Biological constraint, cultural variety, and psychological structures

Although biological processes bias humans to develop particular cognitive, affective, and behavioral forms, the cultural context of growth shapes these forms in particular ways. Psychologists have been indifferent to the nature of the mental structures that mediate the varied psychological functions that are the usual target of inquiry. This paper argues that schemata for perceptual events, motor programs, and semantic networks are distinct, although interdependent, forms that rest on different neurophysiologies. The biological constraints are weakest on the semantic networks that are influenced by the history, economy, religion, geography, and social structure of the society. These factors influence how cultures classify names for emotions, categories of self-membership, and popular metaphors for human nature. One class of schemata is derived from changes in body tone. Temperamental variation in the susceptibility to changes in body tone has relevance for understanding personality and a vulnerability to anxiety disorders.