The Influence of Culture on Opinions and Decisions

1. The Influence of Culture on Opinions and Decisions Graham Adamson, Abby Ilan, Ellen Martinez, And Joonah Park

2. How do our experiences and/or culture determine what we interpret? • Our background affects how we view things because of prior knowledge we may have in similar applicable situations.

3. Why? (Evidence #1) • “Like blues, jazz and country, R&B was shaped by events far removed from music.” (New exhibit: Let the Good Times Roll: A tribute to rhythm and blues, pg. 489) • R&B was affected by things that weren’t really connected to music: because of the artist’s background opinions on the past affected their opinions on everything, even when it’s not related to the past. This affected the attitude of the music. • People’s past experience affects their view on everything, and the same goes for the musicians.

4. Why? (Evidence #2) • “Andersen poured himself into his writing: it became a vehicle for expressing his emotions.” (Making Fantasy Real, pg. 693) • Andersen’s emotions’ presence in his writing is probably what makes his stories so delightful and timeless, because they are relatable. • In past experience, people who write about settings with which they have emotional experience write better, more enticing, emotionally connecting stories.

5. Why? (Evidence #3) • “Andersen took the traditional story and added his own interpretation of the character.”(Making Fantasy Real, pg. 693) • Andersen’s view of the character could be different than the traditional view because of his background. • Past experiences affect empathy and ridicule for/of characters.

6. Conclusion • People’s background and experiences affect how we think about everything because we apply the knowledge of similar situations to the context and make decisions and judgments based on that.