ulture plays an important role in molding us into the people we are today.
It creates an
environment of a shared belief, way of thinking, and method interacting among that
group of people. It is dynamic and constantly changing across time. The culture you
are born into will shape your eating behavior, such as what you eat, when you eat, and
even how you eat. It will influence the clothes you choose to wear and the sports you
play. Social norms set forth by your culture will determine how you interact with
family members, friends, and strangers. Do you shake their hand when you great
someone or kiss them on the cheek? It is clear that your environment shapes much of
your outward behavior; but did you know that culture also influences brain function,
altering the way you think about and perceive the world around you?
The words our culture uses is one such example of this phenomenon. The words our
language provides impacts the way we are able to think. In a study done by Frank
(2008) Pirahã speakers, a language spoken in small areas of the Amazon, were asked
to count varying size groups of objects. However, there are no number words in the
Pirahã language. Instead they describe amount do to relative size. Hói discribess a
small number hoí describes a slightly larger number, and baágiso describes an even
larger number. Thus if the groups were not directly next to each other and relatively
the same size, Pirahã speakers could not say which group was larger. Counting is not
important in day-to day lives and thus is not represented in their language. The
researcher surmised that it was this lack of number language that impacted their
perception of quantifies. In this way the words we use limits our cognition and
thought. Have you ever been rendered speechless because you did not have the words
to express your feelings? Have you ever come across a word in another language that
does not exist in your own and are suddenly stunned at how you could have lived for
so long without a word to describe that type of experience? In this way, words have a
great impact on how we reason and perceive the world.
Furthermore language can also impact the way you think about space. The way one
thinks about navigation and spatial knowledge changes depending on whether the
language and culture encourages directions based on absolute frames of references
(such as north and south) or relative frames of reference ( such as left and right).
Kuuk Thaayorre, a small Aboriginal community on the western edge of Cape York in
northern Australia, do not have navigational terms such as ‘left,’ ‘right,’ ‘backwards,’
or ‘forwards.’ Instead they describe direction in turns of north, south, east, and west.
The Kuuk Thaayorre are much better at staying oriented in unfamiliar places
compared to people who speak English. Their language forces them to think about
space differently than English speakers, making them constantly aware of where north
and south is relative to their current location.
Additionally, what we pay attention to and consequently the information we process
is also influenced by culture. Many studies have shown Asian and Western cultures to
differ in the judgment of relative and absolute sizing of objects as well as the
recollection of focal objects vs background of pictures and videos (Chioa et al., 2010).
People raised in Asian cultures recall background context and relative size more
accurately. On the other hand, people raised in Western culture are able to more
accurately perceive the absolute size of objects and remember the focal objects of
images more accurately. Goh and Park (2009) found that the brains of people from
Asian and Western cultures activate different areas when performing a figure-ground
recognition task.
Culture is all around us, shaping our brain and behavior. Consequently, people from
various cultures will process the world differently. Furthermore subcultures exist
within cultures. Religions, communities, ad regional accents and customs all work to
influence your cognition and perception. As more and more research is executed, the
idea of human nature dissipates and we see humanity as a group comprised of unique
individuals molded by their complex and intricate culture.
Works Cited
Chiao, J. Y., Harada, T., Komeda, H., Li, Z., Mano, Y., Saito, D., … & Iidaka, T.
(2010). Dynamic cultural influences on neural representations of the self. Journal of
Cognitive Neuroscience, 22(1), 1-11.
Frank, M. C., Everett, D. L., Fedorenko, E., & Gibson, E. (2008). Number as a
cognitive technology: Evidence from Pirahã language and
cognition. Cognition, 108(3), 819-824.
Goh, J. O., & Park, D. C. (2009). Neuroplasticity and cognitive aging: the scaffolding
theory of aging and cognition. Restorative neurology and neuroscience, 27(5), 391-
403.
Joyner, J. (2009, June 29). Language Shapes Thought. Retrieved February 17, 2016,
from http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/language_shapes_thou ght/
