Unit 4.3: Cultural perspectives Flashcards
Are all aspects of personality universal?
no, only some are universal, others are highly variable across cultures
What is culture?
a set of attitudes, beliefs and behaviors, shared by a group of people
communicated from one generation to the other
Enculturation
process of socialization through which an individual acquires his/her native culture
mainly early in life
Cultural variations
some aspects are very similar within the group and different in comparison with other groups
e.g. personality attributes that vary from group to group
Which influence does culture have on emotions and personality?
affects the way emotions are experienced and personality is expressed
What are ‘WEIRD’ countries and how many participants in psychology studies come from them?
Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic
80% (only make up 12% of total population)
Evoked culture
cultural differences created by differing environmental conditions
-> capabilities present in all people that are elicited only in some cultural contexts
Transmitted culture
ideas, values, etc. present in at least one person, transmitted to others through interactions
Views of moral behavior: psych. principles that guide behavior, central to personality
-> cultures differ in views of what’s right or wrong
Collectivistic cultures (focus on the self)
communion and interdependence
self-view as connected
needs of the group > individual needs
individualistic cultures
agency and independence
self-view as autonomous
single person more important
Why is the differentiation into collectivistic and individualistic cultures often criticized?
cultural differences are a matter of degree
-> characterization may be overly simplistic and too general
self incorporates independent and interdependent aspects
What did McRae and colleagues study and what did they develop? What was the most striking finding?
personality profiles of 50 different cultures
NEO Personality inventory (NEO-PI-R)
-> 50 cultures similar in overall scores on five-factor model
cultural universals
identity features of personality that seem to be present in most or all human cultures
Universality of the five-factor model
translation of existing questionnaires into other languages to test natives in other cultures
-> findings support big 5
-> evidence also extends to observer-based data
The HEXACO Model
cross-cultural research with lexical approach found evidence for six factors
-> didn’t translate existing tests, but rather developed a new one
