Chapter 5

Question 1

1 key assumption enabling humans to distinguish themselves from our chimp ancestors

Answer 1

• ability to acquire and accumulate cultural info

- - We are biologically cultural beings, but socialization determines how we live

Question 2

sensitive period

Answer 2

• period of time in development that allows for the relatively easy acquisition of a set of skills
• • Trade-off between ability to learn new behaviours and specialize in behaviours → some species specialize earlier (ie. goslings) some later (ie. humans)

Question 3

evidence of a sensitive period for language

Answer 3

• Babies born able to discriminate between all the world’s phonemes, which eventually disappears as they learn that not all of those phonemes are important for their own language → we’re biologically predisposed to language, but we are socialized to understand certain ones
• We’re born to attend to human speech (biologically predisposed to learn language)
• We’re better at mastering languages early in life (brains more pliable for organizing language input)
• Bilinguals who learned 2nd language later in life have different parts of brain activate when listening to second vs first language (early in life learners used same part)
• Kids raised without language input (ex. Wild boy of Aveyron, Genie, Girl in the window) never gain normal language abilities (especially grammar and syntax)
• Therefore, because language is necessary aspect of being socialized into a particular culture, it’s reasonable to say that sensitive period for cultural development must also exist

Question 4

cultural differences emerging with age

Answer 4

• With age, people diverge in psychological experiences
• Most pronounced cultural differences should emerge for adults bc they’ve had more time to be socialized and shaped by culture
• examples of such psychological differences:
• • About future: Americans believe it will follow linear trend, Asians believe non-linear (increase and decrease) → difference emerges around age 9
• • Optimism, explanations of others’ behaviours, focusing on positive aspects of self

Question 5

6 differing early childhood experiences and cultural practices across cultures

Answer 5

• Infants’ personal space: swaddled in Mongolia, held by mother in Namibia, etc.
• Bodily contact: European infants spend most time not in bodily contact (vice versa for Costa Ricans, Indians, Cameroonians)
• Face-to-face contact: European infants most time face-to-face with moms, less so for other cultures
• Contingency: German moms’ responses more contingent to babies’ cries than Cameroonian (Influences self-recognition → contingency = earlier recognition)
• Infant massage: Occurs in Africa, Caribbean, India → begin to sit own own and walk earlier
• Sleeping: sleeping on back (instead of stomach) delays crawling; some cultures discourage crawling so infants scoot on bums then just walk (culture influences physical development)

Question 6

sleeping arrangements: underlying values between Indians and Americans

Answer 6

• Indians used principle of incest avoidance (post pubescent children of opposite sex should not sleep in same room), protection of the vulnerable (young children should not be left alone at night), female chastity anxiety (post-pubescent women should be chaperoned to protect them from having sex), respect for hierarchy (post pubescent boys conferred social status by allowing them not to sleep with parents/young children)
• Americans used incest avoidance, sacred couple (married couples need own space for emotional intimacy and sexual privacy), autonomy ideal (young children should learn to be self-reliant)

Question 7

cultural differences in parenting styles

Answer 7

• Americans didn’t like maternal pressure and control (seen as negative, non-supportive), Asians liked it (motivated them)
• • But authoritarian parenting has led to psychological maladjustment in kids around the world (trade-off: have academic excellence, but are less happy)

Question 8

Individualism vs. collectivism

Answer 8

By early age, kids socialized to emphasize either individualistic (ex. “I like hockey”) or collectivistic (ex. “I’m from Vancouver) aspects of themselves

Question 9

noun bias

Answer 9

• learn to communicate about objects differently across cultures
• ex. North American “this is truck, big wheels, yellow” -> focus on object itself
  Ex. Asian: “this is brother truck, look at daddy truck” -> focus on relationships

Question 10

cultural differences in developmental transitions: terrible twos

Answer 10

• Hallmark of American development; increase in noncompliance and oppositional behaviour
• Not as pronounced in other cultures → happens due to individualism (kids want to exert control over their world); collectivistic just wants to fit in and belong

Question 11

cultural differences in developmental transitions: adolescent rebellion

Answer 11

• chaotic period of acting out, delinquency etc (in the west)
• Originally considered biological development
• Period of adolescence itself is universal, experience of it is not -> less antisocial violent rebellious behaviours in cultures that did not expect them
• • Also related to stress of potential career roles teens can take on when they become adults (ie. no need to worry about this in simple farming societies)

Question 12

influence of schooling

Answer 12

• Teaches us how to think about the world generally
• • Ex. how to make taxonomic categorizations (ex. hammer, wrench, screwdriver are all tools) & facilitates abstract logical reasoning
• Both of those things do not occur naturally for those Luria tested who didn’t have formal education

Question 13

study about schooling

Answer 13

• schooling led to improved contextual memory, spatial memory, serial memory, visual and sequential analysis → processing info in more efficient manner → schooling affects how we think
• • Difficult to measure intelligence/cognitive abilities across cultures (all have diff cultural tools related to them)

Question 14

case study: east Asians and math education

Answer 14

• Differences in schooling could lead to cultural differences in psychological processes
• East Asia vs. USA: greater spread of scores in USA than Asia; Asia performed much better. Cultural differences more pronounces the further they progress in their education
• • Why?
• – Way math is taught: Asians spend more time in school, more emphasis on math, real-world examples in math, more homework
• – Conceptualization of learning: Asians view of education as more central to life
• – Mothers’ expectations: Asian mothers less satisfied and have higher standards
• – Language themselves: ex. Asian languages say ten-one, ten-two vs. eleven, twelve (English speakers have more irregular words to learn)