These are the answers to the 3-minute Psychology of Intercultural Understanding Quiz. Haven’t taken it yet? You can find it here.
1 – Cultural psychologists do not debate definitions of culture. Their understanding of culture can be represented in a single word. What is it?
A) identity
B) society
C) patterns
D) embodiment
Answer: Culture is understood to be embodied patterns within the individual that are reflected in society. Society shapes many aspects of mind which can be measured empirically.
2 – We often experience a-ha moments or culture bumps during foreign experiences. Which aspect of cognition is central to this phenomena?
A) embodied simulation
B) mental models
C) cognitive bias
D) theory of mind
Answer: Perception is not a process of simply taking in information from our environment. We use mental models to make sense of our experiences. A mismatch creates a-ha moments or cultural bumps.
3 – Ethnocentrism is a fundamental challenge to intercultural understanding. What aspect of cognition is central to our tendency to make ethnocentric judgments?
A) predictive processing
B) fundamental attribution error
C) mirror neurons
D) intrinsic motivation
Answer: Predictive processing allows us to efficiently anticipate outcomes by comparing our current situation with past experience. In a foreign environments this leads to ethnocentric judgments.
4 – Human bias leads to misunderstanding and misjudgment both in everyday life and in foreign settings. From the cognitive perspective, what is the primary reason for bias?
A) Unfair social structures
B) Prejudiced attitudes in society
C) Parental and educational influences
D) Need for cognitive efficiency
Answer: Cognitive bias is a natural (though not desirable) aspect of human cognition that is a result of the need for cognitive efficiency—the need to make judgments based on limited information, imperfect recall, information overload, and more.)
5 – Empathy is an important goal of intercultural education. Researchers have identified key cognitive processes related to empathy. Which statement best represents what they have found?
A) Empathy is a natural by-product of curiosity and openness.
B) Empathy is effortful and can be turned on and off.
C) Empathy is a fundamental survival mechanism which is always “on”.
D) Empathy is simple mental “reflex” which can be trained.
Empathy is not a simple or single mental function. It is closely related to the motivational system of the brain. While it “natural” in some circumstances, it often takes mental effort and be turned off by negative experiences. Openness does increase the likelihood of empathy, but empathy involves much more than simply being open and empathy is effortful even in generally open-minded individuals.
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Where do I go from here? Cultural psychology has a treasure trove of insight for interculturalists. Learning about it doesn’t require a background in psychology of cognitive science. We highly recommend the Deep Culture Approach Masterclass series. Below are some more resources for you to explore.
The Deep Culture Approach (DCA) Masterclass Series – Learn the latest, most empirically grounded approach to intercultural education with JII’s new Masterclass Series. Check it out here.
The Deep Culture Experience podcast – Join Joseph Shaules and Ishita Ray as we explore the psychology of intercultural understanding. We hear stories from contributors from around the world, and geek out on insights from brain and mind sciences.
Learn more about the Japan Intercultural Institute – We are an educational NPO. Everything is completely non-commercial. Lots of freely available resources.
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