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Cited by 353Categorization, perception, and languageChild and Animal Learning DevelopmentCultural Differences and Values

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 47 of the 49 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Cultural mosaics and mental models of nature

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Bang, Megan, Medin, Douglas L., Atran, Scott·2007·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.0706627104PMC PMC1955807
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Abstract

For much of their history, the relationship between anthropology and psychology has been well captured by Robert Frost's poem, "Mending Wall," which ends with the ironic line, "good fences make good neighbors." The congenial fence was that anthropology studied what people think and psychology studied how people think. Recent research, however, shows that content and process cannot be neatly segregated, because cultural differences in what people think affect how people think. To achieve a deeper understanding of the relation between process and content, research must integrate the methodological insights from both anthropology and psychology. We review previous research and describe new studies in the domain of folk biology which examine the cognitive consequences of different conceptualizations of nature and the place of humans within it. The focus is on cultural differences in framework theories (epistemological orientations) among Native Americans (Menominee) and European American children and adults living in close proximity in rural Wisconsin. Our results show that epistemological orientations affect memory organization, ecological reasoning, and the perceived role of humans in nature. This research also demonstrates that cultural differences in framework theories have implications for understanding intergroup conflict over natural resources and are relevant to efforts to improve science learning, especially among Native American children.

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. RA Shweder Thinking Through Culture: Expeditions in Cultural Psychology (Harvard Univ Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991).
  2. GB Saxe, I Esmonde Mind Culture Activity 12, 171–225 (2005).
  3. P Hall, M Pecore Case Study: Menominee Tribal Enterprises (Institute for Environmental Studies and the Land Tenure Center, Madison, WI, 1995).
  4. JS Boster Am Anthropol 3, 381–399 (1986).
  5. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2007 (NSF Publication No. 07–315) (NSF Division of Science Resources Statistics, Arlington, VA, 2007).

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Metadata

Authors
Bang, M., Medin, D. L., & Atran, S.
Affiliations
  • *TERC, Cambridge, MA 02140;
  • Northwestern University (US)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-CREA, 1 Rue Descartes, 75005 Paris, France;
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2007-08-28
Volume
104
Issue
35
Pages
13868-13874
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.0706627104
PMC
PMC1955807
OpenAlex
W2064857412
Cited by
353
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 19
FWCI
2.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD41653, R01HD041653)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
Keywords
folk biology, framework theory, epistemological orientations, cultural cognition, cultural differences in cognition, Menominee, Native American children, memory organization, human role in nature, science learning
MeSH terms
Adult, Animals, Child, Cognition, Culture, Fishes, Humans, Learning, Memory, Models, Psychological

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