Robin Dunbar (2003), the founded of the Social Brain Hypothesis theory, argues that primate, and indeed human, intelligence primarily evolved as means of reproducing and surviving in large and complex social groups, rather than as a means to solve ecological challenges. This is tightly associated with the Theory of Mind, or the ability to understand the emotions and thoughts of the other individuals. The Social Brain Hypothesis (SBH) is, however, not denying that the basic…
Darwin’s publication of The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals theorized that facial expression and emotional states follow one another (Pinel, 2009). Darwin suggested that emotion is to be evolution based. An example of Darwin’s theory relates to threat displays in which an angry facial expression might accompany a hostile emotional state as this may be seen in disagreements (Pinel, 2009).…
Another sociological term demonstrated in Crash is the theory of micro-aggression. Microaggressions would be defined as "Microaggressions are subtle insults (verbal, nonverbal, and/or visual) directed toward people of color, often automatically or unconsciously." While the individual effects of these particular instances may be small, the cumulative effects can be devastating. In Crash, I believe the character that most exemplifies this is the film director. Examples of these subtle insults would be things such as people telling him that he just isn't really black to them or the comments about language on the set of the movie. He advises him to tell the black character to make his language "more black." These are subtle but insults nonetheless. These kinds of comments, combined with the powerlessness he feels when his wife is sexually assaulted lead to the blow-up where he almost gets himself killed. He has endured these subtle forms of racism his whole life, and he reaches a breaking point where he just isn't going to take it…
This approach views behavior as an evolutionary adaptation. According to this, emotions and cognitions adapt to the changing time and environment.…
Darwin believed that expressions of emotion are products of evolution and compared them in different species. His theory of the evolution of emotion was composed of three main ideas: Expressions of emotion evolve from behaviors that indicate what an animal is likely to do next. If the signals provided by such behaviors benefit the animal that displays them, they will evolve in ways that enhance their communicative function, and their original function may be lost. Opposite messages are often signaled by opposite movements and postures, an idea called the principle of antithesis.…
Cultural relativism can be defined as the understanding that the choices one can consider morally right are those approved of by one’s culture. Cultural differences in moral beliefs don’t imply cultural relativism because nonmoral beliefs can alter the perspective of basic moral principles shared by the culture. This would imply that there are no universally set/correct moral standards. Saying that cultural differences in moral beliefs imply cultural relativism is only part of an argument, not a conclusion supported by valid premises. There is the possibility that the moral issue in question is, in fact, an objective truth, in which case the culture is purely wrong. If cultural relativism exists, and no culture can ever be wrong in their moral…
The ways in which different people are developed are formed by the social circumstances and experiences within the context of their innate genetic potentials. The question remains that how hereditary potential and experience serve their roles in developing the behavior, values, perceptions, and attitudes of a human being. All human beings are born into specific cultural and social settings and ultimately develop several social connections. The characteristics of a person’s cultural settings greatly influence the way they learn to behave and think, by means of example, punishments, rewards, and instructions. In addition, the culturally induced behavioral patterns, like forms of humor, body language, and speech patterns, become so profoundly embedded in the mindset of human beings that they frequently operate without the people themselves being completely aware regarding them. All the various cultures include a slightly different mesh of meanings and patterns; attitudes towards different cultures, expectations for behavior, customs and habits in arts, clothing, foods, and religions, social roles, systems of government and trade, ways of earning a living, and values and beliefs regarding each of these activities (Chan, et.al, 2012). What is perceived as acceptable human behavior is different in different religions and in…
Emotions seem to rule our every day life. We make all of our decisions based on whether we feel happy, sad, scared, angry or disgusted. An emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a subjective experience, a psychological response, and a behavioural or expressive response (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2007). Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is the father of emotion; he published the first ever book about the study of biopsychology of emotion - “The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals” (Darwin, 1872). In his book he made two major contributions, one, that animal emotions are similar to human emotions, and the other, that there are fundamental and basic emotions present across all species. For him, emotion…
Throughout history cultural syncretism occurred in some societies, but not in others. This occurrence or lack thereof changed the way these societies were shaped. Looking back Western Europe was becoming a power house by attempting to dominate other nations around them. This domination was successful in some areas of the globe, but not the other. Many research look to understand why. When the Westerners landed in Africa, the Americas, China, and India there were just one of two outcomes: syncretism and rejection.…
Cosmides, L. & Tooby, J. (1992). Cognitive adaptations for social exchange. In J. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 163-228). New York: Oxford University Press.…
Ethical relativism represents the position that there are no moral absolutes, no moral right or wrong. This position would assert that our morals evolve and change with social norms over a period of time. (AllAboutPhilosophy.org, 2014) I agree with…
Studying the human behavior is often done by researchers taking a etic approach, as there are emotions are that universal; such as: happy, sad, fear and surprise. This suggests that since our biological systems are the same across different cultures, we are made to believe that we can easily understand other culture’s emotions too based on their physiology. Ekman’s study has been repeat on a western Sumatra tribe, and received the same results. This further emphasizes how…
Cultural relativity is the process to understand that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context. In other words, “right” and “wrong” are culture-specific; what is considered moral in one society may be considered immoral in another society. And since there is no something as “universal standard of morality”, therefore we have to use the culture’s own value system to judge the culture. It is closely related to ethical relativism, which is to judge based on ethical grounds.…
The concept of cultural syncretism exists when two different cultures combine their ancient beliefs of the past to create new traditions and/or beliefs. There are several cultural factors that influenced both Africa and the Americas such as weaponry, technological advancements, medical and religious. China and India’s values were quite different when it came to cultural beliefs. They would isolate themselves from outside traditions, which made them more resistant to syncretism.…
This paper is not complete but as I get it completed I will add it.…