How can you capture cultural dynamics?

Abstract

Cross-cultural comparison is a critical method by which we can examine the interaction between culture and psychological processes. However, comparative methods tend to overlook cultural dynamics -the formation, maintenance, and transformation of cultures over time. The present article gives a brief overview of four different types of research designs that have been used to examine cultural dynamics in the literature: (1) cross-temporal methods that trace medium-to long-term changes in a culture; (2) crossgenerational methods that explore medium-term implications of cultural transmission; (3) experimental simulation methods that investigate micro-level mechanisms of cultural dynamics; and (4) formal models and computer simulation methods often used to investigate long-term and macro-level implications of micro-level mechanisms. These methods differ in terms of level of analysis for which they are designed (micro vs. macrolevel), scale of time for which they are typically used (short-, medium-, or long-term), and direction of inference (deductive vs. empirical method) that they imply.The paper describes examples of these methods, discuss their strengths and weaknesses, and point to their complementarity in inquiries about cultural change. Because cultural dynamics research is about meaning over time, issues deriving from interpretation of meaning and temporal distance between researchers and objects of inquiry can pose threats to the validity of the research and its findings. The methodological question about hermeneutic circle is recalled and further inquiries are encouraged.Keywords: cultural dynamics, culture change, cultural evolution, history, methodology HOW CAN YOU CAPTURE CULTURAL DYNAMICS?In the early 21st century world, the cultures that we used to take for granted as part of the immutable reality seem to be changing. Call them globalization or culture change, whatever drives the shared impression of the changing world, the dynamic movement of culture is a critical question facing humanity today. Whereas the classics of social science were born out of the observation of cultural changes in the 19th and early 20th century (often called modernization or industrialization), social science is again spurred by the contemporary experience of changing life. There are, however, critical theoretical and methodological questions -how can we capture the contemporary cultural dynamics?Although the traditional social science has used a comparative historical analysis (Mahoney and Rueschemeyer, 2003) to postulate and substantiate the theories of cultural change, contemporary research has developed various methods that were unavailable a century ago, which may enable us to consider and examine novel theoretical ideas, uncover new findings, and bring forward new insights. The purpose of this article is to take stock of those methods that have recently emerged. It does not exhaustively catalog the research that makes use of these methods, but categorize different methods, characterize them in general terms, and discuss ...

Losing Confidence Over Time

“…In contrast, timeseries surveys basically aim to grasp the psychological or behavioral characteristics of more representative population. Considering that each approach has its advantages and its disadvantages (Kashima, 2014), it is desirable to look at temporal changes in culture/society with multiple approaches. As a result, our findings were consistent with the previous studies (Okada et al, 2015;Oshio et al, 2014), supplementing and extending the previous literature.…”

“…Time-series data separate the population data into data about different demographic groups, thus enabling a more detailed look at temporal change in different segments of the population. There are various approaches to tracing the psychology and behavior of the past, each with its advantages and its disadvantages (Kashima, 2014). By taking a different approach to tracing temporal changes in culture/society, we tried to compensate for the limitations of the previous cross-temporal meta-analysis, as multifaceted approaches lead to a more valid and fruitful discussion.…”

Self–Esteem among Chinese Cohorts: Its Temporal Trend and Its Relationships with Socioecological Factors, 1993–2016

“…concerns of differentiating cohort and period effects, Rudolph, Costanza, Wright, & Zacher, ; concerns of how to compute the effect size, Trzesniewski & Donnellan, ). However, the findings obtained in cross‐temporal meta‐analysis should not be ignored (Kashima, ). Some key findings were noted in the present study: (i) overall, the level of self‐esteem among Chinese increased over time.…”