KLA210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Culture Shock, Tertiary Education Fees In Australia, Materialism
Social psychology week 11: Culture and Communication
Culture:
- shared rules that govern the behaviour of a group of people and enable the
members of that group to co-exist and survive
- relatively stable from one generation to the next but evolves slowly over time
ocultural shift
oshift is not so slow over time
omajor cultural shift: electronic communication
has shifted quite substantially
ease, and speed has changed
amount of time dedicated to reading and writing these pieces of
information changes
women rights: this shift has taken quite a bit longer
- interpreted by individuals in different ways
oIf you talk to people about the way communication has changed there
are different opinions
- rule also markers that we need and use to distinguish our group from other
people
- norms
- enculturation: is the process of absorbing and internalizing the rules of our
culture
oProcesses of how we get to know these rules
oUsually happens when you are a child
- Different aspects to culture and different levels as to where it happens:
oOntogenic system: own individual dispositions
Way of saying things that are unique to you
Stable behaviour
oProximate cultures:
Family friends extended family, community
These people have their own behaviours: different
circumstances
Cultural groups you are exposed to within close proximity
oDistal culture:
Individualism/collectivism, religion, social norms (country,
geographic region, age group), values
Shared by a greater number of people
- Why do we have culture:
oTerror management theory: culture has a buffer against general anxiety
Hate the feeling of being out of control and things we cannot
explain
Render the world more explainable
Everyone behaves and adheres to this culture
oCreation of a shared reality: human need to feel that others feel the
same way about things
oBy-product…
- What culture is not:
find more resources at oneclass.com
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oEthnicity: refers to membership of a group linked by race, nationality
language or a common cultural heritage
oRace: socially defined population that is derived from distinguishable
physical characteristics
- Ecological factors (geography, jobs, tasks)/social factors/biological factors
oCulture: leads to
Enculturation via: family, community, institutions: leads to
Psychological processes:
oAttitudes, values, beliefs, opinions, worldviews,
norms, behaviours
- Misconduct: what defines as this changes between cultures
oBefore you are embedded into a culture you wouldn’t be aware of
these rules
Eg. Before you went to uni didn’t know about plagiarism
- Cultural impacts on thinking and explaining behaviour
oNisbett and colleagues found that east Asian students compared to
American students:
Have better memory for objects in their context
Impacts how we perceive and which aspects we dedicate out
attention to
More sensitive to people’s background when judging them
Fundamental attribution error
Take into account other factors when meeting someone
etc.
More likely to look at both sides of arguments
More likely to expect variation in behaviour of others
Not linear
Are less surprised by unexpected behaviour
- Independent and interdependent selves: Fiske and Kitayama
oIndependent self:
Western society
Has set of unchanging rules, autonomous
Personal attributes that guide action
Things that define us and determine what we do
Achievement-orientation
Formulates personal goals
Defines life by successful goal achievement
Is responsible for own behaviour
Competitive
Strives to feel good about the self
oInterdependent self:
Non-western, collective societies
Is connected, fluid, flexible
Participates in social relationship that guide action
Group goals
Is oriented to the collective
Not personal goals that are important
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Different aspects to culture and different levels as to where it happens: ontogenic system: own individual dispositions. Way of saying things that are unique to you. These people have their own behaviours: different circumstances. Cultural groups you are exposed to within close proximity: distal culture: Individualism/collectivism, religion, social norms (country, geographic region, age group), values. Shared by a greater number of people. Why do we have culture: terror management theory: culture has a buffer against general anxiety. Hate the feeling of being out of control and things we cannot explain. Everyone behaves and adheres to this culture: creation of a shared reality: human need to feel that others feel the same way about things, by-product . What culture is not: ethnicity: refers to membership of a group linked by race, nationality language or a common cultural heritage, race: socially defined population that is derived from distinguishable physical characteristics. Ecological factors (geography, jobs, tasks)/social factors/biological factors: culture: leads to.
