Cultural Psychology (Heine) Chapter 1 & 2

Which of the following is an example of ethnocentrism? a)"I grew up eating fish raw, but people from Culture X like to eat fish cooked. Different countries just have different food preferences." b)"Some cultures are better than others, that is a fact." c)"We should be more tolerant of different ethnicities, and make that the key goal of the company." d)"Those people from Culture X are weird. Rather than using forks to eat like we do, like people are supposed to, they like to pick things up using sticks to eat." e)"I do not understand. How come we keep dogs as pets, but people from Culture X keep llamas as pets?"

"Those people from Culture X are weird. Rather than using forks to eat like we do, like people are supposed to, they like to pick things up using sticks to eat."

Accessibility Universal

(AFEN) 1st Level of Universality - Serves the same function and is accessible to the same degree. (Example: Social facilitation and Perceptual preferences in newborns)

Functional Universal

(AFEN) 2nd Level of Universality - Functions the same across all cultures used; to different degrees (Example: Fairness based punishments)

Existential Universal

(AFEN) 3rd Level of Universality - EXISTS in all cultures but doesn't serve the same function; isn't equally accessible (Example: Increased persistence in the face of failure)

Non-Universal

(AFEN) 4th Level of Universality - a cognitive tool not found in all cultures so can be considered cultural

Russian cultural-historical school

A school of thought which argued that people interact with their environment through the "tools" or human-made ideas that have been passed down to them through history.

prestige bias

A tendency to imitate prestigious others more than less-prestigious others-that is, those who have the respect and attention of others.

emulative learning

A type of social learning focused on the environmental events involved with a model's behavior, such as how the use of one object could potentially affect changes in the state of the environment.

imitative learning

A type of social learning in which the learner internalizes aspects of the model's goals and behavioral strategies.

A primary difference between "cultural" psychologists and "general" psychologists is a)Cultural psychologists believe that the mind is interdependent with context and content, whereas general psychologists believe that the mind is independent from context and content. b)General psychologists believe that experiences shape the mind, whereas cultural psychologists believe that experiences do not shape the mind c)Cultural psychologists study people from different cultures, whereas general psychologists study people from one culture d)General psychologists believe that people everywhere are born with similar brains, whereas cultural psychologists believe that people are born with different kinds of brains in different cultures. e)General psychologists study people whose culture has been statistically controlled for

Cultural psychologists believe that the mind is interdependent with context and content, whereas general psychologists believe that the mind is independent from context and content.

Which of the following statements is FALSE about animals and culture? a)There are behaviors common in chimpanzees in one location that are absent from chimpanzees in another location b)Chimpanzees show good emulative learning but poor imitative learning, compared with humans c)Humans appear to be the only species that uses symbolic coding d)Culture is found in several species of primates, but not in other animals e)Aside from humans, no other species shows evidence for much cumulative culture

Culture is found in several species of primates, but not in other animals

When humans engage in the prestige bias, they will also commonly copy everything that a prestigious model does, because humans a)Have large neocortices b)Engage in imitative learning c)Engage in emulative learning d)Have a small encephalization quotient e)Just love to learn

Engage in imitative learning

According to the social brain hypothesis, which of the following is true? a)Students who study social sciences are mentally healthier than those who do not b)The large brains of primates allow them to have larger societies c)Evolution favored primates who did well in maintaining social relationships d)The neocortex ratio in primates allows for population groups to exceed 150 members e)The neocortex ratio in primates limits population groups to 150 members

Evolution favored primates who did well in maintaining social relationships

People from all cultures use umbrellas, yet in some cultures umbrellas are used only to block the rain, whereas other cultures use umbrellas to only block sunlight. The use of umbrellas across cultures would thus be classified as a(n) a)Functional universal b)Existential universal c)Statistical universal d)Nonuniversal e)Accessibility universal

Existential universal

How does one discover an animal's encephalization quotient (EQ)? a)It is the ratio of an animal's brain weight to its body size b)It is the ratio of an animal's brain weight to the brain weight predicted for a comparable animal with the same body size c)It is a complex conversion from an animal's intelligence quotient d)It is the difference between the volume of an animal's brain and the volume of its neocortex e)It is the ratio of the volume of an animal's neocortex to the volume of its brain

It is the ratio of an animal's brain weight to the brain weight predicted for a comparable animal with the same body size

According to Dunbar, why would larger social groups be affiliated with the evolution of larger brains? a)Larger groups provided more protection for survival, allowing for evolution of larger brains b)Smaller groups tended to be too cohesive and unwilling to adopt new ideas, leading to stagnant brain evolution c)Larger groups were more successful in hunting, and the additional food led to the evolution of larger brains d)Larger groups had greater social complexity, driving the evolution of larger brains to handle such complexity e)Smaller groups were more vulnerable to predation and defeat in warfare, preventing the evolution of larger brains

Larger groups had greater social complexity, driving the evolution of larger brains to handle such complexity

color-blind approach

Looking beyond individuals' ethnicities or race in an effort to focus on their common human nature.

Is cultural learning unique to humans?

No. There is much evidence to suggest that animals also learn through socialization. Macques who wash potatoes. Chimps who use tools to collect termites. Dolphins that use sponges as tools (they learn it from their mothers). Whales pods that have unique dialects

You want to raise your children so that they will not be susceptible to the Müller-Lyer illusion. Based on what the textbook discusses as being the reason for some individuals being more susceptible to this illusion than others, what should you do to make your children less susceptible? a)Raise her in an environment without corners b)This cultural difference is genetically inherited, so little can be done to make one less susceptible c)Find a place with a high point of subjective equality, and make sure to raise her somewhere else d)Remove her from North America e) Train her and drill her on it as soon as she can talk

Raise her in an environment without corners

Three species of primates have recently been discovered. Species A's diet is based solely on fruits, Species B's diet is based solely on food that requires extractive foraging methods, and Species C lives in highly social complex groups. Which species probably has the largest EQ? a)Species B b)All three species have the same EQ. c)Species A d)Species C e)The answer cannot be determined with the available information

Species C

A small group of people have abandoned a large and technologically advanced society to settle at a another location. According to Henrich's mathematical model, what will most likely happen to the development of cultural technology in this new, smaller group? a)Splitting from a larger group has nothing to do with the development of cultural technology b) The cultural technology of your group will likely devolve due to a lack of skilled models c)The cultural technology of your group will likely ratchet up due to a concentrated effort among this handful of people d)The cultural technology of your group will exceed the technological complexity of the original society e)The cultural technology of your group will remain the same

The cultural technology of your group will likely devolve due to a lack of skilled models

Rachet effect

The process by which cultural information becomes more complex and. often more useful over time because an initial idea can be learned from others and then modified and improved by the learners.

Homer sharpens a rock and uses it to shave his beard. Later, Schick adds a handle to the rock for better grip. Gillette then updates the rock to a titanium blade for durability. The progression of improvements made to the razor is an example of a)Emulative learning b)The ratchet effect c)Cultural adaptation d)The eureka effect e)Cultural bootstrapping

The ratchet effect

Encephalization Quotient

The ratio of an animal's brain weight to the brain weight predicted for a comparable animal of the same body size

Neocortex Ratio

The ratio of the volume of the neocortex to the volume of the rest of the brain, which is used as a proxy measure of intelligence

Which of the following theories best supports why primates evolved such large brains? a)They tend to eat foods that require ingenuity to extract, such as nuts and termites. b)They tend to eat foods that are rich in protein, which can support expansive neural development. c)The number of males and females is unequal, so individuals need to outsmart their competitors to attract mates. d)They tend to eat fruit, and need to be clever enough to remember where the fruit trees were that would be ripe at each point in the season. e) They tend to live in large social groups, which requires intelligence to function effectively

They tend to live in large social groups, which requires intelligence to function effectively

WEIRD societies

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic societies

An infant of Species Z sees someone use a new tool to achieve a goal. Which of the following scenarios best demonstrates that the infant is engaging in emulative learning? a)When given the tool, the infant mimics exactly how the model used the tool to achieve the goal b)The infant tries to determine the model's intent in using the tool in a specific way c)The infant tries to determine what it is about the tool that allowed the model to achieve the goal. d)When given the tool, the infant figures out on her own how to use the tool to achieve the same goal e)The infant stares blankly at the model

When given the tool, the infant figures out on her own how to use the tool to achieve the same goal

Cultural Worlds

Worlds that contain cultural ideas that have accumulated over time

A orangutan learns from his human zookeeper to wash carrots in the artificial river in his zoo habitat before eating them. Based on the definitions of culture used in the textbook, can this example be said to be culture? a) Yes, the information was passed on by social learning b)Yes, because the chimpanzee belongs to a group of chimpanzees kept in zoos c)No, because he is the only member of his group to adopt this habit d)Yes, because a habit or practice can be said to be "culture" e)No, because he learned the practice from a member of a different species

Yes, because a habit or practice can be said to be "culture"

theory of mind

ability to reason about what other people know or believe

Celebrating birthdays is a functional universal. This means that in two cultures, the purpose of birthdays is _____________ across the cultures and how important birthdays are is _____________ across the cultures. a)different; different b)different; the same c)There is not enough information to answer this question d)the same; different e)the same; the same

different; the same

Müller-Lyer illusion

illusion of line length that is distorted by inward-turning or outward-turning corners on the ends of the lines, causing lines of equal length to appear to be different

In the Sambian context, the cultural emphasis on boys experiencing rituals such as piercing their noses and being thrashed with sticks suggest that, for the Sambia, a)pain is not associated with masculinity b)men must work hard to maintain their innate maleness c)masculinity is something that boys gain from certain behaviors d)there is also a strong emphasis on sexuality being rigid and unchangeable e)women need to work toward obtaining a femaleness essence

masculinity is something that boys gain from certain behaviors

The Russian cultural-historical school emphasized that a)the psychological effects of cultural learning are best evident by contrasting people from different historical periods b)people interact with their environments via culturally acquired tools c)mind and culture are mutually constituted d)the mind has a universal layer and a culturally specific layer e)a culture is the sum of its members' individual personalities

people interact with their environments via culturally acquired tools

Which of the following levels of psychological universals was NOT proposed by Norenzayan and Heine? a)statistical universal b)nonuniversa c)accessibility universal d)functional universal e)existential universal

statistical universal

cumulative cultural evolution

the dynamic ongoing process of cultural change as a consequence of variation that individuals have produced in the cultural tools they use

Ethnocentrism

the tendency to judge people from another culture by the standards of one's own culture

Social Brain Hypothesis

the theory that cognitive demands inherent in social living led to the evolution of large primate brains

You are the boss of a company in the United States and you have instituted a new policy requiring all interactions between workers, who are predominantly white Americans, to take a culture-blind approach. This means that a)ethnic minority workers will be more engaged with their work than they were before the new policy was instituted b)white American workers will act in less prejudicial ways toward ethnic minority workers c)you want the workers to treat each other as individuals, with individual experiences and individual histories d) you belong to the Russian culture-historical school e)you want your workers to focus on aspects of psychology that are nonuniversals

you want the workers to treat each other as individuals, with individual experiences and individual histories