Cognition is thought of as the act or process of obtaining knowledge it involves thinking, knowing, remembering, categorizing, and problem solving. Knowledge such as in Western culture means knowledge learned in school, whereas knowledge in Non-Western cultures may mean knowledge passed from one generation on to another. Perception is also viewed differently what Western cultures may perceive as abuse non-western cultures perceive it as medicine. Reasoning and judgement vary with Western and Non-Western civilizations.
2. Discuss the relationship between culture, cognition, and language. Describe the Sapir-Whorf ("linguistic relativity") hypothesis. What are its explanatory strengths and weaknesses.
Culture, cognition and language are all related because across the different cultures people think differently and their language is relative to how they speak we also interpret the way people talk differently because we are comparing it how to speak. The sapi-whorf hypothesis regarding "linguistic relativity" is that people who speak different languages think and experience world differently. Researchers have come to agree that thinking is not entirely determined by the language we speak but rather how we talk about people.
3. Identify examples of Vygotsky's contextualist approach during language acquisition and the importance of scaffolding in parent-infant interaction.
Vygotsky's approach is that cultural influence; mental processes and language are dynamic processes that occur at the same time. Social interaction helps shapes mental abilities at various ages across the span. Scaffolding is temporary support or guidance provided by parents or anyone older when a child is in the process of solving a problem. It is important that a child is supported when they need guidance because it helps them to solve problems on their own as they grow.
4. Identify examples of dialectical thought and adaptive logic in early adulthood and discuss how each might be conceptualized and measured in different ecocultural systems.
Dialectical thought is when one can see both view points to an idea, opinion or argument. Adaptive logic involves balancing intical analyses of objective observations. Such as making a conscious decision to exclude detailed information because they feel it may be uninteresting to researchers.
5. Distinguish between fluid and crystallized intelligence and comment on cultural variations in the way wisdom and experience are viewed in terms of different societies' unique developmental niches.
Fluid intelligence is the ability to form concepts, reason abstracting and apply material to new situations. It is biological and/or initiative and is uninfluenced by culture. Whereas crystallized intelligence is an individual accumulated knowledge and experience in a particular culture. Wisdom and experience are viewed different in Western societies than in non-Western civilizations. Here in our Western civilization we consider that the older one is the more wisdom they have but that is not necessarily the case in other cultures.