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IB psych SAQ – cultural dimensions
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A full paper 1 SAQ for the topic cultural dimensions that scored a 7 in IB psychology HL.
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Outline/Describe/Explain one or more cultural dimensions.Describe one study into one or more cultural dimensions.
Cultural dimensions are aspects of a culture that allows it to be measured relative to other
cultures. An example is individualism vs collectivism – the degree to which individuals are
integrated into primary groups – can be measured by observing characteristic behavior. For
example, individualistic cultures view importance in expressing individual opinion, while
collectivistic cultures place importance in maintaining harmony. In collectivist cultures people
find ways to contribute to society that benefit the group. The focus is on societal harmony, with
value on interrelationships. In such cultures, individual’s are tied to their social group throughout
their entire lifetime and value loyalty over individual gain. In contrast, individualistic cultures
value the interests of an individual opposed to the group. People focus on their own
achievements and place less emphasis on interrelationships with other people. Depending on
culture, levels of conformity – the tendency to adjust one's thoughts/feelings/behaviors to align
with a group’s norms – can differ. Norms influence our behavior; norms are the patterns of
appropriate behavior for a specific context, which influences an individual's tendency to
conform.
Berry 1967 is a study that studied the cultural dimension of individualism/collectivism on
conformity. Individualism/collectivism was manipulated via using participants belonging to three
distinctly different cultures, Temne (collectivistic), Inuit (individualistic), and Scots as controls.
Individuals were placed in rooms and were asked to choose a line out of a set of lines of
different lengths that was most similar in length to a given line. In a following trial, researchers
told individuals the most common answer that other people of their same culture gave.
Researchers observed if the participants conformed to the (incorrect) answers of their peers,
and the level of individualism/collectivism was measured through the number of lines they were
away from the correct line.
Results showed that the Temne had high conformity levels, shown by how they gave the
incorrect answer (but consistent with the “answer” that they were told most Temne people gave).
Meanwhile, the Inuit had the lowest conformity rates, shown by how they gave their own
answers despite being told that most people from their group gave another answer,
demonstrating how they valued individual opinion over the opinions of their community. The high
conformity among Temne can be explained by their agricultural economy and dependence on
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