What is cultural psychology exactly? - ExamTests 1

Questions

Question 1

According to Richard Schweder, general psychology should use the CPU perspective to demonstrate the universal nature of human thinking. What is the CPU perspective and what does cultural psychology say about this?

Question 2

Which four levels of universality in psychological processes are distinguishable? Give an explanation for each level.

Answer indication

Question 1

CPU stands for central processing unit and describes the analogy of the human mind as an abstract unit that operates independently of the content. According to the supporters of the CPU perspective, cultural variation in human thinking does not exist, because variations in context and content lie outside the CPU. The CPU is therefore universally the same. Cultural psychologists oppose this; they state that the mind cannot operate independently of what it thinks about. According to them, thoughts, actions and feelings of people are immersed in culture, so they think that there can never be an independent CPU that is the same for everyone.

Question 2

• Level 1: Universal accessibility: These psychological processes exist in all cultures, are used in all cultures to solve the same problems and are accessible to the same extent in all cultures.
• Level 2: Universal functionality: These psychological processes exist in all cultures and are used to solve the same problem, but are accessible to varying degrees to people from different cultures.
• Level 3: Universal existentiality: These psychological processes exist in all cultures, but are not necessarily used to solve the same problem and are not equally accessible in different cultures.
• Level 4: Non universal: These psychological processes do not exist in all cultures and are therefore inventions of a certain culture.

What is culture and cultural life? - ExamTests 2

Questions

Question 1

1. What is the difference between imitative learning and emulative learning?
2. Name an advantage and a disadvantage of emulative learning compared to imitative learning.

Question 2

What is the social brain hypothesis about?

Answer indication

Question 1

1. In imitative learning, the student internalizes part of the goals and behavioral strategies of the model. In this way, what has been learned can be carried out in the same way as with the model (the person performing the action). In emulative learning, the student only pays attention to the events that happen around the model rather than what the model wants to achieve. The behavioral strategies that the model uses are not included here. People who use emulative learning come up with a strategy themselves after having gained an idea through the model.
2. An advantage of emulative learning is that there is no over-imitation. The person himself thinks up the most effective way to put what he has learned into practice, while imitative learning also incorporates any ineffective or irrelevant behaviors. A disadvantage of emulative learning is that it does not allow an increase in cultural information. Because the method of learning is not the same, there is no reliable, solid transfer of information. In imitative learning, what has been learned is replicated very accurately, creating a basis from which new inventions can be made. Imitative learning, as opposed to emulative learning, offers the possibility to cumulative learning.

Question 2

The social brain hypothesis states that the evolution to the large size of the brain of primates arose from the fact that social life requires high cognitive skills. The primates who were most successful in moving through the complex, extensive social network had the greatest chance of finding partners and safe sources and of protecting themselves and their offspring.

How does culture arise and how is it maintained? - ExamTests 3

Questions

Question 1

Give an example of both a direct and an indirect way in which the geographical environment can influence a culture.

Question 2

In some cultures, for finding a partner, physical attractiveness is more important than in other cultures, where other traits (for example, having a sense of humor or a high intelligence) may be just as important or even more important. Is this variation on the value of physical attractiveness an example of evoked or transmitted culture? Explain this.

Question 3

1. Which three traits do successful replicators need (for example genes in natural selection)?
2. What are the 'replicators' of cultural evolution called?
3. Give 2 reasons why a comparison between genes and their cultural equivalents is incorrect.

Question 4

What is pluralistic ignorance? How does this phenomenon maintain culture?

Answer indication

Question 1

A direct way in which geography can influence a culture is, for example, through the type of food that is available. In places where many large mammals live, hunting is likely to be part of the culture and provide much of the food intake. In places where little or no large mammals live, people from the local culture will hardly or not hunt and will have to get their food in a different way. In an indirect way, the physical environment of a culture can also influence the structure and values ​​of a society. If the environment is rough, and the way of collecting food is dangerous (for example when hunting large animals), more emphasis will be placed on masculinity in culture. If, on the other hand, the environment is less rugged and food is collected more easily and safely, there will be less stereotypical gender roles.

Question 2

This is an example of evoked culture. The attachment of physical attractiveness to a partner is a psychological process that is present in all cultures, but is more important in cultures where people their health is generally more at risk. Physical attractiveness means good health, and in places where health is a major asset, more value is attached to this than in places where health is seen as more natural.

Question 3

a. Three traits:

1. Replicators must have a certain degree of longevity. They must therefore be relatively stable and long-term and must not disappear or fall apart easily.
2. Replicators must replicate as accurately and precisely as possible.
3. Replicators must be fertile; they therefore have to produce as many copies of themselves as possible.

b. The replicators of cultural evolution are called "memes".

c. Possible answers:

1. Cultural transmission is not very accurate; messages that are passed on between people can be changed a lot in the process.
2. Cultural transmission grows through innovations that are not typical copy errors, but through changes that are deliberately planned. Genetic variability, on the other hand, is caused by random copy errors.
3. Memes do not have to be adaptive to be able to spread, while this is necessary for evolutionary processes with genes.

Question 4

Pluralistic ignorance is the tendency of people to collectively misinterpret the thoughts that explain the behavior of others. In many situations people do not say what they really think, but what they think is desirable. So it may be that a group holds a certain opinion together because everyone thinks that the majority agrees with this, while in reality this is not always true. Pluralistic ignorance is relevant to the preservation of culture, because people are more influenced by what they believe what other people think than by what others actually think.

How is psychological research done in the field of culture? - ExamTests 4

Questions

Question 1

A lot of (cross-cultural) psychological research is performed by students. This sometimes leads to problems with the 'power' of the research.

1. What is meant by 'power' and how can a sample consisting mainly of students influence this power?
2. Why are results from cross-cultural research with students often useful?

Question 2

Different response biases can occur when conducting surveys with people from different cultures. For example, two people of equal length may answer the question "are you tall?" differently, because they compare themselves with the people around them. What is the name of the response bias that occurs in this case?

1. Liability bias
2. Deprivation effect
3. Reference group effect
4. Moderacy and extremity bias

Question 3

Which three steps are needed to understand a cultural difference? Give an example.

Question 4

1. What is the difference between within-group manipulation and between-group manipulation, and what ensures that you can draw well-founded conclusions from the results for both types?
2. What is the advantage of within-groups manipulation compared to between-groups manipulation?

Answer indication

Question 1

1. Power refers to the ability of a study to observe an effect in the population that is actually present. Students from different cultures are more similar than non-students from different cultures. This increases the chance that an effect that does exist in the general population will not be found if the sample consists mainly of students, because they are not always representative of the general population.
2. In cross-cultural research, a sample consisting mainly of students is often used. If an effect is found between students from different cultures, this means that the effect in the overall population is likely to be even greater. After all, students are very similar, so if even a cultural variation is found among them, that variation will probably be even greater for non-students.

Question 2

C; Giving an answer based on comparison with people in your immediate environment is the result of reference group effects.

Question 3

Firstly, an existing theory about possible mutual variables of the cultural difference must be researched and studied. Secondly, it must be proven that there is an underlying construct. Finally, the relationship between the cultural difference found and the underlying construct must be demonstrated. These steps are illustrated in the following example: a found difference between Americans and Japanese is that Japanese are ashamed faster. A leading theory states that the Japanese have a greater sense of interdependence than Americans (step 1). The scientists who investigated the difference in shame argued that interdependence led to a greater tendency toward shame. The second step was to prove that the Japanese indeed have a greater sense of interdependence. This turned out to be the case. Finally, it was demonstrated that there was a positive correlation between the degree of shame and the degree of interdependence among both the Japanese and the Americans.

Question 4

1. In between-group manipulations, different, randomly assigned groups of test subjects receive different levels of the independent variable. Because the participants in all conditions are statistically equal at the start of the study (by means of random assignment), any difference in their responses or behaviors must be due to manipulations of the independent variable. After all, this is the only difference between the two conditions. With within-group manipulations, each subject receives more than one level of the independent variable. There is therefore no random assignment which means that all participants receive all the levels of the independent variable. Differences in responses can again only be attributed to the independent variable, because other factors are kept constant (controlled) and the independent variable is the only thing that changes.
2. Within group manipulation the advantage is that the different response bias no longer play a role. Every condition is applied to every test subject, and the test subject has the same possible response bias in each condition. With this form of manipulation, all factors (except the independent variable) are therefore guaranteed to be kept constant; the test subject is not only statistically similar in every condition, but also completely identical.

How does the environment influence a person's cultural views? - ExamTests 5

Questions

Question 1

Research into agreements about children with regard to sleeping showed that most North Americans choose to let their children sleep separately from the parents from an early age on.

1. Which three principles guided them in this decision?
2. People from some other cultures often choose to let the children sleep with their parents. Name two principles that can lead to this choice.

Question 2

1. What is the noun bias?
2. Is the noun bias a universal phenomenon? What does that mean?

Question 3

Which three parenting styles were distinguished by Baumrind? Name them and provide a description of each.

Answer indication

Question 1

1. They were guided by the following principles: avoidance of incest, the sexual and emotional privacy of the parents (the holy couple) and the ideal of autonomy (children must be independent from a young age on).
2. They are guided, among other things, by the following principles: protection of the vulnerable (young children are not left alone at night) and female chastity anxiety (girls must not be allowed to undertake sexual activities).

Question 2

1. The noun bias means that young children use relatively more nouns than verbs.
2. The noun bias is not a universal phenomenon, it does not occur in all cultures. For example, Chinese children make more use of verbs than of nouns.

Question 3

1. Authoritarian parenting means that high demands are placed on the children, with strict rules and little open conversation between the child and the parent.
2. In authoritative parenting, the child stands central, the parents emphasize the maturity of the child and they try to understand the child and let them be free as possible.
3. Permissive parenting means that the parents are very involved with the child and show a lot of affection. There is little control over the behavior of the children.

What views are there on the self-concept and consciousness? - ExamTests 6

Questions

Question 1

1. What is the difference between the independent view and the interdependent view of the self?
2. In which cultures does the interdependent view of the self often occur?

Question 2

Both people from collectivist cultures and people from individualistic cultures use rationalization to solve cognitive dissonance. However, there is a difference in the way they use this.

1. What is this difference?
2. If you want to use cognitive dissonance to get people to donate some money, with what argument would you probably persuade someone from a collectivist culture quickly?

Question 3

What is the difference between the theory of the incremental and the theory of the entity self?

Question 4

Which five factors are distinguished in the five factor model of personality?

Answer indication

Question 1

1. Within the independent view of the self, much emphasis is placed on the inner characteristics of a person as the basis of their identity. These identity characteristics are experienced as independent from interactions with others. Important aspects that define the self are clearly distinguished from relationships and take place within the individual himself. Within the interdependent view of the self, there is more emphasis on relationships and roles as the basis of identity. Behavior is seen as dependent on the thoughts, feelings and actions of others. Individuals are therefore not seen as separate and clear units, but as participants in a larger social unit.
2. The interdependent conception of the self mainly occurs in collectivist cultures.

Question 2

1. People from individualistic cultures mainly rationalize their own decisions. People from collectivist cultures mainly rationalize the decisions they make for others. People from collectivist cultures are also inclined to rationalize decisions that they think others would take.
2. In that case it would be better to say that a friend of the person concerned has donated money. People from collectivist cultures are more likely to rationalize and make decisions that they think others made before.

Question 3

People who have the theory of the incremental self believe that we, as humans, can easily change. We can always adjust and improve our self-concept. People who have the theory of the entity self believe that aspects of the self are largely resistant to change, and that traits are innate and remain stable over time.

Question 4

1. Openness to experiences: this reflects higher intelligence and a curiosity about the world.
2. Conscientiousness: this reflects responsibility and reliability of an individual;
3. Extraversion: this indicates to what extent an individual is active and dominant;
4. Agreeableness: this indicates to what extent an individual is warm and kind;
5. Neuroticism: this indicates the extent to which a person is seen as emotionally unstable and unpredictable.

How do culture and migration processes influence each other? - ExamTests 7

Questions

Question 1

The attitude of migrants about the new culture in which they settle often shows a pattern that exists of three phases. Name and explain each of these three phases.

Question 2

Which four acculturation strategies are distinguished and what views does the migrant have with each strategy on their home culture and the new (host) culture?

Question 3

Which two factors, apart from the acculturation strategy that someone uses, influence the extent to which a migrant adapts successfully to a new culture?

Question 4

1. What is meant with 'code change' within cultural psychology?
2. How does the degree of bicultural identity integration influence the use of code change?

Answer indication

Question 1

1. The honeymoon phase (first few months after arrival): the migrant has a positive feeling about the new culture, and enjoys the new experiences and the new culture.
2. The crisis or culture shock phase (6 to 18 months after arrival): the migrant experiences more difficulties and less fun. The migrant realizes that his or her language skills are not good enough to have proper conversations. Local people start to lose interest in the migrant's cultural background, and start to talk about local events and traditions that the migrant knows little about. The migrant is increasingly homesick for the host country.
3. The adjustment phase (a few months after the culture shock phase): the migrant starts to adapt and experiences become more enjoyable. Their language skills increase, making participation in daily life easier. They begin to understand and appreciate the traditions and habits of the new culture more. This adjustment phase often takes several years and over the years people become more and more skilled at functioning properly in the new culture.

Question 2

1. Integration strategy: this means that someone fully adapts to and participates in the new culture while striving to preserve home culture traditions. This includes a positive opinion about both the home culture and the new culture.
2. Marginalization strategy: this means that someone does not adapt and participates as little as possible in the new culture, but also makes no effort to preserve the traditions of home culture. This strategy involves a negative view of both home culture and the new culture.
3. Assimilation strategy: this means that someone adapts to and fully participates in the new culture and makes no effort to preserve the traditions of home culture. This includes a negative opinion about the home culture and a positive opinion about the new culture.
4. Separation strategy: this means that someone does not adapt to and participates as little as possible in the new culture and strives to preserve the traditions of home culture. This includes a positive opinion about the home culture and a negative opinion about the new culture.

Question 3

1. Cultural distance: this is the difference in lifestyle between the original culture and the host culture. If many things differ from the original culture in the host culture, the migrant must learn many new things and adaptation will be more difficult. The more similarities there are between the two cultures, the easier it is to adjust or acculturate. In short; the higher the cultural distance, the lower the chance that people will acculturate.
2. Cultural fit: this is the extent to which an individual's personality is equal to the dominant cultural values ​​in the host culture. The better the cultural fit, the easier someone accultures into the new culture. With acculturation it is therefore important that your personality matches with the new cultural environment.

Question 4

1. Code exchange indicates the exchange of cultural framework in different cultural situations. For example, it is possible that an American with a Japanese background behaves in a "Japanese" way when he is with Japanese family or his cultural background is emphasized in another way, while behaving in an "American" way when he is with his American friends.
2. People with a high degree of bicultural identity integration will use code change more often, because they can identify with both cultures and see them as compatible. People with a low degree of bicultural identity integration will use code change less often because they see the two cultures as opposed.

What different kinds of motivation do exist? - ExamTests 8

Questions

Question 1

What is the self-serving or self-enhancing bias?

Question 2

1. What strategies are there to gain or maintain a positive self-image?
2. What is there to say about these strategies with regard to people with an interdependent self-concept?

Question 3

Name and describe 2 ways in which we can influence our own lives. Give an example with each of them.

Question 4

What differences are found with regard to making choices in:

1. collectivist versus individualistic cultures
2. lower class versus higher class (within an individualistic culture)

Answer indication

Question 1

The self-serving or self-enhancing bias is the tendency of people to rate themselves higher than average on personal traits such as loyalty, creativity or social skills.

Question 2a

1. Downward social comparison: comparing your own performance with someone who has performed worse than you did.
2. Compensatory self-reinforcement: you acknowledge the poor performance that you have delivered, but immediately start thinking of something in which you do perform well. You divert attention from the setback and you start to think of all kinds of positive qualities of yourself.
3. Discounting setbacks: reducing the perceived importance of the domain on which you have performed poorly.
4. External attribution: attributing the cause of our actions to objects, people or situations outside of ourselves.
5. Basking in reflected glory: Nurturing yourself in the reflection of fame from a successful group that you are part of.

Question 2b

The strategies for gaining or maintaining a positive self-image are mainly used by people with an independent view on the self. People who hold an interdependent view of the self are more likely to, when faced with failure, increase their motivation on the task, because they think that when they increase their effort, they can succeed. When they are successful they attribute this to something outside of themselves.

Question 3

1. Primary control: the aim to adjust existing realities to their own perceptions, goals or wishes. An example of this is deciding for yourself how you will spend your evening.
2. Secondary control: trying to connect with existing realities, leaving reality unchanged while you exercise control over its psychological impact. In secondary control, the circumstances are accepted as they are. An example of this is that if the group of friends you belong to suggests that you guys go into the city, you tell yourself that you already felt like going into the city.

Question 4

1. In individualistic cultures, people are less dependent on others and make more choices independently. In collectivist cultures, people are more involved in the goals of the group and are more willing to adapt their behavior to the rest of the group; in this way they reduce the number of choices they can make on their own. In addition, people in individualistic cultures take longer to make decisions about important issues in their personal lives. In collectivistic cultures, decisions about personal matters are more often made by others who are close to the person, for example the parents. An example of this is that of arranged marriage.
2. People from the lower working class often have fewer options with regards to choices. For example, because of their income, they can not choose between a private school or a public school. People from the lower classes are also more often limited in their choice of home, job and spending pattern. These people therefore learn more often that some things are beyond their control and rather accept choices that are made for them by others. People from the middle or higher class can make their own choices more often and are therefore less satisfied when choices are made for them.

What differences in cognition are visible between different cultures? - ExamTests 9

Questions

Question 1

1. What is the difference between analytical and holistic thinking?
2. How does the difference between analytical and holistic thinking express itself in terms of attention?
3. In which cultures is holistic thinking the most common form of thinking?

Question 2

1. What is the fundamental attribution error?
2. Does the fundamental attribution error occur in all cultures? Explain this.

Question 3

What is the difference between a high context culture and a low context culture and how is communication influenced by this?

Answer indication

Question 1

1. In analytic thinking, the emphasis is on independent objects. The objects are defined in terms of their properties. A set of fixed, abstract rules is also used to understand and predict the behavior of the objects. Holistic thinking focuses more on the context as a whole. It is an associative way of thinking that pays close attention to the relationships between objects and between the objects and their environment. Objects are defined on the basis of their relationships with each other and with the environment and these relationships are used to predict and understand the behavior of the objects.
2. Analytical thinkers are more inclined to focus their attention on separate parts of a scene, namely those parts that represent interesting objects. Analytical thinkers show field independence; the ability to separate objects from their background. Holistic thinkers spread their attention more throughout the scene. They pay more attention to the relationships that can exist between different objects. Holistic thinkers show field dependence; they see objects as connected to the background. Research has shown that analytical thinkers perform better on tasks where it is important to focus attention on separate components, while holistic thinkers perform better on tasks where attention needs to be distributed throughout the scene. When analytical and holistic thinkers look at the same scene, they perceive this scene in a different way.
3. Holistic thinking is more common in East Asian cultures, as well as in Western cultures (where analytical thinking is most common).

Question 2

1. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to explain behavior on the basis of underlying dispositions, in which situational information is ignored.
2. The fundamental attribution error does not occur in all cultures. In some Asian cultures, such as the Indian one, the reverse attribution error occurs. On the contrary, people are inclined to explain behavior on the basis of situational information, in which underlying dispositions are ignored.

Question 3

In a high context culture, people are very involved with each other, which ensures that there is a lot of shared information that guides behavior. There are clear rules of conduct for every situation. Because this information is generally shared and understood, it does not need to be stated explicitly. In a high context culture, communication is therefore less explicit, because much information can be derived from the source of shared information. In a low context culture, people are less involved with each other and there is less shared information. In a low context culture, communication is therefore more explicit and detailed, because people have a smaller source of shared information to interpret the situation.

In which ways can emotions be experienced and expressed? - ExamTests 10

Questions

Question 1

1. What does the James-Lange Theory of Emotions state?
2. The Two-Factor Theory of Emotions arose as a criticism of the James Lange theory. What was this criticism based on and what does the Two-Factor Theory of Emotions entail?

Question 2

What are the six basic emotions, according to Ekman and Friesen?

Question 3

1. What is the facial feedback hypothesis?
2. Describe a study that provided strong evidence for the correctness of the facial feedback hypothesis.

Question 4

1. What is meant by subjective well-being?
2. Which two factors influence subjective well-being?
3. What difference occurs between collectivist and individualistic cultures when it comes to what people mean by subjective well-being?

Answer indication

Question 1

1. The James-Lange Theory of Emotions states that our bodies respond to stimuli in the environment to make us respond in a way that help us to survive. Emotions are the changes in our body that give us directions for how to behave. Different emotions are associated with each emotion.
2. Schacter and Singer, who came up with the Two-Factor Theory of Emotions, did not find the James-Lange theory plausible because the autonomic nervous system would be too slow and awkward to trigger all the different emotions. The Two-Factor Theory of Emotions states that emotions are our interpretations of bodily sensations. Physical sensations can therefore be interpreted in different ways, and thus trigger different emotions depending on the situation.

Question 2

The six basic emotions are anger, fear, joy, sadness, surprise and disgust.

Question 3

1. The facial feedback hypothesis states that our facial expressions are a source of information for determining our emotions.
2. A study onto the effects of facial expressions on emotion went as follows; one group of participants was asked to watch a cartoon while holding a pen between their teeth (causing a forced smile on their face), and another group were asked to hold the pen between their lips while watching the cartoon (leading to a forced frown). The results showed that the people in the 'smile' condition rated the cartoon as nicer than the people in the 'frown' condition. This therefore confirms the statement of the facial feedback hypothesis that our facial expressions are a source of information for determining emotions.

Question 4

1. Subjective well-being is the degree of satisfaction that people experience about their own lives.
2. 1) Wealth; In general, the more money a country has, the easier it is to meet people's basic needs and the happier people are. This is especially true for people in very poor cultures; in such a situation, a small difference in wealth can make a big difference in subjective well-being. In developed countries, the relationship between money and subjective well-being is much smaller. If the average income of a country is very high, there is hardly any relationship between wealth and subjective well-being. 2) Human rights; On average, countries where human rights are given a lot of interest are happier than countries where this is not the case.
3. People in an independent culture feel happier faster if they behave in a way that is consistent with their inner desires. They base their sense of well-being on how many positive feelings they experience. Positive feelings are therefore seen as a good life in individualistic cultures. People in an interdependent culture feel good about their lives if they live by the standards of others to be a good person. Living according to cultural norms is therefore seen as the basis of a good life in collectivist cultures.

How are groups, friends and attraction treated in different cultures? - ExamTests 11

Questions

Question 1

Name three characteristics of faces that are considered attractive worldwide. Provide an evolutionary explanation for each of these characteristics for why it is seen as attractive.

Question 2

What is the mere exposure effect?

Question 3

1. What is the difference between low and high relational mobility?
2. In which cultures is low relational mobility more common?
3. How does the level of mobility affect having enemies?

Question 4

Which four elementary forms of relationships are distinguished by Fiske (1991)? Give an explanation and an example for each form.

Answer indication

Question 1

1. Smooth skin (free of spots, pimples, wounds and rash). From an evolutionary point of view, people are more attracted to healthy partners who can produce healthy offspring. Smooth skin indicates the absence of parasites and viruses, and therefore greater health.
2. Double-sided symmetry (if the right half of the face is symmetrical on the left). Bilateral symmetry in face and body is an indicator of developmental stability. People with symmetrical faces are therefore rated as more attractive because it indicates good health.
3. Having average characteristics. Faces that are average in size and shape are seen as attractive because this indicates the absence of genetic defects. In addition, the brain can process average traits (the prototype) faster, and rapid processing is associated with positive feelings and feelings of attraction.

Question 2

The mere exposure effect points to the fact that people find things more attractive the more they are exposed to them. For example, we like certain people, fashion or music more if we have heard or seen them before.

Question 3

1. People who live in a culture with high relational mobility only enter into relationships if both people benefit from it. In most cases, relationships are voluntary, self-chosen and can be avoided. People who live in a culture with low relational mobility are part of a fixed network with relationships that are often not self-chosen and cannot be avoided. The activities in daily life always take place in the same context, and this is how relationships are formed.
2. Low relational mobility is more common in interdependent cultures.
3. Because people in a culture with low relational mobility often have no ability to end or avoid unwanted relationships, and relationships often are not chosen freely, they are more likely to make enemies. In cultures with high relational mobility, people often choose their relationships themselves and unwanted relationships are avoided or terminated. People are less likely to have enemies in a culture with high relational mobility; if a relationship turns out to be undesirable or starts to become annoying, they can end the relationship without damaging their network (which is the case in cultures with low relational mobility).

Question 4

1. Communal sharing: here, group members define themselves by emphasizing their shared identity. Members of the group are treated equally and all have the same rights and privileges. In a family, communal sharing is common.
2. Authority ranking: here, members of a group are organized according to a hierarchical social dimension. People with a higher rank have prestiges and privileges that people with a lower rank do not have. However, people with a lower rank do receive protection and care from people with a higher rank. This form of relationship is common, for example, in the army.
3. Equality matches: here, people keep track of what has been exchanged and are motivated to pay back for what they have received equally. This is common in Western cultures when for example, carpooling or when sending Christmas cards.
4. Market prices: here, everything that is exchanged can be reduced to an underlying dimension, which is often money.

How do ethics, justice and culture interact? - ExamTests 12

Questions

Question 1

Which three models of interpretation are there with regard to the origin of cultural diversity?

Question 2

1. What three levels of morality did Kohlberg distinguish? Give an explanation for each level.
2. What can you say about the way people pass through these levels (according to Kohlberg)?

Question 3

1. Which three codes of ethics do Shweder and his colleagues distinguish?
2. Which emotions occur as a reaction on violation of each of these codes of ethics?

Question 4

1. What is the difference between Gemeinschaft groups and Gesellschaft groups?
2. In which cultures do Gesellschaft groups occur more often?

Question 5

1. Which three ways of distributing goods are found worldwide?
2. What is a meritocracy? Name a disadvantage and an advantage of a meritocracy.

Answer indication

Question 1

1. Universalism: the perspective that people from different cultures are largely the same and that every cultural difference found only exists on a superficial level;
2. Relativism: the perspective that cultural differences in the way of thinking are not superficial, but really reflect different psychological processes;
3. Evolutionism: cultural variability reflects differences in psychological processes. However, there can only be one way in which the mind has evolved into thinking. Cultural differences in the way of thinking reflect different levels of development. If everyone is at the same level of development, everyone thinks in the same way.

Question 2a

• Level 1: The Pre-conventional level. At this level, individuals understand the cultural rules and labels of what is right and what is wrong, but they interpret these labels in terms of either the physical or hedonistic consequences of their behavior. Morality at this level mainly means that people calculate how much better or worse they are if they behave in a certain way.
• Level 2: The Conventional level. At this level, people are able to identify themselves with a certain group and social rank and show loyalty to this group. Morality here means following rules and laws drawn up by the social order.
• Level 3: The Post-conventional level. At this level, moral values ​​and principles are viewed separately from the authority of the social groups in which these values ​​and principles apply. Morality is defined as the universal and abstract ethical laws, and is independent of other people or prevailing rules.

Question 2b

According to Kohlberg, the order in which people go through these levels is fixed, but the endpoint (that is, the level of morality someone ultimately achieves) and the speed with which the levels are completed vary.

Question 3a

1. Ethic of autonomy: This ethics sees morality in terms of individual freedom and violations of rights. The emphasis is on personal choices, the right to make free contacts and individual freedom. An act is considered immoral if it immediately hurts or damages someone.
2. Ethic of community: With this ethics the emphasis is on the fact that individuals have duties according to their roles in a society or social hierarchy. Actions are perceived as wrong when individuals fail to perform their obligations.
3. Ethic of divinity: This ethics is about holiness and the perceived "natural order" of things. This code contains the ethical principle that someone is obliged to maintain the standards that have been mandated by a superior authority. It relates to the belief that God has created a holy world and that everyone is obliged to respect and preserve this holiness. Here, acts are seen as immoral if they cause impurity or degradation in the person or others, or when someone is disrespectful towards God or His creations.

Question 3b

Violation of the ethic of autonomy leads to anger, violation of the ethics of the population leads to contempt and violation of the ethic of divinity leads to disgust.

Question 4

1. Gemeinschaft groups are small groups in which interpersonal relationships play an important role. Relationships are seen as real and non-instrumental. People feel connected in these groups through a unity of mind. The interpersonal relationships are essential for identity. Gesellschaft groups, on the other hand, treat relationships as imaginary, instrumental and ending. Groups have their own rules, norms and laws that individuals must adhere to. These rules are the result of public consensus. Individuals have few social obligations to each other, so formalized laws are necessary to keep order.
2. Gesellschaft groups are mainly found in western cultures.

Question 5a

1. Principle of need: resources must be distributed based on who needs them most.
2. Principle of equality: resources must be evenly distributed among all members of a group.
3. Principle of justice/fairness: resources must be distributed based on the contributions people have made.

Question 5b

A meritocracy, or a performance society, is a social system that rewards individuals based on the principle of justice or fairness. This system is common in individualistic cultures. An advantage of this system is that people work harder: after all, the size of their reward depends on the effort they make. This system therefore increases productivity. A disadvantage of the meritocratic system is that it can lead to disruption of harmonious relationships; if a person does very well, it automatically means that the rest does less well and therefore will receive a smaller reward.

What are the differences in health and disease among different cultures? - ExamTests 13

Questions

Question 1

Name 3 variables that can explain the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and life expectancy.

Question 2

What is meant by the epidemiological paradox? Give a possible explanation for this phenomenon.

Question 3

Give an example of how culture can influence a genotype.

Question 4

What is meant by relative deprivation and how does this relate to health?

Answer indication

Question 1

1. People with a lower SES have, on average, more bad habits (such as smoking, unhealthy eating, less exercise) than people with a higher SES.
2. In areas where the SES is low, traits such as hostility and pessimism are more often observed. These characteristics can lead to more violence and a reduced confidence in the future. An association has been demonstrated between these consequences and poorer health.
3. People with a lower SES experience chronic stress more often. In addition to the relationship between stress and adopting bad habits (such as smoking and drinking), stress directly reduces the immune system's ability to defend itself against infections, for example.

Question 2

The epidemiological paradox points to the phenomenon that, despite their lower SES and minority status, Latin American people do not run a higher health risk and even have lower mortality rates than Americans of European descent. Possible explanations for this phenomenon are the healthier lifestyles of many Latin Americans, and the fact that they often live in close-knit groups. The latter has a positive influence on health.

Question 3

An example of how cultures can influence the genotype is the development of lactose tolerance in the West. Before the ancestral population of people left Africa, they were in a state of lactose intolerance (this means that people can no longer process lactose after childhood). Over time, a certain mutation (especially in Northern Europe) resulted in a mutation that made an individual lactose tolerant. In places where keeping cows was common, the lactose tolerant individuals had an evolutionary advantage. They therefore had a greater chance of surviving offspring, so that entire populations became lactose tolerant. This is an example of how culture can influence natural selection, and therefore the genotype; lactose tolerance is more common in cultures where it was customary to keep cattle.

Question 4

Relative deprivation means that you feel that you are having a bad time because others in your environment (seem to) do better than you. Even if you are performing better or are more succesful compared to the larger population, if you compare yourself to people in your immediate area, you may still feel that you are having a bad time. An example of this is feeling that you are poor (or have a low SES), because most people in your neighborhood have more money than you. Even though you may be among the top ten percent of your country in terms of income, you can still compare yourself with others around you. Relative deprivation is a predictive factor for poorer health; it is true that your life expectancy is not only influenced by having a low SES, but also by the feeling that you have a low SES.

What perspectives are there on psychological disorders? - ExamTests 14

Questions

Question 1

Which two arguments are there that support the statement that bulimia nervosa is a culture-related syndrome?

Question 2

1. Depression is a universal syndrome, but the symptoms manifest themselves differently in some non-Western cultures than in Western cultures. Explain the differences with regard to the symptoms.
2. Give three possible explanations for this difference.

Question 3

Name two non-Western, culture-related syndromes and provide a short description of them.

Question 4

What does cultural competence mean in the context of mental health care?

Answer indication

Question 1

1. The incidence of bulimia in the Western world has increased dramatically in the last fifty years, probably due to the cultural shift towards a thinner beauty ideal.
2. Bulimia mainly occurs in western communities or communities with western influences. There are not even known cases of bulimia in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and only a few in the Middle East and in East Asia.

Question 2a

The symptoms of depression are often described in the West as psychological complaints (psychologization), while in China they are more often described as physical complaints (somatization). In the West, for example, depression is seen more as a mood disorder and in China as a headache and sleep disorder.

Question 2b

1. There are differences in the social stigmas that are associated with having mental problems. In non-Western countries, having psychological problems is often stigmatized. Therefore it is possible that having a depression is experienced in the same way, but is not expressed in the same way.
2. The symptoms of depression may be experienced the same in different cultures, but more attention is paid to certain symptoms in one culture than in other cultures. For example, Western people seem to pay more attention to their emotional experiences than Eastern people.

Question 3

The symptoms of depression can also be experienced differently. In the East there is a less clear separation between body and mind than in the West, which can cause symptoms to be experienced differently in both cultures.

1. Koro: this is a clinical syndrome that has been identified in the south and east of Asia (especially in the southern part of China). This syndrome occurs among men and manifests itself as an enormous fear that their penis will shrink and withdraw into the body. Koro occurs in epidemics. It is considered a culture-related syndrome because the symptoms are absent in other cultures.
2. Amok: this is a phenomenon identified in a number of cultures in southeast Asia and can be defined as "an acute outburst of uncontrolled violence, associated with murderous attacks, preceded by a period of worry and ending with exhaustion and amnesia". Amok is mainly found among men and is often caused by stress, a lack of sleep and alcohol consumption. Amok appears to occur specifically in cultures in Southeast Asia, although occasionally there are also similar behaviors in Western cultures (such as the mass murders in schools, offices or in neighborhoods). It is unclear whether these behaviors are indicative of the same underlying disorder.

Question 4

Cultural competence means that therapists recognize their own cultural influences, develop knowledge about the cultural background of the patient and develop the skills to achieve a culture-sensitive way of providing assistance.