The influence of culture on behaviour and cognition

Culture refers to the shared behaviours, beliefs, values, and customs that bind groups of people together within a society. It profoundly shapes both how individuals act (behaviour) and how they think (cognition).

Levels of cultural influence

• Deep culture - Operates at a cognitive level, encompassing beliefs, values, and thought processes that guide an individual's understanding of the world.
• Surface culture - Focuses on visible behaviours and customs, such as traditions, rituals, and social practices that are more easily observed.

Cultural differences in day care, mental health, and obedience

Culture and day care

Parenting styles and day care practices reflect cultural priorities.

Different levels of variations:

• Surface-level variations - Include practical aspects like class sizes or disciplinary approaches in day care settings.
• Deep-level variations - Involve the transmission of cultural values through early childhood experiences.

Research by Tobin (1987):

• Highlighted contrasting views on class sizes.
• Japanese educators preferred larger classes to encourage social interaction, while American educators favoured smaller classes for individual attention.

Culture and mental health

Culture-bound syndromes are mental health disorders unique to specific cultural contexts, shaped by local beliefs and fears. For example, koro is a type of anxiety disorder in South East Asia, where males experience intense anxiety about penile retraction, believing it could lead to death.

Research by Roldán-Chicano et al. (2017):

• Studied Susto, a Bolivian syndrome involving fear of death from fright.
• The persistence of this condition among Bolivian emigrants in Spain underscores the enduring cognitive impact of cultural beliefs.

Culture and obedience

Obedience refers to compliance with instructions from authority. Obedience to authority varies across cultures, influenced by socialisation and the perceived status of authority figures.

Milgram paradigm:

• A research framework where participants are instructed to administer what they believe are real electric shocks of increasing intensity.
• Research by Blass (1999) - Found significant differences using the Milgram paradigm. In Spain, 90% of participants obeyed to the highest shock level, compared to only 40% in Australia, suggesting cultural factors like attitudes towards authority play a role.

Hofstede's cultural dimensions and their impact on behaviour

Hofstede (1983) identified key dimensions along which cultures vary, providing a framework to understand how cultural differences influence behaviour and societal structures.

Hofstede's six cultural dimensions

• Individualism/Collectivism - Focuses on individual needs versus the greater good. Collectivist cultures prioritise social roles. Individualistic cultures value personal choice (e.g., voluntary relationships), while collectivist ones may have arranged relationships.
• Uncertainty Avoidance - Measures a culture's preference for stability, such as valuing job security and safe behaviours. High uncertainty avoidance leads to risk-averse behaviours and strict rules.
• Power/Distance - Reflects how hierarchical a society is, including the dominance of leaders. High power distance results in acceptance of authority and structured societies.
• Masculinity/Femininity - Masculine cultures value ambition and competition; feminine cultures prioritise harmony and cooperation. Masculine cultures may show assertive behaviours; feminine ones focus on negotiation.
• Time Orientation - Emphasises long-term versus short-term gains. Long-term cultures value persistence and tradition. Long-term cultures delay gratification; short-term ones seek immediate rewards.
• Indulgence/Restraint - Measures desire for immediate gratification versus societal needs. Indulgent cultures value personal freedom. Indulgent cultures prioritise personal desires; restrained ones focus on collective needs.

Research on cultural dimensions

• Kim & Coleman (2015) - Found that strong individualists were highly assertive, while strong collectivists were conflict-reluctant. Those with moderate views on either dimension showed balanced, integrative styles, indicating variability within cultural dimensions in shaping behaviour.

Research on cultural influences and delaying gratification

Lamm et al. (2017) study: 'Waiting for the Second Treat'

• Aim - To investigate how culture affects the ability to delay gratification.
• Method - Involved 125 German and 76 Cameroonian children aged four. Each child was left alone with a desirable food item and told they could eat it immediately or wait to receive more.
• Results - Approximately 70% of Cameroonian children delayed gratification, compared to only 28% of German children.
• Conclusions - Cultures valuing long-term gains (like Cameroon) encourage delayed gratification more than those prioritising short-term rewards (like Germany). Parenting styles also play a role, with German approaches fostering quicker responses to individual needs compared to Cameroonian emphasis on patience.
• Evaluation - The standardised method ensures valid cross-cultural comparisons. However, the study focuses only on time orientation and individualism/collectivism, limiting broader applicability to other dimensions.

Evaluations and practical applications of cultural studies

Positive evaluations of cultural research

• Increased understanding - Studying cultural differences enhances familiarity with diverse perspectives, reducing tensions and fostering mutual respect across societies.
• Nature vs. nurture debate - Behaviours consistent across cultures may indicate genetic origins, while variations suggest environmental learning, helping distinguish biological from cultural influences.
• Support for cultural dimensions - Most of Hofstede's dimensions (except uncertainty avoidance) are backed by research, providing a robust framework for understanding cultural stereotypes and behaviours.

Negative evaluations of cultural research

• Personality factors overlooked - In obedience studies, individual traits like authoritarian personality may influence compliance more than culture, suggesting cultural explanations are incomplete.
• Methodological inconsistencies - Cross-cultural research often uses varied methods, potentially exaggerating differences and reducing reliability of findings.
• Limited predictive power - Cultural dimensions are criticised for failing to predict individual behaviour accurately, as personal variation within cultures can be significant.

Practical applications of cultural understanding

• Globalisation success - Understanding cultural thought processes and behaviours facilitates daily exchanges of trade and knowledge across borders.
• Conflict resolution - Interactive conflict resolution strategies consider cultural dimensions to negotiate effectively between opposing cultural groups, promoting harmony.

Issues and debates in cultural studies

• Nature vs. nurture - Cultural differences in behaviour and cognition often point to environmental influences (nurture) over biological factors (nature).
• Emic vs. etic approaches - Emic research focuses on culture-specific behaviours within one society, while etic research compares cultures to identify universal patterns, offering complementary perspectives on cultural influences.