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Culture as a Shaping Force

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by

yusuf talha bozkurt
in

I will start by briefly talking about the article. Author starts by telling stories and in the first story she mentions that the article she submitted gets rejected since the cross-cultural research did not fit the journal. She argues that if the journal is about human cognition, then the cross-cultural research should fit the journal, otherwise it only includes the WEIRD humans. I think another code for Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic can be WIRED. This is because we are “wired” to think in this description in our education. We are “wired” to think that this is the regular human behavior instead of the behavior of a specific group. This way of thinking dismisses the majority of the human race. Article also mentions 5 assumptions about cultural psychology. These assumptions born from misunderstandings or the incomplete understandings of both the psychology and the culture. The assumption I found the most interesting is the fourth one: Cultural Psychology is irrelevant to basic psychological processes. Both the article and the chapter tells there are cognitive differences between the different people. It reminded me of the Perception class I took in the previous year. In that class we learned about a tribe that can differentiate between different hues of green but aren’t so successful at differentiating the green from blue (Goldstein, Davidoff, & Roberson, 2009). Similar example was about a tribe that could not see very far away since they live in a very crowded forest. If there can be such drastic differences between people, surely the researches can’t be generalized to the whole humankind. The culture cycle was very significant about the chapter and its graph was a good way of demonstrating the influence among each other. Independent agency and interdependent agency part reminded me the Dionysian and Apollonian society concepts of Ruth Benedict (1934). Independent agency values collective values more while independent agency values the individual. Dionysian societies value collectivism and has numerous social rituals whereas Apollonian societies value individualism, rationality and personal achievements more. Even in the entrance of the temple of Apollo in Delphi it writes “Know Thyself” but in Dionysus cult rituals attendants wear masks in order to reduce the individuality.

Benedict, R. (1959). Patterns of culture (Vol. 8). Houghton Mifflin. (Original work published 1934)

Goldstein, J., Davidoff, J., & Roberson, D. (2009). Knowing color terms enhances recognition: further evidence from English and Himba. Journal of experimental child psychology, 102(2), 219–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2008.06.002

Comments

2 responses to “Culture as a Shaping Force”

  1. Refik TA Avatar
    Refik TA

    Hi, this is the first blog post for the Culture and Psychology course. It’s nice to see this! I’d like to mention a few points:
    * It seems like you haven’t updated the interface of your blog yet (for example, there are still default texts under different topics when we first visit the page).

    For the text:
    – You could try structuring the text a bit more—like having a short intro to what you’ll talk about, then the main body (which you already have), and a brief closing that sums up what you’ve shared.
    – I really like how you connected your previous knowledge to the discussion. It enriches the content and provides a more comprehensive understanding.

    Can’t wait to read the next one!

    Reply
  2. yusuf talha bozkurt Avatar
    yusuf talha bozkurt

    Revised version for Culture as a Shaping Force:
    In this week’s blog, I will reflect on an article that highlights the limitations of psychology research that focuses primarily on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) populations. I’ll explore the key arguments presented, discuss how they relate to the assumptions of cultural psychology, and connect them to my prior knowledge and studies.

    The article begins with a story about the rejection of a cross-cultural study by a journal focused on human cognition. The rejection was based on the argument that cross-cultural research did not fit the journal’s scope. The author criticizes this, arguing that excluding such studies narrows the focus of psychology to WEIRD populations, effectively dismissing the vast diversity of human experiences. I found this point fascinating because we often see WEIRD characteristics as representative of all humanity. So an alternative term to WEIRD could be WIRED, symbolizing how we are conditioned and in a way “wired” to think this way. Such a perspective risks marginalizing the majority of the global population, whose behaviors and cognitive processes might differ significantly.
    The article also outlines five key assumptions about cultural psychology, which stem from incomplete or misunderstood views of both culture and psychology. The assumption I found most interesting is the belief that cultural psychology is irrelevant to basic psychological processes. Both the article and our textbook emphasize the existence of cognitive differences across cultures. This discussion and error reminded me of a perception class I took last year. In that class, we explored research by Goldstein, Davidoff, and Roberson (2009) about tribes that perceive colors differently. For instance, one tribe could easily distinguish between different hues of green but struggled to differentiate green from blue. Another example involved a tribe living in dense forests, whose vision adapted to see better in close range but poorly at a distance. These examples demonstrate the drastic cognitive and perceptual variations across cultures, emphasizing the need for broader, more inclusive research in psychology.
    Another concept that stood out was the culture cycle from the textbook. Its graphical representation illustrated the mutual influence between individuals and their cultural environments. Independent agency and interdependent agency part reminded me the Dionysian and Apollonian society concepts of Ruth Benedict (1934). Independent agency values collective values more while independent agency values the individual. Dionysian societies value collectivism and has numerous social rituals whereas Apollonian societies value individualism, rationality and personal achievements more. Even in the entrance of the temple of Apollo in Delphi it writes “Know Thyself” but in Dionysus cult rituals attendants wear masks in order to reduce the individuality.

    Benedict, R. (1959). Patterns of culture (Vol. 8). Houghton Mifflin. (Original work published 1934)
    Goldstein, J., Davidoff, J., & Roberson, D. (2009). Knowing color terms enhances recognition: further evidence from English and Himba. Journal of experimental child psychology, 102(2), 219–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2008.06.002

    Reply

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