3 (sociocultural) Flashcards
HOFSTEDE + INDIVIDUALISM/COLLECTIVISM
Hofstede investigated the specific traits/behavioral patterns seen across different cultures by establishing the concept of cultural dimensions. One of the cultural dimensions he identified was individualism versus collectivism. Individualism is a social theory that values individual achievement, freedom, and self-reliance. Collectivism is a social theory that believes in social harmony, helping others, and sharing responsibility. This phenomenon is investigated in Berry‘s study and Kulkofsky’s study.
BERRY: The aim of Berry’s study was to compare the level of conformity between 2 societies. The study involved showing the Temnes (rice farmers, collectivists) and the Inuits (hunters, individualists) a set of lines and asking them to match the lines of the same length. On the third out of six rounds, they were told that either the Temnes or Inuits, depending on the group they belonged to, were more likely to guess a specific line pairing together. The suggested line pairing was incorrect, however this was kept unknown to the participant. The results found that the Temnes had a higher level of conformity than the Inuits.
KULKOFSKY: The aim of Kulkofsky’s study was to see if the rate of flashbulb memories differed in individualist versus collectivist cultures. The study involved adults from either China, Germany, Turkey, the U.K., or the U.S. recalling as many memories regarding public events as they could. Then, they were asked questions about the event. The results found that individualist cultures placed greater emphasis on personal involvement and emotional experiences in FBM than collectivist cultures.
SOCIAL IDENTITY THEORY
The social identity theory states that a person has multiple personal identities that correspond to group membership. Social identity theory predicts that when one of our social identities becomes salient, meaning we become more aware of that part of our identity, it will influence our behavior. This theory is investigated in Tajfel’s study and Druy’s study.
TAJFEL: The aim of Tajfel’s study was to investigate if intergroup discrimination would take place from specific groupings. The study involved asking teenage boys to rate paintings, where they were then allocated to a group based on the painting they chose. Then, the boys were asked to assign points to a boy from their in-group and a boy from their out-group. The results found that the boys generally awarded more points to the members of their in-group rather than to members of their out-group. This study supports the social identity theory.
DRUY: The aim of Druy’s study was to test the effect of in-group bias. The study involved self-identified Manchester United fans being told to walk to a location, during which a confederate would fall over in front of them. The confederate was either wearing a Manchester United, Liverpool, or plain shirt depending on the experimental group. The results found that the participants were more likely to help the Manchester United fan than the Liverpool fan or person wearing a plain shirt. This study supports the social identity theory
SOCIAL COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY
The social cognitive learning theory was developed by Albert Bandora. It suggests that behavior is learned from the environment through modeling and reinforcement. This theory is investigated in Bandura’s study and Joy, Kimball & Zabrack’s study.
BANDURA: The aim of Bandura’s study was to investigate whether children could learn aggressive behavior by watching the behavior of adults. The children in the study were subdivided into groups based on their pre-established “aggression level”. The children first individually observed the behavior of the adult model, which would either act aggressively or not aggressively to a Bobo doll, based on the condition. Then, the children were taken into an alternate room where they were left alone with a Bobo doll and their behavior was observed. The results found that children exposed to the aggressive condition made more aggressive acts towards the doll than children who were in the non-aggressive condition. This study supports the social cognitive learning theory.
JOY, KIMBALL, AND ZABRACK: The aim of Joy, Kimball, and Zabrack’s study was to investigate the impact of television on children’s aggressive behavior. The study involved 3 towns, 2 with previous exposure to television and 1 with no exposure to television. The children’s behavior was observed before the study began and 2 years after the television and/or a specific channel was introduced to the towns. The results found that aggressive behavior increased after introducing the channel to the town with no previous exposure to television, but the aggressive behavior did not increase in the other 2 towns. This study supports the social cognitive learning theory.
STEREOTYPES
A stereotype is a social perception of an individual in terms of group membership and physical attributes. Stereotypes are generalizations made about a group and then attributed to members of that group. The generalizations can be positive or negative. In some cases, stereotypes can influence the behavior of the individual who has them. Stereotypes are investigated in Steele and Aronson’s study and Payne’s study.
STEELE AND ARONSON: The aim of Steele and Aronson’s study was to see how stereotypes affect test performance in African Americans. The study involved administering a test to Black and White participants. In the first condition, the focus of the test was on verbal ability. In the second condition, the focus of the test was on problem solving. The results found that African Americans did poorly compared to the white participants when they were told they were being tested on verbal ability. However, they did equally as well as white participants when they were told they were being tested on their problem-solving skills.
PAYNE: The aim of Payne’s study was to test how stereotyping can affect one’s ability to recognize whether an item is a weapon or not. The study involved participants completing a timed test where they identified tools versus weapons with either a Black male or white male holding them. The results found that the participants were more likely to misidentify a tool as a gun when the person holding it was Black.
ENCULTURATION
Enculturation is the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates its practices and values. Enculturation influences the individual to act according to the standards of the new culture in order to fit in. Enculturation is investigated in Fagot’s study and Wood’s study.
FAGOT: Fagot’s study involved researchers observing the behavior of parents as their children acted “gender appropriately” and “gender inappropriately”. The results found that the parents reacted more favorably to the child when its behavior was “gender appropriate”. The parents were more likely to give negative responses to “gender inappropriate” behavior. Follow up interviews indicated that the behavior of the parents was often subconscious.
WOOD: The aim of Wood’s study was to examine gender role enculturation as a result of parenting and toy selection. The procedure involved matching an adult to a child where the adult was either the child’s own parent, a parent of another child, or a non-parent. The adult and the child had multiple play sessions where there were 5 “boy” toys, 5 “girl” toys, and 5 gender neutral toys. The toys the adult chose for the specific child was recorded. The results found that adults were more likely to choose masculine toys when playing with boys, however there was greater flexibility in the toys chosen when the adults played with girls.
ACCULTURATION
Acculturation is the process of cultural and psychological change that takes place as a result of contact between two or more cultural groups. Acculturation can cause changes in one’s behavior, whether it be quick or gradual. Acculturation is investigated in Miranda and Matheny’s study and Lueck and Wilson’s study.
MIRANDA AND MATHENY: The aim of Miranda and Matheny’s study was to see how acculturative stress could be decreased in Latino immigrants in the US. The procedure involved 197 Latino immigrants completing a questionnaire that would measure their level of acculturative stress. The researchers then asked questions about protective factors, which are factors that would decrease acculturative stress. The protective factors that they found were proficiency in English, effective coping skills, strong family structures, and the amount of time spent in the US.
LEUCK AND WILSON: The aim of Lueck and Wilson’s study was to see how acculturative stress could be decreased in Asian immigrants in the US. The procedure involved administering a semi-structured interview to 2095 Asian immigrants. The results found that the factors that decreased acculturative stress were being bilingual, sharing values with one’s family, and economic satisfaction. The factors that increased acculturative stress were preference for only speaking English and negative treatment by members of their new culture.
