Week 10

Question 1

Approaches to culture

Answer 1

• Emic: understanding driven by cultural members
• attempt to understand a culture from the perspective of members
of that culture – what cultural members find important and
meaningful

• Etic: understanding driven by researcher/general theories
• examine “culture‐neutral” theories developed by researchers to one or more cultures – what researchers find important and
meaningful

Question 2

Cultural v cross‐cultural psychology

Answer 2

• Cultural: examine features of cultures, and processes
of culture maintenance and change, within cultures
• could use emic or etic approaches

• Cross‐cultural: identify areas of similarities and
difference between cultures
• associated with an etic approach

Question 3

Five basic dimensions of culture

Answer 3

1. Power Distance
   • level of acceptance of inequality between people in a society
2. Individualism (v. collectivism)
   • degree to which a society reinforces individual achievement instead of
   collective achievement and interpersonal relationships
3. “Masculinity” (scare quotes added by me)
   • degree to which societies reinforce the traditional masculine work role model
   of achievement, control, and power
4. Uncertainty Avoidance
   • level of avoidance of uncertainty and ambiguity within a society
5. Long‐term orientation
   • degree to which societies embraces, or does not embrace, long‐term devotion
   to traditional values – expectations that change occurs slowly

Question 4

Culture shock

Answer 4

a feeling of disorientation and anxiety
that occurs as people from one culture encounter and
adapt to the practices, rules and expectations of
another culture