Culture and Social Interactions, Gender, and Emotions Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos 1 June 2009

Culture and Social Interactions, Gender, and Emotions

Dr. K. A. Korb

University of Jos

1 June 2009

Universals in Social Behavior(Aberle et al. 1950)

Assignment of Roles Communication Shared set of goals Regulations of how to achieve goals Regulation of emotions Socialization Control of misbehavior

Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos

A.

B.

Asch-type task (Asch, 1956)


Conformity Conformity: Degree to which individuals will go

along with the group norms Conformity varies across cultures

More conformity in societies with high compliance training Densely populated and highly stratified societies High values of conservatism, collectivism, and preference for

status ascription Less conformity in societies with low compliance

training Sparse and unstratified societies High values of autonomy, individualism, and status achievement


Values Values: Broad tendency to prefer certain

states of affairs over others More general than attitudes Relatively stable in individuals and cultures


Values Three basic concerns of all societies:

How individuals relate to their group Embedded or independent

How people consider the welfare of others Vertical or Horizontal

Relationship of people to their national world Dominate and exploit or live within it


Individualism and Collectivism Individualism: Primary concern is for oneself Collectivism: Primary concern is for one’s in-

group Dimensions:

Definition of self as personal or collective Personal goals or group goals having a priority Emphasis on exchange or communal relationships Importance of personal attitudes or social norms in

behaviorDr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos

Individualism and Collectivism Correlation between individualism score

and Gross National Product (GNP) is .82 (Hofstede, 1980) Directionality of Correlation Measurement issues: Collectivist societies

might be more prone to social desirability, acquiescence bias, and extremity set than individualist countries


Gender Key Question: Are societies similar or different in

how they interpret initial biological differences between males and females?

Gender stereotypes: Widely shared beliefs within a society about typical males and females University students in 27 countries (Africa, Europe, Asia,

North and South America) 300 Adjective Check-List – Determine whether the

adjective is more frequently associated with men or women “Report the characteristics generally said to be associated with

men or women in your culture.”Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos

Gender Stereotypes Adventurous Daring Affectionate Strong Sentimental Stern Submissive Emotional

Progressive Sensitive Dominant Pleasant Boastful Loud Attractive Softhearted


Gender Stereotypes Consensus of adjectives attributed to males and

females across countries was so large that researchers concluded psychological universals in gender stereotypes (Williams & Best, 1990) Interpretation: Original biological differences

influence cultural practices of treating males and females similarly across cultures

Limitation: Acculturation of sample


Psychological Differences in Gender by Culture Key Question: Are differences between males and

females on psychological variables the same across cultures?

Males tend to be better at spatial tasks than females Only true in agricultural societies No differences (or reversed) in nomadic and hunting

societies Conclusion: Gender differences in spatial abilities are

not universal. Ecological and cultural factors influences gender differences

on spatial abilities


Psychological Differences in Gender by Culture Females are more susceptible to

conformity than males Large differences in conformity between

males and females in tight, agricultural societies

No differences in conformity between males and females in loose, nomadic societies


Emotion Emotion: A feeling state that results in

physiological arousal and expressive behaviors Six basic emotions reflected in the face

Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Surprise, Disgust Most cultures can identify these six emotions in

photographs of individuals of other cultures

Participants can also identify emotion in the voice without understanding the language


Emotional Expression Display rules: Cultural norms about the expected

management of facial display of emotions Japanese and American participants were shown a stressful

film (Ekman, 1973) Half viewed the film alone, half viewed the film with an

experimenter When viewing the film alone, the Japanese and American

participants showed the same facial expression When viewing the film with an experimenter, the Japanese students

showed fewer negative expressions than the Americans

Conclusion: Cross-cultural similarities in underlying emotions but cultural differences in display of emotions


Revision What are some social conventions that are similar

across cultures? What are some social conventions that are different across cultures?

What are some gender differences that are similar across cultures? What are some gender differences that are different across cultures?

What are similarities and differences in emotion between cultures?


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Culture and Social Interactions, Gender, and Emotions Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos 1 June 2009