What is culture?
Heine (2012); Richerson & Boyd (2005); Smith et al (2013); Schaller et al (2011); Nisbett et al
(2001) all provide definitions answering ‘what is culture’ - whilst there is not one definition of
culture, culture is something shared between people and there is an overlap in definitions
Does psychology vary across cultures?
Cultural psychology research
The Sambia Tribe
Muller-Leyer illusion
Asch Conformity Study
Does psychology vary across cultures?
Is culture unique to humans?
Humans seem to excel in cultural learning
Theory of mind
Language
Cumulative learning
Brain size matters
Origin of cultural variation
Ecological/geographical differences
How do cultures change and persist
LECTURE 2: DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIALIZATION
Cultural Transmission
Geertz (1975) We all begin with the natural equipment to live a thousand kinds of life but in the
end only living one
Humans have a universal brain which develops into a cultural mind
Cultural differences emerge with age
Differences in upbringing
Keller et al 1999 basic components
Parenting styles
Cultural variation in childhood experiences
Parenting styles
Family structure
, Are developmental transitions universal?
The terrible twos
Adolescence rebellion
LECTURE 3: HUMAN VALUES AND CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
What are values? What are not values?
Brief history in human values
Schwartz model of human values
Value structure
Implications of the value structure
What are the most important values?
Value similarities and their implications
How can value similarities be explained
Value instantiations
Values
Wellbeing
Attitudes
Relationship satisfaction
Political orientation
Cultural dimensions
Ingleharts Materialism Post Materialism
Gelfands (2011) Tightness-Looseness
Cultural dimensions as predictors and moderators
LECTURE 4: SELF AND PERSONALITY
Differences in self-views
Independent and interdependence self-construal
Self-consistency
Oyserman et al (2002) rethinking individualism and collectivism
Critiques
Personality across cultures
Western perspective
Indigenous approach
LECTURE 5: COGNITION AND PERCEPTION
HOLISTIC VS ANALYTIC THINKING THEORETICAL MODEL
How to solve Triads:
- Chiu (1972); Zhang & Nisbett (2004) Suppose you are asked to link the following stimuli: a
carrot, a dog, and a rabbit.