Outline of Lecture Session on Cultural Influences in Social Behavior

A. Reminder that in the Text

Chapter 2 -- Culture and the Self (includes Figure from Markus & Kitayama).

Chapter 5 – Culture and Behavior.

B. Social Psychology and Cross-Cultural Psychology

Much of the information used by socialpsychologists in examining the role of culturein social behavior is taken from cross-culturalpsychology.

Example of Cross-Cultural Research

Levine (1984)

Researcher was interested in assessing time perspective and sense of time urgency in different cultures.

Data were collected in 12 cities, two cities each in six countries (Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Italy, England, and USA).

Dependent Variables:

•Accuracy of bank clocks

•Average walking speed over 100 feet.

•Time taken by a postal clerk to complete a request for stamps.

Catalogue of Concerns in Cross-Cultural Psychology (and Social Psychology).

1. Interest in consistencies and differences in the levels of behavior across a small number of different cultures.

e.g., study by Hamid

Participants were Chinese Hong Kong (Eastern culture) and New Zealander (Western culture) Researcher administered a questionnnaire to measure trait self-monitoring and compared the average score for both groups.

As predicted, Hong Kong Chinese participants score higher on average on measure of trait self-monitoring compared to the New Zealand participants .

That is, the Chinese respondents were more likely to indicate that their behaviour is guided by the particular nature of the situation

Another Type of Concern

2. Interest in consistencies and differences in the levels of behavior across a very large number of cultures – preferably all cultures in the world, with a focus on consistencies in the level or presence of some behavior.

Consistency in this case is seen to imply or to describe something that is universal, or near universal, about humans – about social behavior.

This leads to inferences about the causes of universality – which is a common genetic heritage or genetic structure.

Example i) Recognition of facial expressions of emotional states

Present photographs of people experiencing various emotional states and ask viewers in different cultures to identify or label the emotion experienced.

Good evidence from many different cultures that the identification is constant. For example, the facial expressions indicating sadness in one culture are recognized as sadness in other cultures.

ii) This interest may also involve a comparison of two groups across many different cultures, again, with an interest in consistency or universality.

e.g., David Buss (see text) regarding the characteristics males find attractive in women (related to child-bearing), and the characteristics that females find attractive in men (related to resources and power to aid in the raising of their children).

These characteristics tend to be the same across many different cultures.

3. Interest in consistencies and differences in the relations between independent variables and dependent variables across a number of different cultures.

e.g., Hedges and Yousif – lost-letter study.

This study was interested in examining the relations between three independent variables and helping behaviour in two cultures.

1. Urban-rural locations

2. Urgency of request

3. Cost to helper

Urgent Low cost

High cost

Not urgent Low cost

High costTotal

Number of Returned Lost Letters for Each Condition andLocation in Each Country (maximum cell value = 50)

United Kingdom Sudan

Birmingham Lichfield Khartoum Al-Gaily

Urgent Low cost 39 45 42 47

High cost 30 43 30 42

Not urgent Low cost 34 42 35 44

High cost 19 37 22 37

Total 122 167 129 170

Number of Returned Lost Letters for Each Condition andLocation in Each Country (maximum cell value = 50)

United Kingdom Sudan

Birmingham Lichfield Khartoum Al-Gaily

4. Interest in differences between groups of people in different cultures, with an emphasis on culture, not on universality. e.g., gender differences in different cultures, stages of adolescent development in different cultures, socialization practices.

Citlak (2008). Socialization goals among first and second-generation migrant Turkish and German mothers

As they grow older, Turkish children are expected to be respectful, obedient, and to accept the authority of their elders. Young children, however, are typically treated with indulgence. Indulgence is generally limited to the first 5-7 years, and is likely to be gradually replaced by a parenting style that is much more demanding and strict, and in which children are expected to help their younger siblings and their elders.

5. Interest in process and experiences in acculturation as immigrants to a new country.

Correlation Coefficients between All Variables or CompositeMeasures in the Model 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 81. Psychosocial adjustment − .12 −.23** −.33** −.17* −.05 .46** −.39**2. Connectedness − −.22** .24** −.32** .27** −.10 −.013. Hassles − .23** .19* −.09 −.01 .33**4. Separation − - .01 .30** −.38** .17*5. Assimilation − −.33** .06 −.076. Ingroup Behavior − .20** .107. Outgroup Behavior − −.17*8. Psychophysical Distress −

Safdar and Lay: Study with Iranian Immigrants to Canada

6. Interest in interaction and communication between individuals from two different cultures -- understanding the differences and facilitating the interactions.

E. Global Dimensions on Which Cultures (and Individuals) Can Be Located and Distinguished

Examples:

Individualistic cultures …….. Collectivistic cultures

E. Global Dimensions on Which Cultures (and Individuals) Can Be Located and Distinguished

Examples:

Individualistic cultures …….. Collectivistic cultures

Idiocentric individuals ….… Allocentric individuals

E. Global Dimensions on Which Cultures (and Individuals) Can Be Located and Distinguished

Examples:

Individualistic cultures …….. Collectivistic cultures

Idiocentric individuals ….… Allocentric individuals

Independent view of self … Interdependent view of self

F. Further Discussion of the Independent and Interdependent Views of Self Markus & Kitayama (1991): Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotions, and motivation.

1. Universal aspects of self

(2) Divergent aspects of self

Independent Self-construal:

In Western cultures there is a normative drive to become independent from others, to discover and express one’s unique attributes.

Interdependent Self-Construal: In many non-Western cultures, the normative drive is to maintain an interdependence among individuals. In doing so, a person is not seen as separate from the social context. One recognizes that one’s behaviour is determined, contingent on, and to a large extent organized by what the person perceives to be the thoughts, feelings and actions of others in the relationship.

These differing self-construals have implications for cognition, motivation, and emotions.

In one study, participants from Western and Eastern cultures were asked separately to indicate on a rating scale:

1. In general, how similar are you to other people?

2. In general, how similar are other people to you?

Results

For Western culture individuals:

Tend to see themselves as dissimilar to other people-in-general.

Tend to see other people-in-general as similar to themselves.

Results

For Eastern culture individuals:

Tend to see themselves as similar to other people-in-general.

Tend to see other people-in-general as not similar to themselves.

These findings are seen to reflect the idea that in Western cultures people typically store a great deal of information about themselves, relative to the amount of information they store about others,

Whereas, in Eastern cultures people typically store a great deal of information about others, relative to the amount of information they store about themselves.

In another study, participants from a Western culture or an Eastern culture were asked to complete the “Who am I” questionnaire.

Responses were scored in terms of the proportion of who-am-I statements that referred to the person’s attributes or trait characteristics.

Results: Western culture participants made more self-references to their attributes than Eastern culture participants.

In the second part of this study, participants were given different versions of the “Who am I” questionnaire.

These versions included context

“Who am I” with my family

“Who am I” with my friends “Who am I” at school

Responses were again scored in terms of the proportion of who-am-I statements that referred to the person’s attributes or trait characteristics.

Results: With context included the results were the opposite. Now Eastern culture participants made more self-references to their attributes than Western culture participants.

Choi (1999)

Is the relative lack of the fundamental attribution error due to a lack of dispositional beliefs for East Asians, or are East Asians simply more attuned to situations and their influence on social behaviour?

East Asians use consensual information or base rate information more than Western culture people.

.

East Asians use consensual information or base rate information more than Western culture people.

East Asians rely more on situational context than Westerners in prediction, just as they do in social explanation and person description.

East Asians use consensual information or base rate information more than Western culture people.

East Asians rely more on situational context than Westerners in prediction, just as they do in social explanation and person description.

East Asians, however, do have and do use dispositions like Western culture individuals.

Basic difference is the sensitivity of East Asians to situational influences.

Culture and the Role of Self-Enhancement and Self-Criticism

Kitayama and others (1997)

The prevalence of self-enhancement in the United States and self-criticism in Japan

1. Western culture Americans –

general sensitivity to positive self-relevant information or self-enhancement

2. Self-enhancement tendency is lessened or even reversed in many East Asian cultures.

There is a greater sensitivity to negative self-referent information.

3. This is not an indication of low self-esteem, however, and is not to be avoided. Rather, it is viewed as self-criticism that is designed to improve the individual in the interests of the larger group.

4. These tendencies may stem from or contribute to prevailing social situations in the different cultures or to the different interpretations of these situations

Morris and Peng (1994)

Two Similar ,Tragic Events in USA in 1991

Researchers content-analyzed reports of these two events in two newspapers

•New York Times•World Journal (a Chinese languagenewspapers based in New York).

Focus of content analyses was on the nature of the explanation of the two events - why these two people had behaved as they did - for dispositional reasons or for situational reasons.

Results

In Western culture newspaper, emphasis was on dispositional factors in interpreting the behaviour of these two men.

In contrast, in Eastern culture newspaper, emphasis was on situational factors.