The Impact of Cultural Background on Perception and Understanding in Learning: A Neuroscientific and Psychological Perspective

This paper explores the impact of cultural background on an individual's perception and understanding in the context of learning and training, through a neuroscientific and psychological lens. The aim is to synthesize key insights from interdisciplinary research, focusing on the connections between neuroscience, psychology, education, and culture. By reviewing a wide range of peer-reviewed studies, the paper examines how culture influences cognition, emotion, and morality. It also highlights the persistence of neuromyths among educators, particularly in Spanish-speaking countries and Latin America, and discusses their implications for pedagogical practices (Lithander et al., 2024; Gleichgerrcht et al., 2015). The paper examines neurobiological perspectives on cognition, emotion, and moral reasoning (Cohen, 2005; Shenhav et al., 2017), offering a deeper understanding of how cultural contexts shape emotional and moral behavior. Additionally, the review explores neuroscientific research on the neural mechanisms underlying social learning, memory, and hierarchy-related interactions, contributing to the understanding of the social dimensions of neuroscience (Pan et al., 2022). The role of creativity, brain plasticity, and physical activity in aging populations is also examined (Frith et al., 2022). Cognitive mechanisms, including rhythm perception (Grahn, 2012), intertemporal decision-making (Shenhav et al., 2017), and language development (Sussman et al., 2023), are analyzed from a neuroscientific perspective, providing insight into how the brain processes complex cognitive tasks. Furthermore, the paper discusses emerging research linking neuroscience with cultural anthropology (Sarto-Jackson et al., 2017), emphasizing the bidirectional influences between biology, environment, and behavior. By exploring how neuroscience informs transcultural psychiatry, social learning, and moral decision-making, the paper highlights the feedback loop between culture, behavior, and mental health (Choudhary & Kirmayer, 2009). In conclusion, this review emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches to better understand the brain, cognition, and behavior, and calls for further integration of neuroscientific, psychological, and cultural perspectives to advance our knowledge of human development, learning, and societal functioning.