Influence of culture on perception

• What does culture refer to?

  Beliefs, attitudes and expectations from our family, community or country
• How does culture influence perceptual set?

  What we are familiar with determines how we interpret sensory data
• Who conducted a study investigating how culture affected perception?

  Hudson in 1960
• What was the aim of his investigation?

  Whether people from different cultures interpreted information in pictures differently
• What did he hypothesise?

  That people from different cultures used depth cues differently. If he was right, it would mean that because we see a 2D Image through depth cues that indicate 3 dimension, depth cues must be leaned, so this aspect of perception comes from nurture not nature
• What method did he use?

  He showed a 2D drawing to people from different cultures and educational backgrounds. The drawing was of a man with a spear pointing towards both a small elephant, seemingly in the distance, and an antelope in the foreground, but depth cues may cause preference. He then asked participants 3 questions.

  1. What do you see?
  2. What is the man doing?
  3. Which is nearer to the man, the antelope, or elephant?
• What were the results?

  Because of height in plane and relative size, most people would likely answer question 3 with antelope, however many people answered with elephant.

  Educated participants were more likely to perceive depth than the uneducated.

  White educated participants were more likely to perceive depth than black uneducated participants
• What conclusion was drawn?

  Cultural differences affect perceptual set because people from different cultures use depth cues differently when perceiving 2D drawings.

  One cultural difference between the participants was there education, which may be because they are exposed to more 2D images and their interpretation, supporting the idea that some aspects of perception are learned.

  Another cultural difference was a consequence of apartheid in South Africa.
• Give a strength of the study

  The image Husdon used clearly demonstrates the effects of depth cues
• What is a challenge of cross-cultural studies?

  Task interpretation may vary due to language differences
• How might uneducated participants affect the study's results?

  They may focus on the 2D image experience
• What could have influenced the results of the study?

  The method of presentation may have influenced results
• How long ago was the study conducted?

  Over 60 years ago
• What are potential issues with the study's design due to its age?

  It may not have been designed as carefully
• What research aspects may have been problematic in the study?

  Research ethics, control variables, data recording
• What might have been an issue with data in the study?

  Data may not have been properly recorded