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Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology

Lecture 19

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Morality, Perception and Cognition

1. Do cultures differ in their views on distributive justice?

2. Does culture influence visual perception?

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1. discuss cultural variation in the principles of need, equality, and equity.

2. distinguish between sensation and perception.

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

3. explain cultural differences in susceptibility to the Mueller-Lyer illusion and horizontal-vertical illusion.

4. discuss cultural variation in depth perception and artistic images.

Do cultures differ in their views on distributive justice?

● Three principles have been identified with respect to beliefs regarding the distribution of resources:

The principle of need.The principle of equality (e.g., seniority systems).The principle of equity (e.g., meritocracy systems)

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● Research suggests that cultures vary in the extent to which they endorse these principles:

Example: Murphy-Berman et al. (1984)

Presented Americans and Indians with the following scenario:

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A company manager must distribute a bonus to two employees. One employee has excellent work performance and an adequate economic situation. The other employee has only average work performance but is in a poor financial situation with an illness in the family.

Should the bulk of the bonus be given to the excellent employee, the needy employee, or split evenly between them?

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These results suggest that perceptions of fairness (i.e., what constitutes a fair distribution of resources) differ across cultures.

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Does culture influence visual perception?

● Perception: The process by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets the sensory information that it receives from the sense organs; produces internal representations of external stimuli.

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● The internal representations produced through perception are not always accurate representations of

external stimuli.

In processing sensory information, the brain tends to reconstruct information or “fill in” missing information to make it more easily interpretable.

● The brain’s tendency to reconstruct information is illustrated by the following example:

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The Thatcher Effect (Thompson, 1980)

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● The internal representations produced through perception are largely influenced by prior experience.

Prior experience shapes our expectations and, therefore, our interpretation of sensory information.

● The influence of prior experience on perception is illustrated by the following examples:

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T E C T

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● Given the impact of prior experience on perception, theorists have long reasoned that there should be cultural differences in perception.

● Consistent with this assertion, numerous studies have identified cultural differences in visual perception. These studies have found cultural differences in (a) susceptibility to optical illusions, (b) pictorial depth perception, and (c) the tendency to focus on “object versus field.”

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(a) Susceptibility to Optical Illusions

● The Mueller-Lyer Illusion

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Research suggests that people from non-industrialized cultures are less susceptible to this illusion than people from industrialized cultures.

E.g., Segall et al. (1963): Found that Americans and South Africans of European descent were more susceptible to this illusion than people from 13 non-industrialized cultures.

Explanation for this cultural difference: Carpentered world theory.

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● The Horizontal-Vertical Illusion

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Research suggests that people who reside in enclosed environments are less susceptible to this illusion than people who reside in open environments.

E.g., Jones (1974): Found that people from rural areas were more susceptible to this illusion than people from urban areas.

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Explanation for this cultural difference: Foreshortening theory.

The influence of an enclosed environment on the ability to perceive objects as in the distance is reflected in the following passage. The passage describes the events that occurred when Colin Turnbull traveled to the plains of the Congo with a BaMbuti pygmy who had been raised in a forest:

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“And then he saw the buffalo, still grazing lazily several miles away, far down below. He turned to me and said, 'What insects are those?' At first I hardly understood, then I realized that in the forest vision is so limited that there is no great need to make an automatic allowance for distance when judging size. Out here in the plains, Kenge was looking for the first time over apparently unending miles of unfamiliar grasslands, with not a tree … to give him any basis for comparison .... When I told Kenge that the insects were buffalo, he roared with laughter and told me not to tell such stupid lies.” (Turnbull, 1963, p. 217)

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(b) Pictorial Depth Perception

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Research suggests that people who have been exposed to Western educational systems interpret this figure differently than people who have not been exposed to Western educational systems.

E.g., Hudson (1960): Found that Bantu tribes people who had been educated in European schools perceived the hunter to be pursuing the gazelle. Bantu tribes people who had not been educated in European schools perceived the hunter to be pursing the elephant.

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Explanation for this cultural difference: Western educational systems teach children to perceive images represented on 2-dimensional surfaces (e.g., paper) as 3-dimensional spatial arrays.

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Common depth cues in 2-dimensional images include:

1. The relative size of objects.

2. Object superimposition.

4. A linear perspective.

5. A texture gradient.

3. Vertical position.

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33Munch: Evening on Karl Johan Street, 1892

35Shama: Moghul Hunting Scene, Year Unknown

36Title Unknown

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Research involving African children (e.g., Leach, 1975) has shown that educational programs designed to increase sensitivity to depth cues can improve the ability to perceive 3-dimensional spatial arrays from 2-dimensional images.

The sensitivity to depth cues that results from exposure to Western educational systems is well illustrated by the following image:

38The Two-Pronged Trident

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People who have been exposed to Western educational systems have significantly more difficulty

interpreting this figure than people who have had little formal education.

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Morality, Perception and Cognition

1. Do cultures differ in their views on distributive justice?

2. Does culture influence visual perception?