UCSB PSY 154 Midterm Exam (2026) Complete
Questions & Verified Correct Answers
what are two observations of cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -1. the psychological
database represents a rather narrow slice of humanity
2. psychologists frequently assume universality in their research
what are some statistics that show that the psychological database is narrow? - CORRECT
ANSWER -1. 68% of subjects came from the US and 96% came from the West
2. more than 70% of samples came from undergraduates
what are the odds of a randomly chosen American undergrad vs. a randomly chosen non-
Westerner participating in a psychology study? - CORRECT ANSWER -4000+ : 1
what do researchers often assume? - CORRECT ANSWER -researchers often assume, usually
implicitly but sometimes explicitly as well, that research findings are universal, and they very
rarely do researchers discuss their findings in terms of their samples
what acronym is used to describe the current psychological database? - CORRECT ANSWER -
WEIRD
what does WEIRD stand for? - CORRECT ANSWER -western, educated, industrialized, rich,
democratic
what two things does cultural psychology look at? - CORRECT ANSWER -cultural diversity and
cultural influence
what question(s) does cultural diversity examine? - CORRECT ANSWER -what are the
differences? and why are there differences?
,what question(s) does cultural influence examine? - CORRECT ANSWER -how do these
differences come about?
what is cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -cultural psychology is the study of the way
culturally shared experiences (e.g., history, social practices, institutions, etc.) regulate, express,
and transform the human psyche
what factors show the difference between general psychology and cultural psychology? -
CORRECT ANSWER -- fixed vs. variable
- context-independent vs. context-dependent
- universality vs specificity
what are the implicit assumptions of general psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -fixedness,
context-independence, and universality
what are the explicit assumptions of cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -variability,
context-dependence, and specificity
general psychology: fixedness - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that psychological functioning is the
same for everyone
general psychology: context-independence - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that culture does not
influence the way we respond to situations
general psychology: universality - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that there are no cultural
differences in psychological tendencies and behavior
, cultural psychology: variability - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that there are many ways to
interpret and respond to the same stimuli and situations
what metaphor is used to describe variability, and what does it mean? - CORRECT ANSWER -tool
box: the tool you use depends on the problem
what's an example of variability? - CORRECT ANSWER -the insult situation: people will respond
differently to someone insulting them; some will roll their eyes, while others will get physical
cultural psychology: cultural dependence - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea of how people respond
to a situation depends on the shared context where it is happening
cultural psychology: specificity - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that we find different patterns of
social interactions and behaviors in different pockets of the world, and we cannot fully
understand one pattern without an explanation for another
what's an example of specificity? - CORRECT ANSWER -culture of honor found in herding
cultures vs. culture of dignity found in industrialized areas
what are the three goals of cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -1. characterization of
cultural diversity in psychology
2. discovery of the systematic principles (patterns, frameworks) underlying the differences (e.g.,
culture of honor vs dignity vs face)
3. understanding of the processes of cultural influence
what is the "characterization of differences" factor of cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -
the idea that observation and documentation of cultural divergence in thoughts, feelings, and
behavior (e.g., cross-cultural comparisons)
Questions & Verified Correct Answers
what are two observations of cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -1. the psychological
database represents a rather narrow slice of humanity
2. psychologists frequently assume universality in their research
what are some statistics that show that the psychological database is narrow? - CORRECT
ANSWER -1. 68% of subjects came from the US and 96% came from the West
2. more than 70% of samples came from undergraduates
what are the odds of a randomly chosen American undergrad vs. a randomly chosen non-
Westerner participating in a psychology study? - CORRECT ANSWER -4000+ : 1
what do researchers often assume? - CORRECT ANSWER -researchers often assume, usually
implicitly but sometimes explicitly as well, that research findings are universal, and they very
rarely do researchers discuss their findings in terms of their samples
what acronym is used to describe the current psychological database? - CORRECT ANSWER -
WEIRD
what does WEIRD stand for? - CORRECT ANSWER -western, educated, industrialized, rich,
democratic
what two things does cultural psychology look at? - CORRECT ANSWER -cultural diversity and
cultural influence
what question(s) does cultural diversity examine? - CORRECT ANSWER -what are the
differences? and why are there differences?
,what question(s) does cultural influence examine? - CORRECT ANSWER -how do these
differences come about?
what is cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -cultural psychology is the study of the way
culturally shared experiences (e.g., history, social practices, institutions, etc.) regulate, express,
and transform the human psyche
what factors show the difference between general psychology and cultural psychology? -
CORRECT ANSWER -- fixed vs. variable
- context-independent vs. context-dependent
- universality vs specificity
what are the implicit assumptions of general psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -fixedness,
context-independence, and universality
what are the explicit assumptions of cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -variability,
context-dependence, and specificity
general psychology: fixedness - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that psychological functioning is the
same for everyone
general psychology: context-independence - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that culture does not
influence the way we respond to situations
general psychology: universality - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that there are no cultural
differences in psychological tendencies and behavior
, cultural psychology: variability - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that there are many ways to
interpret and respond to the same stimuli and situations
what metaphor is used to describe variability, and what does it mean? - CORRECT ANSWER -tool
box: the tool you use depends on the problem
what's an example of variability? - CORRECT ANSWER -the insult situation: people will respond
differently to someone insulting them; some will roll their eyes, while others will get physical
cultural psychology: cultural dependence - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea of how people respond
to a situation depends on the shared context where it is happening
cultural psychology: specificity - CORRECT ANSWER -the idea that we find different patterns of
social interactions and behaviors in different pockets of the world, and we cannot fully
understand one pattern without an explanation for another
what's an example of specificity? - CORRECT ANSWER -culture of honor found in herding
cultures vs. culture of dignity found in industrialized areas
what are the three goals of cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -1. characterization of
cultural diversity in psychology
2. discovery of the systematic principles (patterns, frameworks) underlying the differences (e.g.,
culture of honor vs dignity vs face)
3. understanding of the processes of cultural influence
what is the "characterization of differences" factor of cultural psychology? - CORRECT ANSWER -
the idea that observation and documentation of cultural divergence in thoughts, feelings, and
behavior (e.g., cross-cultural comparisons)
