Hc 1

Question 1

Why does different cultures mean different experiences?

Answer 1

People from different cultures, also differ in their psychology. Psychological processes are shaped by experience. Different cultures = different experiences

Question 2

What is cultural psychology

Answer 2

We rely on culture more than any other species, and it is our reliance eon culture that has allowed us to succeed in such diverse environments. And this reliance on culture has important and profound implications for our thoughts and behaviors. Cultural Psychology is the field that studies those implications.

Question 3

What is ethnocentrism

Answer 3

judging people from other cultures by standards of one’s own culture.

Question 4

color blind approach

Answer 4

people are the same wherever you go –> refers to an attitude or perspective that seeks to minimize or ignore the significance of race, ethnicity, or cultural differences

Question 5

multicultural approach

Answer 5

attending to and respecting group differences

Question 6

People are especially likely to identify with their groups if they are a ………

Answer 6

minority group.

Question 7

2 ways of explaining human behaviour

Answer 7

Species-Specific Innate Universal mechanisms , Culture-specific Acquired Variable influences

Question 8

Species-Specific Innate Universal mechanisms

Answer 8

We all share the same organs, so there must be some mechanisms that we have in common

Question 9

Culture-specific Acquired Variable influences

Answer 9

Things we have learned based on the environment we live in.

Question 10

what is the role of adaptivity in those 2 explanations of human behavior

Answer 10

Adaptivity could connect both ways. A combination is needed to fully understand human behavior.

Question 11

Evolutionary roots of culture

Answer 11

1. Cultural behavior in humans and animals –> Gradual or fundamental difference?
   a. Contemporary comparison
2. Hominid innovations –> evolutionary revolution
   a. What kinds of innovations (in terms of how we are built) that makes us different?
3. Ratchet effect –> culture instead of genetic selection

Question 12

What are the cognitive abilities that distinguish us from other animal species and give definition

Answer 12

1. Being able to adopt the perspective of another person (Theory of mind - ToM) & share experiences
   a. Theory of mind –. people understand that others have minds that are different from their own, and thus that other people have perspectives and intentions that are different from their own.
2. Ability for symbolic (linguistic) communication

Question 13

Waarom meer imitative learning bij mensen

Answer 13

komt door prestige bias: : they are especially concerned with detecting who has prestige, that is, the seek others who have skills and are respected by others and then try to imitate what these individuals are doing. This strategy should increase the likelihood that we learn the skills that really do lead to success.

Question 14

Difference emulatitive learning vs. imitative learning

Answer 14

emulative learning: Taking over instrumental behavior experimentally –> more geared towards end result
imitative learning: Taking over instrumental behavior by replicating the intentions of another –> more geared towards actor (doing the action in a proper way)

key difference: emulative learning does not require imitating a model’s behavioral strategies. An emulative learner is only focusing on the events that happen around the model, rather than what the model intends to accomplish. Emulative learners try to figure things out for themselves once they get an idea by observing others.

Question 15

Two forms of communication

Answer 15

1. Via natural signals
   a. More or less automatized action-reaction patterns via innate or conditioned physical expressions
   b. Not learned, a sign communicates what the sign is
2. Via symbolic meanings
   a. Conscious coordination of interaction via symbolic conventions (symbolic coding) acquired within the community
   b. E.g. Sign language

Question 16

Advantages symbolic communication

Answer 16

1. Transfer thoughts from one mind to another
2. Being able to create symbolic reality
3. Being able to communicate inner feelings, representations, intentions to others
4. Metacommunication  being able to reflect given situations and each other’s roles in it

Question 17

Why can animals then not have this accelerated cultural learning in contrast to humans?

Answer 17

o.a. missing link: Use of symbolic representations in transferring information (instructed learning)
verder nog aanvullen!

Question 18

Which hominid innovations are important? And what are those?

Answer 18

hominid innovations: What kinds of innovations (in terms of how we are built) that makes us different?
- erect posture
- opposable thumb
- descended larynx
- brain size

Question 19

Why does erect posture make a significant difference and what are advantages/ disadvantages

Answer 19

• tilting of pelvis
• disadvantage: Narrowing of birth canal
• advantage: Arms and hands freed for other functions

Question 20

Why does opposable thumb make a significant difference and what are advantages/ disadvantages

Answer 20

• is consequence of standing erect
• Opposable thumb enable precise holding of small objects
• Enables refined tool use sensory cortex areas.

Question 21

Why does descended larynx make a significant difference and what are advantages/ disadvantages

Answer 21

• no disadvantages
• Larynx no longer needed to close off gullet or windpipe (andere delen namen dit over?)
• closing muscles are free to serve as focal chords
• spoken articulation possible combination with tongue, palate and lips

Question 22

Wat is het Encephalization quotient en wat heeft dit met de mens te maken?

Answer 22

= the ratio of the brain weight of an animal to that predicted for a comparable animal of the same body size.
- die ratio bij mensen is dus heel groot –> brein 4/5 keer groter dan andere mammals van onze grootte

Question 23

Neocortical explosion

Answer 23

Brain size of humans becomes 4 times bigger after birth

Question 24

Postnatal plasticity

Answer 24

veel synapsen gevormd na geboortte, neemt na een jaar ongeveer af
–> zie plaatje samenvatting

Question 25

Wat zijn hypotheses voor de grote neocortex ratio en bij welke is een correlatie gevonden?

Answer 25

- Mental map hypothesis - Problem-solving hypothesis - Social brain hypothesis (hier een correlatie gevonden)

Question 26

wat is de Mental map hypothesis

Answer 26

- We need a mental map to find the right stuff at a certain moment. - Fruit is not always ripe, and you need to find the threes where they grow in. Perhaps selection for big brains n primates was driven by the need for cognitive abilities that would help them keep a mental map of short-lived and patchily distributed fruit that was around them

Question 27

wat is de Problem-solving hypothesis

Answer 27

- Different steps of planning involved in finding a solution - A number of species rely on food sources that require a fair bit of ingenuity to access them. These food sources are often worth pursuing because they tend to be rich in protein and energy. Cognitive skills needed to allow primates to extract this valuable food served as the selective force for larger brains. o E.g. cracking open a nut - No difference in neocortex ratio and use of extraction techniques

Question 28

wat is de Social brain hypothesis

Answer 28

- Perfect logarithmic relationship between group size and neocortex ratio The bigger the group, the bigger the brains. - Those primates that were most successful at navigating the intricate and elaborate webs of social relationships would have been more likely to attract mates, secure resources and protect themselves and offspring form dangers than those that were left to fend for themselves. - Natural group size for homo sapiens ca. 150 persons - CORRELATION FOUND - Primates are highly social animals, and social behavior requires considerable cognitive skills

Question 29

Wat is het ratchet effect

Answer 29

- Term coined by Tomasello (1999) - Ratchet works like a car jack - Every new culture development is (nearly) impossible to undo - Becomes the starting point for every subsequent generation to build on - Prerequisite: cultural transmission o Some generation starts something o Taught to next generation who modifies something o Next generation is learning the modified way o Etc. - Ratcheting is a collective, and not an individual process To have cumulative cultural evolution you need creative invention.

Question 30

Moore's law

Answer 30

= states that the data density that can be built into computers doubles every 18 months --> exponential growth in technological innovation The larger the group, the better cultural information can be maintained and improved upon. Because you are more likely to encounter a successful model to copy from out of a larger group. Ook belangrijk hoe connected members in groep zijn.

Question 31

Waarom is ratchet effect zo belangrijk in genesis of cultural innovation and diversity?

Answer 31

-- Every new culture development is (nearly) impossible to undo - daarom een soort opstapeling - maar kan per cultuur toch weer een beetje verschillen - technologie op technologie, omdat dit wordt overgedragen. Je hoeft het wiel dus niet opnieuw uit te vinden.

Question 32

examples of ratchet effect

Answer 32

- Stone, hand axe, hammer, jackhammer - Fire, steam power, electricity - Wheel, cart, mechanized transport - Speech, writing, printed books, mass media, ICT

Question 33

Relevant aspects of culture for psychologists

Answer 33

1. Acquired information a. Through learning 2. Group of people who share the same background a. Exposed to the same cultural ideas. 3. Ability for symbolic encoding

Question 34

Structural definition of culture

Answer 34

- Shared mental patterns (habits, concepts, expectations, values, etc.) - Embodied in: o Institutions (laws, ideological and religious systems, education, etc.) o Practices (customs, traditions, rituals, etc.) o Artefacts (language, tools, buildings, production systems, art, clothing, etc.) - Product of social learning over the centuries - Exerts control over behavior

Question 35

Functional definition of culture

Answer 35

‘Shared way of life’  - Survival of community - Creation of social consensus - Regulation of social interactions Around fundamental uncertainties of life like: - Finding meaning - Social positions within group - Distribution of cost and benefits - Rules of conduct - Relationship between men and women - Continuity - identity

Question 36

Universal functions of culture

Answer 36

Regulation of: - Secure living (material and spiritual) - Sharing of property - Feeling of community - Cooperation - Normalization of behavior - Upbringing - Finding a mate - Production and reproduction of knowledge - Shared traditions - Visions of the future and societal ideals, etc.

Question 37

Wat zijn de principal ingredients for human culture?

Answer 37

nog uitzoeken

Question 38

Wat zijn functions that are common to all cultures, despite their diversity?

Answer 38

Nog uitzoeken?

Question 39

War zijn WEIRD societies en waarom zijn deze belangrijk in psychologisch onderzoek?

Answer 39

- of people living in Wester, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies - Most psychological studies have thus far been largely limited to explorations of these minds

Question 40

4 levels of universility

Answer 40

1. nonuniversal: particular cognitive toll can be said to not exist in all cultures, are cultural inventions 2. existential universal: decide whether the phenomenon is used in the same way across cultures, no? , then it exist in multiple cultures, although the phenomenon is not necessarily used to solve the same problem, nor is it equally accessible across cultures. 3. functional universal: equally accessible, no? exist in multiple cultures, are used to solve the same problems across cultures, yet are more accessible to people from some cultures than others 4. accessibility universal: exists in all cultures, is used to solve the same problem across cultures, and is accessible to the same degree across cultures

Question 41

Criteria for determining universality in a psychological process

Answer 41

- Availability (Is it found in all cultures?) - Use (does it have the same function everywhere?) - Accessibility (Is it active to the same degree everywhere?)