PowerPoint Presentation - Cognitive Anthropology
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Cognitive Anthropology
A Qualitative Research Tradition
Qualitative Research Traditions
Characterized
by:
– assumptions about human nature and
society
– focus of the study
– methodology
Jacob, E. (1987). Qualitative Research Traditions: A Review,
Review of Educational Research, 57(1), 1-50.
Example Traditions
Ecological
Psychology
Holistic Ethnography
Ethnography of Communication
Symbolic Interactionism
Cognitive Anthropology
– Ethnoscience
– New Ethnography
Cognitive Anthropology
Developed
by Goodenough and Frake
– Based heavily on linguistics
Study
culture
– Mentalistic Terms
• Cultural categories
• Organizing principles
Assumptions
Culture
– “Cognitive organizations of material
phenomena”
Groups have unique system for perceiving
and organizing the world
Cultural knowledge reflected in language
– Semantics
– Organized
– Related
Implications
Do
not study behavior
Linguistics
–Relationships between words
Focus
Description
of organization of
cognitive system
2 questions:
– “What material phenomena are
significant for the people of some
culture?”
– “How do they organize these
phenomena?”
Implications
Compare
individual culture
– Then compare across cultures
Focus
on Organizing principles
– Not on substantive aspects
No
theory testing
Methodology
Description
using participant’s
categories
Cyclical
Identify
symbols and relationships
Hypothesis
testing
More Methodology
Recording
Natural
verbatim
settings
Open-ended,
Controlled
Formal
descriptive questions
eliciting
analysis
Formal Analysis
Internal consistency
Completeness
Form
Types:
–
–
–
–
domain analysis
taxonomic analysis
componential analysis
theme analysis
Applications
Mentalistic
culture
Few done in educational settings
Two types:
– Description of culture
– Study of educational problems
Description of Culture
Study of school settings
Sex Role culture w/in school
Teacher’s images of knowledge
Behavior b/w teachers and students
Categories of play b/w boys at recess
Study of Educational Problems
Reading
College
process
students’ career choices
Social-race
relations in school
Disclaimers
Source
– Paper
– Presenter
Qualitative
applications
– whole or part?