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Two points are made on the basis of (mainly) the cross-cultural psychological record. The first is that cross-cultural data indicate at least weak, nontrivial constraints on colour classification. The second is that exceptions to cross-cultural regularities as described by Saunders & van Brakel are compatible with the view that constraints on colour categories are probabilistic rather than deterministic.

We investigated the relationship of exposure to Spanish and socioeconomic status (SES) with reading and math standardized test scores among third and sixth grade pupils in Guatemala. The results of a multi-group structural equation model and multivariate analysis of covariance led us to conclude that SES and exposure to Spanish are associated to achievement across grades, ethnicities, and area of residence. Exposure to Spanish is more relevant in lower grades whereas area of residence is a consistent predictor across grades. Analysis of equivalence for the various groups suggests a set of consistent relationships across ethno-linguistic groups. Our results confirm previous research indicating that SES is a positive predictor of school achievement and that the compatibility of the pupil's familiarity with the testing language is positively related to achievement results. We recommend that linguistic competency heterogeneity in terms of competency level in each language be considered and that bilingual interventions be developed, as opposed to adopting models that assume homogeneous linguistic ability across ethnicities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Interpretations of cross-cultural differences in performance on cognitive tasks tend to rely on broad concepts, such as general intelligence or cultural modes of thinking. In this study, the authors examine two proximate parameters, stimulus complexity and task exposure, using reaction time (RT) and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) recorded during various tasks. Five tasks differed in complexity but had similar stimulus content; one task had stimuli of different appearance. Test trials were administered across three days. Participants were trained on most tasks for two days. There were three samples, rural Venda youngsters in South Africa with little schooling, Venda university students, and Dutch university students. Cross-cultural differences in RT increased with task complexity and decreased with exposure. Substantial correspondence was found between patterns of RT and latency of the N2, an ERP component related to stimulus categorization. Our results fit an explanation in terms of task familiarity. Implications for culture-cognition relationships are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]