Culture and Perception
Ronald Fischer
Social Psychology, PSYC 338
Overview
Perceptual sets and culture Types of perceptions Visual illusions and pictorial perceptions Perception of music Perception of time
Two fundamental perspectives
Nativism
Empiricism
Perceptual sets
Environment shapes our perception We create perceptual expectations Increase particular interpretations (speed &
efficiency) Culturally functional and adaptive (mostly)
Important Senses
Vision– Colour, depths
Hearing– Pitch, tone, mode, rhythm, etc.
Taste Smell Touch Time
The horizontal-vertical illusion
The Sander parallelogram illusion
What about if it was like this?
The perspective drawing illusion
Some early experiments
Optical illusions (Segall, Campbell & Herskovits, 1966)– Three samples from industrialised countries (US, South
Africa)– Five samples from tribes living in dense tropical forests
(Fang, Bete, Ijaw, Dahomea, Hanunoo)– Two samples from tribes living in open land, but in
circular houses (Zulu, Bushmen)– Some of these tribes (Ankole, Toro, Songe, Bete) were not
used to two-dimensional representations of three dimensional objects (e.g., photographs, drawings, murals, paintings)
Some explanations
Hypotheses about cultural differences– Carpentered world theory– Front-horizontal foreshortening theory– Symbolising three dimensions in two
Carpentered world theory
The Sander parallelogram illusion
Front-horizontal foreshortening theory
The perspective drawing illusion
Symbolising three dimensions in two
Challenges to this eco-cultural explanation
Effect of retinal pigmentation (Pollack, 1970)– Some support (e.g., Bornstein, 1973)
Other factors at play:– Sensitivity to different colours (colour naming)
– Exposure to ultraviolet rays
– Dietary differences
– Age
– Education
Implications
Design of instructions, manuals, safety signs, etc.
Education campaigns Use in educational settings
Perception of Music
Relatively neglected topic Western societies (incl. Psychologists) –
literate societies; technology (paintings, photography) = emphasis on visual stimuli
Many traditional /non-Western societies = oral traditions, music and rhythm
Task
Listen to the following excerpts Answer the following questions:
– What feelings and emotions does this music arouse in you? Use four adjectives to describe the music.
– Where do you think this music is coming from?– What is the likely function of this music? At
what occasions is it likely to be played? Make a guess!
Excerpts Excerpt 1:
• Java, Indonesia (Gending Pahargyan Penganten, Monggang)• Wedding ceremony, welcome and honor the family of the bride groom)
Excerpt 2: • Serbia, Ex-Yugoslavia (Kayah & Bregović, Sto lat młodej parze)• Wedding
Excerpt 3: • Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (Capoeira Angola, Iuna)• Capoeira, to show respect to the 2 experienced capoeiristas (Mestres)
currently fighting/playing Excerpt 4:
• Bamanan people, Mali (Rokia Traore, Yèrè Uolo)• Song in praise of a great warrior
Musical functions (Merriam, 1964)
Emotional expression Physical response Aesthetic enjoyment and entertainment Communication & Symbolic representation Enforcing conformity to social norms Validating social institutions and religious rituals Enables continuity and stability of culture Integration of society
Perceptions of time
Another little experiment….
Pace of life (Levine & Norenzayan, 1999)
Dimensions of time
Past, present and future (Klockhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961)
Polychronic versus monochronic (Hall)
Summary
Culture influences our perceptions of the environment we are living in through perceptual sets
Cultural, ecological, biological and physiological influences interact
Perception research = example of the influence of culture and Zeitgeist on research agendas