This research in the Kingdom of Tonga studies whether Tongans think of democracy as a solution to the problems connected with the country's non-industrialized status. The research hypothesizes that many Tongans feel that their culture history is congruent with their monarchy, and explains the Tongan way of conceptualizing and realizing social relationships and social networks by a cultural model of "radiality." Over a period of 15 months including two months of fieldwork in Tonga, the investigator will use linguistic and cognitive anthropological theory and methods to investigate Tongan conceptions of and linguistic representations of social relationships. Data will be collected on observed interactions in public places; a survey of social networks in villages; and ego-centered cognitive networks. The ethnographic data will be digitized and represented as spatial relations. The project will analyze how Tongans actively use radial concepts in generating their political actions. The project also involves experts in social network analysis and in 3-D imaging, who will collaborate in developing the model of radiality. This investigation contributes substantially to current research in cognitive science about the modular organization of cognitive architecture, specifically, how mental modules are related.
Broader impacts:
The new knowledge to be produced by this project will be of interest to politicians
and development specialists planning for reactions to newly introduced democratic
concepts and institutions. The project will increase our understanding of the
impact of cultural models on behavior, and more specifically, how political
action is often rooted in culturally preferred ways of representing and organizing
knowledge.