This project investigates cross-cultural differences in memory. In six experiments that integrate behavioral and neuroimaging (fMRI) methods, this approach analyzes how the details people remember for visual images differ across cultures. The lens of culture can direct preferred modes of processing and/or attention to particular features of the environment, and this will affect what is remembered. In a comparison of East Asian, Turkish, and Western (i.e., American) cultures, Angela Gutchess of Brandeis University will examine cultural differences in exactly what people remember. Americans are predicted to remember more specific details due to their preferential attention to features. In contrast, the groups will be well-matched on general memory, which is not dependent upon attention to features. Predicted cultural differences in memory should reflect the use of intentional strategies, and directing people's attention to specific, relevant features should reduce cross-cultural differences in memory. Furthermore, aging, which reduces the availability of cognitive capacities to deploy strategies and process details in explicit memory, should reduce cross-cultural differences in memory specificity. In contrast, for implicit memory, cultural differences in memory for specific details will continue to be observed because the development of implicit memories is not thought to depend on cognitive capacity. Functional neuroimaging methods will provide converging evidence for cultural differences in memory specificity, and identifying neural regions will help the PI to distinguish between different theoretical accounts for why people from different cultures remember things differently.
The intellectual merits of the proposal include examining cultural differences across both explicit and implicit memory, which are thought to be separable memory systems. To date, the majority of research findings on memory are based on Western populations, meaning that theories of memory may largely characterize Westerners and may not generalize to other populations. The study of cultural differences will lead to a more inclusive field of psychology, with a better understanding of which memory principles are universals vs. are culture-dependent. The proposed work will make substantial advances in understanding the mechanisms of cross-cultural differences in memory specificity by employing a multimethod approach using sensitive memory measures, including neuroimaging.
By studying memory in a multicultural world, the proposed studies may contribute to better cross-cultural understanding as well as better scientific understanding. Little work has investigated cultures outside of the East/West dichotomy. If the nature of memory formation differs across cultures, this could help people better understand why people from Eastern and Western cultures often view the world differently because what we remember powerfully shapes what we believe. In legal settings, for example, people who remember more details of the situation in which a crime was committed may hold a perpetrator less responsible than people who focus solely on (and disproportionately remember) the perpetrator's actions. Diverse populations will also be included in this research through international collaboration and participation of non-Westerners in the proposed research. This will provide a training ground for young scientists across international sites and heightening their awareness of the impact of culture on psychological processes. Finally, the work will be broadly disseminated through participation in international conferences as well as science outreach programs.
