ABSTRACT
A network theory was proposed in which members of a culture or group engage in similar behavior to the extent that particular situations activate a shared network of cognitive-affective mediating units (e.g., constructs, values, beliefs, goals, expectancies) within the group members. This culturally shared network theory extends to the group level the CAPS (Cognitive-Affective Processing System) model that has been shown to have heuristic value at the individual level (Mischel & Shoda, 1995). The theory was illustrated in an analysis of people’s cognitive-affective reactions to the O.J. Simpson criminal trial verdict (Mendoza-Denton, Ayduk, Shoda, & Mischel, 1997). Participants (33 White, 38 Black, 11 Latino, 25 Asian/Asian-American and 6 other) provided open-ended reactions to the verdict. In contrast to widely shared assumptions at the time, content analyses revealed that participants’ race did not have a direct effect on their reactions. Instead, and consistent with the proposed theory, differences in the accessibility of cognitive-affective units and their subsequent activation pathways characterized respondents’ reactions. The results help clarify how members of cultural groups can behave similarly in specific psychological situations in spite of the heterogeneity and individual differences that characterize them, creating diversity as well as commonality among group members.
