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Cognitive Anthropology. A Qualitative Research Tradition. Qualitative Research Traditions. Characterized by: assumptions about human nature and society focus of the study methodology. Jacob, E. (1987). Qualitative Research Traditions: A Review, Review of Educational Research, 57(1), 1-50.
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Cognitive Anthropology A Qualitative Research Tradition
Qualitative Research Traditions • Characterized by: • assumptions about human nature and society • focus of the study • methodology Jacob, E. (1987). Qualitative Research Traditions: A Review, Review of Educational Research, 57(1), 1-50.
Example Traditions • Ecological Psychology • Holistic Ethnography • Ethnography of Communication • Symbolic Interactionism • Cognitive Anthropology • Ethnoscience • New Ethnography
Cognitive Anthropology • Developed by Goodenough and Frake • Based heavily on linguistics • Study culture • Mentalistic Terms • Cultural categories • Organizing principles
Assumptions • Culture • “Cognitive organizations of material phenomena” • Groups have unique system for perceiving and organizing the world • Cultural knowledge reflected in language • Semantics • Organized • Related
Implications • Do not study behavior • Linguistics • Relationships between words
Focus • Description of organization of cognitive system • 2 questions: • “What material phenomena are significant for the people of some culture?” • “How do they organize these phenomena?”
Implications • Compare individual culture • Then compare across cultures • Focus on Organizing principles • Not on substantive aspects • No theory testing
Methodology • Description using participant’s categories • Cyclical • Identify symbols and relationships • Hypothesis testing
More Methodology • Recording verbatim • Natural settings • Open-ended, descriptive questions • Controlled eliciting • Formal analysis
Formal Analysis • Internal consistency • Completeness • Form • Types: • domain analysis • taxonomic analysis • componential analysis • theme analysis
Applications • Mentalistic culture • Few done in educational settings • Two types: • Description of culture • Study of educational problems
Description of Culture • Study of school settings • Sex Role culture w/in school • Teacher’s images of knowledge • Behavior b/w teachers and students • Categories of play b/w boys at recess
Study of Educational Problems • Reading process • College students’ career choices • Social-race relations in school
Disclaimers • Source • Paper • Presenter • Qualitative applications • whole or part?