Culture and Human Nature Psychology 448C

Agenda Announcements: Textbook, “Freebie Day” Lecture In-class assignment Discussion Diversity guidelines

What is culture? Culture is information acquired from other members of one’s species through social learning, affecting an individual’s behavior (Richerson & Boyd, 2005) –Ideas, beliefs, habits, technology

Cultural Learning in Humans Humans are not unique in cultural learning. Humans are unique in (1) cumulative learning, and (2) being picky about who to emulate.

Evolution of the hammer

Uniquely Human Adaptations TOM –Perspective-taking Sharing, pointing, showing, lying –Subjectivity Individual preference, relationships Language : –knowledge transmission –knowledge accumulation

Uniquely Human Big Brains Human encephalization quotient is 4-5x larger than other mammals our size. Primate (neo)cortex ratio is larger than other mammals.

Why? Social groups are cognitively demanding. –Group size and neocortex ratio among primates is correlated (Dunbar, 1993). Humans need to attend to and understand intentions of a large group of individuals (n=150?) who regularly interact.

What is culture? Culture is a group of individuals defined by some shared context –Ethnicity, nationality, members of a religion –Individual variation Culture changes over time and settings –No distinct boundaries (mass media) –Overlapping distributions (multiple identities)

What is cultural psychology? People from different cultures also differ in their psychology. Psychological processes are shaped by experiences and constrained by neurological structures.

What is cultural psychology? The psychological database is largely Western, and mostly based on American college students. –99% JPSP studies conducted in N. America Anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists disagree on what is universal versus relative.

Content versus Process The scientific goal of universalism in psychology is related to the cognitive revolution of the 1960s. –How we think is independent of what we think about. The goal of cultural psychology is to understand how behaviors become meaningful. –All behaviors occur within a context. –Psychological content shapes process.

Examples An UW female student goes to the HUB for a double-shot, single-pump, decaf, soy mocha. Why? What is a weed?

Example What do you see in this picture?

Levels of Analysis Accessibility Universal (no variation) –Physical causal reasoning, social facilitation Functional Universal (variation in accessibility) –Negative feelings in depression, categorization rules Existential Universal (variation in function) –Intrinsic motivation, success vs. failure Nonuniversal (cultural invention) –Abacus reasoning, numerical reasoning

Sambian Masculinity (Herdt, 2006) To transform boys into men, boys must acquire male power, jerungdu. Semen is the physical basis of jerungdu and must be acquired from other males. ~Age 7, boys ingest semen of adolescent boys and men. ~Age 15, adolescents provide semen to younger boys. ~Age 17, after marriage and children, men become exclusively heterosexual.

Diversity Guidelines “I like these. We can’t be blamed for what we learned as children, but need to seek out accurate information as adults.” “I think we are responsible for reaching out and interacting, connecting with diverse groups to reduce prejudice.” “Being a pessimist, I’m willing to bet that prejudice will never really be eradicated so long as people are different.” “I like that feelings of minorities and whites are recognized because it seems that one or the other are overlooked.” “As a white person, I sometimes feel frustrated that I was born into this role of being ‘The Oppressor.’ I feel guilty and angry because it was those who came before me, not myself.”

Diversity Guidelines: Likes and Dislikes “Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts. Your comment may be the only one that will have a lasting impact for someone else.” “I hope we go by all the rules and make it easier to disclose personal experiences.” “I love the idea that awkward/embarrassing moments are necessary for learning.” “Everyone needs to be willing to listen.” “I hope we avoid becoming another Race 101 class.” “It is hard to confront someone who promotes oppression…and hard to recognize accurate information.” “It is not necessary to talk about personal experience to express comprehension.” “Sharing my opinions is not easy for me on the spot, verbally, in front of peers. I will try my best.” “I dislike allowing for embarrassing moments.”