Punching Cards On Human Universals – Season 2 Episode 3
Feb 10, 2025
Asifa Majid, a cognitive science professor at the University of Oxford, joins forces with neurocognitive psychologist Rasha Abdel Rahman for a captivating discussion. They tackle the complexities of human intelligence and the impact of culture on cognition. The duo critiques the Western bias in psychological research, advocating for a broader view of intelligence that incorporates language and cultural nuances. They reveal how native languages shape sensory perceptions and cognitive strategies, urging a celebration of diversity in understanding human experience.
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WEIRD Psychology
- Psychology often generalizes from "WEIRD" people (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic).
- This narrow sampling wrongly assumes negligible environmental impact on cognition.
Sampling Cultures
- Compare diverse samples for robust research
- Comparing similar samples is not sufficient for drawing wider conclusions
Bilingual Beginnings
- Asifa Majid grew up bilingual, speaking Punjabi at home and English outside.
- This early experience highlighted the untranslatability of certain concepts between languages, sparking her interest in language's role in shaping thought.