The article begins by discussing physical and physiological factors that scientists hypothesize make people think differently: our diet, our geographic location, and our social environment.
For years, sociologists and cultural theorists have been trying to analyze the cultural differences, but, almost all of this analysis has come from the perspective of Americans:
reported that the vast majority of psychological subjects had been “western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic”, or ‘WEIRD’ for short. Nearly 70% were American,” (BBC Future).
Therefore, although analysis on the individual and cognitive differences might prove valuable, most of the current research is completely euro-ameri-centric, which often essentialized groups by noticing characteristics that researchers would generalize for an entire society. Despite the critical view we must take on the research, certain trends and considerations arise for the unique cultural identities of our students and how this relates to the classroom.
See an example from the article:
Theme
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Meaning
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Classroom Considerations
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Collectivism vs. individualism
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-Certain societies tend to value the individual’s contributions more than the communal contributions; other societies value communal accomplishments over individual accomplishment
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-WEIRD societies tend to value individual efforts, which plays both a positive/negative role on self esteem: lack or over confidence.
-Students from collective cultures may value shared and class accomplishments over individual achievements.
-People from individualist cultures tend to value individual accomplishments over positive relationships in a collective community.
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