Front Back
Accessibility Universal
the first and highest level of universality, which states that a given cognitive tool exists across cultures, is used to solve the same problem across cultures and is accessible to the same degree across cultures
Acquiescence Bias
a tendency to agree with most statements one encounters
Autokinetic Effect
an effect caused by the involuntary saccades of the eyes which in the dark, create the illusion of movement
Autonomy Ideal
a moral principle that young children should sleep alone so they can learn to be self-reliant and take care of themselves
Back Translation
a method of translating research materials from one language to another whereby a translator translates materials from Language A to Language B and then a different translator translates the materials back from L.B to L.A. The original and twice-translated versions in L. A are then compa…
Between-groups
a type of experimental manipulation in which different groups of participants receive different levels of the independent variable(s)
Collectivistic
a term for cultures with many practices, institutions, and customs encouraging individuals to place relatively more emphasis on collective goals than individual ones
Contemporary Legends
fictional stories told in modern societies as though they were true
Culture of Honor
a culture in which people (especially men) strive to protect their reputation through aggression
Dependent Variable
in an experiment, the variable or measure affected by manipulation of the independent variable
Distal Causes
initial differences that lead to effects over long periods of time and often through indirect relations
Dynamic Social Impact Theory
a theory suggesting that individuals influence each other through their interactions, which gives rise to clusters of like minded people separated by geography
Emulative Learning
a type of social learning focused on environmental events involved with a model's behavior, such as how the use of one object could potentially affect changes in the state of the environment
Encephalization Quotient (EQ)
the ratio of an animal's brain weight to the brain weight predicted for a comparable animal of the same body size
Epidemiology of Ideas
a perspective on cultural evolution that contends there is no direct replication of ideas, but that each individual creates his or her own representation of a learned idea
Evoked Culture
the notion that all people, regardless of where they are from, have certain biologically encoded behavioral repertoires that are potentially accessible to them, and that these repertoires are engaged when the appropriate situational conditions arise
Existential Universal
the third level of universality, which states that a given cognitive tool exists across cultures, although the tool is not necessarily used to solve the same problems across cultures, nor is it equally accessible across cultures.
Extremity Bias
when answering questions that require choosing a response from a scale (eg. from 1-strongly agree to 7-strongly disagree) the tendency to choose a response near the endpoints of the scale
Fecundity
the ability to produce many copies of themselves that is an important feature of successful replicators (e.g, genes or memes)
Female Chastity Anxiety
the anxiety that unmarried post pubescent women are vulnerable to shameful sexual activity
Fidelity
the high level of accuracy in self-replicating or reproducing that is an important feature of successful replicators (eg.genes or memes)
Functional Universal
the second level of universality which states that a given cognitive tool exists across cultures and is used to solve the same problem across cultures but is more accessible to people from some cultures than others
Generalizability
the degree to which research findings about the particular samples studied can be applied to larger or broader populations
Imitative Learning
a type of social learning in which the learner internalizes aspects of the model's goals and behavioral strategies
Incest Avoidance
a moral principle that post-pubescent family members of the opposite sex should not sleep in the same room together
Independent Variable
in an experiment, the variable or condition that the experimenter manipulates in order to examine its effect on the dependent variable
Individualistic
a term for cultures with many practices and customs encouraging individuals to prioritize their own personal goals ahead of collective goals and to emphasize the ways in which they are distinct from others
Longevity
the relative stability and long duration that is an important feature of successful replicators (eg. genes or memes)
Memes
the smallest units of cultural information that can be faithfully transmitted
Methodological Equivalence
in cross cultural research, the concern with making sure participants from different cultures understand the research questions or situations in equivalent ways
Minimally Counterintuitive Ideas
ideas that violate our expectations enough to be considered surprising and unusual but not too outlandish
Moderacy Bias
when answering questions that require choosing a response from a scale (eg. 1-strongly agree to 7-strongly disagree), the tendency to choose a response near the midpoint of the scale
natural selection
the evolutionary process that occurs when three particular conditions are present; 1) individual members of a species vary on certain traits, 2) those varying traits are associated with different survival rates and, 3) those traits have a hereditary basis
Neocortex Ratio
the ratio of the volume of the neocortex to the volume of the rest of the brain, which is used as a proxy measure of intelligence
Nonuniversal
the fourth, and lowest level of universality, which states that a given cognitive tool does not exist in all cultures and can be considered a cultural invention
Occam's Razor
the principle that any theory should make as few assumptions as possible; it maintains that all else held equal the simpler theory is more likely to be correct
Pluralistic Ignorance
the tendency for people to collectively misinterpret the thoughts that underlie other people's behaviours
Power
the capability of a study to accurately detect an effect (eg. a cross cultural difference) to the extent that one exists; a reflection of how well-designed a study is
Protection of the Vulnerable
a moral principle that young children who are needy and vulnerable should not be left alone at night
Proximal Causes
causes that have direct and immediate relations with their effects
Reference-Group Effect
a tendency for people to evaluate themselves by comparing themselves with others from their own culture
Russian Cultural Historical School
a school of thought which argued that people interact with their environment through the 'tools' or human-made ideas that have been passed down to them through history
Sacred Couple
a moral principle that married couples should be given their own space for emotional intimacy and sexual privacy
Sensitive Period
a period of time in an organisms development that allows for the relatively easy acquisition of a particular set of skills
Sexual Selection
the evolutionary process whereby individuals best suited to attract the healthiest mate will be the most likely to have surviving offspring
Social Brain Hypothesis
the theory that cognitive demands inherent in social living led to the evolution of large primate brains
Subjective Well-being
the feeling of how satisfied one is with one's life
Theory of Mind
a human ability to understand that others have minds that are different from one's own, and thus that other people have their own distinct perspectives and intentions
Transmitted Culture
the notion that people learn about particular cultural practices through social learning or by modeling the behaviors of others who live near them
Unpackaging
identifying the underlying variables that give rise to different cultural differences
Within-groups
a type of experimental manipulation in which each participant receives more than one level of the independent variable(s)

Access the best Study Guides, Lecture Notes and Practice Exams

Login

Join to view and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or
We will never post anything without your permission.
Don't have an account?
Sign Up

Join to view 2 2 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or

By creating an account you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use

Already a member?