Psychology of Personality and Culture

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Questions and Answers

What is defined as an individual's patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, along with the psychological mechanisms behind them?

Identity

Cognition

Character

Personality (correct)

Which approach examines and compares personality constructs across different cultures?

Universalistic approach

Indigenous psychology

Emic approach

Etic approach (correct)

How does language influence the understanding of personality constructs across cultures?

Language has no impact on personality concepts.

Different languages may shape the way personality is experienced. (correct)

Language simplifies the comparison of personality across cultures.

Language can define personality traits universally.

Which statement about the hierarchy of needs in cultural contexts is accurate?

The hierarchy may not necessarily be universal. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following models refers to universally applicable personality traits?

Cattell's Big 5 Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of facial features is considered universally attractive?

Symmetry Signup and view all the answers

In which cultures is unsolicited advice more commonly given?

Collectivistic cultures Signup and view all the answers

According to the evolutionary approach, emotions are considered to be:

Biologically determined reactions Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary role of appraisal in understanding emotions?

To process and interpret stimuli Signup and view all the answers

Which facial expression is recognized most universally across cultures?

Happiness Signup and view all the answers

What limitation exists regarding the universality of facial expressions according to Paul Ekman’s research?

Research is only applicable in industrial societies Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following expressions does research show to be interpreted differently in Japan?

Anger Signup and view all the answers

Which language uses a single word, alofa, to express both love and pity?

Samoan Signup and view all the answers

What does the emic approach emphasize in psychological research?

Embedded representation of personality in local context Signup and view all the answers

Which concept best exemplifies the emic approach to personality in Japan?

Amae Signup and view all the answers

What hypothesis suggests that important personality traits become encoded in language?

Lexical hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT included in the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI)?

Incremental self Signup and view all the answers

Regarding self-concept and social class, which statement is true about wealthy Icelandic children?

They describe themselves primarily through inner psychological traits. Signup and view all the answers

How do middle-class American parents generally approach the development of their children's self-concept?

They emphasize self-direction and independence. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference in trust levels between Americans and Japanese, according to research?

Americans tend to have higher levels of trust toward strangers. Signup and view all the answers

The belief that individuals can easily change and are expected to change is known as what type of theory?

Incremental theory of self Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between self-enhancement motivation and cultural perspective as evidenced by the study of American and Japanese students?

American students tend to recall more success experiences than failure ones. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the concept of downward social comparison?

Evaluating oneself against those who are perceived as worse. Signup and view all the answers

What is a notable difference in persistence after success or failure between Canadian and Japanese participants?

Canadians persist longer after success, while Japanese persist longer after failure. Signup and view all the answers

What does the concept of self-serving bias entail?

Attributing personal successes to internal factors and failures to external factors. Signup and view all the answers

How does internal attribution of failure differ from external attribution of failure?

Internal attribution connects failures to skill, while external attribution connects to luck or environment. Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of a prevention orientation in self-assessment?

Trying to avoid negative outcomes. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement accurately reflects the concept of 'basking in reflected glory'?

Feeling good about oneself by associating with successful individuals or groups. Signup and view all the answers

What impact does self-esteem have on one's perception of their value?

It assigns positive value to oneself despite external perceptions. Signup and view all the answers

What is disjoint agency characterized by?

Preferences and goals are self-determined and independent of others. Signup and view all the answers

How do individuals exercising conjoint agency typically make decisions?

In response to interpersonal relationships and external expectations. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of agency, what does primary control signify?

Having an internal locus of control and shaping one's environment. Signup and view all the answers

How are self-concepts impacted in independent individuals versus interdependent individuals?

Independent individuals do not rely on relationships for their self-concept. Signup and view all the answers

What does secondary control refer to?

Adjusting one's perceptions and accepting circumstances as they are. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement best describes the nature of ingroup and outgroup boundaries for independent individuals?

They are fluid, with less significance to individual self-concept. Signup and view all the answers

How do Takahashi and Hyman's conceptualizations of winning differ?

Each diverges significantly in their interpretation of success. Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic feature of the Maslow hierarchy of needs?

It might not be universally applicable to all cultural contexts. Signup and view all the answers

What does the behavioral-ecology view suggest about facial movements?

They are context-dependent tools for social influence. Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic feature of display rules?

They govern the appropriateness and intensity of facial expressions in various cultures. Signup and view all the answers

What does the ingroup advantage refer to in emotion recognition?

Greater accuracy in recognizing emotions within one's own culture. Signup and view all the answers

How are emotions perceived differently in interdependent cultures compared to independent cultures?

Interdependent cultures consider emotions as interpersonal states that connect people. Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by the facial feedback hypothesis?

Facial expressions influence how we understand our emotional experiences. Signup and view all the answers

Which emotions are considered more common in interpersonally engaged contexts?

Respect and shame Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes interpersonally disengaged emotions?

They highlight what an individual needs rather than what others want. Signup and view all the answers

What is one outcome of emotional smoothness in Balinese culture?

There is a tendency to avoid strong displays of emotion. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Caveats of Culture

Cultures are complex and diverse, not monolithic
Cultural differences in group averages do not always fully explain individual experiences
Language and how people communicate cultural tendencies affect interpretations

Twenty Statements Test: Measure of Self-Concept

Independent Self: Defining characteristics are unique and independent of others. Boundaries between ingroups and outgroups often relatively fluid and stable. Attributes are inherent.
Interdependent Self: Defining characteristics are intertwined with relationships and memberships within communities. Boundaries between ingroups and outgroups are often clearly defined. Attributes are fluid and situation-dependent.

Self-Concept in the Brain: Biological

Activation patterns of interdependent self involve similar brain regions when thinking about oneself versus one's mother
Independent self shows more activation in the MPFC (medial prefrontal cortex) when thinking about oneself versus one's mother

Carol Dweck; Mindset & Performance

Fixed Mindset: Children praised for intelligence are more likely to stick with easy tasks to avoid showing lack of innate ability
Growth Mindset: Children praised for effort are more likely to tackle harder tasks, as they understand ability is changeable via efforts.

Stable vs Fluid Self Concept; Self-consistency

Individuals are sensitive to cues in their environment regarding how they are judged (effort or innate skill)
Cognitive dissonance paradigm: independent self is about self-consistency, interdependent self is about peer consistency.
Descriptions are more positive and stable when respondents are alone.
Descriptions are more negative when respondents are around their manager.

Self-awareness

Independent self has subjective self-awareness (focus outward)
Interdependent self has objective self-awareness (focus inward). Mirrors increase self-criticism in independent, but not interdependent cultures.

Part 2: Motivation

Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Self-esteem is a universal need.
Independent Self: Driven by self-actualization and expressing individual uniqueness, with a view to securing individual uniqueness.
Interdependent Self: Driven by a desire for meaningful connectedness and relationships with others, seeking inclusion in a group.

Self Enhancement Motivation

High Self-Esteem vs Modesty Tendency: Westerners tend towards inflated self-esteem, while others are more modest. Going back to protestantism.
Self-Serving Bias: Taking credit for successes and blaming external factors for failures.
Downward Social Comparison: Comparing oneself to others who are worse off, making oneself feel superior.
External Attribution of Failure: Blaming circumstances or situations for setbacks.
Self-Criticism (Effort vs Skill): Focusing on effort and skill rather than comparing oneself to others.
Prevention vs. Promotion Orientation: Focus on preventing negative outcomes promotes higher persistence in failure scenarios as opposed to Canadians persisting longer under successful conditions as opposed to failure

Mastery Motivation; Agency

Capacity of individuals to exert control over environment to achieve goals - top of Maslow's Hierarchy.
Conjoint Agency: Collective agency - where the actions are contingent on obligations and expectations from others (role-fulfillment)
Individuals act as agents to fulfill their goals and desires.
Individuals shape reality to fit perceptions, goals and desires.
Primary control: internal locus of control
Secondary control: external locus of control

Culture and Personality

An individual's patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior.
Internal traits predict behavior, stable across time, contingent on context, different across contexts.
Universal concepts exist - but contextualization of those concepts may vary among cultures

Etic vs Emic Approaches

Etic (Universalistic) approach: Aims to find universally applicable concepts and measures across cultures, such as the five-factor model.
Emic (Culture-Specific) approach: Examines the unique perspectives and concepts individuals have of themselves and their culture, looking for cultural meanings, using indigenous terms or ideas.

Cognitive & Perception

Culture influences ways individuals perceive environments and relationships (with respect to holistic vs. analytic thinking styles)
Westerners tend to focus on objects, East Asians on relationships and context

Analytic & Holistic Thinking Styles

Analytic Thinking: Focuses on objects and their attributes, emphasizing independence and rule-based behaviors associated with cultures with Western Roots.
Holistic Thinking: Focuses on relations between objects, context reliance and emphasizing interconnectedness, and experience-based approaches typically associated with collectivist cultures

Explicit/Implicit Communication

Low-context Communication: Relies heavily on explicit verbal communication and clear messages; less dependence on shared knowledge.
High-context Communication: Relies on shared implicit cultural norms and background contexts, often including non-verbal cues and implicit messages.

Linguistic Relativity

Languages influence the way people think.
Concepts can differ across cultures depending on the vocabulary available, but some basic concepts like colors might be universal, like the five dimensions of personality.

Spatial Perception

Cross-cultural differences exist in spatial reasoning, and cultural perspectives, such as egocentric (individuals' own position) and geocentric perspectives (objective space) influence spatial orientation.

Numerical Cognition

The way people perceive and process numerical concepts is influenced by culture (for example, East Asians are generally more proficient in mathematical and numerical reasoning problems owing to exposure to abaci).

Emotion & Interpersonal Relations

James-Lange Theory: Emotions arise from the physiological responses to stimuli.
Schachter-Singer Two-factor Theory: Emotions are influenced by both physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal, which vary across cultures depending on perceived context and actions.

Similarity-Attraction Effect

People are more attracted to others they perceive as similar (evolutionarily, this could have been instrumental in preserving group resources).
This is more pronounced in collectivistic cultures, where social norms and relationships are more closely interconnected.

Emotions & Cultures

Emotions are culture-specific as appraisal is different across contexts.
Appraisal influences how emotions are communicated.
Emotions are the process of interpreting a situation, and those interpretations and related behaviors vary based on environmental contexts where people learn their interpretations.

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Description

Explore the intricate relationship between personality, culture, and emotions with this quiz. Discover how different cultures perceive psychological constructs, the impact of language, and the universality of emotional expressions. Test your knowledge on various theories of personality and cultural contexts.