/impulses.
