Weel 2) Culture

Question 1

What is culture?

Answer 1

It refers to the large amount of variation in transmitted norms, values, beliefs, behaviours. 
Culture not the same as ‘country’/’nation. 
It includes: 
Ethnicity, nationality
Religion
Region
Social class & SES
Stereotypes

Question 2

Give an example of principles used to describe culture in bipolar unidimensional continua terms. Explain each of these:

Individualism (IDV)
Power Distance index (PDI)
Truth (UAI)
Gender (MAS)
Virtue (LTO)

Answer 2

Individualusm (relationship btn ind and group).
Collectivism < ————–> Individualism

Power distance (the degree of accepted inequality btn people e.g. low power distance=everyone expects equality. 
Low < --------------- > High Power distance 

Truth (how ppl in a culture cope with unpredictable & ambigious).
Weak Uncertainty avoidance < ———> Strong Uncertainty avoidance

Gender (core orientated societies vs achievement orientated).
Femininity < ——————————- > Masculinity

Virtue (issue of truth and virtue, society’s attitudes towards time)
Long-term orientation < ———- > ST orientation

Question 3

Distadvantage of Hofstede’s culture dimensions model?

Answer 3

They are conceptualised as bipolar unidimensional continua. An individual could potentially be both e.g. collectivist and individualist. But this system only allows for bipolars.

Question 4

What is the self?

Answer 4

“… a continually developing sense of awareness & agency that guides action & takes shape as the individual, both brain & body, becomes attuned to the various environments it inhabits. Selves are thus psychological realities that are both biologically … & socioculturally rooted” (Markus & Kitayama, 2010, p. 421)

(when you come into the world you are an organism, but immediately you become enculturated)

Question 5

What influences the self? There are 4 parts.

Answer 5

The self: emotion, motivation, perception etc
The situation: home, school, workplace
Institutions and products: language, education, political, legal, media etc.
Societal factors and pervasive ideas: What is good, what is moral, historical and economical factors

Question 6

Describe the idea of mutual constitution btn the self and culture?

Answer 6

Being a person—a self—requires input from sociocultural meanings & practices, & the self is the center of awareness & agency that incorporates & reflects these sociocultural patterns. In turn, peoples’ thoughts, feelings, & actions (i.e., the self) reinforce, & sometimes change, the sociocultural forms that shape their lives. This is the cycle of mutual constitution”

Question 7

Distinguish btn independent & interdependent self schemas/ cultural self patterns.

Answer 7

Independent schema of self: primary referent is the individual’s own thoughts, feelings, & actions

Interdependent self: interaction with others produces a sense of self as connected to, related to, or interdependent with others (much more collectivist identity).

Question 8

Loss of child for those countries with high interdependence, caused a …………. in purpose of life.

Answer 8

Decrease

Question 9

What are the different ‘causes’ of psychopathology according to individualist and collectivist nations ?

Answer 9

Individualist: intrapersonal causes (intra=within=disorder lies within person.
Collectivist: interpersonal causes

Question 10

Does western psychotherapy emphasise intrapersonal or interpersonal bases of psychopathology?

Answer 10

Intrapersonal

Question 11

What are common discussion questions regarding different culture approaches to therapy?

Answer 11

Is there too much emphasis on ‘uniqueness’ & ‘individuality’ in personality psychology?

Is there a real East/West division or are these just stereotypes?

Are there collectivist aspects in the West & vice versa (eg. the Union movement)?
e.g. Japan and US examples. Do we really expect these countries to have such clearly defined separations. Could their be collectivists aspects to the US as well?

Question 12

Explain what these mean:
Social Cognitive theory
Social learning & culture

Answer 12

social cog theory: what we do as persons is shaped by our environment. is the view that people learn by watching others.

Social learning & culture:
the view that people learn by observing others. Associated with Albert Bandura’s work in the 1960s, social learning theory explains how people learn new behaviors, values, and attitudes. For example, a teenager might learn slang by observing peers. E.g. children will imitate adults punching a bobo doll (Bandura).

Question 13

What main theory is Bandura famous for?

Answer 13

Reciprical determinism: a person’s behaviour both influences and is influenced by BOTH personal factors and the social environment.

IN THE PERSON-SITUATION debate, Bandura doesn’t take a side, he thinks both the person and environment are independent but heavily related!

Question 14

What are the three types of agency?

Answer 14

i) Personal agency
ii) Proxy agency (influencing others) e.g. child influencing mother
iii) Collective agency (group action)

Question 15

What is agency generally?

Answer 15

Intentionally influencing life circumstances

Question 16

What does Bandura say about how the three types of agency are expressed globally?

Answer 16

he thinks theres cross-cultural variation but all agencies present universally. some ppl put more emphasis on collective agency and others personal agency, but you cant say one part of the world only has collective only for instance.
Bandura’s stance here challenges the dichotomy that exists with the individualist vs collectivist notion.

Question 17

What does Bandura think about the personal vs group identity? Explain

Answer 17

He thinks its a midleading dichotomy. Many ppl think Self-efficacy = individualism. But thats wrong:

• Personal efficacy relevant to all cultures
• Group agency still requires personal effort

All individuals have a sense of personal identity/self/agency (Bandura, 2002). Individuals can have collective identity but each retains a sense of individual identity/self/agency

Question 18

What is intracultural diversty, and how does this expand on Bandura’s thoughts about misleading dichotomies?

Answer 18

Intracultural diversity: suggests there is diversity within a culture e.g. “there are collectivists in individualistic cultures & individualists in collectivist cultures” (p. 274) Dichotomy = misleading generalisations.

“Cultures are diverse & dynamic social systems not static monoliths. There is substantial HETEROGENEITY among individuals within both individualistic & collectivistic systems”.

Question 19

What effect does comparing cultures as overlapping normal distributions has on our understanding of cultures and their differences?

Answer 19

Suggests while cultures are distinct, there is A LOT of overlap. And content of one culture has much overlap with content of the other. e.g. men and women’s height. A lot of overlap in normal distribution. same with collectivist and ind cultures.

Question 20

Men have more power in individualistic countries. True or false?

Answer 20

false.
They have more power in both ind and coll.
BUT the concept of ppl being in positions of power, and hierarchy, is individualistic.

Question 21

Global measures vs specific context?

Answer 21

specific context e.g. may be individualistic in one group for instance. Possibility of variability here questions Hofstede’s bipolar dimension. Reference group specific/orthogonality

“It is possible to be a collectivist with regards to one’s family, & an individualist with regards to one’s nation

Question 22

Nice quote.

Answer 22

“It is possible to believe in the uniqueness & autonomy of individuals & still place high value on maintaining close relationships with others or on collective cooperation & group welfare”

Question 23

Funny Bandura quote

break

Answer 23

“There is no autonomous self unless one is living the life of a hermit, nor is there an entirely interdependent self completely submerged in collectivity without any individual identity or sense of personal capability”

(Bandura, 2002, p. 276)

Question 24

One outstanding question still to address in all of this culture mess…

Answer 24

Where is the body and biology in all of this? Biological determinism?

Question 25

Essay q:

Answer 25

Potential exam question: Is the individualism/collectivism dichotomy & its implications for personality too simplistic?
(hint would refernce bandura’s stance).