PSYCH 3384
Cognition and Culture
This course examines the influence of evolved cognitive dispositions (the way natural selection engineered the human mind) on the transmission of cultural knowledge. Dispositions present from early childhood make certain kinds of cultural knowledge particularly easy to acquire, and therefore, culturally stable. We also consider the evidence for differences in cognitive processes triggered by different social environments. Emphasis is on empirical studies and experimental methods in the study of cultural similarity and differences. Prerequisite: Psych 100B, Anthro 160B or permission of instructor.
Instructors
Reviews
Really dry lecturer, his slides/lectures were also really hard to understand (super hard to discern what's important vs. anecdotal details). Not a super tough class to do well in, though.
3/19/2024
Pretty poor lectures -- really hard to understand what is a key point and what is a random detail. The quizzes are similar -- he chooses to put some random details on them that he doesn't really talk about in class. Not super engaging, wouldn't take again.
12/31/2023
The course was very interesting, and Dr. Boyer was friendly. However, lectures were disorganized and convoluted. Clarifications were often even more confusing. Initially released the wrong grades for everyone at the end of the year, and still hasn't published midterm grades. Overall, an unnecessarily stressful experience.
12/28/2023