University of South Carolina

CULTURAL PSYCH COMPREHENSION CHECK 1

1)True or False: Experiences can change the physical structure of your brain.

1. From the perspective of minority outcomes, the    approach to diversity is better because it      .
2. Celebrating birthdays is a functional universal. This means that in two cultures, the purpose of birthdays is                                                                                                                                 across the cultures and how important birthdays are is                                                                                         across the cultures.
3. You review all of the studies that you’ve done in your career and realize that they all use WEIRD samples. Based on this characteristic of your samples, which of the following challenges is the most applicable to your work?
4. Which of the following levels of psychological universals was NOT proposed by Norenzayan and Heine?
5. You decide to start a new research project investigating the universality of drinking alcohol. To do so, you investigate two different cultures from two different continents (the Netherlands and Canada). You find evidence that people in both countries drink beer to the same extent and for the same reasons. Which of the following conclusions can you make about drinking alcohol?
6. You want to raise your child so that she will not be susceptible to the Müller- Lyer illusion. Based on what the textbook discusses as being the reason for why some people are more susceptible to this illusion than others, what should you do to make your child less susceptible to it?
7. People from all cultures use umbrellas, but in some cultures umbrellas are used only to block rainwater, whereas in other cultures umbrellas are used only to block the sun. The use of umbrellas across cultures would thus be classified as a(n)...
8. A chimpanzee learns from his human zookeeper to wash carrots in the artificial river in his habitat before eating them. Based on the definitions of culture used in the textbook, can this example be said to be “culture”?

9. An American who sees an Indian person get married through an arranged marriage, rather than love marriage, and assume the couple is destined for divorce and that the practice of arranged marriages is bad and oppressive, is an example of…
10. Which of the following is an example of ethnocentrism?
11. Jarad wants to make sure that he does not raise children who are susceptible to the Müller-Lyer illusion. As such, he should...
12. All cultures congratulate their members’ achievements to make them feel good about themselves, but some cultures are much more willing to do this than others. According to Norenzayan and Heine, what is this an example of?
13. You grew up learning that nodding your head means “yes,” and most people you know do the same; however, you recently learned that people in

some cultures nod their heads when they mean to say “no.” Nodding your head would thus be characterized as a(n) ...

14. A key difference between “cultural” psychologists and “general” psychologists is that ...
15. According to sambia
16. Your research team found evidence that people in multiple cultures walk with their shoes on their heads, but this “shoe-on-head” way of walking is activated for different reasons across cultures. This would be evidence of a(n)...
17. After an exhaustive study, you find no cultural variation across all samples explored in terms of sleeping in a tree at night. This finding would best be labeled as a(n) ...

18. The          approach to diversity follows from the logical argument that if attention to differences between groups can lead to discrimination, it's better to ignore groups and group differences.
19. A cat teaches another cat in the same alley to hold a mouse a certain way so that the mouse can be more easily eaten. Based on the definitions of culture used in the textbook, can this example be said to be “culture”?
20. In an African Studies research paper that you are writing for publication, you use the word “culture” to refer to a South African people. Which of the following is NOT a challenge to using this definition of culture to indicate “South Africans”?
21. As the incoming CEO of a company where people of different ethnicities work in the same workspace, you have been given the task of creating a positive and friendly work environment. This means that people of different ethnicities should have trust in the company and have positive emotions toward each other. To do so, you plan to give a speech. According to the textbook, which of the following is the ideal approach to take in that speech?
22. Assume that the act of giving gifts to neighbors has been documented in every culture that exists in the world. Which of the following is definitely true about the act of gift giving?
23. Which of the following statements about ethnocentrism is true?
24. According to the definition offered in the textbook, which of the following would NOT be a good example of “culture”?
25. The boss of a company in the United States has instituted a new policy requiring all interactions between workers, who are predominantly white Americans, to take a culture-blind approach. This means that the...