scholarly journals Is a downwards head tilt a cross-cultural signal of dominance? Evidence for a universal visual illusion

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Witkower ◽  
Alexander K. Hill ◽  
Jeremy Koster ◽  
Jessica L. Tracy
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Visual Illusion ◽  
Head Tilt ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Traditional Society ◽  
Universal Feature ◽  
Upper Face ◽  
Facial Changes

AbstractThe present pre-registered research provides the first evidence that a downwards head tilt is sufficient to communicate dominance from a neutral facial expression among the Mayangna, members of an unindustrialized, small-scale traditional society in Nicaragua who have had minimal exposure to North American culture. Consistent with the Action Unit imposter effect observed in North American populations (Witkower and Tracy in Psychol Sci 30:893–906, 2019), changes to the appearance of the upper face caused by a downwards head tilt were sufficient to elicit perceptions of dominance among this population. Given that the Mayangna are unlikely to associate a downwards head tilt or related apparent facial changes with dominance as a result of cross-cultural learning, the present results suggest that perceptions of dominance formed from a downwards head tilt, and the visual illusion shaping these perceptions, are a widely generalizable, and possibly universal, feature of human psychology.

If only cultural chameleons could fly too

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maribel Blasco ◽  
Liv Egholm Feldt ◽  
Michael Jakobsen
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Semiotic Perspective ◽  
Human Attributes

The article offers a critique of the concept of cultural intelligence (CQ) from a semiotic perspective. It addresses three assumptions that underpin the CQ concept: that CQ exists, that conflict and misunderstandings are antithetical to CQ and that metacognition involves a cultural dimension. The analysis focuses in particular on the dimension of cultural metacognition which has recently been claimed to be the CQ concept’s main contribution compared to earlier concepts such as cross-cultural or intercultural competence, a claim which is found to be overstated. The article uses the example of CQ training to illustrate the need for greater attention to context and motivation when CQ is deployed for business purposes, as well as to the role of experience in cultural learning processes. At a broader level, the article urges caution in assuming that all human attributes can be trained for business purposes, especially through short-term interventions.

scholarly journals Small-scale societies exhibit fundamental variation in the role of intentions in moral judgment

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (17) ◽  
pp. 4688-4693 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Clark Barrett ◽  
Alexander Bolyanatz ◽  
Alyssa N. Crittenden ◽  
Daniel M. T. Fessler ◽  
Simon Fitzpatrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Moral Assessment ◽  
Mitigating Circumstances

Intent and mitigating circumstances play a central role in moral and legal assessments in large-scale industrialized societies. Although these features of moral assessment are widely assumed to be universal, to date, they have only been studied in a narrow range of societies. We show that there is substantial cross-cultural variation among eight traditional small-scale societies (ranging from hunter-gatherer to pastoralist to horticulturalist) and two Western societies (one urban, one rural) in the extent to which intent and mitigating circumstances influence moral judgments. Although participants in all societies took such factors into account to some degree, they did so to very different extents, varying in both the types of considerations taken into account and the types of violations to which such considerations were applied. The particular patterns of assessment characteristic of large-scale industrialized societies may thus reflect relatively recently culturally evolved norms rather than inherent features of human moral judgment.

The asset of cultural pluralism: an account of cross-cultural learning in pre-service teacher education

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola Conle ◽  
Dan Blanchard ◽  
Karen Burton ◽  
Arlene Higgins ◽  
Mei Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Cultural Pluralism ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Pre Service Teacher Education ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Psychology Within and Without the State

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Clark Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The World ◽  
Psychological Similarity

Psychological research in small-scale societies is crucial for what it stands to tell us about human psychological diversity. However, people in these communities, typically Indigenous communities in the global South, have been underrepresented and sometimes misrepresented in psychological research. Here I discuss the promises and pitfalls of psychological research in these communities, reviewing why they have been of interest to social scientists and how cross-cultural comparisons have been used to test psychological hypotheses. I consider factors that may be undertheorized in our research, such as political and economic marginalization, and how these might influence our data and conclusions. I argue that more just and accurate representation of people from small-scale communities around the world will provide us with a fuller picture of human psychological similarity and diversity, and it will help us to better understand how this diversity is shaped by historical and social processes. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The devil is in the detail: Bourdieu and teachers’ early career learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Kirkby ◽  
Julianne Moss ◽  
Sally Godinho
Keyword(s):  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Professional Knowledge ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cultural Reproduction ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present how the social learning theory of Bourdieu (1990; Bourdieu and Passeron, 1990) can be a valuable tool to investigate mentoring relationships of beginning teachers with their more experienced colleagues. Bourdieu’s work provides a lens to magnify the social exchanges that occur during the mentoring relationship, so that what tends to be hidden in the “logic of practice” (Bourdieu, 1990) is drawn into view. The paper shows how the mentor is ascribed power that enables domination, and how this tends to result in cultural reproduction. A case study is used to identify aspects of social and cultural learning that demonstrate this process. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on a year-long narrative inquiry of beginning secondary teachers’ mentoring experiences in the state of Victoria, Australia. The data were generated through in-depth interviews and participants’ diary entries to answer the research question “What personal, professional knowledge is developed through beginning teachers’ early experiences with induction and mentoring?” Findings The researcher found that attention to minutiae of mentor/mentee interactions can suggest how symbolic violence shapes personal, professional knowledge. Research limitations/implications This small-scale study has some limitations. However, as an illustration of organisational learning, with strong connections to Bourdieu’s theoretical work, it can provide some illuminating insights into how policy can be enacted at the micro-level. In particular, there are implications for how mentor teachers engage in their roles and understand the potential impact of their interactions with beginning teachers. Originality/value This study applies Bourdieu’s framework of cultural reproduction as an analysis tool for a qualitative study of the mentoring of beginning teachers.

scholarly journals Exploring the influence of technological support, cultural constructs, and social networks on online cross-cultural learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 104-118
Author(s):  
Rustam Shadiev ◽  
Yueh-Min Huang
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Language Translation ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Technological Support ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Cultural Constructs ◽  
Group I ◽  
Group Ii

In this study, we carried out an online cross-cultural learning activity supported by speech-enabled language translation technology on a social network service with representatives from 13 nationalities. The participants were assigned into two groups: Group I discussed the traditions and related culture of interest whereas Group II discussed traditions, culture, and any other topics of interest. We tested the effectiveness of the learning activity supported by speech-enabled language translation technology on cross-cultural learning; analysed the social network; measured the cultural constructs, and investigated the relationship between the cultural constructs and cross-cultural learning. The results revealed that Group I outperformed Group II in terms of both procedural and declarative knowledge. The results showed that Group II had better social network characteristics; for example, Group I had fewer edges and a lower average network degree than Group II. In terms of cultural constructs, the results related to power distance, individualism, and uncertainty avoidance were contradictory to those of earlier research. Finally, we found no relationship between the cultural constructs and cross-cultural learning. In this paper, we discuss implications for and suggestions to the field of technology-supported cross-cultural learning based on the results.

scholarly journals Cross-cultural validation of the "International affective picture system" (IAPS) on a sample from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Psihologija ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasa Drace ◽  
Emir Efendic ◽  
Mirna Kusturica ◽  
Lamija Landzo
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
North American ◽  
International Affective Picture System ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Affective Ratings ◽  
The North ◽  
Stratified Sample ◽  
Valence And Arousal ◽  
Normative Ratings

In this study the normative ratings of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS, Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention [CSEA], 1995) were compared with the ratings from a Bosnian sample. Seventy-two psychology undergraduates from the University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) rated valence, dominance and arousal for a stratified sample of 60 pictures that was selected from the IAPS. Reliability coefficients indicate that the self-report ratings are internally consistent. The affective ratings from our sample correlated strongly with the North American ratings at: .95, .81 and .91, respectively for valence, arousal and dominance. Consistent with expectations, mean valence and dominance ratings did not differ significantly between the Bosnian and North American sample. Furthermore, plotting of the Bosnian valence and arousal ratings results in a similar boomerang shaped distribution as the North American affective ratings. Taken together, findings obtained from the Bosnian sample confirm the cross-cultural validity of the IAPS.

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