Module 1: Understanding Cross-Cultural Psychology Flashcards
What is culture?
It is shared attitudes, behaviours, and symbols
What are the shared attitudes of culture?
Ideologies (ideas), values (family, community, respect, etc.), and beliefs (religion, atheism, etc.)
What are the shared behaviours of culture?
Traditions, fashion, leisure (sports, time spent)
What are the shared symbols of culture?
Flag, architecture, colour
What are explicit characteristics?
Explicit characteristics are overt customs and observable practices (eg. greeting styles)
What are implicit characteristics?
Implicit characteristics are organizing principles such as negotiation styles, honourifics (language beautification), and humilifics.
What are humilifics?
They are words that are not meant to show respect for His or Her Grace, but to emphasize the insignificance of the speaker and other underlings (eg. Catholics say before communion: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you”)
What are the aspects of nationality?
Geographical origin and history, political entity
What are the aspects of ethnicity?
Cultural heritage, ancestral origin, language, tradition, religion
What are the aspects of race?
Distinct combinations of heritable traits
What are the outdated categories of race?
Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Congoid
Why is race considered to be a “social construct”?
The existence of races makes little sense - humans have lower genetic diversity than almost any animal. The concept of “race” is created by societies to serve the purposes of the majority.
What are other terms for race?
Continental origin, Anthropological designation (eg. Caucasian), and colonial history (eg. Latino)
Name some examples of other kinds of groups from countries that can be argued to have cultures
Urban culture, LGBTQ culture, high socioeconomic status culture, vegetarian culture, millennial culture, francophone culture vs. anglophone culture, McGill culture vs. Concordia culture, Vanier culture, Mac-user culture, Trekkie culture, cosplay culture
What makes these other groups arguably qualify as “cultures”?
Their members exist within a shared context, they have ways of communicating with each other, have some shared norms that distinguish them from other groups, and have some common practices and ideas.
What are Hofstede’s 6 dimension of culture?
Power distance Masculinity vs. Femininity Uncertainty avoidance Long-term orientation vs. Short-term orientation Indulgence vs. Restraint Collectivism vs. Individualism
What is Power distance?
Power distance is the degree of acceptance of unequal distribution of power.
What is High Power Distance?
It is the acceptance of inequality between leaders and the led (eg. Latin American and Arab nations)
What is Low Power Distance?
The belief that all people should have equal rights (eg. Scandinavian and Germanic speaking nations)
What is Masculinity vs. Femininity?
It is the distribution of emotional roles between genders
What is Masculine?
The preference for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material rewards for success; very competitive (eg. Germany, Japan)
What is Feminine?
Consensus-seeking, gentleness, modesty, and caring for the weak (eg. Nordic countries, the Netherlands)
What is Uncertainty Avoidance?
The degree of discomfort with uncertainty.
What is High Uncertainty Avoidance?
It is the support of beliefs promising certainty (eg. Greece, Portugal)
What is Low Uncertainty Avoidance?
Non-conformist attitude, unpredictability, creativity (eg. Sweden, Hong Kong)
What is Long-term orientation vs. Short-term orientation?
This dimension associates the connection of the past with the current and future actions/challenges.
What is Long-term orientation?
People’s views are adaptable and circumstantial, pragmatic problem solving is a necessity. A strong propensity to save, invest, thriftiness, perseverance (eg. China and Japan).
What is Short-term orientation?
Traditions are honoured and kept while steadfastness is valued. Weak propensity to save for the future, focus on achieving quick results (eg. Pakistan, Nigeria).
What is Indulgence?
Society that allows free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun.
What are some Hedonistic countries?
Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador.
What is Restraint?
A society that suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms (eg. Egypt)
Wha is Collectivism vs. Individualism?
It is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups.
What is Individualist?
Cultures with loose ties between individuals, everyone is expected to look after themselves, competitive (eg. USA, Australia)
What is Collectivist?
People are integrated into cohesive in-groups, they have unquestioning loyalty to extended family, harmony-enhancing strategies (eg. Latin American and East Asian countries)
What are Hofstede’s 5 Value Dimensions?
Identity Hierarchy Gender Truth Virtue
What are the 2 extremes of Identity?
Collectivism and Individualism
What are the 2 extremes of Hierarchy?
Large Power Distance and Small Power Distance
What are the 2 extremes of Gender?
Femininity and Masculinity
What are the 2 extremes of Truth?
Strong Uncertainty Avoidance and Weak Uncertainty Avoidance
What are the 2 extremes of Virtue?
Long-Term Orientation and Short-Term Orientation
What are the 2 sociocultural orientations of Triandis’ Cultural Syndromes?
Horizontal and Vertical
What is horizontal sociocultural orientation?
Equality and benevolence, totalitarian regime (equality but not freedom)
What is vertical sociocultural orientation?
Hierarchy, power and achievement-orientated, Western democracy (freedom but not equality)
What is the social structure, control intent, change inclination, gender status, means to goal, performance value, social interface, and cognitive mode of vertical individualism?
Social Structure: Hierarchy Control Intent: Change Environment Change Inclination: Progressive Gender Status: Rigid Means to Goal: Competition Performance Value: Ability Social Interface: Stand out (salience) Cognitive Mode: Analytic
What is the social structure, control intent, change inclination, gender status, means to goal, performance value, social interface, and cognitive mode of horizontal individualism?
Social Structure: Equality Control Intent: Change Environment Change Inclination: Progressive Gender Status: Fluid Means to Goal: Competition Performance Value: Ability Social Interface: Stand out (salience) Cognitive Mode: Analytic
What is the social structure, control intent, change inclination, gender status, means to goal, performance value, social interface, and cognitive mode of vertical collectivism?
Social Structure: Hierarchy Control Intent: Adapt to environment Change Inclination: Traditional Gender Status: Rigid Means to Goal: Cooperation Performance Value: Effort Social Interface: Fit in (harmony) Cognitive Mode: Holistic
What is the social structure, control intent, change inclination, gender status, means to goal, performance value, social interface, and cognitive mode of horizontal collectivism?
Social Structure: Equality Control Intent: Adapt to environment Change Inclination: Traditional Gender Status: Fluid Means to Goal: Cooperation Performance Value: Effort Social Interface: Fit in (harmony) Cognitive Mode: Holistic
What countries are Vertical Individualism?
USA, UK, France
What countries are Horizontal Individualism?
Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark
What countries are Vertical Collectivism?
China, India, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Poland
What countries are Horizontal Collectivism?
Israel kibbutz, Spain, Brazil
What are the aspects of Horizontal individualism?
Egalitarian
People try to be unique and do their own things
Eg. Sweden
What are the aspects of Vertical Individualism?
Achievement-oriented
People do their own things and try to be the best
Eg. USA
What are the aspects of Horizontal Collectivism?
Co-operativeness
People merge themselves with in-groups
Eg. Israeli kibbutz
What are the aspects of Vertical Collectivism?
Dutifulness
People submit themselves to authorities of in-groups; willing to sacrifice
Eg. India
What is Lagom?
“Not too little, not too much”
The Swedish art of living balanced, happy life
Ethos of Scandinavian countries
What is tightness?
Rules and norms applied to social situations and sanctions applied to those who violate them
What is tight of tightness?
Norms are imposed tightly.
What is loose of tightness?
Deviation from the norms are tolerated.
In what societies is loose tightness seen?
Heterogeneous societies
People do not depend on each other much
Low population density
Open frontier
Where are complexities present in the sociocultural orientations?
Hunter/gatherers vs. Information societies
GDP per capital
% of urban population
Size of cities
What is enculturation?
The process by which youngsters learn and adopt ways of their culture. It shapes and moulds individuals’ psychological characteristics
Culture vs. Genes
Look at diagram on p. 14
What is ethnocentrism?
It is a look at the world from the perspective of our own culture
Where are ethnocentric views present?
They exist in all cultures
Most people are considered a little ethnocentric
Unless someone is an anthropologist or other social scientist, it may be difficult for someone to appreciate anyone’s behaviour without referencing his or her own culture.
What is the problem with having an ethnocentric attitude?
Assign a higher or lower status to cultures (higher cultures being intrinsically better)
Own culture is of the highest status
What is ethnocentrism in (social) scientific research?
The use of WEIRD (Westernized Educated people from Industrialized Rich Democracies) in experiments.
What is the WEIRD effect?
Lifelong members of WEIRD societies react differently from others in experiment after experiment involving measures of fairness, antisocial punishment, and cooperation, as well as when responding to visual illusions and questions of individualism and conformity.
The fact that WEIRD people are the outliers in so many key domains of the behavioural sciences may render them to be one f the worst subpopulations one could study for generalizing about Homo sapiens.
96% of behavioural science experiment subjects are from WEIRD countries, even though those countries have just 12% of the world’s population and 68% of all subjects are Americans.
Many behavioural psychology studies must be understood to offer insight only into the minds of WEIRD people
Results of a scientific study that offer universal claims about human nature should be independent of location, cultural factors, and many outside influences.
What is the absolutist approach?
All psychological phenomena is the same across cultures
Morals, ideas, and actions of different cultures can be perceived and evaluated in correlation with universal criteria (eg. Human rights are universal)
Not the same as ethnocentrism because it doesn’t insist that one’s own culture is the superior one, just acknowledges the existence of some universal norms.
What is the relativist approach?
Human behaviour can be understood only in context
Valid comparisons cannot be made among cultures
How can cultural relativism lead to ethnocentrism?
It can lead to ethnocentrism because it can lead people to overestimate and only appreciate their own cultural values which can get themselves locked up in an ethnocentric prison.
How can cultural relativism lead to “soft bigotry of low expectations”?
It allows you to hold other races/ethnic/religious groups to a lower standard (eg. Excusing misogyny, homophobia, etc.)
How can cultural relativism lead to “paradox of tolerance”?
It can lead you to tolerate the intolerance (eg. Vaccination exemption for parent’s personal belief)
What does “non-ethnocentric universalism/differentiated universalism” allow us to do?
It allows us not to destruct the Western approach by refuting universality, but to enrich it through different cultural perspectives
To take a comprehensive view of the possibilities of human beings, not just of the endowments of a specific group of human beings.
Intercultural dialogue is a process that comprises an open and respectful exchange between individuals, groups and organisations with different cultural backgrounds or world views.
Among its aims are: to develop a deeper understanding of different perspectives and practices; to increase participation (or freedom to make choices); to ensure equality; and to enhance creative processes.
What is multiculturalism?
Multiculturalism is equality for all cultural groups
Right to have their own path of development, activities, and values
Free from imposition of other group’s norms
What is the problem with multiculturalism?
The appearance of uni-lingual ghettos (eg. Turks in Germany have no loyalty to Germany and no affinity for its language or culture)
What is interculturalism?
It is a political ideology that does not place a priority for all cultures to be on the same level as a basis to organize society.
Instead, a “common civic culture” based on values of human rights, freedom and liberty, and of human rights while encouraging interaction among ethnic communities
“Common civic culture” = assimilation
People have the right to maintain an affiliation with their own ethnic group, but the entire society must adhere to constitution of fundamental rights and obligations (not accept cultural differences used as excuse to reduce human rights)
And ethics of maximum tolerance for individual’s choices and minimum tolerance for totalitarian and theocratic systems of ideas (which could undermine foundations of democratic society)
(Eg. USA, Quebec)
What is the Golden Rule?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
What is the Silver Rule?
Do not to others what you would not like to be done to you
What is the Platinum Rule?
Treat others they way they want to be treated
