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Ethnography and Experiments: Cultural Models and Expertise Effects Elicited with Experimental Research Techniques

Vanderbilt University, norbert.o.ross{at}vanderbilt.edu

Douglas L. Medin

Northwestern University

This article reports the results of two independent studies dealing with saliency effects within the domain of folkbiological knowledge. In study 1, the authors present data from a free-listing task that explored tree-name generation among Tzotzil Maya of Zinacantán (Chiapas). Study 2 compares Menominee Native Americans with majority culture (nonprofessional) fish experts in central Wisconsin. The studies explore patterns of informant agreement and disagreement, looking at the accessibility of certain kinds of biological knowledge, both within and across cultural groups. The authors show that differences in levels of expertise and practice, as well as habitual patterns of knowledge organization (spontaneous categorization), can lead to significant differences in the salience or accessibility of certain types of knowledge.

Key Words: culture and cognition • saliency effects • experimental ethnography • Cultural Consensus Model

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