Do humans and squirrels share the same traits as to how we interact in different cultures? Well, it is answered in a research conducted by the four scientists from Arizona State University and the University of California Irvine entitled The Behavioral Ecology of Cultural Psychology Variation.
They have used a new theoretical framework for understanding the psychology of cultural differences based on a principle from biology called adaptive phenotypic plasticity or the way an organism develops and acts based on its environment.
Their research won the 2019 Daniel M. Wegner Theoretical Innovation Prize on February 27 at the meeting of Social Psychology in New Orleans. Each year, the prize recognizes the author of an article or book chapter judged to provide the most innovative contribution to social/personality psychology within a given year.
The lead author Oliver Sng, an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine said that he is excited about the ideas that his research will influence how people think about and study cultural differences. He also stated that the adaptive phenotypic plasticity does not only connect the dots but may also generate new insights.
ASU's Michael Varnum, an associate professor of Psychology recognizes the fact that understanding why and how cultures differ is important because scientists used to believe that what applied to one group is also applicable to the general people.
Chirping Squirrels, Compromised Nuclear Reactors
Do you know that when a Belding's ground squirrel senses predators they create a sound that warns other animals? They give distinct alarm calls to aerial and terrestrial predators- multiple-note trills to predatory mammals, and single-note whistles with flying hawks. By doing so, they put themselves in mortal danger, but why do they do that?
It's because of adaptive phenotypic plasticity.
Individuals who share the same genes can vary physically and behaviorally because of their environment. The type of environment they grew up determines how they will develop because different environments also offer them different experiences.
Douglas Kenrick, President's Professor of psychology at ASU said that "the way animals-which include humans-develop can vary depending on the environment, and the resulting behaviors and physical characteristics are often tailored to the physical surroundings."
Take for example the Belding's ground squirrel; they do not have the same experiences or in the same physical environment. Female Belding's ground squirrels tend to live close to where they were born hence also living closely with other female family members that live nearby, but males don't do that.
Females who are living close by their family members tend to sound an alarm more likely than males to warn others of imminent danger. Additionally, females who live with their mothers, sisters, or daughters are the most likely to sound an alarm.
Think of this as an "if-then" statement that is shaped by the environment and determine behavior. Kenrick gave an example of an animal and its way to eat; if there is a limited supply of food, then an animal tends to be more competitive. Just like female ground squirrels do if they see danger then the instinctively starts chirping to protect her family.
Explaining adaptive phenotypic plasticity
Using adaptive phenotypic plasticity to explain cultural differences can help scientists understand why people behave the way they do. It explains existing data and highlight new areas of research, and also provide a way of thinking about multiple levels of culture and cultural change.
It can also be used to predict how cultures might differ. For example, Asians interact more frequently with their family members than their counterparts in Western societies like Europe and the United States. The framework predicts that the high rates of prosocial behaviors such as sharing and caring for others are related to proximity to family members.
"The adaptive phenotypic plasticity framework encourages a deeper level of analysis for the study of cultural differences." Said by the senior author on the paper Steven Neuberg, Foundation professor of psychology at ASU.
