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Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology

March 4

Lecture 14

2014 Psychology2014 PsychologyCareer PanelCareer Panel

6 March 2014 | 6:00-7:00PM | BUCH A1036 March 2014 | 6:00-7:00PM | BUCH A103

This event will feature UBC alumni whose degree in psychology has led them down a This event will feature UBC alumni whose degree in psychology has led them down a successful career path. Attendees and panelists will have a chance to interact in a successful career path. Attendees and panelists will have a chance to interact in a

short mix-and-mingle session that will follow the panel discussion.short mix-and-mingle session that will follow the panel discussion.

PSA membership required. Light refreshments will be served! No RSVP required.PSA membership required. Light refreshments will be served! No RSVP required.

Description of the alumni & event: Description of the alumni & event: www.psa.psych.ubc.cawww.psa.psych.ubc.ca

A little R&R ….(Review and Reflect)

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1. What characteristics are perceived to be attractive across cultures?

2. Are attitudes regarding romantic love similar across cultures?

3. What are emotions?

Groups, Relationships, Interpersonal Attraction, Love, and Emotions

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2. define the term “heterozygosity.”

4. explain cultural differences in “the tyranny of the beautiful.”

3. discuss the relationship between heterozygosity and perceived attractiveness.

1. identify physical characteristics that are perceived to be attractive across cultures.

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

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6. discuss cultural differences in the experience of romantic love and marriage.

7. describe the James-Lange theory of emotion.

5. discuss cultural and sex similarities in preferred personality characteristics.

8. define the facial feedback hypothesis.

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What characteristics are perceived to be attractive across cultures? (continued)

(b) Physical characteristics (continued)

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Faces Rated as Being Highly Attractive

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Among the characteristics that have been found to be attractive across cultures are:

A complexion that is free of blemishes and sores.

Facial features that are relatively average in size and shape.

Bilateral symmetry of the face and body.

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Bilateral Facial Symmetry (Braun et al., 2001)

Original Face Symmetrically Optimized Face

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Facial “Smoothness” (Braun et al., 2001)

Original Face Smoothed Face

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Average-Sized Facial Features (Braun et al., 2001)

+ =

Original Face 1 Original Face 2 Morphed Face

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The faces that are perceived to be most attractive are those that result from morphing people from different ethnic groups:

Example: Rhodes et al. (2005)

Recruited European-Australians and Japanese.

Had participants rate the attractiveness and health of several composite images created by morphing faces:

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Found that:

(a) for both males and females, the Eurasian face was perceived to be most attractive.

(b) for both males and females, the Eurasian face was perceived to be most healthy.

In individualistic cultures, physically attractive people experience more positive outcomes. This is known as the “tyranny of the beautiful”:

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Among candidates for the Canadian federal election, physically attractive candidates received three times as many votes as unattractive ones.

Among MBA graduates, each “unit” of attractiveness was associated with an additional $2150/yr salary for females and $2600/yr salary for males.

Among individuals charged with a misdemeanor, attractive defendants were assigned less than half of the bail amounts of unattractive defendants.

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The tyranny of the beautiful is more prevalent in individualistic cultures than collectivistic cultures:

Investigated the relationship between physical attractiveness and life outcomes in the US and Ghana.

Example: Anderson, Adams, and Plaut (2008)

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Cor

rela

tions

with

Attr

activ

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In contrast to collectivistic cultures (i.e., low relational mobility contexts), in individualistic cultures (i.e., high relational mobility contexts) people have greater freedom of choice in selecting relationship partners.

In such “open relationship markets,” physical attractiveness serves as a cue, attracting others and facilitating positive outcomes.

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Across cultures, people are attracted to similar personality characteristics:

(c) Personality characteristics

Example: Buss et al. (1990)

Recruited participants from 33 countries (e.g., Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, India, Japan, Iran, Nigeria, Poland, U.S., Zambia).

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(b) an average male-female correlation of .87.

Had participants rate personality characteristics for how desirable they would be in a mate.

Found:

(a) an average cross-cultural correlation of .78.

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Are attitudes regarding romantic love similar across cultures?

● Theorists believe that individualism promotes an emphasis on the married couple; romantic love is viewed as the primary force that binds the couple.

● In contrast, collectivism promotes an emphasis on the married couple’s position within an extended family; romantic love may pose a threat to the extended family.

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● Evidence that indicates that cultures promote distinct attitudes regarding romantic love:

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● Although romantic love has been documented in all cultures, there is cultural variation in the extent to which romantic love is believed to be associated with positive outcomes and emotions.

(a) Beliefs about romantic love:

● Example: Rothbaum and Tsang (1998)

Examined American and Chinese love songs.

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(b) significantly more Chinese than American songs identified negative outcomes of the love relationship.

(c) significantly more Chinese than American songs expressed suffering as a consequence of the love relationship.

Found that:

(a) significantly more Chinese than American songs depicted love as embedded within a broader social context.

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Consistent with these findings, Wu (2002) found that Chinese students agreed more strongly than

did American students with the statement “love without pain is not true love.”

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● Romantic love is more likely to be viewed as a precondition for marriage in individualistic cultures than collectivistic cultures.

(b) The importance of romantic love as a basis of marriage

● Example: Levine et al. (1995)

Recruited participants from 11 countries (e.g., Australia, Brazil, England, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Thailand,

U.S.).

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Asked participants to respond to the following question:

If a man (woman) had all the other qualities you desired, would you marry this person if you were not in love with him (her)?

Found that participants from collectivistic cultures were more likely to respond “yes” than participants from individualistic cultures.

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E.g., Percentage of participants who responded “yes”:

Australia 4.8% India 49.0%

England 7.3% Pakistan 50.4%

U.S. 3.5% Thailand 18.8%

Consistent with these findings, people from collectivistic cultures often report that they “love the

person they marry,” not “marry the person they love.”

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● Most psychologists believe that emotions consist of at least 2 components: a physiological component and a subjective component.

What are emotions?

● Many psychologists also believe that emotions consist of a third component: a cognitive component.

● There are 2 major theories of emotion:

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1. James-Lange theory of emotion

Suggests that the physiological changes that occur in response to antecedent events produce emotions.

Proposed by William James and Carl Lange in the late 1800s.

According to this view, “we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble” (James, 1884).

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Antecedent event: Seeing an

angry dog

Physiological changes: Heart

pounding, trembling, sweating,

running away

Emotion felt: Fear

James-Lange Theory of Emotion

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On the basis of this theory, Tomkins (1963) proposed the facial feedback hypothesis.

Research has provided some support for this hypothesis.

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2. define the term “heterozygosity.”

4. explain cultural differences in “the tyranny of the beautiful.”

3. discuss the relationship between heterozygosity and perceived attractiveness.

1. identify physical characteristics that are perceived to be attractive across cultures.

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

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6. discuss cultural differences in the experience of romantic love and marriage.

7. describe the James-Lange theory of emotion.

5. discuss cultural and sex similarities in preferred personality characteristics.

8. define the facial feedback hypothesis.