P1 - Sociocultural - Cultural Origins Flashcards
culture and its influence, cultural dimensions
what are cultural norms?
rules which indicate the expected behaviour in a group
what are cultural dimensions?
describes trends of a behaviour in a given culture
what did Hofstede find in his studies for cultural dimensions
- power distance
- individualism vs collectivism
- masculinity vs feminism
- uncertainty avoidance
- long vs short term orientation
- indulgence vs restraint
based on a large survey across 10 years on 117,000 employers of IBM from 40 countries
what is culture?
a set of ideas, beliefs, attitudes and traditions that we share with large groups of people and gives us a sense of identity
what is surface culture
explicit and visible elements e.g clothes and music
what is deep culture?
invisible and implicit beliefs, attitudes and values inside
what is the cultural dimension: masculinity vs feminism
masculine societies are defined by a focus on achievement, competition and wealth. Feminine societies focus on cooperation, relationships and quality of life.
what is long term vs short term orientation?
connection to the past and attitudes towards the future. Short term orientation means traditions are kept. Long term orientation has more of a focus on the future.
what is an individualistic culture?
- everyone has a right to privacy
- self reliance
- uniqueness is valued and freedom and autonomy are valued
identity is defined by personal characteristics.
what is a collectivistic culture?
- privacy is not expected
- shared responsibility and interdependence
- social harmony is valued
- common history
identity is defined more by characteristics of collective groups to which one belongs
China, Peru, Sierra Leone
what is conformity?
type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a group.
what study do we use for cultural dimensions?
Berry 1967
what is the aim of Berry 1967
to see whether conformity levels differ across collectivistic and individualistic cultures
what is the sample of Berry 1967
sample:
Temne of Sierra Leone: society based on rice farming and crops must be harvested among group, representing a collectivistic society, high food-accumulating society
Inuit people of Baffin Island in Canada: allows individualism to develop in a hunting and fishing society
Scots, who are closer to middle, as a control group
what is the procedure of Berry 1967
120 in each group
given 9 lines and asked which comparison line closely matched the standard line
two practise tests to make sure directions were understood, instructions were in their native language. they had four more trials
on the 3rd trial, they were told “most people in your culture said this” to prime the participant to identify with their culture, and the correct answer was given.
trials 4-6 the wrong answer was givenw
what were the results for Berry 1967?
Temne had a higher rate of conformity with what they thought the Temne believed.
Inuits had a lower rate of conformity than scots.
what was the conclusion of Berry 1967
when participants are reminded of cultural identity by being told their culture had already given a response, the cultural dimension played a more significant role in conformity
link Berry 1967 to collectivism and individualism
Temne had higher rate of conformity which links to collectivistic culture as they are rice farmers and have to work together to be able to increase their progress together, emphasise on obedience and cooperation.
Inuit’s had a higher rate of individualism due to the fact they get food resources by fishing and hunting which is an independent activity and need to be self reliance
what is a flashbulb memory?
vivid, enduring memory associated with a significant and emotional event.
- quality of a photograph
- high confidence memory is accurate
aim of Brown and Kulik (1977)
to investigate whether dramatic and personally significant events can create flashbulb memories.
procedure of Brown and Kulik 1977
retrospective questionnaire to assess memories of 80 American participants : 40 African Americans and 40 Caucasians
surrounding circumstances in which they learned of public events, such as assassination of JFK, MLK, Medgar Evers.
asked questions around:
ongoing activity
informant
place
own affect
others affect
aftermath
OI POOA
what were the results of Brown and Kulik?
memories were particularly detailed, vivid and long-lasting
JFKs assassination led to most flashbulb memories
African Americans recalled more of civil rights leaders, 75% of black participants remembered MLK compared to 33% of white participants.
what was the conclusion of Brown and Kulik?
flashbulb memories are different from normal memories. difference in memory between black and white participants show the importance of relevance of the information.
how does Brown and Kulik link with cultural dimensions?
African Americans remember assassination of civil rights leaders due to the personal significance of black community and their social group, as it was significant for their community. this creates significantly detailled memories.
America = individualistic culture, high importance on freedom and uniqueness, so they have strong memories of political assassinations due of them going against freedom of speech.
