Exam 7: Culture, Cognition, Reasoning

Language doesn't only consist of the words you use with the literal meaning (___________) As we discussed in the Triangle of Meaning, language is symbolic and carries with it interpretive meaning (___________) - even images carry meaning.

In Nisbett's famous fish aquarium experiment, he found that East Asians and Westerners identify different orientations when viewing objects. Western orientation is towards __________ and Eastern orientation to the _________. This demonstrates the collective nature of Asians and the individualistic nature of Westerners

In our discussion of Nisbett's research on differences in thought between Eastern and Western cultures, his main hypothesis was

We create mental maps - the process that we use to select, evaluate, and organize information. We disagree with or feel uncomfortable with that which violates our cultural norms.

Personal agency was important in the differences between Western and Eastern thought. Personal agency is defined as: The extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them and their destiny. Western personal agency always included

Perception - the way you think about or understand someone or something (your impression or image of something). Perceptions of one's reality is more important to us than reality.