Perception of Intelligence

Cultural Differences in the Perception of Intelligence

Sociology

For the purposes of this assignment, two cultures will be compared with respect to how they perceive intelligence. Culture is relative, as is perception, as will be demonstrated in this paper with specific regard to intelligence. The two cultures that will be compared are American culture and Japanese culture. These two cultures have an intense past and interconnected present; they are very different with respect to social context, perspective, and perception. The paper will consider how these cultures interpret and perceive intelligence differently. The paper will reflect upon how intelligence, among other characteristics and elements, is measured differently because of variations in culture. The paper will further consider how, within varying social contexts and cultures, one might test for a spectrum of cognitive abilities, with respect to the two cultures of focus, Japanese and American.

American culture is very self-centered relative to Japanese culture; meaning, there is greater concern and focus upon the self, the individual, as opposed to the community, collective, or group, as is the focus of Japanese culture. American culture places more value on the person and the person's ability to extol his/her virtues loudly and proudly, while Japanese culture places a great deal of value upon humility.

…the Japanese tend to show humility in their self-estimations of overall "g" and seven Gardner intelligences. Humility should not be seen as a negative factor. However, the Japanese believe that effort and endurance are the roads to success, and also believe that humility is related to effort and perseverance. Optimistic ideas do not create endurance and hard effort, but by understanding themselves they would assume that they need to work harder. Shimizu (2001) revealed that the Japanese, along with the other East Asian countries, have culturally distinct "cultural concepts" that guide Japanese social behaviors. (Furnham & Fukumoto, 2008, 73)

Japanese culture places primacy upon the coherence and strength of the group, rather than focusing on the promotion of the individual. Americans understand and construct their identities based on what makes each person unique. Japanese often based their sense of identity on how they fit into or what their roles are within a series of groups, notably, their families. Japanese identity is contingent upon self and environmental awareness as a form of intelligence. From that cultural perspective, the logic follows that one will know how one fits within the group when one has adequate awareness of oneself and one's environment.

…Eastern notions of intelligence, has suggested that in Buddhist and Hindu philosophies, intelligence involves waking up, noticing, recognizing, understanding, and comprehending, but it also includes such things as determination, mental effort, and even feelings and opinions in addition to more intellectual elements. (Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2004, 372)

Therefore, self identification is one of the cultural factors that this paper considers to be an influence on how each culture perceives intelligence.

Gender is another cultural factor that influences how each culture perceives intelligence. There are a rare number of countries and cultures where there is a strong semblance of gender equality. While there is not gender equality in the United States, it is a country where women afford and enjoy a great deal more gender equality than most other countries in the world. Japan is a country that lags decades, and perhaps, a century or more behind in gender equality and fairness. Women are not considered equals to men in neither Japanese nor American culture, though, America is relatively much more fair than Japan.

In both cultures, perceptions and social constructions of gender weigh heavily upon perceptions of intelligence. When women are not considered people, have a history of being considered as property, and much less valuable than their male counterparts, these perceptions will directly influence perceptions of intelligence across the genders. In both cultures, women have been denied access to education, have been restricted to the domestic sphere, and denied other numerous human rights. Furthermore, while neither culture fully accepts gender variations outside of the binary paradigm, the acknowledgement and acceptance of other genders outside of the male-female dynamic are more likely in America, rather than in Japan.

A third cultural factor that might influence how intelligence is perceived in American and Japanese cultures is language. Americans are encouraged to speak their minds and to speak first. Japanese are encouraged to listen and ask questions. American culture prides speaking often and expressing unique opinions. Japanese culture prides agreement, harmony, and sameness. These are all expressed in the structure of each language as well as in the use of each language within and as part of the overall culture. In America, those who do not speak and do not make themselves distinctive through their original speech are considered unintelligent. In Japan, those who speak hastily, go against the norm, and make more declarative statements rather than questions, are considered foolish and stupid.

If I were to measure intelligence in each culture, I would have go about it in ways that take into consideration the social reality and social constructs of each culture. Before commencing the measurement of intelligence in American and Japanese culture, I would perform extensive research of each respective culture and want to experience the cultures first hand as well. I might measure intelligence in each culture by how well a person navigates and succeeds socially within each culture. If a person can navigate a culture successfully, that person much be intelligent. If a person can observe, participate, and understand a culture, then that person must be intelligent. Thus, one method I might use to measure intelligence might be to provide a person a series of social tasks and see how well they can achieve them.

Furthermore, social intelligence is a part of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, which very well could encompass other forms of intelligence, such as interpersonal, intrapersonal, emotional, and even spatial intelligences.