Chapter 17
Culture and Personality
Personality PsychologyPersonality Psychology
Culture and PersonalityCulture and Personality
Are concepts of personality that are prevalent in one culture also applicable in other cultures?
Do cultures differ in the levels of particular personality traits?
Does the factor structure of personality traits vary across cultures?
Are certain features of personality universal?
What is Culture?What is Culture?
Humans everywhere show striking patterns of local within-group similarity in their behavior and thought, accompanied by profound intergroup differences
3 Goals of3 Goals of Cultural Personality PsychologyCultural Personality Psychology
To discover the principles underlying the cultural diversity
To discover how human psychology shapes culture
To discover how cultural understandings in turn shape our personality
3 Major Approaches to Culture3 Major Approaches to Culture
Evoked Culture
Transmitted Culture
Cultural Universals
Evoked CultureEvoked Culture
Evoked CultureEvoked Culture
Phenomena that are triggered in different ways by different environmental conditions
Universal underlying mechanism
Environmental differences
Evoked CultureEvoked Culture
Evoked Cooperation
High-variance conditions
Egalitarianism
Evoked CultureEvoked Culture
Evoked Mating Strategies
Children in uncertain and unpredictable environments have a mating strategy marked by early reproduction
Children from stable homes with predictability opt for a strategy of permanent mating
Evoked CultureEvoked Culture
Honors, Insults and Evoked Aggression
“A Culture of Honor”
How dare you insult me!
Uh Oh
Transmitted CultureTransmitted Culture
Transmitted CultureTransmitted Culture
Representations that exist originally in one person’s mind that are transmitted to other minds through observation or interaction with the original person
Transmitted CultureTransmitted Culture
Cultural Differences in Moral Values
Transmitted to children early in life
Specific to particular cultures
May be cultural universals
Transmitted CultureTransmitted Culture
Cultural Differences in Self-Concept
Self-concepts differ substantially from culture to culture
Interdependence/Independence
Individualism/Collectivism
Vertical-Horizontal Distinction
Transmitted CultureTransmitted Culture
Cultural Differences in Self-Enhancement
The tendency to describe and present oneself using positive or socially valued attributes
Stable over time making them enduring personality features
Intragroup and Intergroup comparisons
Transmitted CultureTransmitted Culture
Personality Variations Within Culture
Effects of Social Class
Effects of Historical Era
Cultural UniversalsCultural Universals
Cultural UniversalsCultural Universals
The attempt to identify features of personality that appear to be universal
These constitute the “human nature” level of analyzing personality
Cultural UniversalsCultural Universals
Personality Characteristics of Men and Women
Tremendous consensus across cultures of gender trait adjectives
May represent stereotypes
May reflect real sex differences
Cultural UniversalsCultural Universals
Emotional Expression
Cultural UniversalsCultural Universals
Personality Evaluation
Are there universal personality descriptors?
Possibility of “dominance” and “warmth”
Cultural UniversalsCultural Universals
Five-Factor Model
Some personality psychologists believe that this model represents more than just ways of evaluating people; it represents universal dimensions along which individuals differ
SummarySummary
Evoked Culture
Transmitted Culture
Cultural Universals