CULTURAL FACTORS IN COGNITION Research showing cultural factors

CULTURAL FACTORS IN COGNITION

Research showing cultural factors that influence cognition (memory) Schema theory - Bartlett – affect remembering The War of the Ghost 1932 Loftus and Palmer 1974 – eye-witness testimonies (post-event information facilitate schema processing which may influence accuracy of recall) Anderson & Pichert 1978 – schema processing influences both encoding and retrieval

Cross-cultural research Cognitive psychology research Traditionally conducted in Western Europe � Western researchers tested on nonwestern countries � Results only valid in western countries � Must have insight into language and culture of a group �

Cole and Scribner (1974) � Investigated Memory Strategies � Compared recall series of words in US and among the Kpelle people (Liberia) � Studied children from different age groups � Couldn’t use the same list of words (why not? )

Cole and Scribner (1974) � Observed � Worked � Made everyday cognitive activities with locals sure that the words in the experiment were similar to the ones participants knew

Cole and Scribner (1974) – found cultural differences in memory strategies � Children in Kpelle – non-schooled vs. schooled � Schooled children learnt the lists as fast as US children � Why a difference? Didn’t use chunking or rehearsal � When the Researchers put objects into a story (Narrative) results changed Easier way for the illiterate children to remember

Ways to improve �Chunking �Narrative �Repetition