7A - Social Groups and Culture Flashcards
What is a social group?
Social groups are essentially any group you are a part of.
- could be sporting teams, online communities, your colleagues at work or even your peers at school.
In-group definition
A group that an individual identifies with or belongs to.
Out-group definition
A group that an individual does not identify with or belong to.
Example of in-group and out-group
Sporting teams
Competitive sports is where you can see the idea of in-groups and out-groups really come to life.
- disliking the opposing team just because they’re not on your team.
Social norms definition
Spoken or unspoken rules or values that define or outline appropriate behaviour or experience within a group.
Example of spoken rules
A spoken rule or value within a sporting team could be “if you don’t turn up to training you don’t get any game time.”
- social norm within that group
Example of unspoken rules
An unspoken rule or value is that you and your friends are online every night at the same time to play games.
What three things individual behaviour is impacted by?
- Group norms
- Social loafing
- Social identity theory
Group norms definition
A norm is a standard, value, or rule that outlines an appropriate behaviour or experience.
- can be contained within a society, or it can be exclusive to a smaller group.
Group norm example
Formal - arriving at work on time
Informal - knocking on a door before you open it.
Social loafing definition
An individual’s reduction in effort when work is performed in a group as compared to individually, due to the belief that others will put in the effort.
Social loafing example
A student not contributing to the group task as they know the other students will do it for them and the teacher is not checking contributions
Social identity theory definition
The social identity theory outlines the tendency for people to favour their in-group over an out-group in order to enhance their sense of self-esteem.
Social identity theory example
Believing our psychology class is smarter than all the others (when we have no evidence of this).
Individualistic cultures definition
A culture that prioritises the needs and goals of individuals and values independence.
Collectivist cultures definition
A culture that prioritises the needs and goals of the group.
Individualistic cultures - Values
Uniqueness and independence
- Them as an individual
Individualistic cultures - The individual and individual needs
Come before group needs
Individualistic cultures - Relationships with others / when part of a group
- Competition occurs between individuals
- Dependence on others is discouraged
Collectivist cultures - Values
Interdependence
- How you communicate with other people
- How you work within a group
Collectivist cultures - The individual and individual needs
Are viewed as smaller parts of a larger whole
Collectivist cultures - Relationships with others / when part of a group
- Social harmony and group needs are seen as more important
- Individuals are more likely to act in ways that benefits the whole group
Example: culture and your job
- Consider an individual who has grown up in an individualistic culture. If that individual is offered a better paying job at a different company, even if it disrupts their current company they may be more likely to take up this offer.
- Whereas, consider someone who has grown up in a collectivist culture. They may choose to pursue a stable career in medicine or accounting to support their family rather than something they are personally interested in.
