Cultural differences in non-verbal behaviour
- Cultural differences in non-verbal behaviour are the opposite of innate non-verbal behaviours as they involve how people learn to behave using cultural norms which differ from culture to culture
- Cultural non-verbal behaviour is undoubtedly the result of social learning:
- a child observes adults (particularly parents and significant others) performing specific non-verbal behaviours and they are likely to imitate those behaviours, particularly if the child identifies with the adult e.g. a daughter identifying with her mother
- Studying cultural differences necessarily involves comparing different cultures which is known as cross-cultural research
- The level of formality in cultures such as Japan and China can be seen in adherence to maintaining more distance between each other, particularly if one person is of higher rank than the other person
- Climate may also be a factor in how personal space is defined:
- people from warmer climates (‘contact’ cultures) have less need for personal space than those from colder, ‘non-contact’ cultures as warm weather makes people feel more relaxed (Sorokowska et al. 2017)
- Some Asian cultures find overt displays of emotion and extreme facial expressions embarrassing and upsetting whereas some cultures (e.g. southern European, Latino, Arabic) may show exaggerated forms of expression, particularly when communicating grief or sadness
- Gestures differ culturally and must be used with care:
- Pointing a finger is seen as offensive in Hindu culture
- Using the ‘beckoning’ signal (to communicate ‘come here’) is fine in some cultures but in The Philippines this is how people summon animals so using it for people is seen as an insult
Gestures, such as 'beckoning' have different meanings in different cultures
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- Hands in pockets is disrespectful in Turkey
- Sitting with crossed legs is a no-no in Ghana;
- Showing the soles of feet is offensive in Thailand (particularly in a Buddhist temple)
- Slouching is considered rude and disrespectful in many cultures, particularly in northern European countries
- Sweeney et al. (1980) used a sample of 47 American and 36 Japanese students on a Counselling course and found that American participants had a higher accuracy rate than Japanese participants when it came to interpreting the emotions of body shapes and silhouettes with the facial expressions missing
What emotion is being communicated in this silhouette?
Exam Tip
When writing about cultural differences in the exam, always be neutral and respectful: behaviours that may seem ‘odd’ or even ‘funny’ to you represent the way of life and belief systems of other people so be mindful of this in your responses.
Evaluation of evidence that non-verbal behaviour is learned
Strengths
- Real-world experience and interaction with different cultures e.g. gained via overseas travel demonstrates the validity of the idea that non-verbal behaviour is learned
- Research such as Sweeney’s above, used a standardised procedure which means that it is replicable and so can be tested for reliability
Weaknesses
- The influence of culture is not necessarily a given: some people may not adopt the full range of non-verbal behaviours present in their culture due to, for example, dislike/rejection of some aspects of their culture, a lack of awareness of some behaviours, a desire to align themselves with another culture
- Research such as Sweeney’s above, used a small sample of university students which means that the results are not generalisable beyond this limited demographic
Worked example
Here is an example of a question you might be asked on this topic - for AO3.
AO1: You need to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key concepts, ideas, theories and research.
AO2: You need to apply your knowledge and understanding, usually referring to the ‘stem’ in order to do so (the stem is the example given before the question)
AO3: You need to analyse and evaluate key concepts, ideas, theories and research.
After each featured question there is a ‘model’ answer i.e. one which would achieve top marks in the exam.
Question: Psychologists sometimes use natural experiments when they conduct cross-cultural research. Briefly evaluate the use of case studies in psychological research. [3 marks]
AO3 = 3 marks
Model answer:
- A natural experiment is one in which the IV has not been manipulated by the researchers (e.g. participants are either Japanese or American) which means that they have higher validity than lab experiments which is a strength.
- Natural experiments lack the same level of control as lab experiments as the researcher is not able to control the IV which is a limitation as it may reduce the reliability of the experiment.
- There is also the issue of individual differences to contend with: the participants may differ widely from each other on variables other than nationality or culture which is another limitation of natural experiments.
