Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process

Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process. (22)

Discuss (22) – A considered and balanced review, including a range of arguments, factors or hypothesis. Opinions and conclusions presented clearly supported by appropriate evidence.

Cultural dimensions (Individualism/Collectivism)

Individualist – encouraged to express emotions because it is viewed as unique and shows individual and distinctive qualities.
Collectivist – discourages the expression of emotions, seen as unimportant and is often disregarded of.

The question can ask for either social OR cultural factors, since the studies used here show both social and cultural factors interlinking to affect Memory (using the theory of Cultural Dimensions), they can be used either cases.

Rime et al. – Study on the sharing of emotional experiences
Description	20% of Koreans (collectivist country) never shared their emotional experiences. Compared to only 5% in the US (individualist country). Suppression of emotional experiences can lead to memory impairment.

Richards & Gross – Emotion in movie study (Cognitive Costs)
[A]	Investigate whether the regulation of emotion will affect memory.
[P]	53 subjects were split into 2 groups One group was told to suppress their emotion while watching a film about and argument between two parents with the presence of a little girl. The other group was asked to watch the film.
[F]	The group that was suppressing their emotion throughout the film (regulation of emotion) had poor recall. Did a natural observation and compared the memory of those who regulate and freely express their emotions. Those who express their emotions have better memory.
[C]	The Cognitive Cost of regulating emotions took up the capacity for memory encoding. Not enough attention was paid to watching the film.
[E]	Ecological validity was low in the initial experiment, because it was in lab conditions. Offered a controlled environment, results acted as a reference for their next natural observation. Repeated experiment in natural conditions, increase in ecological validity. Uses previous results as reference because it has not confounding variable. Methodology not scientific, makes the assumption that regulating emotion took up the capacity of memory encoding.

Tali Sharot – 9/11 Flashbulb Memory (Flashbulb Memory)
[A]	Investigate upon the existence of Flashbulb Memory.
[P]	24 witnesses of the 9/11 incident were found from different location of Manhattan as subjects. Subjects were placed in an fMRI machine. Subjects were asked to recall the event of 9/11. Subjects were also asked to recall their summer holiday (for control purpose).
[F]	People closer to where the event happened (where the World Trade Center was) had a more in-depth recall of the event. When compared to subject’s summer holiday, the level of detail given for 9/11 incident was higher. Parahippocampal Gyrus (Para-hippo-campal Gy-rus – responsible for LTM retrieval) was relatively inactive when recalling memories from 9/11 when compared to recalling events from summer holiday. Amygdala (responsible for processing memory of emotional reaction) was relatively more active when recalling memories from 9/11.
[C]	Different part of the brain was used for different Flashbulb Memory retrieval and general LTM retrieval. Supports Flashbulb Memory as a different type of memory than LTM. Collectivist culture – tend to suppress emotion, memory encoded at a shallow level. Individualist culture – encouraged to express emotion, memory encoded at a deeper level (Levels of processing theory – Craik & Lorkhart).
[E]	Observing the concentration of deoxygenated haemoglobin is an accurate measure for brain activity. Ecologically valid. Questions were asked about real life situations. May argue that it is still laboratory condition, overtly observing may cause Demand Characteristics. Pressure under lab conditions may cause alteration of results. Possible confirmation bias. No cause-and-effect relationship can be established through the scan. Relies heavily upon the interpretation of the researcher. The Amygdala showing response may well be the subject’s expression of depressed emotion while recalling 9/11. Ethical considerations: Privacy of the subjects may be invaded because the fMRI indicates a general representation of their thought process.

Frederic Bartlett – War Of The Ghosts study (Schema)
[A]	Prove that memory is reconstructive and schemas influence recall. Demonstrate role of culture in schema processing.
[P]	Participants were European Americans and Native Americans. Bartlett ask participants to read a Native American folk story twice. Then asked them to recite reproduce the story 15 minutes after reading. No participants knew the aim and purpose of the task.
[F]	Native American participants found it easier to reproduce the story. European American version of the story left out or replaced details related to Native American Culture e.g. Canoe -> Boat. European Americans filled in the gaps in their memory with their own cultural schema.
[C]	People reconstruct the past by trying to fit it into existing schemas. More complex the information, the more likely elements are forgotten/distorted. People try to find a familiar pattern in experiences, past or new. People uses existing schemas to fill in the gaps of their memory, subconsciously. Memory, according to Bartlett, is an imaginative reconstruction of experience.
[E]	Methodology not sophisticated. No IV, DV or Control. Making it difficult to measure or compare outcome. Emic approach: Result specific to European American and Native American culture. Low potential generalising ability.