Question 1

Which of the following examples most accurately portrays research on cultural differences in communication style?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following examples most accurately...

Question 2

Carry made a friend named Martina while in college.Martina's boyfriend likes to go to bars to drink and makes Martina go there with him.Carry knows that Martina's boyfriend makes her go to the bars but still thinks Martina goes because she likes to.The term that best describes Carry's thoughts is

Accepted Answer

Carry is making the fundamental attribution error by assuming Martina's behavior (going to bars) is due to her disposition (liking it) rather than the situational pressure from her boyfriend.

Question 3

Ayumi is a Japanese student and Alice is a European Canadian student.They are both participating in a study in which they are asked to provide some self-descriptions.Given what you know about cultural influences on tolerating contradictions, which of the following is the likeliest outcome of this study?

Accepted Answer

Cultural research suggests that individuals from East Asian cultures, like Japan, are more comfortable with contradictions and holding seemingly opposing traits simultaneously, compared to Western cultures, which tend to prefer clear, either/or self-descriptions. This makes Ayumi more likely than Alice to describe herself as both considerate and selfish, reflecting a comfort with embracing complex, contradictory aspects of her identity.

Question 4

Your roommate is from a high-context culture.As a result, which of the following is most likely to be an exchange between the two of you?

Accepted Answer

High-context cultures rely more on non-verbal cues and the context of the interaction rather than direct verbal communication. In choice A, the roommate's subtle disapproving expression is a non-verbal cue indicating her true feelings, which aligns with high-context communication styles.

Question 5

Color terms from different cultures around the world

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that while there is variation in color terms across cultures, they tend to correspond to a limited number of sets, as proposed by the Berlin and Kay theory of basic color terms.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is consistent with findings from research studies examining cultural influences on talking and thinking?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following statements is consistent...

Question 7

Maris is preparing to apply to graduate programs this December, and she has asked two of her professors to give her advice on her personal statement.Professor Markus said, "You talk too much about your personal life in your statement," whereas Professor Sedikides said, "You should talk more about your personal life in your statement." As a dialectic thinker born and raised in China, how do you think Maris will respond to this contradictory feedback?

Accepted Answer

Dialectic thinking, common in many East Asian cultures, involves being comfortable with contradictions and viewing them as opportunities for synthesis and harmony. Maris, being a dialectic thinker, is likely to see the contradictory advice as a challenge to integrate both perspectives into her personal statement.

Question 8

The Department of Chemistry is trying to understand how people solve problems in organic chemistry classes.Students are given a series of complex organic chemistry problems to solve.Which of the following will characterize the students' performance?

Accepted Answer

East Asian students may experience cognitive overload when articulating their thought processes, which can hinder performance, but reciting their names does not interfere with problem-solving.

Question 9

Horatio and Gil are debating the legalization of marijuana.Horatio has a strong argument for legalization, while Gil has a weak argument against it.Zhang, a Chinese student, is watching the debate.Compared to how Zhang would perceive the arguments if he were to encounter just one argument, how will he perceive the arguments if they are both presented to him?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Horatio and Gil are debating the legalization...

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true about the relationship between talking and thinking? Eastern cultural traditions emphasize that talking and thinking

Accepted Answer

Eastern cultural traditions often emphasize that talking and thinking are not necessarily related, and that silence can be a sign of deep thought or respect.

Question 11

Recent fieldwork suggests that the Saami people (an indigenous people living in parts of northern Europe) have almost 100 words to describe various kinds of reindeer.English, on the other hand, has only a tiny fraction of words used to describe reindeer.According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, what cultural difference between English and Saami speakers would result from this disparity in the size of reindeer-related vocabulary?

Accepted Answer

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that the language we speak influences how we think and perceive the world. Therefore, the Saami people's extensive vocabulary for reindeer implies they have a more nuanced understanding and categorization of reindeer, reflecting their cultural significance and practical importance in Saami life.

Question 12

Bagiai is a member of the Piraha culture, which has a smaller numerical system than large-scale Western cultures.Bagiai is hunting and comes across a group of 10 tapirs (large pig-like mammals).He kills 2 to take back to his camp.If Bagiai were asked, "How many tapir remain alive?" how would he answer this question and why?

Accepted Answer

The Piraha culture is known for having a very limited numerical system, often described as having terms equivalent to "small quantity," "larger quantity," and sometimes "many," but not for specific numbers beyond 1 or 2. Therefore, Bagiai would likely use a term equivalent to "many" to describe the remaining tapirs, as his language does not include precise terms for numbers larger than 2.

Question 13

You work at your university's tutoring center, where you are tutoring two students taking the same Nursing course: Kimberly, a European American student, and Meilin, an Asian American student.Both students are studying for a first aid exam where they will be required to assess and treat different types of injuries by applying a multi-step process.Given what you know about cultural differences in thinking aloud, what study advice would you give to each student?

Accepted Answer

The answer of You work at your university's tutoring center,...

Question 14

A researcher asks a participant to organize a series of pictures in temporal sequence.The person organizes the pictures so that the temporal sequence goes from right to left.Which of the following most likely describes the participant?

Accepted Answer

The participant organizes the pictures from right to left, which suggests he conceptualizes time as moving from east to west. Facing north would align this conceptualization with the right-to-left arrangement.

Question 15

Analytic thinking is argued to be associated with

Accepted Answer

Analytic thinking is often linked to dispositional attributions, where individuals attribute behavior to internal characteristics rather than situational factors.

Question 16

With which of the following is a low-context culture most closely associated?

Accepted Answer

Low-context cultures rely on explicit communication, where messages are conveyed directly through words. This contrasts with high-context cultures, which depend more on implicit communication, context, and nonverbal cues to convey meaning.

Question 17

Several classmates are leaving the library when they notice a woman tossing her books in her backpack and crying.Which of the following people is most likely to explain this behavior by making a situational attribution?

Accepted Answer

People from working-class backgrounds are more likely to make situational attributions, considering external factors that might influence behavior, rather than attributing it to personal characteristics.

Question 18

Sybil was born and raised in the United States, and Yuchin was born and raised in China.Sybil and Yuchin are eating dinner together at their favorite restaurant, but are disappointed by the poor service.Based on what you know about cultural differences in attribution, Sybil is likely to think ________, whereas Yuchin is likely to think ________.

Accepted Answer

Cultural differences in attribution often lead individuals from individualistic cultures (like the U.S.) to attribute events to personal characteristics, while those from collectivistic cultures (like China) are more likely to consider situational factors.

Question 19

A person who takes a dialectical view on life is LEAST likely to say,

Accepted Answer

A dialectical view emphasizes the coexistence of opposites and the dynamic nature of reality, rather than a black-and-white approach to deciding right from wrong.

Question 20

Two health psychology researchers, Marie from North America and Zhiyong from China, are studying rates of death from drug overdoses.Their research shows that deaths from drug overdoses have increased significantly in Culture X over the past 10 years.Marie and Zhiyong are trying to predict whether such deaths will increase, decrease, or stay the same in the future.Which of the following predictions is most likely?

Accepted Answer

Cultural differences in optimism and pessimism, with Western cultures (like North America) often showing a tendency towards optimism and Eastern cultures (like China) showing a tendency towards pessimism, could influence their predictions differently.

Quiz 9: Cognition and Perception