Chapter 4 Methods for Studying Cultural Psychology Flashcards
What are some challenges comparing survey responses across cultures?
- Translation Problems
- e.g., some words for emotions are not easily translated
- Easily corrected by ensuring good translations
- Use back translation - Response Biases
- Habitual way some people respond to questions
- People may give moderate or extreme answers to indicate agree or disagree due to individual differences
- This can be corrected to a degree
- transform database - Reference-Group Effect
- Difficult to correct
e.g., the height of Steven Heine in Japan as compared to in Canada
5’8 means different in those countries, thus may lead to different
answers in the likert scale points
answers are influenced by people around you and the norms in the culture.
How do you define reference-group effect?
People come to understand themselves by comparing themselves to similar others. In different cultures, the comparison of others is different, resulting in divergent standards. 人们通过与相似的他人进行比较来了解自己。 在不同的文化中，对他人的比较是不同的，从而产生了不同的标准。
What is tall or short depends on what the most people around us are, what are the norms will impact our judgments
This can result in making comparisons between apples and oranges. 这可能会造成苹果和橘子之间的比较。
how people feel about their bodies depends on others around them
This is the major problem when we study norms
What happens to students from schools near the top in terms of rating themselves?
You would expect that students from schools near the top would rate themselves as better than students from schools near the bottom.
But the precise opposite pattern emerges.
This is because those near the top are evaluating themselves according to a higher standard than the ones near the bottom.
Are surveys good for cross-cultural comparisons?
Surveys are most useful for conducting analyses within a culture, to see if people’s answers to some items relate to their answers to others. 调查最有助于在一种文化中进行分析，了解人们对某些项目的回答是否与对其他项目的回答有关
BUT！Various response biases make it problematic to compare means of scales across cultures. It is best to avoid comparing cultures solely on mean scores on self-report measures. (My view). 由于存在各种回答偏差，在不同文化间比较量表的平均值很成问题。 最好避免仅以自我报告的平均分来比较不同文化
What is a solution to problems of incomparability in cross-cultural studies of survey means?
One key solution to the problems of incomparability in cross-cultural studies of survey means is the experiment.
By an experiment, I mean that an independent variable that is manipulated by the experimenter is introduced into the study design, and its effect on the dependent variable is assessed. 所谓实验，是指在研究设计中引入一个由实验者操纵的自变量，并评估其对因变量的影响
Why are experiments powerful?
Experiments are powerful because they shift the comparison away from comparing means between two cultural groups, to comparing means between two conditions within each culture. 实验之所以强大，是因为它们将比较的重点从比较两个文化群体之间的平均值，转移到了比较每种文化中两个条件之间的平均值
Compare how people in Condition A differ of Condition B within one culture (because response bias in same culture are equal)
Because the focus is now on comparing two experimental groups within a culture, then all of the culture’s various response biases and reference groups are held constant. You are back to comparing apples with apples again. 因为现在的重点是比较一种文化中的两个实验组，所以该文化中的各种反应偏差和参照组都保持不变。 你又回到了苹果与苹果之间的比较
What is the study done by Heine et al. (2001) on the persistence between Japanese and Canadians about?
Canadian and Japanese university students were given a bogus creativity test.
加拿大和日本的大学生接受了一项虚假的创造力测试
Half were assigned to a “success” condition and received only easy items, and later learned that they had done better than most other participants. 一半人被分配到 “成功 “条件下，只接受简单的测试项目，后来得知他们的成绩比其他大多数人都要好
Half were assigned to a “failure” condition and received only difficult items, and learned they had done far worse than most others. 一半人被分配到 “失败 “条件下，只接受难度较大的项目，后来得知他们的成绩比其他大多数人差很多
Participants were then left alone in a room with another set of creativity items which they could complete to pass the time.然后，参与者被单独留在一个房间里，他们可以完成另一套创造力项目来打发时间
The key dependent variable was their persistence time.关键的因变量是他们的坚持时间
the Canadians persist longer than the Japanese when they had been successful, but shorter than Japanese when they had been in failure
This shows that Canadians are more motivated by success than failure, whereas the Japanese are more motivated by failure than success.这表明，加拿大人成功的动力大于失败的动力，而日本人失败的动力大于成功的动力。
Japanese: self-improving
Canadians: self-enhancing
Why are two conditions measured in one culture better ?
If only one condition was run (e.g., the success condition), we’d see that the Canadians persisted more than the Japanese. 如果只进行一个条件的实验（如成功条件），我们会发现加拿大人比日本人坚持得更久
只看到一个condition的话，不全面
But there are many possible reasons for this difference (e.g., Canadians might care more about psychology studies, and the Canadian experimenter might have seemed stricter) . 但造成这种差异的原因可能有很多（例如，加拿大人可能更关心心理学研究，加拿大实验者可能显得更严格）
By having an additional condition we now focus on the pattern between the conditions
Whenever you’re studying something complex with many possible contributing factors, the best kind of evidence would be converging evidence from studies that used multiple methods.
What is a benefit of experiments in cross-cultural research?
By comparing results across experimental conditions within cultures, response biases and reference groups are no longer an issue
Is the US South more violent than the US north?
Since the early 18th century, a number of observers have commented on the greater violence in the US South than in the North.
This has been evident in a greater frequency of feuds, duels, homicides, lynchings, sniper attacks, violent pastimes, and greater support for corporal punishment, gun ownership, and war. 这表现在世仇、决斗、凶杀、私刑、狙击手袭击、暴力消遣更加频繁，体罚、持枪和战争得到更多支持。
Why are herders associated with a culture of honor?
Herders live a precarious existence as their wealth is portable. Others can steal your herds. 牧民的生活岌岌可危，因为他们的财富可以随身携带。 别人可以偷走你的牲畜
if you want to protect your herd, you need to develop a reputation
The problem is made worse because herding is usually done on marginal lands which are sparsely populated, and thus difficult to police.由于牧民通常在人烟稀少的边缘土地上放牧，因此难以维持治安，这个问题变得更加严重
People will be more likely to protect their herds if they can develop a reputation as someone who would respond to threats with violence. 如果人们能建立起 “以暴制暴 “的名声，就更有可能保护自己的牲畜
What is the difference between South and North in terms of violence?
The difference is most pronounced for argument-related murders, where one’s honour is at stake. 差异最明显的是与争论有关的谋杀，因为这关系到一个人的名誉
The regional differences are more pronounced in less urban areas. In urban areas, there is less influence from traditional herding cultures. 在城市较少的地区，地区差异更为明显。 在城市地区，传统放牧文化的影响较小
This data challenges a temperature account of the regional differences, as both the urban and rural areas should have similar climates. 这一数据对地区差异的温度解释提出了挑战，因为城市和农村地区的气候应该相似
What is the difference between the South and the North in terms of herding/farming?
The murder rate is higher in the areas where herding is more commonly practiced than it is in the areas where farming is practiced.在以放牧为主的地区，谋杀率高于以耕作为主的地区
People in the farming areas make slightly more than those in the herding areas.
农耕区居民的收入略高于牧区居民。
This difference in wealth is much smaller than the difference in violence rates between the two areas, so this argues against the poverty account. 这种财富上的差异远远小于两个地区之间暴力发生率的差异，因此这与贫困人口的说法相悖
If anything, the farming areas are hotter (and considerably more humid) than the herding areas, yet the violence rates are higher in the herding areas. 如果说农耕地区比放牧地区更热（也更潮湿），那么放牧地区的暴力发生率却更高
This goes against the temperature account of these differences.
这与气温造成这些差异的说法背道而驰
Slaves had been far more common in farming regions than in herding regions, yet the violence rate is higher in the herding regions. 农耕地区的奴隶制远比放牧地区普遍，但放牧地区的暴力率却更高
This goes against the slavery account. 这与奴隶制的说法相悖
What is an example of survey evidence for culture of honor? i.e. Fred
Participants in various regions of the US were called at home by a survey company and posed questions to them about how people should respond in certain situations when their honor was threatened. 一家调查公司打电话到美国不同地区的参与者家中，向他们提出了在某些情况下，当人们的名誉受到威胁时应该如何应对的问题
They ranged in severity from imagining that someone had insulted a man named Fred, to imagining that someone had raped Fred’s daughter. 这些问题的严重程度不等，从想象有人侮辱了一个名叫弗雷德的人，到想象有人强奸了弗雷德的女儿。
The Southerners were more likely than Northerners to view violence as an appropriate solution to the threats to Fred’s honor.南方人比北方人更倾向于认为暴力是解决弗雷德名誉受到威胁的适当办法
Most extreme difference for the scenario where Fred’s daughter was raped. 47% of Southerners but only 28% of Northerners felt that Fred would be “extremely justified” to shoot the man who had raped his daughter. 最极端的差异出现在弗雷德的女儿被强奸的情景中。 47% 的南方人而只有 28% 的北方人认为弗雷德 “非常有理由 “射杀强奸他女儿的人
What is an experimental evidence for culture of honor account? i.e. the asshole paradigm
These studies contrasted white male students at the University of Michigan who had either grown up in the North or in the South. 这些研究对比了密歇根大学的白人男生，他们有的在北方长大，有的在南方长大
Half of them were assigned to an “insult” condition where a confederate insulted them. 其中一半人被分配到 “侮辱 “条件下，即一个南方人侮辱他们
The other half were in the control condition where everything was identical except for the insult. 另一半人被分配到 “控制 “条件下，除了侮辱之外，其他一切都相同
After participants had been insulted they were instructed to go to another lab room. On the way, they encountered another Confederate (number 2, super strong) who was in a direct collision course with them. 受试者受到侮辱后，他们被指示去另一间实验室。 途中，他们会遇到另一个与他们直接相撞的对手
Confederate被告知“do not yield the way”
The dependent measure was the point at which participants yielded to the oncoming confederate 因变量是参与者屈服于迎面而来的同族人的时间点
In the absence of the insult, Southerners yielded way at a greater distance than Northerners. 在没有侮辱的情况下，南方人比北方人在更远的距离上让路
The Northerners were relatively unaffected by the insult.
北方人则相对不受侮辱的影响
Southerners responded to the insult by challenging the Second Confederate.
当没有insult的时候，southerner更加的友好（hospitality）很远就yield了
有insult的时候，他们distance非常近 （aggressive）这就是culture of honour的证据
What is another field study evidence of the culture of honor account? i.e. job applications letter
Researchers sent letters requesting job applications to large national companies with branches in the US North and South 研究人员向在美国北部和南部设有分支机构的大型全国性公司发送了求职信
.
The letters mentioned that the applicant was a convicted felon.
信中提到求职者是一名被定罪的重罪犯
In a control condition, he describes how he had been convicted of stealing a car. 在control 条件件下，他描述了自己如何因偷车而被定罪。
In an “honor letter” condition he describes how he had been convicted of manslaughter for killing a man in defence of his honor. 在 “荣誉信 “条件下，他描述了自己如何因捍卫荣誉而杀人被判过失杀人罪。（他被羞辱了）
A key dependent measure was the tone of the letter that was received in response from the potential employer. 关键的因变量是潜在雇主回信的语气
For those companies receiving the control letter, there were no regional differences in terms of how warm the response from the employer was. 对于收到控制信的公司，雇主的热情程度没有地区差异
In contrast, for those companies receiving the honour letter, Southern employers were significantly warmer in their response compared with Northern employers.相比之下，收到荣誉信的公司中，南方雇主的反应明显比北方雇主更热情
What is the strength of convergent evidence from multiple studies?
Any single study or single method is limited in what you can conclude. Each method has limitations and there are alternative explanations.任何单一研究或单一方法得出的结论都是有限的。 每种方法都有局限性，也有其他解释 (occams razor)
This is especially an issue for cross-cultural studies as many additional factors can affect the results.对于跨文化研究来说，这尤其是一个问题，因为有许多其他因素会影响研究结果
If the same pattern emerges across multiple methods it becomes far more difficult to explain it due to alternative accounts. 如果在多种方法中都出现了相同的模式，那么就很难将其解释为是其他说法造成的
A single account, such as Southerners having a culture of honour, is more parsimonious than the multiple accounts that are based on the sum of the weaknesses from all of the individual experiments.
单一的解释，如南方人有荣誉文化，比基于所有单项实验弱点总和的多种解释更吝啬小气
How do cultural psychologists select which cultures to study?
Choose samples based on a theoretical variable you are investigating
e.g. if you’re interested in exploring how collectivism shapes the ways people view their relationships, you would choose cultures that clearly differ in terms of their collectivism → then do compare how these two cultures think about their relationships → 文化之后对relationship对看法有无差异代表了collectivism与relationship是否有关
One good way to choose your samples is to look for cultures that vary on a specific theoretical dimension of interest
What cultures do cultural psychologists select in order to explore the degree of universality of a particular psychological process?
Select 2 cultures that vary greatly on many theoretical dimensions such as language, geography, tradition and education
if find similar psychological practices, suggest this process os universal
Example of Mentalizing
Humans are unique in their degree of mentalizing and they develop this ability at a young age
theory of mind
Comparison between Western and Baka children (无教育）
Despite this great cultural difference, children performed very similarly on the experimental tasks
the development of mentalizing is highly similar across the world
Accessibility universal
It is important to know the culture you are studying, but how do cultural psychologists learn about the cultures they are not familiar with?
Read existing texts and ethnographies
Find a collaborator from the culture you are studying who is interested in pursuing the same research with you
Immersing yourself in another culture
What are some challenges associated with using surveys to study cultures?
Although standard survey methods are useful for conducting cross-cultural research among people in industrialized societies who have comparable experiences
But they are more challenging to use with people in subsistence cultures, where these kinds of research experiences are absent (不知道该如何回答）
所以使用Methodological equivalence
For researchers to make meaningful comparisons across cultures, participants must understand the questions or situations the same way.
What are some problems associated with studying university students in industrialized societies?
Problems: of generalizability
Generalizability (problem 1)
- Do the findings generalize beyond the samples that were studied? Such as elders?
- Researchers cannot confidently generalize their results if there isn’t much evidence from a diverse range of samples.
Power (problem 2)
- its capacity to accurately detect an effect (such as cross-cultural) to the extent that such an effect really exists; a reflection of the quality of the study’s design
Is it designed so that it is sensitive enough to identify the anticipated effect
What is the IV and what is the DV in cross-cultural studies?
Independent variable
- Culture is one of the independent variable
more difference in measuring different culture
Dependent variable
- the variable being measured
The more variance in the independent variable, the more likely an effect will be detected
eg: 对比意大利和美国人不会产生太大的effect
如果对比各个国家的大学生并且产生effect，可以generalize that对更不同的sample一样明显
Why don’t researchers only survey people who are fluent in English in cross-cultural studies to avoid the inconvenience and expense of translating the materials?
- Their understanding and ability of English
- Whether the participants with good English skills are representative of their culture
- probably more western - One’s thinking can greatly affect the ways one thinking
用第二语言会改变思维
