Culture and Cognitive Outcomes

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how one of the most important issues surrounding cultural anthropology is the effect of culture on the individual and the collective social cognition. This paper presents three positions. The first case demonstrates culture as a contributor to different cognitive processes among individuals within the same society/culture. The second case looks into the role that culture plays in affecting collective decisions on what ideology to choose, maintain and dominate in a particular society/culture. Lastly, the paper examines how an excessive influence of culture over the individual's thought processes lead to the development of more than just a different worldview, but a change in the individual's physical health.

From the Paper:

"The hypothesis that culture shapes the individual's way of thinking or thought processes is reflected more explicitly with the use of language, language being the most manifest form of culture through a specific code system specifically unique to the culture. However, apart from language, there are also other precursors that develop an individual's cognitive processes. Ultimately, cognitive outcomes include differences in thought processes among individuals, create a solid or collective thought process that becomes the dominant ideology in that specific culture, or it can also translate into more concrete terms by influencing the individual's worldview and physical well-being."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Berger, J. (2005). "Idea Habitats: How the prevalence of environmental cues influences the success of ideas." Cognitive Science, Vol. 29, Issue 2.
• Hatano, G. (2005). "How are cultural-historical change and individual cognition related?" Mind, Culture & Activity, Vol. 12, Issue 3.
• Shkandrij, M. (2004). "The symbolic world of bilingual child: Digressions on language acquisition, culture and the process of thinking." Journal of Instructional Psychology, Vol. 31, Issue 4.
• Thurston, W. (2005). "An ecological model for understanding culture as a determinant of women's health." Critical Public Health, Vol. 15, Issue 3.

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