Lecture 13 - Cultural Psychology Flashcards
What was Shweder’s theory about the mind and culture?
The mind arises from participation in culture, but culture also arises from the mind. Without culture, the mind no longer resembles the mind.
What is the difference between analytic and holistic thinking?
Analytic: breaking down one element into smaller components (logical thinking) -> field independence.
Holistic: focuses on the element as a whole and how the smaller components relate to one another (dialectical thinking) -> field dependence.
Describe the differences between Eastern and Western thinking styles.
Portrait of a wolf on a snowy mountain. Westerners tend to start with the wolf, while Easterners describe the background. Then the wolf is shifted to a new background. Westerners are unaffected by this change, but Easterners identify the wolf as the same significantly less than Westerners.
Is there a difference in brain functioning between cultures?
Elderly American and Singaporean participants studied images. Singaporean’s processing regions of the brain were significantly less active -> holistic thinking.
Can these differences result in different interpretations?
Yes. In an image of a boy winning surrounded by scowling classmates, Americans identified him as happy (just focused on the foreground) while East Asians identified him as cocky. This was shown by eye tracking. As time went on, East Asians tended to try to find relationships between images while Americans did not.
What is the difference between dispositional and situational attributions?
Dispositional: explaining behaviour based on personal characteristics.
Situational: explaining behaviour based on contextual variables.
What is the evidence that Americans make dispositional attributions?
When reading a pro-Castro piece (in the 1960s), Americans assumed the author was pro-Castro. This effect remained when viewing someone else reading the piece, or when situational constraints were explained (fundamental attribution error).
