Intracultural Variation Research Articles

Local reports of climate change impacts in Sierra Nevada, Spain: sociodemographic and geographical patterns

While we know that climate change is having different impacts on various ecosystems and regions of the world, we know less how the perception of such impacts varies within a population. In this study, we examine patterns of individual variation in climate change impacts reports using data from a sample (n = 238) drawn from 33 mountainous municipalities of Sierra Nevada, Spain. Sierra Nevada inhabitants report multiple climate change impacts, being the most frequently reported changes in snowfall and snow cover, abundance of terrestrial fauna, freshwater availability, and extreme temperatures. Reports of climate change impacts vary according to informants’ sociodemographic characteristics and geographical location. People with life-long bonds with the environment and higher connection and dependence upon ecosystem services report more climate change impacts than other informants, as do people with lower level of schooling. We also found that reports of climate change impacts vary according to geographic areas, which reinforces the idea that climate change generates differentiated impacts even at small geographical scales. Understanding intracultural variation in reports of climate change impacts not only gives an enriched picture of the human dimensions of climate change but might also help design more targeted mitigation and adaptation responses.

Is cultural variation the norm? A closer look at sequencing of the theory of mind scale

Wellman and Liu’s (2004) ToM scale canonized efforts to generate a developmentally nuanced understanding of ToM. Further elaboration has come from studies showing some variability in task sequencing across two broad categories of culture (i.e., ‘Collectivist’, ‘Individualist’). The current study contributes to our understanding of ToM by exploring intra-cultural variation in task sequencing for a Turkish sample. The ToM scale, language, and EF tasks were administered to 366 preschoolers. When analyzed as a single group, preschoolers showed a sequence most consistent with Chinese/Iranian samples. However, when children were grouped according to age, 3-year-olds were most similar to the US/Australian samples, 4-year-olds were most similar to Chinese/Iranian samples, and 5-year-olds showed a new sequence where knowledge access was the easiest. The analyzes suggest that EF alone was related to the differences in sequencing. Current findings imply that explaining sequence differences may require considering the interactive effects of culture and cognitive abilities.

Dynamic Edible Plant Theoretical Knowledge in a Changing Western Mexican Rural Community

The ability to name plants is part of one's theoretical botanical knowledge, which is neither static nor presented equally among all members of a cultural group. This article analyzes the intracultural variation of knowledge in the cultural domain of edible plant species among a rural population of western Mexico. We evaluate individuals' capacity to name plants, the salience of each plant, children's sources of this knowledge, and the socioeconomic factors that influence the amount of knowledge held. Freelists on local edible plant species were generated from 107 participants, including 37 children of middle childhood (MC), 27 preteens (PT), and 43 adults (A). A total of 102 species were mentioned across the lists for all three age groups. While each age and gender group presented variation in the species mentioned, a high level of overlap was found among the salient species. Group A mentioned twice the number of wild species as the PT and MC groups. Vertical knowledge transmission was more important for the children, and their ability to name the species differed significantly according to age, gender, and mother's occupation. Children with farmer-housewife mothers listed five more species on average than those with mothers in other occupational groups. The children listed fewer plants than adults, indicating differences between age groups and indicating the need for future studies to evaluate the factors that influence the transmission of knowledge amidst socioenvironmental changes.

Are Mixtec Forgetting Their Plants? Intracultural Variation of Ethnobotanical Knowledge in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Are Mixtec Forgetting Their Plants? Intracultural Variation of Ethnobotanical Knowledge in Oaxaca, Mexico. Erosion of ethnobotanical knowledge in indigenous communities has been reported increasingly in recent decades. This study quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed the variation of ethnobotanical knowledge in communities of the high Mixtec subregion. We interviewed 64 Mixtec about edible and medicinal plants. We evaluated the knowledge (names and knowledge of use) and the active application of the use among people of different ages, gender, education level, migrants, and non–migrants. In general, increasing age, female gender, decreasing formal education, and non–migration are positively correlated with the knowledge and use of plants. The most alarming finding concerns the knowledge of the Mixtec names of plant—people under 30 years old no longer know them. We envision a process of transition and adaptation of the knowledge and uses of plants, but inevitably enormous ethnobotanical knowledge is quickly disappearing along with the Mixtec language.¿Los mixtecos están olvidando sus plantas? Variación intracultural del conocimiento etnobotánico en Oaxaca, México. La erosión del conocimiento etnobotánico en las comunidades indígenas se ha informado cada vez más en las últimas décadas. Este estudio analizó cuantitativa y cualitativamente la variación del conocimiento etnobotánico en comunidades de la subregión Mixteca alta. Entrevistamos a 64 mixtecos sobre plantas comestibles y medicinales. Evaluamos el conocimiento (nombres y conocimiento de uso) y la aplicación activa del uso entre personas de diferentes edades, género, nivel educativo, migrantes y no migrantes. En general, el aumento de la edad, el género femenino, la baja educación formal y la no migración se correlacionan positivamente con el conocimiento y uso de las plantas. El hallazgo más alarmante se refiere al conocimiento de los nombres mixtecos de las plantas: las personas menores de 30 años ya no los conocen. Visualizamos un proceso de transición y adaptación del conocimiento y usos de las plantas, pero inevitablemente un enorme conocimiento etnobotánico está desapareciendo rápidamente junto con el idioma mixteco.

Destination attractiveness and place attachment: a multi-group analysis of visitors from the Greater China Region

ABSTRACT The study examines the attitudes of 854 respondents arriving in Macau from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The study examines (1) to what extent are there differences in perceived destination attractiveness, destination value and satisfaction between these three groups, (2) is there evidence of intra-ethnic differences and similarities? A multi-dimensional model is analysed using partial least square analysis accompanied by multi-group analysis. The findings demonstrate that intra-cultural variation can exist within a similar Chinese ethnic background, based in part on differing attitudes toward symbolic values. In short, the Chinese ethnic groups evidence intra-group differences, but it is suggested that these differences are explained by factors other than culture. This study contributes to research on intra-ethnicity/cultural variation. The conceptual and managerial implications are examined.

Conformity decreases throughout middle childhood among ni-Vanuatu children: An intracultural comparison.

Multiple studies have shown that children conform to majorities in perceptual judgment tasks against their better knowledge. However, these studies report contradictory results about how conformity develops over age. Here, we study variation in conformity over the course of middle childhood: we examined potential informational and normative motivations underlying conformity, as well as intracultural variability in their age patterns. We measured conformity in both a public and a private setting among 5- to 11-year-olds from eight different communities in Vanuatu (n = 125, 59 boys), a highly diverse society in the South Pacific. We also explored whether selected sociodemographic variables help to explain individual variation in children's conformity. Conformity is lower in both public and private settings the older ni-Vanuatu children are, with conformity in public settings being subject to more developmental and intracultural variation. We infer that normative conformity is more variable than informational conformity. Moreover, we find that children in higher school classes conform less. Our study combines a developmental perspective with an intracultural comparison, and demonstrates that both the publicness of the experimental situation and intracultural variability are important for the understanding of the age patterns of conformity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Gender differences in BaYaka forager sleep-wake patterns in forest and village contexts

Sleep studies in small-scale subsistence societies have broadened our understanding of cross-cultural sleep patterns, revealing the flexibility of human sleep. We examined sleep biology among BaYaka foragers from the Republic of Congo who move between environmentally similar but socio-ecologically distinct locations to access seasonal resources. We analyzed the sleep–wake patterns of 51 individuals as they resided in a village location (n = 39) and a forest camp (n = 23) (362 nights total). Overall, BaYaka exhibited high sleep fragmentation (50.5) and short total sleep time (5.94 h), suggestive of segmented sleep patterns. Sleep duration did not differ between locations, although poorer sleep quality was exhibited in the village. Linear mixed effect models demonstrated that women’s sleep differed significantly from men’s in the forest, with longer total sleep time (β ± SE = − 0.22 ± 0.09, confidence interval (CI) = [− 0.4, − 0.03]), and higher sleep quality (efficiency; β ± SE = − 0.24 ± 0.09, CI = [− 0.42, − 0.05]). These findings may be due to gender-specific social and economic activities. Circadian rhythms were consistent between locations, with women exhibiting stronger circadian stability. We highlight the importance of considering intra-cultural variation in sleep–wake patterns when taking sleep research into the field.

Identity formation and patriarchal voices in theatre translation

Shaping fictional characters is an important part of story-telling and the forces which shape identity are worth examining as they add to pragmatic theorizing on identity construction. The paper suggests that translation practice offers multiple contexts where the various workings of identity formation through discourse may be explored. The study uses Bucholtz and Halls's (2005) identity formation principles in two Greek versions (1947, 2017) of the same playtext to heighten awareness of alternative identity representation patterns, which employ various identity formation principles. Results show a significant shift in the translators' shaping the identity of the father figure, through target discursive options assuming a shifting gender position in the target societal environment and a different perception of societal values. Questionnaire respondents favoured certain target options probably for the intensity they created. The paper concludes that an integral part of a character's identity is conveyed through the non-/offensive value of items which regulate the translators' renegotiation of the character's identity. The paper advances understanding of pragmatic aspects in fictional identity formation and im/politeness through translation. It shifts attention to cross-cultural pragmatics, highlights the relational dynamic in the characters' communication, and the translator evaluation intention manifesting how intra-cultural variation affects the translator's task.

The Social Meaning of Food Consumption Behaviors in Rural Brazil: Agreement and Intracultural Variation

Food insecurity (FI) is often assessed through experienced-based measures, which address the number and extent of coping strategies people employ. Coping indices are limited because, methodologically, they presuppose that people engage coping strategies uniformly. Ethnographic work suggests that subgroups experience FI quite differently, meaning that coping strategies might also vary within a population. Thus, whether people actually agree on FI coping behaviors is an open question. This article describes methods used to test whether there was a culturally agreed on set of coping behaviors around FI in rural Brazilian majority-female heads of household, and to detect patterned subgroup variation in that agreement. We used cultural consensus and residual agreement analyses on freelist and rating exercise data. This process could be applied as a first step in developing experience-based measures of FI sensitive to intragroup variation, or to identify key variables to guide qualitative analyses.

Connections Between Cultures: Using Empirical Distributions for Measuring Cultural Differences

The past few decades have seen an explosion in the interest in cultural differences and their impact on many aspects of business management. A noticeable feature of most academic studies and practitioner approaches is the predominant use of national boundaries and group-level averages as delimiters and proxies for culture. However, this largely ignores the significance that intra-country differences and cross-country similarities can have for identifying psychological phenomena. This article argues for the importance of considering intra-cultural variation for establishing connections between two different cultures. It uses empirical distributions of cultural values that occur naturally within a country, thereby making intracultural differences interpretable and actionable. For measuring cross-country differences, the Gini/Weitzman overlapping index and the Kullback-Leibler divergence coefficient are used as difference measures between two distributions. The properties of these measures in comparison to traditional group-level mean-based distance measures are analyzed, and implications for cross-cultural and international business research are discussed.

Intra-cultural variation among tourists of the same cultural background – does it matter?

ABSTRACT This paper advances the notion that macro-level sociological factors outweigh micro-level social psychological variables in shaping perceptions of place; an idea based on the earlier work of Burns and Dietz (on cultural evolution) who concluded that the realities of daily lifestyles significantly inform the transfer of ‘social rules’. The proposition that cultural homogeneity is amended by the context of daily reality is examined by analysing the responses of 12 tourism industry professionals and 85 visitors of Chinese ethnicity visiting Macau. These visitors came from Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan. It is proposed that the different social, economic and political structures outweigh a common cultural structure based on Confucian values, leading to difference in perceptions of Macau. The data were derived from interviews, and suggest that cultural similarities are of less importance than the socio-economic-political frameworks of the visitor originating zones.

Accounting for intracultural variability in first nation environmental knowledge: A requisite for environmental monitoring and impact assessments

In many environmental monitoring and impact assessment processes, Indigenous communities are treated as intellectually homogenous and intracultural variation in environmental knowledge often goes unaccounted for. This not only poses obvious risks to the effectiveness of environmental impact assessments but also gives standing to those who question the credibility of traditional ecological knowledge and its contribution to environmental monitoring and assessment programs altogether. In this paper we describe the steps that were taken to account for intracultural variability in First Nation knowledge of fish and the potential impacts associated with the Peace River oil sands development in Alberta, Canada. Involving the delivery of a household survey to 1,127 First Nation households in 11 Peace River communities, our approach was successful in identifying regional, community, and household variability in fishing activity, and has allowed us to differentiate novice from expert knowledge holders. This research demonstrates the need to account for intracultural variability in First Nations environmental knowledge in order for traditional ecological knowledge to make meaningful contributions to environmental monitoring and assessment programs.

WAR LESSONS OR HOW SOCIAL AND PERSONAL BACK-GROUND SHAPES OUR PERCEPTION

It is well-known that cognitive metaphor can reflect the process of conceptualization of the surrounding world in the human mind. The metaphorical transfer of the source domain’s conceptual features to the target domain shows the essence of the reality perception in the consciousness. This study is focused on the intracultural variation of cognitive metaphors, particularly the phenomenon of the implicit-explicit dispersion in metaphors, dependence of their perception on the occupation, gender, and age of members of a culture, and type of metaphors. Based on conceptual metaphors, associated with the target domain WAR in the Russian culture, the researchers elaborate a novel approach to the analysis of conceptual metaphors, providing full-fledged scrutiny of the reflection of the surrounding realm in the minds of native speakers. The study involved 124 people, some of whom have direct professional experience in the military sphere. The obtained differences in the perception of simulated metaphorical models allow us to talk about intracultural variation of the WAR cognitive metaphor and the significant influence of personal experience on the perception of reality.

Changes in Shrimping Effort in the Gulf of Mexico and the Impacts to Red Snapper.

Despite a complex management landscape and decades of overfishing, Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) stocks have grown substantially in the Gulf of Mexico and restrictions on the fisheries that catch them are being loosened. This year, annual shrimping effort was allowed to increase by 21% after National Marine Fisheries Service scientists concluded that the resulting bycatch of Red Snapper would only reduce the annual allowable catch in other fisheries by ∼1% and have no impact on population growth. Nonetheless, the recreational fishing sector intensely campaigned against this rule, fueled by wild mischaracterization of shrimp trawl bycatch in media outlets targeting anglers. Here, we aim to elevate the debates surrounding Red Snapper management by presenting scientific and historical context for the potential impacts from shrimping. We discuss our views of the current problems facing Red Snapper and key ecological questions to address for more effective management of this resource.

Mask and face

AbstractIm/politeness scholars have highlighted the significance of ideology in the use of im/politeness phenomena, as the very notion of im/politeness presupposes a mental filtering of discourse through preconceptions that already exist in the mind (Terkourafi 1999,2001,2005;Mills 2003;Culpeper 2011;Kádár and Haugh 2013). The study aims at demonstrating how im/politeness can be manifested in two Greek versions of a dramatic dialogue that has its roots in the ancient theatre, where masks may be thought to undertake functions of face/identity formation in (im)politeness theory. The focus is on Eugene O’Neil’s dramatic trilogyMourning Becomes Electra(1931) and on two Greek stage translations of the play that are twenty-one years apart (1986 and 2007). The study adopts both a second/ first order (Grainger 2011, or etic/emic) approach to the data, to gain further insight into how im/politeness plays out in the target versions and also considers in/appropriateness of social behaviour (Locher and Watts 2008) to further understanding of aspects of the relational work enacted by the protagonist. The analysis accentuates the significance of the narrative or the point of view of the target versions of the play. Findings highlight the use of different im/politeness strategies in the translated interaction between the siblings, Orin and Lavinia, which affect respondents’ appropriateness judgements. Respondents appreciated a higher tension between intimacy and aggression as manifested in one of the two translations. The study underscores the value of translation data in im/politeness research by drawing attention to intra-cultural variation with regards to the use of im/politeness manifesting a different narrative/point of view (e.g. non/religious, non/allusive to the ancient theatre). Conversely, im/politeness research contributes to translation practice by showing that im/politeness options may exert influence on audience response.

Ethnobotany in the North Coast of Peru: Use of Plants in the Fishing Community of Huanchaco for Subsistence

The subsistence strategies that coastal fishing communities have developed over time are closely related to their interaction with the sea. Fishing is generally the principal economic activity of the members of these communities; however, the use of botanical resources has also contributed to their subsistence through time. This is the case of the Huanchaco fishing community that live on the north coast of Peru. They use reeds to construct sea vessels for fishing and other plants growing locally for diverse economic and cultural activities. To study their traditional relationships with useful plants, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted with 40 members of the fishing community. The objective of this research was to determine the use of local plants for daily activities and the intracultural variation of that knowledge as it relates to age and gender. Results showed that people use plants for food, medicinal, and industrial purposes, and that women and elderly people are more knowledgeable about medicinal and industrial plants than their male and younger counterparts. Although processes of modernization have influenced many aspects of the fishing community’s lifestyle, the existing TEK suggests that plants still play an important role in their daily subsistence strategies.

Market integration accounts for local variation in generalized altruism in a nationwide lost-letter experiment

What explains variation in levels of prosocial behavior across communities? And are members of the ingroup and outgroup treated differently? According to evolutionary theories of generalized altruism, market integration should lead to greater levels of prosociality: Market exchange forces people to interact with unknown others, thus creating the conditions for the extension of prosocial behavior beyond close-knit circles to include outgroup members and strangers. Moving away from the evolutionary focus on cross-cultural variation, this article uses the market-integration hypothesis to explain intracultural variation in levels of prosociality in an advanced society. Taking advantage of an ideal setting, this study reports results from a large-scale, nationwide lost-letter experiment in which 5,980 letters were dispersed in a sample of 188 Italian communities. The study confirms the relevance of market integration in accounting for differences in levels of prosociality: In areas where market exchange is dominant, return rates are high. It also casts a light on the relationship between ingroup and outgroup prosociality: Return rates for both Italian and foreign recipients are the same; they vary together; and ingroup returns are highly predictive of outgroup returns at the community level.

Cultural models of democracy among Burmese residents in the United States

This study examines implicit assumptions about democracy among Burmese residents interviewed in the Midwestern United States. A major focus of the research is the durability of foundational cultural models—basic, simple, widely-shared modes of thought that may or may not change over time—measured in this study through length-of-residency. As such, I examined three distinct sample groups: temporary residents, immigrants, and adult offspring of immigrants. This research comprised methods of ethnography, semi-structured interviews, as well as a free-listing memory task. A key point of inquiry is intracultural variation occurring between sample groups. Particular attention was paid to heterogeneous discourses from opinion communities, and the inner conflict that such discourses can generate within the mind. The findings indicate that cultural models may change over the course of the diasporic experience, with opinion communities playing a key role in conceptualizations of democracy.

Inter- and intra-cultural variation in learning-through-participation among Hadza and BaYaka forager children and adolescents from Tanzania and the Republic of Congo

We examined cross-cultural variation in children’s learning-through-participation in economic work in two forager societies; the Hadza of Tanzania and the BaYaka of the Republic of Congo. We used observational data from 46 Hadza (41% female) and 65 BaYaka (48% female) children and adolescents between the ages of 3 and 18; interview data from 73 Hadza (49% female) and 52 BaYaka (56% female) adults; and ethnographic observations from both populations. Results showed that by providing tools, assigning chores, and foraging with children, Hadza and BaYaka adults provided opportunities for autonomous learning through facilitating participation. Furthermore, although both Hadza and BaYaka children foraged alongside adults when they could be of help, Hadza children were more likely than BaYaka children to forage independently, and BaYaka children were more likely than Hadza children to participate in domestic tasks. We argue that these strategies provided children with opportunities to learn while contributing economically.Nous avons examiné les variations interculturelles dans l’apprentissage des enfants dans le contexte de leur participation à des travaux économiques dans deux sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs; les Hadza de Tanzanie et les BaYaka du Congo. Nous avons utilisé les données d’observation de 46 enfants et adolescents Hadza (41% femmes) et 65 BaYaka (48% femmes) âgés de 3 à 18 ans, celles d’interviews de 73 adultes Hadza (49% femmes) et de 52 adultes BaYaka (56% femmes), ainsi que des observations ethnographiques sur ces deux groupes. Les résultats montrent qu’en leur fournissant des outils, en leur assignant des tâches et en chassant et en cueillant avec les enfants, les adultes Hadza et BaYaka leur offrent des possibilités d’apprentissage autonome tout en facilitant leur participation. En outre, alors que les enfants Hadza et BaYaka chassent et cueillent aux côtés des adultes quand ils peuvent, les enfants Hadza sont plus susceptibles que les enfants BaYaka de recourir à la chasse et à la cueillette. Ces derniers sont aussi plus susceptibles que les enfants Hadza de participer aux tâches domestiques. Nous en concluons que ces stratégies fournissent aux enfants des opportunités d’apprentissage tout en contribuant, parallèlement, aux ressources économiques de leur groupe.

Building interventions when distress is under debate: a case study from Appalachia

Scholarship on idioms of distress has emphasized cross-cultural variation, but devoted less attention to intra-cultural variation-specifically, how the legitimacy of distress may vary according to the context in which it is expressed, social position, and interaction with medical categories of distress. This variation can pose challenges for interventionists seeking to establish culturally acceptable ways of identifying distress and creating relevant resources for recovery. We describe efforts over three years (2014-2016) to identify and adapt a culturally appropriate evidence-based intervention for depressed rural Appalachian women. Though the prevalence of depression among rural women is high, limited services and social barriers restrict treatment access. Formative research revealed varied understandings of distress. Depression was (a) medicalized as a treatable condition, (b) stigmatized as mental illness, (c) accepted as a non-pathological reaction to regional poverty and gendered caregiving responsibilities, (d) rejected as a worthy justification for seeking individual care, and (e) less represented in comparison to other competing forms of distress (i.e., multiple morbidities, family members' distress). In a small pilot trial, we applied an implementation science perspective to identify and implement appropriate evidence-based programming for the context. We outline how we reached Appalachian women despite these diverse understandings of depression and established a flexible medicalization of depression that enabled us to legitimize care-seeking, work with varied rural healthcare professionals, and engender culturally relevant support. Our adaptation and implementation of the concept of "mental health recovery" enabled the development of programming that furthered non-pathological communicative distress while resisting the normalization that silences women in the context of deep health disparities.