lesson 6

Question 1

Ingroup relationship

Answer 1

characterized by some degrees of familiarity, intimacy, and trust
- we feel close to the people around us that we consider our “ingroup”
-

Question 2

Outgroup relationship

Answer 2

lacks familiarity, intimacy, and trust- unlike the ingroup

Question 3

Is the ingroup-outgroup relationship dichotomous?

Answer 3

yes, it is dichotomous,
but, there are differing degrees in familiarity or intimacy even within one group. this classification helps us understand our behavior with others

Question 4

differences in ingroup/outgroup btwn individualistic and collectivistic cultures ( Triandis et al (1998))

Answer 4

• major (ingroup/outgroup) differences were found btwn individualistic and collectivistic cultures in terms of their meanings, consequences and relations to the self
• there’s less of an ingroup/outgroup distinction in individualistic cultures
• in collectivistic cultures there’s a big distinction btwn ingroup and outgroup

Question 5

ingroup/outgroup in individualistic cultures:

Answer 5

• people have more ingroups (and are not generally attached to any single group)
  ex: sports groups, church groups, social groups, etc.
• people have less commitment to the ingroups they belong to
• people do not necessarily fuse their identity or sense-concept into the ingroups
• people make relatively fewer distinctions btwn ingroups and outgroups

Question 6

Ingroups/Outgroups in collectivistic cultures

Answer 6

• people have fewer ingroups
• greater commitments to their ingroups
  (feel obligated to provide social support)
• people identify themselves more w the ingroup
  (becomes an integral part of self-concept/identity)
• people make greater distinctions btwn ingroup/outgroup

ex: doctors giving extra care to patients in their ingroup

Question 7

differences in helping behavior across cultures (ingroup/outgroup)

Answer 7

factors affecting the decision to help:
- responsibility of help seeker for that predicament
- cost of help
- group membership: whether the person needing help is part of one’s ingroup or outgroup

some studies have shown that group membership is particularly important to those in collectivistic cultures

Neumonic: helping someone on the street - are you responsible? It costs ten dollars, I know you

Question 8

aggression

Answer 8

any act or behavior that hurts another person physically or psychologically

Question 9

Is being aggressive biological or cultural

Answer 9

although some research suggests that the tendency to be aggressive is biologically bast, most psychologists would agree that there is a large learning and environmental component to agression
- aggression is a “learned” behavior in the culture one belongs to
- some cultures or environments foster or suppress agressions

Question 10

Research on Culture and aggression (environmental)

Answer 10

set of studies that show environment is often responsible for higher rates of aggression

Robbins, DeWalt & Pelto (1972)
- reported countries w hotter/ humid climates have higher murder rates

Anderson and Anderson (1996)
- same results found in US

Question 11

Bond, Wan, Leong & Giacalone (1985)

Answer 11

• study on aggressive insults and criticism in Hong Kong and US
• studied how participants reacted to insults and critisim from a boss
• the behavior was perceived as less agressive and more acceptable by the Hong Kong participants than the US participants
• in collectivistic cultures, the power distance is relatively higher, aggression from a boss is more accepted

Neumonic: Hong Kong James Bond is more aggressive saying “I’m the boss”

Question 12

power distance

Answer 12

refers to the degree of inequality in power btwn individuals

• one of Hofstedes’ dimensions

Question 13

Cohen, Nisbett, Bowdle, & Schwarz (1996)

Answer 13

reporded “cultural” differences w/in US (North vs South)
- recorded reactions from participants (European American Males) when insulted by a confederate in the study
- northerners relatively unaffected, while Southerners perceived more threat to their rep
(they were more primed for aggression- measured cortisol and testosterone levels)
- researchers interpreted this as showing culture of “honor” in southern US

Neumonic: southern Catherine cohen defending her honor, hurting people that insult her

Question 14

conformity

Answer 14

refers to when someone does something (performs an act) because everyone else is doing it (despite lack of an explicit request)

different from compliance, because in compliance there is an request

Question 15

compliance

Answer 15

people do what they are asked to do (although they would prefer not to)

different from conformity because someone is asking

Question 16

conformity study by Solomon Asch (1951)

Answer 16

• participants asked to make simple judgements : line segments with 3 answer choices, choose the one with the same length
• everyone besides the real participants were confederates - 37% of the participants conformed and gave wrong answer

Neumonic: choose which are the saloman shoes- everyone chooses wrong answer

Question 17

What was found in Cross-cultural studies on conformity

Answer 17

• many studies report that ppl in collectivistic cultures (e.g. East Asians) tend to engage in conforming behavior to greater degree than Americans

Question 18

Collectivistic vs Individualistic views on conformity

Answer 18

• ppl in collectivistic cultures (East Asia) tend to engage in conformity more than americans
• East asians value conformity while Americans have negative connotations with conformity

Question 19

Meta-analysis by Bond and Smith (1996)

Answer 19

effects of conformity (similar to Asch’s experiment) across studies including 133 studies conducted in 17 countries

conformity was higher when:
- the # of the majority is larger
- theres a greater proportion of female participants

most importantly:
- maginitude of conformity was significantly related to culture
(higher in collectivistic cultures)

Question 20

importance of “face” in Asian cultures

Answer 20

• “lose face”: not maintain your reputation/respect of others
• to speak or behave in a way that causes someone to “lose face” in Asia is equivalent to physical assault in the West
• can lead to disastrous outcomes (e.g. suicide)
• frankness in Asian cultures is likely perceived as rude, more subtle communication is the norm
  (e.g. saying no, expressing negative emotions, etc)
• westerners can perceive asians to be indirect or confusing for that reason
  ex: when a visitory brings a gift to your home- might refuse gift, but will eventually accept