Norm-based spontaneous categorization: Cultural norms shape meaning and memory.

When cultures have different norms for the same situation, does culture affect memory by influencing the weight individuals assign to information or also by affecting the meaning of information itself, influencing memory via categorization? We present 4 experiments showing that, in relying on contrasting cultural norms of reciprocity (Studies 1 and 2) and spiritual purity (Studies 3 and 4), Indians and Americans differ in their interpretation of and memory for identical information. Studies 1 (N = 123) and 3 (N = 78), utilizing cued-recall, and Studies 2 (N = 143) and 4 (N = 79), utilizing multiple-choice incidental-memory tests, show cultural differences in memory and categorization in culturally relevant normative domains. In Studies 1 and 2 Americans, applying their own culture-specific reciprocity norms, were more likely than Indians to interpret gifts given after receiving help as implying reciprocity. Hence, Americans (and not Indians) tended to categorize information about gifts in terms of whether it was norm-consistent or inconsistent, evidenced by memory that reflected greater within-category confusions. In Studies 3 and 4 Indians, applying their own culture-specific norms of purity, were more likely than Americans to interpret images of shoes on sacred objects as implying spiritual impurity. Thus, Indians (and not Americans) tended to categorize information about shoes in terms of whether it was norm-violating or nonviolating, evidenced by memory that reflected greater within-category confusions. Applying culturally variable norms to the same situation leads to different understandings of the same behavior, resulting in memory that reflects norm-based spontaneous categorization. We highlight the role that culture-specific norms play in cognitively predisposing individuals to organize information in the environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Reflections on Conversations and Memory.

The study of memory and remembering has traditionally either stripped meaning away from acts of remembering to reveal the "raw material of memory" or explored how meaning guides the reconstruction of the past. In reflecting on the contributions to this topic, there appears to be an emerging "third-way," which holds that there is an inextricable relation between conversations and remembering. The articles in this volume exemplify how conversing is often an act of remembering and represent approaches to memory that might not otherwise be taken if one were to study memory as a within-individual phenomenon. The implications of this approach are far-ranging and present the opportunity to pose new questions about the nature of remembering as it unfolds in conversation. The contributing articles have expanded the scope of what memory researchers can study by adopting a relatively straightforward assumption about the sociality of remembering and the role of the conversation in the social process.

What's ours is yours: recall of history for lesser-known countries is guided by one's own national history.

The present studies examine how people recall history. Sometimes, certain national histories are well known and sometimes they are not. We propose that, under certain circumstances, culturally distinctive representations of typical national histories can be used to guide recall, particularly in cases where the history is not well known. We focus on three national samples with varied levels of knowledge about each history: Great Britain, India, and the United States. In Study 1, we establish typical historical event templates for each nation consisting of events that a large proportion of participants from each sample identify as important in a typical nation's history. We examine points of divergence between the different groups' typical event templates and the valences of these events. In Study 2, we test and find that, in conditions of less knowledge, participants tend to refer to particular historical events that coincide with events unique to their own group's typical history. In Study 3, we demonstrate that this effect can be found even when a group possesses a reasonable amount of knowledge about the target country. We conclude by discussing the implications in relation to how such a retrieval strategy might inform interpretations of events in the present.