Cultural psych exam 1

As the incoming CEO of a company where people of different ethnicities work in the same workspace, you have been given the task of creating a positive and friendly work environment. This means that people of different ethnicities should have trust in the company and have positive emotions toward each other. To do so, you plan to give a speech. According to the textbook, which of the following is the ideal approach to take in that speech?

"Every race brings a different piece of the puzzle that, together, will help us accomplish great things."

Which of the following is an example of ethnocentrism?

"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."

Name each degree of universality based on Norenzayan and Heine's model. For each degree of universality, provide one example of each degree, and justify why your examples are relevant for each level (pg 18-22).

-Non universal Nonuniversal are cultural inventions. An example is abacus reasoning. Abacus is a calculation tool that is used in some parts of the Middle East and in Asia. People from different cultures were trained in using an abacus. They think about numbers differently than people from cultures that do not use an abacus, Abacus users tend to favor the odd-even distinction, they tend to think in base units of fives, and they make a specific pattern of errors not seen in nonusers. -existence universality Existential universality is a psychological process that is said to exist in all cultures, although the process is not necessarily used to solve the same problems, nor is it equally accessible across cultures. An example of this is Westerners. Westerners tend to find experiences with success to be motivating and experiences with failure to be demotivating. In contrast, East Asians tend to show the opposite pattern, and they work it harder after failures than after success. -functional universality Functional universality is also a degree of universality. This specific psychological process exists in all cultures. And are used to solve the same problems across cultures, yet are more accessible to people from some cultures than others. For example, one large-scale investigation explored whether people from a variety of societies around the world tend to punish those who have acted unfairly, even if that punishment was costly for the person who delivered it. -accessibility universailty Accessibility universal is the last degree of universality. This is the top level of the decision tree. It indicates that a given psychological process exists in all cultures, is used to solve the same problems across cultures, and is accessible to the same degree across cultures. An example of this would be social facilitation, the tendency for individuals to do better at well-learned tasks and worse at poorly learned ones when in the presence of others.

Which of the following depicts an evoked culture?

A culture uses the possession of meat as a status symbol due to the abundance of vegetation.

Participants are sitting in their own separate testing rooms and have been asked to write statements about what they think about themselves. After a while, a mirror magically appears on a wall in each room. Comparing their self-descriptions before and after the mirror appeared, how much do they differ?

American participants viewed themselves more negatively after the mirror appeared, and Japanese participants did not change their views after the mirror appeared

Cross-cultural research on math achievement at school reveals that

Americans are more satisfied with their math performance than are East Asians

Which of the following statements about the relationships between authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles is true?

Authoritative parenting uses more democratic reasoning than does authoritarian parenting

Which of the following is NOT a plausible response to the argument that cultural evolution is somehow different from biological evolution?

Biological evolution does not choose what has a selective advantage to pass on.

In what ways is biological evolution similar to and different from cultural evolution (p. 82-83)?

Biological evolution is similar to cultural evolution because they are both based on the evolution of humans. The difference is that biological evolution is based on genetics, organisms, genetic changes, variation, selection, etc. This evolution is supported by facts based on evolution and scientific evidence. Cultural psychology isn't based on science it is based on tradition, heritage, and culture. An example of this is civilization.

Explain why cultural differences exist regarding the emergence of the terrible twos (pg. 186-188).

Cultural differences exist regarding the emergence of the terrible twos because in American culture is viewed as a hallmark where there is an increase in resistant, oppositional behavior. These times are very draining on the parents, but Western research has shown that it is an important developmental milestone when the young toddler begins to establish his or her individuality, and this becomes seen as the foundation for mature relationships. In Mexican and Guatemalan cultures, infants do not go through this period of resistance. Rather than asserting control and striving for independence. In Japanese toddlers, it is found that they make fewer demands on their parents which makes them less likely to disobey. The developmental goal embraced by Japanese parents is much less a desire to see their children learn how to assert themselves as individuals than for them to learn how to accommodate others and to become part of a harmonious social group. Japan, Mexico, and Guatemalan cultures have their toddlers be a part of the community compared to American culture where the toddlers are told to be individualistic.

Explain how cultural psychology can help us develop a better appreciation for our own culture. (pg. 28-29).

Cultural psychology can enlighten us about our thoughts, actions, and feelings that are shaped by cultural information that gives them meaning. Cultural psychology will help us understand the way people behave in their cultures and the feelings and actions that go along with it as well. Learning about different cultures and expanding our thoughts and feelings about these cultures will help us better appreciate our own culture. Viewing other cultures can give us ideas on how to improve our own culture as well.

Define culture. What makes it acceptable for people to use culture to talk about groups such as urban culture, high SES culture, Millennial culture, and Mac-user culture? What are the examples showing that culture is dynamic (pg. 5-7)?

Culture is to indicate a particular kind of information. Culture is any kind of information that is acquired from other members of one's species through social learning that can influence an individual's behaviors. It also indicates a particular group of individuals. It's acceptable to use culture to talk about groups when their members exist within a shared context, communicate with each other, have some norms that distinguish them from other groups, and have some common practices and ideas. An example that shows that culture is dynamic is the American sitcom Seinfeld which was enjoyed by most of the United States and was named by the TV guide in 2002 as the greatest television show of all time, however, it flopped in Germany because most Germans didn't find it to be funny. Although Germans continued to watch, and love, the 1960s-era American sitcom Hogan's Heroes. Cultures differ so much in their humor preference. Some Hollywood studios are steering away from comedy movies because even if it ends up being a big hit domestically, they usually won't be appreciated, for example in China. Every culture is very different from one another on many topics. Humor is one. Some shows/ movies will be big hits in some countries but not in others, illustrating that culture is dynamic.

Describe how age of immigration and years in the host culture can affect one's identification with the host culture (pg. 168-170)

Due to humans being more cultureless and acquiring culture as they are socialized, it follows that cultural differences in psychological processes should become more pronounced with age. Young children from different cultures should appear relatively more similar to each other than older children would be because younger kids have been socialized less deeply into the culture. Likewise, the most pronounced cultural differences should emerge for adults, because their minds have had much more time to be shaped by cultural experiences.

What is ethnocentrism? Why would it exist? Please provide two examples of ethnocentrism (pg. 28-29).

Ethnocentrism is judging people from other cultures by the standards of one's own culture. This exists because we are socialized to value normative cultural behaviors. We aren't informed enough about the many cultures that exist today. We also deal with the media, family, and friends who tell stories about their experiences with different cultures, which implicitly shapes the way we view other cultures. An example of ethnocentrism is Adolf Hitler. He despised Jewish people and had them slaughtered in concentration camps just because he felt that they were inferior to his ethnicity. Another example would be terrorism. 911 specifically was an act of terrorism by Osama bin Laden. He believed that Americans deserved to die and attacked the U.S by having terrorists hijack four airliners and crashed two planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. As well as having a plane flown into the Pentagon and the fourth plane was crashed into a field where passengers were able to get ahold of the plane from the hijackers.

Explain the difference between evoked cultures and transmitted cultures using examples (p. 76-77).

Evoked cultures describe how someone behaves based on their environment and environmental cues. Through natural selection, we have evolved and adapted to our environment and the changes that come with it. An example of this would be if the parent was yelling at your child a parent would most likely stand up for their child in an intimidating manner. Transmitted cultures are where others behave in a certain way based on cultural traits that have been passed down through generations. An example of this would be the celebration of a certain holiday that goes hand in hand with that specific culture.

Foot-in-the-door is a persuasion technique whereby the requester makes a relatively small request of a target. Once the target says yes, the requester will make more, and incrementally more costly, requests. This works because people are motivated to be self-consistent. Your friend is a big fan of this technique, and thinks that this sales tactic is equally effective everywhere, no matter where he goes. Based on research by Cialdini and colleagues, is this true or false?

False—the foot-in-the-door technique would work better in the United States than in Poland

Why do motivations for self-consistency appear weaker among East Asians than among Westerners?

In the West, self-consistency correlates more strongly with subjective well-being and with being liked by others than it does in East Asia.

Which of the following statements about ethnocentrism is true?

It means that behaviors that do not seem normal tend to be viewed as less desirable.

Why are people with interdependent selves more likely to act differently across different situations (p. 229- 236)

People are more apt to act differently across different situations because we as humans are influenced by others daily. Depending on what situation we are in or who we are with, will dictate how we act in certain situations. For example, if I were with my friends and I hit my hand on the table and swore, my friends would probably laugh at me and brush off that I had just sworn in front of them. However, if I was at my grandmother's house and I had hit my hand on her table and swore, my grandmother would be shocked and quite upset that I had sworn in front of her.

Army recruits are assigned randomly into specific sleeping quarters, where they do a lot of socializing during break time and at night. The political and religious attitudes of the recruits were surveyed before they were assigned sleeping quarters, and then again after several weeks of training. The generals found that the recruits' political and religious ideas tended to form clusters based on sleeping quarters. Which of the following can best explain this situation?

People in close quarters and contact tend to influence each other.

Your new job in a culturally diverse company requires you to figure out how to deal with this cultural diversity in such a way that yields the most benefits for the company. Your two opinions are to take the color-blind approach or the multicultural approach. Choose one, and justify your response by comparing the pros and cons of these two approaches based on the research approach presented in the textbook (pg. 25-28).

Personally, I think the multicultural approach would be more effective. The reasoning behind why is that research has found that minority group members tend to favor a multicultural approach more than majority groups do. A multicultural approach suggests that people will fare better when the distinctive characteristics of their group are observed and appreciated. Our society today only looks at what minority groups do wrong for this country, never the benefits they provide for us. The color-blind approach hopes to not draw attention to the differences between cultures because they will be less likely to create boundaries between themselves and others. May this possibly be effective, we are still ignoring the central issue. Every culture differs in various ways. That is what makes each culture unique. We shouldn't be ashamed of not all sharing the same beliefs. We should celebrate that and shed light on the benefits of each culture.

Discuss how pluralistic ignorance is related to cultural persistence (p.109-111)

Pluralistic ignorance is related to cultural persistence because people are influenced by what they believe other people feel based on their actions. They believe that they need to partake in certain activities to "fit in". For example, it is widely known that in college many students drink. It is the quote on quote the norm to drink. If you don't partake in drinking, you tend to be made fun of. Many feel uncomfortable in this situation so most eventually give into the peer pressure just to fit in.

Discuss the impact of proximal causes and distal causes (p. 72-76).

Proximal causes are those that have a direct and immediate effect on relationships. For example, if someone was riding a bike and they accidentally went out of the bike lane and caused a car to swerve, which resulted in that car hitting another car in a different lane. These actions of the biker caused a car accident almost instantaneously. Distal causes are those initial differences that lead to effects over an extended period. For example, carbon dioxide pollution is becoming a grave problem in our society today. The ozone layer being destroyed has affected us, humans. An example could be skin cancer. This has developed from the high levels of ultraviolet radiation.

Understand how different cultures prioritize different values in creating sleeping arrangements (pg. 172-179)

Sleeping arrangements can tell us a lot about one's cultural values, which largely influence the kind of environment in which the baby starts life. In African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans it is common for the child to continue to sleep in the same bed as their parents, or sometimes grandparents until they are well into their primary school years. This is known as co-sleeping, which is not seen as a matter of personal choice; it's a behavior that reflects the moral values of the parents. For example, if a kid were allowed to sleep in her own separate room and continued to struggle to sleep which affected their daily habits, it would look to others as bad parenting. Indian culture is guided by four moral principles in deciding which sleeping arrangements were appropriate. The first is incest avoidance, which is where postpubescent family members of the opposite sex should not sleep in the same room. Another principle that follows is called protection of the vulnerable, which means that young children who are needy and vulnerable should not be left alone at night. The third principle is female chastity anxiety. This is where unmarried adolescent women are vulnerable to shameful sexual activity; they should always be chaperoned. The last principle is respect for hierarchy. This states that adolescent boys achieve social status by not having to sleep with parents or young children.

Differentiate between subjective and objective self-awareness (p.236-242)

Subjective awareness is our concern with the outside world, and we are largely unaware of ourselves. Objective self-awareness is when we are only concerned with ourselves. We are always wondering what others are thinking and potentially saying about us. We are aware of how we are being judged and seen by others with hints through body language. An example could be if a girl gives a dirty look to another girl, it could mean that the girl thinks her outfit is ugly or something along those lines.

Explain how Quakers and Puritans impact Boston and Philadelphia in different ways (p 107-108).

The Quakers and Puritans impacted Boston and Philadelphia in different ways. Firstly, the Puritans had a high respect for authority. They also focused on the importance of one's health. They were known as being highly educated as well. The Quaker's didn't have the same mindset as the Puritans. Instead, the Quakers focused on equality for all. The Quakers challenged and went against authority.

What is a proximal cause for why a small group of Spaniards was able to conquer the Incan empire?

The Spaniards had better weapons than the Incans.

According to Jared Diamond, why were the germs brought by the Spaniards so much deadlier to the Incans than the Incan germs were to the Spaniards?

The Spaniards had lived in close proximity to domesticated animals for much longer than the Incans.

American and Chinese children were recruited for a study. All children were either thirteen years old or five years old. They were first told that a child was happy every day the past week; then they were asked to predict the likelihood that the child would be happy tomorrow. To analyze the data, researchers matched 13-year-old American children's responses to those of the 13-year-old Chinese children. The same was done with the 5-year-old children's responses. Which of the following would be most likely to occur with this analysis?

The difference in predicted likelihood between Chinese and American children is much greater for the 13-year-olds than for the 5-year-olds

Why is independence vs. interdependence such a critical dimension for understanding how cultures differ (p. 210- 215)

The independent view mindset focuses on how our behaviors and connections with others affect individuals. It is important to understand different cultures because our views dictate our culture's views. This is because everyone grew up in different households, which influenced them into the person they are today. Our personal views differ from others. We are influenced by our family and are influenced by the environment that surrounds us. This is what makes everyone unique in their own way.

A key difference between "cultural" psychologists and "general" psychologists is that

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

East Asia is at a similar latitude to a region with many easily domesticated plants and animals. These early conditions benefit East Asian cultures such that they propelled these cultures to prosperity today. What is this scenario an example of?

distal causes

Whereas _____________ describe(s) explanations using factors that occurred a long time ago, _____________ describe(s) explanations using factors that have direct and immediate effects.

distal causes; proximal causes

The finding that the prevalence of parasites in a region correlates positively with the degree that people value physical attractiveness is argued to be evidence for

evoked culture

A key difference between evoked culture and transmitted culture is that

evoked culture is limited to a specific geographical setting, whereas transmitted culture can move across different ecologies.

People from all cultures use umbrellas, but in some cultures umbrellas are used only to block rainwater, whereas in other cultures umbrellas are used only to block the sun. The use of umbrellas across cultures would thus be classified as a(n

existential universal

All cultures congratulate their members' achievements to make them feel good about themselves, but some cultures are much more willing to do this than others. According to Norenzayan and Heine, what is this an example of?

functional universal

Takeshi discovers a lot of tips and tricks to give him an easier time playing his favorite computer game, which he proceeds to tell all of his gaming buddies. Which of the following does this best illustrate?

horizontal transmission

You are chatting with a stranger in a coffee shop. Every time you ask him something about himself, he talks about associations to which he belongs and clubs he has joined. He rarely talks about his own attributes. Which of the following best describes him?

interdependent view of self

Adolescent rebellion

is more pronounced in individualistic cultural contexts

The "terrible twos" is a developmental stage that (see textbook p. 187-188)

is nonuniversal

Pluralistic ignorance is likely to lead to

persistence of particular cultural practices

It is not at all unusual for the officers at Police Station 54 to observe their colleagues using confrontational interview techniques. Even though they do not personally like the technique, many officers believe that the practice is widely approved of by others and expected of them. This is an example of

pluralistic ignorance

Your friend recently entered a few chess competitions, but lost them all really badly. If he has an entity theory of self, what is he most likely to do?

think he has bad chess ÒgenesÓ