Psychology 3228 Lecture 12: Culture

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 3228
• Professor: Scott Mac Dougall- Shackleton

Document Summary

Normally what we thinking about when talking about human behaviour (all the things we do, go to school, get jobs, read books, listen to music: most of our daily lives are wrapped up in cultural experience. Boas approach partly reaction to victorian approaches that posited cultural differences to innate differences between racial groups: good evidence that any human can adapt norms of any culture. Documented wide variety of cultural practices that differed from western culture there is no biological explanations for mate choice, for human sexual or romantic behaviour; its all just learned culture. Many of her wrtitings were strongly critiqued, and accused of being biased. Over her long career, she changed her mind (about the importance of biology) When cooking can get more energy out of it, it is safer etc. That might spread through cultural transmission from group to group. Constrained design: there"s only so many ways you could do something.