P1 - Sociocultural - Cultural Origins

Question 1

what are cultural norms?

Answer 1

rules which indicate the expected behaviour in a group

Question 2

what are cultural dimensions?

Answer 2

describes trends of a behaviour in a given culture

Question 3

what did Hofstede find in his studies for cultural dimensions

Answer 3

• 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

Question 4

what is culture?

Answer 4

a set of ideas, beliefs, attitudes and traditions that we share with large groups of people and gives us a sense of identity

Question 5

what is surface culture

Answer 5

explicit and visible elements e.g clothes and music

Question 6

what is deep culture?

Answer 6

invisible and implicit beliefs, attitudes and values inside

Question 7

what is the cultural dimension: masculinity vs feminism

Answer 7

masculine societies are defined by a focus on achievement, competition and wealth. Feminine societies focus on cooperation, relationships and quality of life.

Question 8

what is long term vs short term orientation?

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

what is an individualistic culture?

Answer 9

• everyone has a right to privacy
• self reliance
• uniqueness is valued and freedom and autonomy are valued

identity is defined by personal characteristics.

Question 10

what is a collectivistic culture?

Answer 10

• 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

Question 11

what is conformity?

Answer 11

type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a group.

Question 12

what study do we use for cultural dimensions?

Answer 12

Berry 1967

Question 13

what is the aim of Berry 1967

Answer 13

to see whether conformity levels differ across collectivistic and individualistic cultures

Question 14

what is the sample of Berry 1967

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what is the procedure of Berry 1967

Answer 15

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

Question 16

what were the results for Berry 1967?

Answer 16

Temne had a higher rate of conformity with what they thought the Temne believed.
Inuits had a lower rate of conformity than scots.

Question 17

what was the conclusion of Berry 1967

Answer 17

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

Question 18

link Berry 1967 to collectivism and individualism

Answer 18

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

Question 19

what is a flashbulb memory?

Answer 19

vivid, enduring memory associated with a significant and emotional event.

• quality of a photograph
• high confidence memory is accurate

Question 20

aim of Brown and Kulik (1977)

Answer 20

to investigate whether dramatic and personally significant events can create flashbulb memories.

Question 21

procedure of Brown and Kulik 1977

Answer 21

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

Question 22

what were the results of Brown and Kulik?

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

what was the conclusion of Brown and Kulik?

Answer 23

flashbulb memories are different from normal memories. difference in memory between black and white participants show the importance of relevance of the information.

Question 24

how does Brown and Kulik link with cultural dimensions?

Answer 24

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.