Multicultural minds: A dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition.

Abstract

The authors present a new approach to culture and cognition, which focuses on the dynamics through which specific pieces of cultural knowledge (implicit theories) become operative in guiding the construction of meaning from a stimulus. Whether a construct comes to the fore in a perceiver's mind depends on the extent to which the construct is highly accessible (because of recent exposure). In a series of cognitive priming experiments, the authors simulated the experience of bicultural individuals (people who have internalized two cultures) of switching between different cultural frames in response to culturally laden symbols. The authors discuss how this dynamic, constructivist approach illuminates (a) when cultural constructs are potent drivers of behavior and (b) how bicultural individuals may control the cognitive effects of culture.

Cultural sharing in a global village: Evidence for extracultural cognition in European Americans.

“…Thus, for example, a college student might associate the elderly with slower-paced walking, but the student tends not to walk slowly unless a stimulus in the environment primes concepts associated with the elderly (e.g., Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996). We adopted the cultural priming methodology described above (e.g., Hong et al, 1997Hong et al, , 2000Trafimow, Triandis, & Goto, 1991). Cultural priming typically involves immersing participants in a culturally-relevant mind-set by asking them to adopt a particular perspective or exposing them to culturally-laden stimuli.…”

Transcultural Brokerage: The Role of Cosmopolitans in Bridging Structural and Cultural Holes

“…4 Biculturals vary in their relations with the two or more cultures of which they are a member. For detailed discussions on the variations in bicultural identity, see Berry (1997), Fitzsimmons (2013), andHong, Morris, Chiu andBenet-Martinez (2000). Irrespective of how much they identify with one or both cultural worlds, including marginals who do not identify strongly with either of them, biculturals have formal cultural affinity to the reference cultures (for a discussion of marginals, see Fitzsimmons, Lee, & Brannen, 2013).…”

Do bilinguals have two personalities? A special case of cultural frame switching

“…Indeed, previous research has even provided some support for the idea that language inXuences bilinguals' responses to valuerelated surveys (e.g., Ralston, CunniV, & Gustafson, 1995). One of the most compelling theoretical explanations for these phenomena is the Cultural Frame Switching eVect (CFS; Hong, Chiu, & Kung, 1997;Hong, Morris, Chiu, & Benet-Martínez, 2000), where bicultural individuals shift values and attributions in the presence of culture-relevant stimuli.…”