1. Chapter 2 - Culture and Nature
Explaining the Psyche
The Individual and Society
Facts of Life
Important Features of Human Social Life
What Makes Us Human?
This is an overview of the topics of the chapter. Before beginning the chapter there is a slide based on the chapter introduction that can be used to stimulate classroom discussion.

2. Culture and Nature
What does the case of “Little Brenda” suggest about culture and nature?
On the spectrum of innate versus socialized; where do you believe sex differences to be?
Teaching Tip: Have students stand on one side of the room if they believe the child was successfully raised as a girl, and on the opposite side if they believe the opposite. (In large classes, use sitting versus standing.) Ask students from each side for their rationale.
Technology Tip: Details on this case study, including an interview with “Little Brenda,” are available in an online article, “The True Story of Joan/John.” (
Discussion Tip: Ask students to decide where on the spectrum of innate

3. Explaining the Psyche
Psyche – broad term for mind, encompassing emotions, desires, perceptions, and all other psychological processes.
Nature – Genes, hormones, brain structure and other innate processes dictate how you will choose and act
Culture – Learned experiences; from parents, society and any experiences
Discussion Tip: Select some of the topics listed in the textbook and ask students where on the spectrum of biology versus socialization they believe each to fall. Have them explain their rationale.

4. Theory of evolution – Focus on how change occurs in nature
Natural selection – Process of selection of traits that will endure; while others disappear
Survival until reproduction
Reproduction
Technology Tip: The University of California – Berkeley provides a wonderful site called “Understanding Evolution” (

5. Survival – living longer “Survival of the fittest”
Evolution
Survival – living longer
“Survival of the fittest”
Competition within species
Mutation – a new gene or combination of genes
Reproduction – producing babies that survive long enough to also reproduce
Technology Tip: For more discussion and examples, see the website “DNA and Mutations” (
Technology Tip: An introduction to evolutionary psychology by pioneers in the field, Leda Cosmides and John Tooby, is available at the Center for Evolutionary Psychology. (

6. Culture
Culture – an information-based system includes shared ideas and common ways of doing things
Ideas – mental representations that are abstract and that can be expressed in language
In research, need to consider cultural differences and underlying similarities
Discussion Tip: Ask students to name some of their own behaviors that are conditional on particular settings, surroundings, or who else is present or absent.
Discussion Tip: Select distinctive subcultures within the United States and compare them to more mainstream U.S. culture. Subcultures might include individuals living on communes modeled after Walden Two or Amish or other traditional religions.

7. Social Animal or Cultural Animal?
Social Animal – seek connections to others
Includes humans, but also many other animals
Cultural Animal – evolution shaped human psyche to enable humans to create and take part in culture
Defining trait of what makes us human
Discussion Tip: Ask students to generate examples of culture passed on to them from previous generations.
Supplemental Lecture: See Roy Baumeister’s own PowerPoint© lecture on The Cultural Animal under the “supplemental lecture” menu on your Multimedia Manager Instructor’s Resource CD, or visit the Book Companion Website for a downloadable file.

8. Social or Cultural Animal?
Work together
Learn from one another
Help kin
Resolve conflict with aggression

9. Social or Cultural Animal?
Division of labor
Deliberately share knowledge
Help strangers
Resolve conflict with many alternatives

10. The Individual and Society
Social Brain Theory
Why only human brain evolved
Larger brain is linked to complex social systems (Dunbar, 1993, 1996)

11. Advantages of Culture
Human brain evolved to capitalize on culture
Language
Progress - to build on experience of others
Division of Labor
Exchange of Goods and Services
Humans have evolved to participate in culture

12. Interplay of Nature and Culture
Food and Sex
Natural phenomena
Influenced by culture
Influence of ideas
Teaching Tip: Besides religious views, cultures differ with regard to the types of animals deemed appropriate to eat. In the United States it would be unusual to consume the flesh of a horse, dog, or goat, but in other cultures these animals are routinely consumed for food.

13. Food for Thought - Virtuous Vegetarians
Moral principles – cultural ideas
Ecological reasons
Animal rights
Religious beliefs
Power of ideas to change human behavior

14. Social Side of Sex - Sex and Culture
Is sex rooted in nature - evolution or culture?
Features rooted in nature
Men desire more sexual partners
Sex is main way to procreate
Basic sex practices are present in most cultures

15. Social Side of Sex - Sex and Culture
Influences found in most cultures
Rules about sex
Efforts to prevent pregnancy
Prostitution
Cultural differences and within cultures
Virgin at marriage
Age of first sexual experience

16. Bad Is Stronger Than Good
Bad has stronger psychological impact
Trauma versus joyful event
Subjective well-being
First impressions
May be rooted in nature
Positive found in cultural ideas
Positive psychology
Discussion Tip: To personalize the concept of bad is stronger than good, ask students to consider times when others have said not-so-nice things about them. How memorable and/or powerful are these moments compared to when someone said something nice about them?
Discussion Tip: Ask students to think of something they got or achieved that they expected to bring great happiness. What was it? How long and how intense did the positive experience turn out to be?
Technology Tip: The BBC maintains an extensive site, The Happiness Formula ( on positive psychology and happiness.
Technology Tip: Martin Seligman maintains an extensive site on positive psychology called the Positive Psychology Center (

17. Is Bad Stronger Than Good? Bad, Good, and Positive Psychology
Since bad things are stronger than good – need more good than bad experiences
People flourish in life when they have three times as many positive emotions as negative emotions

18. When You Can’t Have It All
Tradeoffs – no choice that is clearly the best in every respect
Time – Now versus Tomorrow
Performance-enhancing drugs
Sacrifice now – Payoff in the future
Future Orientation
Important aspect of cultural animal
Discussion Tip: Many of your students are familiar with tradeoffs: which college to attend, which major to select, which fraternity or sorority to join. Have students articulate the various tradeoffs associated with each choice.

19. Figure 2. 1 Education pays off
Figure 2.1 Education pays off! During the past 20 years, those with the most education have had the fastest growth in wages.

20. Tradeoffs - Political Tradeoffs
Laws address current problems, but may create new ones
Energy to environmental issues
Taxes to government services

21. Tradeoffs - Political Tradeoffs
Politicians and tradeoffs
During campaign – make promises and ignore tradeoffs
When in office – acknowledge tradeoffs
Demonstrate a tradeoff of politics
To win elections, you need to oversimplify the issues and ignore the complications

22. Important Features of Human Social Life

23. Outside of consciousness Simple operations Conscious system
The Duplex Mind
Automatic system
Outside of consciousness
Simple operations
Conscious system
Complex operations
Teaching Tip: A quick in-class demonstration to illustrate the distinction between automatic and conscious processing is to ask students first to say the numbers from one to ten as quickly as possible and then to say them in alphabetical order (eight, five, four…)

24. Changing Role of Consciousness
Increased focus on role of automatic system
Can learn, think, choose and respond
Has idea and emotions
Knows “self” and other people
Consciousness focus on complex thinking and logic
Teaching Tip: The book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell provides a number of such examples of automatic decisions.

25. Table 2.1 The Duplex Mind: Conscious and Automatic Systems

26. Living in a Culture
Working to gain social acceptance
Inner states help humans connect to others
Intelligent brain evolved to improve interpersonal relations

27. Nature Says Go, Culture Says No
Nature – impulses, wishes, automatic responses
Culture – teaches self-control and restraint
Exceptions
Nature’s disgust reactions (No)
Cultural timetable for meals (Go)
Discussion Tip: Ask students to brainstorm examples of nature saying go and culture saying stop.

28. Selfish Impulse Versus Social Conscience
Nature makes us selfish
Preservation of self
Culture helps us resist selfish impulses
Consideration of what is best for society
Moral Code
Laws

29. People get most of what they need from other people
Putting People First
People get most of what they need from other people
Culture as a “general store” of information
People look to each other first
Asch’s research on conformity
Discussion Tip: Ask students to recall the first time they used the campus cafeteria. Did they look to others to see how to behave? What sequence to follow? How many glasses to take?

30. What Makes Us Human?
Human behavior results from mix of nature and culture
Human life is enmeshed in culture
Diverse but share common themes
Creates unique problems
Is shared from generation to generation
Humans think with language and meaning