Culture

1. CULTURE
Defining Culture, Cultural
Dimensions, & Emic/Etic.

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
SC.4.A. Define the terms “culture” and
“cultural norms”.

3. WARM-UP
Give a definition of culture in your own words.
 What aspects does it include?
Give a definition of cultural norms in your own
words.
 What cultural norms are present in your life?

4. YOUR TASK
1. Read the excerpt from the I.B. Psychology
Text.
2. Provide definitions for culture from…
 Kuschel (2004)
 Lonner (1995)
 Hofstede (2002)
 Matsumoto (2004)
3. Define Cultural Norm

5. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER ABOUT
CULTURE
 What new ideas about culture do these definitions give you? Do
you agree with them?
 What similarities do you see between the different definitions?
What differences?
 Which definition of culture is most accurate?

6. CULTURAL
DIMENSIONS

7. LEARNING OUTCOMES
 SC.4.B. Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behavior.

8. CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
 The perspectives of a culture based on values and cultural norms.

9. HOEFSTEDE (1973)
Conducted a massive survey about morale in
the workplace at IBM (Multinational
Corporation).
Examined responses from 40 different
countries.
Theorized that six main cultural dimensions
exist.

10. POWER DISTANCE
 The extent to which the less powerful members of organizations
and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is
distributed unequally.
 Large Power Distance: Big gap between the haves and have-
nots.
 Small Power Distance: Small Gap between haves and have-nots.

11. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
 Uncertainty Avoidance is not the same as risk avoidance; it deals
with a society's tolerance for ambiguity. It indicates to what extent
a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or
comfortable in unstructured situations.
 High Uncertainty Avoidance: Do not like new experiences or
ambiguity.
 Low Uncertainty Avoidance: Do not mind or enjoy new
experiences or ambiguity.

12. INDIVIDUALISM & COLLECTIVISM
 Individualism: Cultures that stress the needs of the individual over
the needs of the group.
 Collectivism: Cultures that stress the needs of the group over the
needs of the individual.

13. MASCULINITY - FEMININITY
 The type of value that society values. Not a measure of gender
roles.
 Masculinity: Assertiveness, Work over family, Admiration for the
strong, Fathers make decisions, religious focus on God of gods,
Boys don’t cry.
 Femininity: Limited emotional differences between genders,
sympathy for the weak, Religious focus on other humans.

14. LONG-TERM & SHORT-TERM
ORIENTATED
 Short-Term: The present and past are most important. Live in the
now. Hedonistic. Traditions and cultures remain the same.
 Long-Term: The future is most important. Change is important.
Live for tomorrow.

15. INDULGENCE & RESTRAINT
 Indulgence: A society that allows relatively free gratification of
basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and
having fun.
 Restraint: A society that controls gratification of needs and
regulates it by means of strict social norms.

16. YOUR TASK
 Explore the “Dimensions in a Nutshell” (9-16) section of the PDF
Reading.
 Create a value line for each Cultural Dimension and place where
you think your culture (each person’s perspective on culture may
be different) on the line.
 Be prepared to share your results.

17. WARM-UP ACTIVITY
 Compare and contrast your ranking on the six spectrums with
those at your table group. What similarities and differences do you
notice? What might explain these similarities and differences? Be
specific.
 Now, visit http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html and compare
your results with the culture(s) you feel as though you most
closely belong to. How do you compare? Do you think that
Hofstede has an accurate ranking of your culture(s)?

18. INDIVIDUALISM/COLLECTIVISM
KASHIMA AND TRIANDIS (1986)
 Aim: To see if errors of attribution were universal.
 Methos: Asked students from different cultures to try to remember
information from slides of unfamiliar countries. Asked for reports on
their performance.
 Findings:
 American Students (Individualism): Success attributed to ability.
 Japanese Students (Collectivism): Failure Attributed to ability.
 Conclusion: Self-Serving Bias is culturally based.

19. INDIVIDUALISM/COLLECTIVISM
BOND & SMITH (1996)
 Aim: To investigate the cultural impact on conformity.
 Method: Conducted a Meta-Analysis (Looked at other studies) of
Asch replications in different cultures.
 Findings/Conclusions: Collectivist Cultures generally display
higher rates of conformity than individualist cultures.

20. LONG-TERM/SHORT-TERM
CHEN ET AL. (2005)
 Aim: Discover if cultural dimensions impact patience.
 Procedure: 147 “bicultural” Singaporeans were either shown a
collage of images of Singaporean or American Photos. Asked to
purchase a book online and choose delivery method.
 Finding:
 US-Primed: Immediate consumption (next day delivery for a fee)
 Singaporean Primed: Patience (4-day delivery for free)
 Conclusion: US-Primed (short-term) valued immediate
consumption more than Singaporean-Primed participants (long-
term).
 Evaluation?

21. KIM AND MARKUS (1999)
 Using the PDF posted on Bonicapsych.weebly.com, record the
Aim, Method, Findings, Conclusion, and Critical Thinking for Kim
and Markus (1999).
 Be sure to evaluate the graph which clearly indicates the results.
 The goal of this is to familiarize yourself with the way a scientific
journal is written. This is a short example that will show you the
different elements which must be included when writing a journal.
It will also prepare you for you IA.

22. EMIC & ETIC
RESEARCH

23. WARM-UP
 What similarities and differences did you see in the Cultural
Dimensions of Namibia, The United States, and Japan?

24. LEARNING OUTCOME
 SC.4.C. Using one or more examples, explain “emic” and “etic”
concepts.

25. CROSS CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY
 Cross Cultural Psychology is a branch of Psychology that looks at
how cultural factors influence human behavior.
 Goal: Test the validity of psychological theories in different culture.
(Is psychology universal?)
 Two Concepts: Emic vs. Etic

26. EMIC
 Studies one culture alone to understand culture-
specific behavior.
 Studies behavior through the perspective of the people
who live in the culture.
 How behavior is linked to the culture and the meaning
it has in the culture is emphasized.
 Example: Turnbull (1961)  Understanding perception
of BaMbuti Pygmies.

27. EMIC STUDY EXAMPLE
 Bartlett (1932) – Swazi Tribesman’s Memory
 Described the ability for Swazi Tribesmen to remember huge amounts of
information about his current and past cattle.
 Emic because this information was pertinent and essential to the culture that
the man was living in….Specific to a single culture.

28. ETIC
 Etic research compares psychological phenomena
across cultures with the goal of finding out if they are
universal or culture-specific.
 Compares and contrasts behaviors in a culture.
 What studies classify as etic that we have looked at so
far?

29. ETIC EXAMPLE- BERRY (1967)
 Used variation of Asch study to study conformity in two separate
communities
 Communal Farmers from Temne Sierra Leone
 Inuit Hunters from Baffin Island Canada
 Famers showed more conformity because they needed to rely on
one another and cooperation was essential. Hunters needed to
think for themselves.

30. EMIC VS. ETIC
Emic Etic
 Focuses on one culture and
looks for culturally specific
behaviors.
 Looking for “Culturally
Specific Behavior”
 Emphasizes uniqueness of
cultures.
 Seeks an inside perspective.
 Compares psychological
theories across cultures.
 Looking for “Universal
Behaviors”
 Emphasizes similarities and
differences between culture.
 Brings outside perspective

31. OUR TASK
 What challenges could exist with emic and etic studies of culture?

32. “BABIES”
 As we watch this documentary, you will watch for emic and etic
concepts related to the behaviors associated with child rearing in
different cultures.
 What etic comparisons can we make?
 What emic conclusions about these cultures can we make? Can
we make them?