Perspectives on Culture and Concepts

Bibliographic Data

ID5824656
AuthorsBethany Ojalehto, bethany l ojalehto (Northwestern University), Douglas L Medin (0000-0003-4372-7202, Northwestern University)
Year2014
Volume66
Issue1
Pages249-275
Publication date2014-09-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnual Review of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0066-4308 • E-ISSN: 1545-2085
PublisherAnnual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015120
PMID25251487
OpenAlexW2126392633
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited177

The well-respected tradition of research on concepts uses cross-cultural comparisons to explore which aspects of conceptual behavior are universal versus culturally variable. This work continues, but it is being supplemented by intensified efforts to study how conceptual systems and cultural systems interact to modify and support each other. For example, cultural studies within the framework of domain specificity (e.g., folkphysics, folkpsychology, folkbiology) are beginning to query the domains themselves and offer alternative organizing principles (e.g., folksociology, folkecology). Findings highlight the multifaceted nature of both concepts and culture: Individuals adopt distinct conceptual construals in accordance with culturally infused systems such as language and discourse, knowledge and beliefs, and epistemological orientations. This picture complicates questions about cognitive universality or variability, suggesting that researchers may productively adopt a systems-level approach to conceptual organization and cultural epistemologies. Related implications for diversity in cognitive science are discussed

Conceptual framework · Construals · Cultural neuroscience · Cultural system · Categorization, perception, and language · Cultural Differences and Values · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access