Define the terms culture and cultural norms (SAQ)

Cultural norms (More detailed)

Cultural norms are patterns that are typical of specific groups. They are often passed down through generations by observational learning by the groups gatekeepers (media, parents, teachers, religious leaders, peers). Cultural norms include things such as how marriage partners are chosen, attitudes towards alcohol consumption, acceptance/ rejection of hitting children, views on education, views on how women should be treated and views on gender.

Cultural norms (broad definition)

Cultural norms can be defined as thoughts, feelings, and behavioural patterns that are typical or specific groups

Culture (broad definition)

Culture can be defined as a constructed concept between groups of humans involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and behaviours

Example of a cultural norm

Gender -Mead (1935) = emic

Define

Give the precise meaning of the word, phrase, concept, or physical quantity.

Criticism of Mead (1935)

Gwertz (1984)

Gwerts (1984)

Gwertz studied the Tchambuli community in 1974-1975 and noted that Mead admitted she had a research bias of wanting to make her gender findings relevant to a western audience. Moreover while Mead observed aggressive women Gwertz observed women who socialised in female groups, laughed, joked about men, and were independent from men in some areas of their lives. For example they would organise night dances without the mens permission. These dances might have appeared aggressive to a western 1930's women but were not aggressive to the Tchambuli. Gwertz also noted that during meads 1930's research 52% of the men were away working and those who remained were busy rebuilding housed that had been destroyed during a recent war with a rival tribe. It might be that women adopted roles traditionally performed by men, such as the management of trade, therefore these masculine gender roles Mead saw being adapted were not being permanently adapted through choice by temporarily through necessity. However they are still being adopted which does suggest gender is partly socially constructed. In addition Gwertz points out that in the original research Mead does describe Tchambuli men to be warlike and territorial however these findings have been largely forgotten by western writers. Mead also found gender universals that are less widely reported such as women are the primary caregivers, and men patrol and hunt within territorial borders. This shows that gender has some socially constructed elements but also some underlying universals.

Hofstede (2002)

Hofstede describes culture as a mental software. This is cultural schemas that have been internalised so that they influence thinking, emotions and behaviour. The mental software of a culture is shared by members of a sociocultural group and is learned through daily interactions and by the feedback from the group members.

Culture (more detailed)

However culture can have multiple definitions: -Matsumoto (2004) -Kuschel (2004) The fact that culture is a constructed concept between groups of humans -Looner (1995) Hofstede (2002)

Culture is a constructed concept between groups of humans

It is the belief and acceptance of culture which drives behaviour not the culture itself which should be the focus of investigation. It is the adherence to the rules and norms that drives us not the culture itself.

Kuschel (2004) - Defining culture

Kuschel argues that culture cannot be seen but one can see the manifestations of culture. However there is a deep culture which is related to beliefs, attitudes and values that underpins cultural manifestation. Descriptions of cultural factors can be used to understand how people have survived in their environment, how they have organised life in social groups and what beliefs, attitudes and norms influence behaviour in the social and cultural norms. These cultural factors may lead to specific kinds of behaviour.

Looner (1995)

Looner argues that culture can be defined as common rules that regulate interactions and behaviour in a group as well as a number of shared values and attitudes in the group.

Matsumoto (2004) - defining Culture

Matsumoto mentions a book from 1998 that analyses 128 different definitions of culture. According to this culture is a complex concept used in many different ways, for example to describe food, clothing, rituals, communication patters and eating habits. In addition Culture is often used to describe what could be called 'surface culture' since it is so visible. For example people notice that food is different when they travel to another country and attribute this to cultural differences or they notice that in some countries women cover themselves whereas in others they do not. Matsumoto defines culture as a dynamic system of rules, both explicit and implicit, established by groups in order to ensure their survival. This involves attitudes, values, beliefs, norms and behaviours. In other words culture is dynamic and it changes over time in response to environmental and social changes. It exists on many levels, for example USA culture or the culture of an individual school. The school example shows that large institutions can have a set of guidelines that it works by which are explicit or implicit. Furthermore anthropologists often study the objects which make up a culture such as food religious beliefs, grave sights etc. Whereas psychologists focus on the subjective elements of culture such as group attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms, these are the social representation which has been internalised by its members.

Mead (1935)

Mead took an emic approach to document instances of cultural norm variations in gender. She studied 3 different cultures living close to each other in New Guinea. The Arapesh people were characterised by women and men having the same sensitive and non aggressive behaviour as well as feminine personalities. The Mundugamor people were characterised by both genders being ruthless, unpleasant, and masculine. In the Tchambuli community women were characterised by dominant behaviour and men were more emotional and concerned about personal appearance. This seemed to Mead a reversal of western norms. She saw that men showed feminine behaviour such as being passive and women showed some masculine behaviour such as shaved heads, dominance, and control of trading relationships. Meads work is well known because it argues that gender differences are culturally constructed which in the 1930's played into the feminist movement. Furthermore she had a noble cause behind her research, which was to promote the notion of freedom and choice for gender role adoption. She influenced the sexual revolution of the 1960's which was a social movement that challenged traditional gender and sexuality norms in the west.

Cultural norms emic

There is an emic approach to psychology. The emic approach looks at behaviours that are culturally specific. Emics have challenged psychologists to reexamine their ideas of truth with regard to culture, since in most cases truth may be relative based on the culture in which one is raised. It is important for psychologists to recognise these cultural variations in order to best understand members of other cultural groups

Cultural norms etic

There is an etic approach to psychology. The etic approach is typically taken within cross cultural psychology where behaviour is compared across specific cultures. An etic approach is a self consciously outsider account and involves drawing on the notion of universal properties of cultures, which are common perceptual, cognitive and emotional structures.