The science of culture
Prof. Angela Gutchess (PSYC) brings innovative research subject to campus
by Stefan Nikolic
Features | 9/25/07
Posted online at 9:34 PM EST on 9/24/07
/ Last updated at 4:31 AM EST on 9/24/07
Looking at her sparse and undecorated office, it's obvious that Prof. Angela Gutchess (PSYC) is new on campus. Her workspace lacks the musky smell and eccentric chaos of a seasoned professor's, and its lack of personality contrasts sharply with her youthful nature.
Although Gutchess' office may seem out of place here at Brandeis, her work on cultural cognition and neural activity certainly is not. Her research on the differences in brain activity between cultural groups perfectly echoes our campus' emphasis on multiculturalism and diversity.
"We are such a multicultural society now that we can't assume everyone processes everything the same way," says Gutchess, 31, who arrived at Brandeis as an assistant professor this semester.
Gutchess' research shows that people from different cultural backgrounds show activity in different areas of the brain when placed in certain circumstances or when presented with certain stimuli. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging-magnetic fields and radio waves that produce high-quality images of brain structures, and similar techniques-Gutchess has been able to highlight specific differences in brain activity between various cultural groups.
These types of physiological data present a new approach to studying cultural differences, and they present a new perspective to previous work in cultural cognition.
The differences in brain activity can provide meaningful, neuroscientific insight into previous social and developmental observations. For example, Gutchess is interested in using her research to examine brain activity and neuroscientific explanations for specific cultural phenomena, such as the perception that Americans are strongly goal-oriented and motivated.
Although there isn't much research being done to examine neural differences between cultural groups, Gutchess believes it is certainly a growing area of interest.
"Initially there was some reluctance. How can you measure culture in the brain?" she says.
Although Gutchess' office may seem out of place here at Brandeis, her work on cultural cognition and neural activity certainly is not. Her research on the differences in brain activity between cultural groups perfectly echoes our campus' emphasis on multiculturalism and diversity.
"We are such a multicultural society now that we can't assume everyone processes everything the same way," says Gutchess, 31, who arrived at Brandeis as an assistant professor this semester.
Gutchess' research shows that people from different cultural backgrounds show activity in different areas of the brain when placed in certain circumstances or when presented with certain stimuli. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging-magnetic fields and radio waves that produce high-quality images of brain structures, and similar techniques-Gutchess has been able to highlight specific differences in brain activity between various cultural groups.
These types of physiological data present a new approach to studying cultural differences, and they present a new perspective to previous work in cultural cognition.
The differences in brain activity can provide meaningful, neuroscientific insight into previous social and developmental observations. For example, Gutchess is interested in using her research to examine brain activity and neuroscientific explanations for specific cultural phenomena, such as the perception that Americans are strongly goal-oriented and motivated.
Although there isn't much research being done to examine neural differences between cultural groups, Gutchess believes it is certainly a growing area of interest.
"Initially there was some reluctance. How can you measure culture in the brain?" she says.
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