Cross-Cultural Similarities and Differences in Person-Body Reasoning: Experimental Evidence From the United Kingdom and Brazilian Amazon

Cohen, Emma; Burdett, Emily; Knight, Nicola; Barrett, Justin

Abstract

We report the results of a cross‐cultural investigation of person‐body reasoning in the United Kingdom and northern Brazilian Amazon (Marajó Island). The study provides evidence that directly bears upon divergent theoretical claims in cognitive psychology and anthropology, respectively, on the cognitive origins and cross‐cultural incidence of mind‐body dualism. In a novel reasoning task, we found that participants across the two sample populations parsed a wide range of capacities similarly in terms of the capacities’ perceived anchoring to bodily function. Patterns of reasoning concerning the respective roles of physical and biological properties in sustaining various capacities did vary between sample populations, however. Further, the data challenge prior ad‐hoc categorizations in the empirical literature on the developmental origins of and cognitive constraints on psycho‐physical reasoning (e.g., in afterlife concepts). We suggest cross‐culturally validated categories of “Body Dependent” and “Body Independent” items for future developmental and cross‐cultural research in this emerging area.

Citation

Cohen, E., Burdett, E., Knight, N., & Barrett, J. (2011). Cross-Cultural Similarities and Differences in Person-Body Reasoning: Experimental Evidence From the United Kingdom and Brazilian Amazon. Cognitive Science, 35(7), 1282-1304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1551-6709.2011.01172.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 10, 2010
• Online Publication Date: Mar 7, 2011
• Publication Date: 2011-09
• Deposit Date: Nov 28, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 30, 2020
• Journal: Cognitive Science
• Print ISSN: 0364-0213
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1282-1304
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1551-6709.2011.01172.x
• Keywords: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience; Artificial Intelligence
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2839201