March 14, 2025 — by Lamar Mohamad Al Dabbagh
Edited by the YNPS Publications Team.
Abstract
This study explores the intersection of cultural neuroscience and the psychological and neurological impacts of trauma, specifically within the context of Syrian culture. With war, displacement, and collective trauma being central to the Syrian experience, this research aims to understand how cultural habits—such as altruism, a people-focused lifestyle, unpunctuality, and trauma-bonding—affect Syrians’ brain processes. The research questions focus on how Syrian cultural traits influence neurological functioning and psychological processes, and how trauma may shape these traits. Through qualitative data analysis, key findings suggest that cultural experiences, such as collective trauma from war, contribute to lasting neurological changes, particularly in brain regions associated with stress, empathy, and social bonding. Syrians’ altruistic behavior and people-focused lifestyle may result from trauma-induced changes in brain chemistry and social bonding mechanisms. The research highlights the influence of cultural context on neurological processes and emphasizes the need for further investigation into how Syrian culture and trauma intersect neurologically. These findings have implications for mental health interventions, particularly in addressing the psychological and neurological effects of conflict and trauma in war-affected populations. Future research should aim to include quantitative data and more specific studies focused on Syrian communities to deepen the understanding of these cultural and neurological dynamics.
Introduction
Culture does affect neurological processes in a research field called cultural neuroscience. How does this apply in the context of Syrians and the trauma they experienced? Through discussing well-known Syrian cultural habits and experiences, this study aims to understand the context in which Syrian culture and habits affect Syrians’ brain processes neurologically and psychologically. This study will analyze patterns of Syrian values and experiences, such as altruism, people-focused lifestyle, general unpunctuality, and collective trauma to further understand how their collective background has affected their neurological and psychological processes. It is essential to understand how Syrians’ brains function to develop a clearer vision of how the experiences they went through have affected them and how to aid in reversing this issue.
Methodology
This study uses qualitative data from current literature to answer the posed question. The research done by MIT “Culture influences brain function, study shows”, provides the basis for the argument that culture does affect neurological functions. Subjects were shown a sequence of stimuli consisting of lines within squares and were asked to compare each stimulus with the previous one. In some trials, they judged whether the lines were the same length regardless of the surrounding squares (an absolute judgment of individual objects independent of context). In other trials, they decided whether the lines were in the same proportion to the squares, regardless of absolute size (a relative judgment of interdependent objects). By exposing East Asians and Americans to the same stimuli, scientists found differences in the neurological responses between both cultures. In the article “Reasons Why Some People Are Always Late for Work”, the author states that being late, a habit found generally in Syrians is due to a psychological phenomenon called “The Planning Fallacy”. This article reinforces the claim by showing one of the underlying psychological issues that might be caused by cultural habits. Future Nobel prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman and colleague Amos Tversky introduced the concept in 1979, defining it as “the tendency to underestimate the amount of time needed to complete a future task, due in part to the reliance on overly optimistic performance scenarios.”. The article “War, what is it good for? It made us less selfish” states that war might be the reason that people became more altruistic. “In his study, published in the journal Science, Dr Bowles takes on the proponents of the selfish-gene theory of human evolution by suggesting that natural selection worked on groups of people cooperating together, rather than just individuals. Drawing on archaeological data from the Stone Age and ethnographic studies of latter-day tribes of hunter-gatherers, Dr. Bowles concluded that it was possible for altruism to have evolved by Darwinian selection – if the warfare was intense enough between competing tribes and there were sufficient genetic differences between these human groups.”
Given Syria’s history, war is a shared experience that may have contributed to the well-known cultural trait of altruism among Syrians. In the study, “Traumatic stress: effects on the brain” exploring the neurobiology of trauma, Bremner indicates that trauma has huge neurological effects on the human brain. Functional MRI has shown that Brain areas implicated in the stress response include the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Traumatic stress can be associated with lasting changes in these brain areas. Traumatic stress is associated with increased cortisol and norepinephrine responses to subsequent stressors. This sets the basis for the next point. “How Collective Trauma Can Bond Groups of People Together” illustrates why people might have a people-focused lifestyle. Applying that to Syrians who shared extreme trauma, a trauma-bond can make people appreciate each other’s presence and be more empathetic, which might be the reason that Syrians have a people-focused lifestyle. Lastly, the article “Syrian Culture – Core Concepts” was the source for all of the mentioned Syrian habits/traits used in this paper.
Discussion
Culture has a huge effect on the way we think and our neurological processes. In a study done by MIT, researchers compared the brain processes occurring in East Asians and Americans when asked to do the same tasks. “The two groups showed different patterns of brain activation when performing these tasks. Americans, when making relative judgments that are typically harder for them, activated brain regions involved in attention-demanding mental tasks. They showed much less activation of these regions when making the more culturally familiar absolute judgments. East Asians showed the opposite tendency, engaging the brain’s attention system more for absolute judgments than for relative judgments” (Delude,1). Because East Asians and Americans experienced brain activation in different areas of their brains when asked to do the same tasks, it is plausible to conclude that culture affects neurological processes. Furthermore, this conclusion applies to all cultures. This study aims to focus on cultures that are often overlooked.
(Figure 1): Brain activity in East Asians and Americans as they make relative and absolute judgments / Trey Hedden.
Syrians being culturally late is due to psychological factors. “The tendency to underestimate the amount of time needed to complete a future task, due in part to the reliance on overly optimistic performance scenarios.” Is defined as The Planning Fallacy. Psychologists call this mindset “optimism bias.” (USC MAPP Online,1). This article proves that being late, is a cultural habit in most Syrians, as the Cultural Atlas states “Syrians have a looser sense of punctuality and may be late themselves” (Evason,1) due to psychological factors. This reinforces the claim that culture affects our psychological processes, such as the process of being overly optimistic about performance scenarios. Another well-known cultural practice for Syrians is being altruistic.
Going through conflict made Syrians more altruistic. “Altruism may have evolved directly as a result of tribal warfare because personal sacrifice was the key that enabled one group to be victorious over another.” (Connor,1). People have a strong awareness of personal integrity, which engenders Syrians with incredible generosity (Evason, 1). Through suffering many losses in the conflict, Syrians became collectively more altruistic as they had “nothing more to lose”. This is also an example of how experiences affected Syrians psychologically. Additionally, past events may have led Syrians to adopt a more people-focused lifestyle.
Experiencing trauma altered Syrians’ brain chemistry, leading them to have a people-focused lifestyle. Findings from animal studies have been extended to patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) showing smaller hippocampal and anterior cingulate volumes, increased amygdala function, and decreased medial prefrontal/anterior cingulate function (Bremner,1). Analyzing PTSD research suggests that trauma affects neurological processes. This conclusion is, therefore, applicable to Syrians who experienced immense trauma. Furthermore, experiencing trauma-bonding might be the reason behind Syrians’ people-focused lifestyle.
“Expressing the same emotions or providing support in the aftermath of a tragedy can bring people closer together. But scientists also see such bonding as part of a neurological process.” (Le,1). “The people-focused lifestyle gives individuals a sense of belonging and support. Syrians always endeavor to help their friends.” (Evason,1). Syrians undergoing the same tragedies might trauma-bond over it. The bonds they formed, therefore, might be the reason behind the people-focused lifestyle Syrians have. The sense of belonging and understanding that Syrians may feel after trauma-bonding might make them appreciate the presence of people in their lives. Trauma-bonding, a neurological phenomenon, is one of the reasons for the people-focused lifestyle Syrians have.
Conclusion
This paper explored the Syrian culture and experiences to understand how they might’ve impacted their psychological and neurological processes. The findings discussed not only known traits of Syrians, such as altruism and unpunctuality but also how their experiences (e.g. wars) have influenced those traits in the population. Through qualitative data analysis, this paper found the effects of Syrian culture and experiences on psychological and neurological processes. The process was done by mentioning certain traits and habits of Syrians and then exploring the psychological and neurological effects that might have caused it. This paper explores a culture that is under-researched, focusing on aspects that are undermined in the culture. However, other factors might have affected the results. With all of the limitations considered, this study served the purpose of connecting the claims claimed. Furthermore, this research is useful in the context of raising awareness about Syrians’ mental health after the circumstances they have witnessed. Considering the serious trauma, Syrian hospitals should receive aid and gather resources to ensure the health of their neurological system.
Evaluation
Considering that research is extremely limited regarding Syrian culture, the resources for Syrian habits used are based on known cultural habits and traits of Syrians without quantitative evidence. This paper utilized articles that aren’t directly related to Syria and may be unreliable. The data used for concluding that culture affects psychological and neurological processes might be based on many other factors that aren’t mentioned; however, this paper focuses on certain general aspects that don’t apply in every scenario since factors other than culture and experiences might’ve contributed to the processes. Ultimately, it would be useful if more people started researching about Syria. Researching their neurological and psychological well-being would provide aid in knowing how to deal with the outcomes of conflict and trauma.
Citations
Bremner, J Douglas. “Traumatic Stress: Effects on the Brain.” Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, vol. 8, no. 4, 8 Dec. 2006, pp. 445–61, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181836/, https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2006.8.4/jbremner.
Connor, Steve. “War, What Is It Good For? It Made Us Less Selfish.” The Independent, 4 June 2009, www.independent.co.uk/news/science/war-what-is-it-good-for-it-made-us-less-selfish-1697321.html.
Delude, Cathryn M. “Culture Influences Brain Function, Study Shows.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 11 Jan. 2008, news.mit.edu/2008/psychology-0111. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Evason, Nina. “Syrian – Core Concepts.” Cultural Atlas, 2016, culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/syrian-culture/syrian-culture-core-concepts#syrian-culture-core-concepts. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Le, Emilie. “How Collective Trauma Can Bond Groups of People Together.” Discover Magazine, 2024, www.discovermagazine.com/mind/how-collective-trauma-can-bond-groups-of-people-together#. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
“Reasons Why Some People Are Always Late for Work | USC MAPP Online.” Usc.edu, 2023, appliedpsychologydegree.usc.edu/blog/reasons-why-some-people-are-always-late-to-work. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Youth Neuropsychology Society 