Cross-Cultural Psychology Flashcards
Sense of Community (McMillan and Chavis)
Membership
Feeling a sense of belonging to a group or society. Membership usually requires an individual to invest a part of themselves within the group of that they feel a right to belong
Influence and Conformity
Influence is convincing individuals to do something that you want them to do, while conformity is behaving in a similar way to those around you that is socially acceptable within the social group. Influence predicts community formation in 4 ways:
* Individuals most attracted to community if they feel they can exert influence, even just to share opinions and ideas
* There is positive correlation between influence leading to conformity by broup members and the level of cohesion within a groups. Both effect the strength of community
*THe need for conformity is determined by the group as a whole and leads to increased cohesion. Thus, the pressure to present a united front works to enhance closeness with the group rather than reflect struggle for power
* The influence of one member of the group and the influence of the community as a whole are closely connected. The more individual within a group who present as a united front the more connected and influential the community is percieved to be.
Integration and the Fulfilment of Needs
Can be thought as the role of reinforcement - keeping group memebers happy and content within the community by solidifying their mission or rewarding certain behaviours. Reinforcement and needs fulfilment are a large part of a successful community – so to increase group success - rewards must be available to the members of the group to encourage and motivate them to behave in particular ways
Shared Emotional Connection
Individual members of a group feeling a sense of connectedness to the communities history or emotional. 7 features used to access shared emotional connection:
Contect hypothesis, quality of interaction, closure to events, shared valent event hypothesis, investment, effect of honour and humiliation on community members
Sense of Community
Define community
Describes not only the geopraphical location in which people live, but an explanation of the relationships that exist within that particular group of people.
Culture
Define culture
The standard or norms that a particular group of people have for the way they live. Can include beliefs, values and even rituals. It is a dynamic system - fluid - and can change with each generation.
- Culture is all emcompassing - comprehensive
- Culture is NOT innate - taught and learnt
- Culture determines the limits of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Violations may lead to punishment
- Culture holds many invisible standards and rules
- Cultures are dynamic - ever-changing
Culture
Cultrual Perspective
Psychological investigation that considers the culture from which an individual came in order to explain behaviour. Interactions, ideals, morals, values - originate from their cultural background. Cultiure can determine how we mix and integrate with people of different cultures.
Cromprimise of cultures
Suggests a community that has collective or common rules so that the members of the community know these rules and can live by them. These surround music, clothing, food, emotions, beliefs, values.
Cultural Norm
Set of rules that a specific group ascrives to in order to decide if behaviours are appropriate or inappropriate. These norms are derived from the culture we live in.
Cultural Dimensions
Used to group cultures into categories based on values and overall beliefs.
Cultural Differences can be categorised in 4 key dimension:
Individualism and Collectiveism4
Cultural Diversity
The range of cultural normas or cultural traditions that exist within a society. Can be beneficial, however, if conflicts arise, this diversity can lead to stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination.
Formation of stereotypes and pejudice
Formation of prejudice includes all three components of ABC model.
Remember: Attitudes (A - affective; B - behavioural; C - cognitive)
Affective (how we feel) - when a particular action makes some one feel uncomfortable
Behaviour - cause people to act in prejudice
Cognitive (how we think) - stereotypes (a long standing belief that all members of a particular have a particular characteristic) - people think stereotypically about a group of people bc of stereotype/prejudice
Schemas
Schemas are mental representations of categories
Social categorisation or having a set of characteristics that are common for a specific group of people
Can lead to the formatin of stereotypes.
The role of culture in prejidice and the subsequent actions that result in discrimination must be fully consdiered to fully understand the role of culture in behaviour
Chalenges of Cultural Diversity
Perspectives behind the formation of prejudice
Biological perspctive
* Possible that prejudice is inherited trait. Links to evolutionary causes of prejudice - groups want to preserve their own way of life and keep gene pool consistent. Anything unknown to a a group is considered dangerous and to be avoided - leads to prejudice.
* Critisisms; most nations in todays society are multicultural with more ability to experience and learn about other cultures. It also oversimplifies the formation of predjudice
Cognitive Perspective
1. Psychodynamic - that prejudice can help satisfy the psychological needs of individuals (e.g. prejudice to divert attention away from other stressors)
2. Perception or Cognition - prejudice based on selective attention or selective memory. Focusing on negative behaviours of out-group creates a greater distinction between out and in group members. Increasing percieved differences in characteristics
Sociocultural Perspective
Refer to Tajfel (1970) - Social identity theory - stereotypes give us shortcuts for predicting or assuming the characteristics of individual’s we have not previously met. Sometimes considered to save mental space.
Challenges of Cultural Diversity
Expressions of prejudice
Xenophobia
A form of prejudice. Derived from fear of unfamiliar situations or strangers. Fear is attributed to individual percieved as part of an out-group, those physically different or having different views
Ethnocent
Reducing Prejudice
Factors that can reduce prejudice
- Intergroup Contact - increasing contact or exposure to a particular group of people can decrease prejudice. Opportunities to find similarities
- Sustained Contact - Increased duration of contact can combat stereotyping and prejudice
- Superordinate goals - Shared goals that are so big that no individual or single group could achieve success on their own. Requires cooperation from both groups in order to achieve the goal (e.g. Robbers Cave).
- Mutual Interdependence - Sheif’s (1961) Robbers Cave is again relevant. Where 2 groups depend/rely on eachother to meet goals. Shared visions, shared goals
- Equality - equal status contact - suggest that social interactions need to occur where there iis no power diference, and communication and actions are performed on the same level. If those who have prejudice against a particular group, have regular contact with the group - these interactions that exist must be one the same level
Reducing Prejudice
Contact Hypothesis
Increasing the interaction between groups that are in conflict can reduce conflict. By spending time together - stereotypes and misconceptions are broken down
