Cultural Differences in Perception: Observations from a Remote Culture

Davidoff, Jules, Elisabeth Fonteneau, and Julie Goldstein. “Cultural Differences in Perception: Observations from a Remote Culture.” Journal of Cognition and Culture, no. 8 (2008): 189-209.
This journal article examines perceptual similarity in a remote culture (the animal-herding Himba of Africa) compared to that of a Western culture (native English-speaking graduate students at Goldsmith’s University of London). In this study, researchers presented both groups with optical illusions. Study participants were judged on their ability to accurately judge the size of an object within the illusion. The study found that Western participants were more susceptible to the illusion, and that the Himba were more likely to gauge the size of the object. The study also noted that cultural aspects impact cognitive perception of visuals. The researchers stated that collectivist cultures pay more attention to the entire visual display, while individualistic cultures (for example, Western culture), pay more attention to objects within visual displays. The researchers theorize that collectivist cultures are even more susceptible to misjudging the size of an object within an optical illusion. This article is fairly current (published approximately 3years ago), and was published in a peer-reviewed journal. The researchers employed a number of data analysis methods, such as ANOVA, F-tests, and P-tests. This article, while very narrow in scope, could prove useful for my research question. It provides evidence that culture affects how one perceives visual images. This would lend support to my research question that visuals developed by a specific culture for their own use are better suited than visuals developed by someone outside of that culture.