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Measuring Shared Collective Knowledge and Belief Systems

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Cognition In and Out of the Mind

Part of the book series: Culture, Mind, and Society ((CMAS))

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Abstract

Measurement is important for research practices in social sciences and is part and parcel of an efficient investigation in any social context. Measuring abstract cognitive entities such as social knowledge and beliefs that characterize the collective culture has its nuances. In this chapter I address the issue of measuring shared collective knowledge and belief systems. I begin by outlining the theoretical assumptions behind measuring collective constructs in cognitive anthropology and go over the principles of computing inter-informant agreement (consensus) present in the ethnographic data. I then transition to the discussion of cultural models as an instantiation of intersubjectively shared collective beliefs. Finally, I lay out several strategies that can be useful for field researchers to extract and explore cultural models by means of quantitative methods.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The first factor (principal component) in Q-analysis is usually interpreted as a measure of inter-informant agreement that reflects the degree of consensus. The meaning of the second factor is not consistently theorized but the argument has been made that it shows the degree of variation (e.g., Dressler et al. 2014).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine

    Kateryna Maltseva

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  1. Kateryna Maltseva
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Correspondence to Kateryna Maltseva .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DEKALB, IL, USA

    Giovanni Bennardo

  2. Department of Anthropology, Institute of Asian and Transcultural stu, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Victor C. de Munck

  3. Department of Anthropology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

    Stephen Chrisomalis

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Maltseva, K. (2024). Measuring Shared Collective Knowledge and Belief Systems. In: Bennardo, G., de Munck, V.C., Chrisomalis, S. (eds) Cognition In and Out of the Mind. Culture, Mind, and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48181-9_8

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