Culture EXAM 1 ACTUAL UPDATED QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Culture Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.
General Psychology General - reveal the underlying and universal central processing unit (CPU)
Defining the concept of culture Information acquired from other members of one's species through social
learning, affecting an individual's behavior
Made up of ideas, beliefs, habits, and technology
Differences between general psychology and cultural General - reveal the underlying and universal central processing unit (CPU)
psychology Real mind is the CPU
CPU is universal
Culture = noise
Cultural - the mind cannot be separated from content or context
Mind and culture are mutually constituted
Limits with the psychological database Most of the data comes from Western databases, primarily from psychology
students in America/ America in general
, WEIRD problem(s) Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic societies
WEIRD people make up approx 16% of the world, they're a minority
Interpretive power of culture (R) Building interpretive power requires understanding how culture, experience, and
context shape both researchers' and subjects' perspectives, experiences, and
behaviors
All too often the scientific psychologists are observing not the mind or behavior
but summed data and computer printout
The shift involves recognizing that people are cultural beings whose histories,
values, and experiences shape their understanding of what constitutes good or
normative behavior and how they make sense of the world
Culture conscious scientific practices (R) Challenges existing ideas about what represents good psychological
science/research by acknowledging that
WEIRD findings are culturally specific (not representative of an entire human
population)
WEIRD findings are not more representative than non-WEIRD findings
non-WEIRD research enhances understanding of human nature in meaningful and
legitimate ways
Psychological universals (be able to identify different Abstract definition generally leads to evidence supporting universality
types) Concrete definition generally leads to evidence supporting variability
Accessibility: physical causal reasoning
Functional: negative feelings in depression
Functional universal serves the same purpose but used to different degrees
culturally
Existential: persistence in the face of failure
Non-universal: abacus; terrible twos
Dimensions of culture: Power distance, Power distance, Individualism/collectivism
Individualism/collectivism, Masculine/feminine culture,
Long/short term orientation, Uncertainty avoidance Masculine/feminine culture: Masculine cultures have a preference for achievement
and assertiveness, are competitive, and offer material rewards for success;
feminine cultures have a preference for cooperation, care, and are consensus-
oriented
uncertainty avoidance: the degree to which societies are willing to tolerate
uncertainty and risk
Long/short term orientation: the cultural dimension that refers to the degree to
which members enjoy immediate rewards or delay them for the future
Social class, region, and religion as forms of culture (R) Ethnicity or nationality are not the only forms of culture.
In some ways other forms of culture have psychological consequences parallel to
those of ethnicity/nationality, in other ways they may have unique effects.
Working class culture is linked to more interdependence, holistic thinking,
empathy, and vigilance.
Regional cultures vary in emphasis on honor, individualism, conformity, and
tightness-looseness.
Religious cultures differ in attribution, cognition, work style, and moral judgment.
Culture Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.
General Psychology General - reveal the underlying and universal central processing unit (CPU)
Defining the concept of culture Information acquired from other members of one's species through social
learning, affecting an individual's behavior
Made up of ideas, beliefs, habits, and technology
Differences between general psychology and cultural General - reveal the underlying and universal central processing unit (CPU)
psychology Real mind is the CPU
CPU is universal
Culture = noise
Cultural - the mind cannot be separated from content or context
Mind and culture are mutually constituted
Limits with the psychological database Most of the data comes from Western databases, primarily from psychology
students in America/ America in general
, WEIRD problem(s) Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic societies
WEIRD people make up approx 16% of the world, they're a minority
Interpretive power of culture (R) Building interpretive power requires understanding how culture, experience, and
context shape both researchers' and subjects' perspectives, experiences, and
behaviors
All too often the scientific psychologists are observing not the mind or behavior
but summed data and computer printout
The shift involves recognizing that people are cultural beings whose histories,
values, and experiences shape their understanding of what constitutes good or
normative behavior and how they make sense of the world
Culture conscious scientific practices (R) Challenges existing ideas about what represents good psychological
science/research by acknowledging that
WEIRD findings are culturally specific (not representative of an entire human
population)
WEIRD findings are not more representative than non-WEIRD findings
non-WEIRD research enhances understanding of human nature in meaningful and
legitimate ways
Psychological universals (be able to identify different Abstract definition generally leads to evidence supporting universality
types) Concrete definition generally leads to evidence supporting variability
Accessibility: physical causal reasoning
Functional: negative feelings in depression
Functional universal serves the same purpose but used to different degrees
culturally
Existential: persistence in the face of failure
Non-universal: abacus; terrible twos
Dimensions of culture: Power distance, Power distance, Individualism/collectivism
Individualism/collectivism, Masculine/feminine culture,
Long/short term orientation, Uncertainty avoidance Masculine/feminine culture: Masculine cultures have a preference for achievement
and assertiveness, are competitive, and offer material rewards for success;
feminine cultures have a preference for cooperation, care, and are consensus-
oriented
uncertainty avoidance: the degree to which societies are willing to tolerate
uncertainty and risk
Long/short term orientation: the cultural dimension that refers to the degree to
which members enjoy immediate rewards or delay them for the future
Social class, region, and religion as forms of culture (R) Ethnicity or nationality are not the only forms of culture.
In some ways other forms of culture have psychological consequences parallel to
those of ethnicity/nationality, in other ways they may have unique effects.
Working class culture is linked to more interdependence, holistic thinking,
empathy, and vigilance.
Regional cultures vary in emphasis on honor, individualism, conformity, and
tightness-looseness.
Religious cultures differ in attribution, cognition, work style, and moral judgment.
