Rick et al:
Like many of our great scientific/philosophical discussions on tips, there
no critical experiment to point to. However, please consider this line of
reasoning. Different gene frequencies pop up in different racial groups.
Wouldn't it be odd if Mother Nature partitioned humans into 2 parts - biological
and psychological - and said "Biological traits are influenced by differential
gene frequencies between races" but "Psychological traits are not" ?? Biological
and psychological traits have the same biological foundation - genetic codes
that determine structure, function, behavior, and (if I can stretch the
discussion a bit) culture itself. What is culture if not behavior? What behavior
is not influnced by genetics? I have difficulty separating biological and
psychological. I also (as you can see) have difficulty totally genetics from the
behavioral repertoires than we collectively call "culture". JK
Rick Froman wrote:
> I know the issue of race is a controversial one. Some argue that it is an
> important construct and others say that it is only a superficial
> characteristic. Humans certainly do have distinguishing physical
> characteristics common to various races. The question is, to what extent do
> these racial differences have any impact on who the person is. The genes for
> skin pigmentation do not also cause people of the same race to act similarly
> or share a common culture. However, skin color has been, and still is for
> some, a shorthand way of grouping people who are culturally different. To
> the extent that racial characteristics have a psychological impact, it would
> be due to the interaction between appearance and how those people are
> treated by those around them. My conclusion would be that, yes, race exists
> as a biological difference between groups of people (although with the
> shrinking world and more intermarriage, the differences are not as sharp as
> they once were) but race is not an important factor impacting a person's
> psychological makeup except in the way it interacts with how a person is
> treated by those who look similar or different from them. I believe that
> after controlling for the effects of culture and environment on behavior,
> there would be very little or no additional variance explained by race. I
> think that is probably what the text was (or should have been) trying to say
> about the effect of race. Of course, that does not mean that racial
> differences do not exist in physical features as your biology student
> pointed out.
>
> Rick
>
> Dr. Richard L. Froman
> Psychology Department
> John Brown University
> Siloam Springs, AR 72761
> e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> phone and voice mail: (501)524-7295
> http://www.jbu.edu/sbs/rfroman.html
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rod Hetzel [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 9:36 AM
> To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences
> Subject: two questions about race and culture
>
> In class today we were talking about culture, ethnicity, race, and the
> genetic theory of evolution. Two questions came up that I could use
> some help with.
>
> 1. My students had a hard time understanding the following statement in
> our marriage and family textbook: "From a strictly scientific
> perspective, then, so-called racial differences do not exist. Skin
> color, for example, can be defined only on a continuum, just as the
> colors black and white exist on a continuum, with gray in the middle and
> no clear-cut distinctions in between." I was able to help them
> understand how cultural and ethnic identity are more useful and
> informative concepts than race, but many students had a hard time
> understanding how racial characteristics "do not exist." One of my
> students, who is an honors biology major specializing in genetics,
> stated that our marriage and family textbook contradicts what she has
> learned in her genetics courses. Can anyone offer me some specific
> suggestions for making these concepts more clear to my students?
>
> 2. Our text also talks about cultural groups as being a set of people
> who embrace core beliefs, behaviors, values, and norms and who transmit
> them from one generation to the next. The text defines ethnic groups
> being a group of people who, based upon geographic origin, share common
> beliefs, behaviors, norms, etc. and that are embedded within a larger
> cultural group. The text gives examples of cultural groups such as
> Latinos, with some of the corresponding ethnic groups being Cuban
> Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, and Mexican Americans. Another
> example of a cultural group are Asian Americans, with some of the ethnic
> groups within this cultural group being Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese,
> Native Hawaiians, and Samoans. A question was asked in class about
> "cultural" differences based on gender, political ideology, or religious
> worldview. Would these also meet the definition of cultural group, or
> would they be a specific subgroup within the broader cultural group
> definition?
>
> Your comments on these questions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
> in advance.
>
> Rod
> ______________________________________________
> Roderick D. Hetzel, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor of Psychology
> LeTourneau University
> President-Elect, Division 51
> American Psychological Association
>
> Department of Psychology
> LeTourneau University
> Post Office Box 7001
> 2100 South Mobberly Avenue
> Longview, Texas 75607-7001
>
> Office: Heath-Hardwick Hall 115
> Phone: 903-233-3312
> Fax: 903-233-3246
> Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Homepage: http://www.letu.edu/people/rodhetzel
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> > Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 8:21 AM
> > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences
> > Subject: student's question
> >
> >
> >
> > are you going to review and tell us what we need to focus on for the
> > test?
> >
> > Michael Sylvester,PhD
> > Daytona Beach,Florida
> >
> > ---
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Department of Psychology http://oz.plymouth.edu/~kulig
Plymouth State College tel: (603) 535-2468
Plymouth NH USA 03264 fax: (603) 535-2412
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