SCLOA Content

Question 1

What does SLT suggest?

Answer 1

Much social behaviour is learned through observing and imitating others.
States that social behaviours are largely learned by watching other people behave aggressively, either in person or in films.
Learned also through being rewarded and reinforced for behaviours, either directly or indirectly by vicarious reinforcement.

Question 2

What are Bandura’s 4 steps to learning?

Answer 2

1. Attention: will pay more attention if person is prestigious-more attention to role models. Actions are remembered.
2. Reproduction: reproduce what we remember. Vicarious reinforcement not enough, imitation requires skill.
3. Reinforcement: Actions then reinforced either positively or negatively i.e rewarded or punished.
4. Motivation: depends on direct/indirect reinforcements and punishments. i.e rewarded motivation to repeat behaviour, punished motivated to not repeat behaviour.

Question 3

Define conformity

Answer 3

When people alter their behaviour to match the behaviour of a majority of others.

Question 4

What is normative social influence?

Answer 4

When an individual conforms to be liked and accepted.
People have a need for social approval and acceptance.
Research example: Asch 1951.

Question 5

What is informational social influence?

Answer 5

Individual turns to members of a group to get information about what is right.
Research example: Sherif 1935.

Question 6

How do group size influence conformity?

Answer 6

The number of people in a group affects conformity rates. Conformity increases up to about 7 people and then levels out.
Research example: Asch 1955.

Question 7

How does group unanimity influence conformity?

Answer 7

Breaking group unanimity is a factor in reducing conformity. When someone has a ‘supporter’.

Question 8

How do cultural dimensions influence conformity?

Answer 8

Individualism and collectivism.

Research example: Bond and Smith 1996.

Question 9

Define compliance

Answer 9

The modification of behaviour in response to a direct request, even though te person making the request has no power to enforce compliance.

Question 10

Door-in-the face

Answer 10

When a large request is followed by a small one. Has been proved much more effective than asking someone straight out for the same small donation.
Research: Cialdini et al 1975. (zoo)

Evaluation and why it works:
• Many studies support its effectiveness.
• Evidence suggests more effective than FITD.
• The norm of reciprocity-help those that help you. More powerful than overall liking for the person making the request.
• Worthy person hypothesis- guilt is induced by refusing a worthy cause.

Question 11

Low-balling

Answer 11

Low-balling:
An unreasonably low offer is made and when commitment is elicited, its replaced with a higher offer on the pretence that the lower could not be honoured.
Research: Cialidini et al 1978. (7am psy experiment)

Why does it work:
• Commitment to an individual seems more important than committing to the behaviour. (Burger and Petty-is sales manager takes over less likely.)
• Cognitive dissonance- after decision made we justify it to ourselves. If ot os then re-offered at a high price will experience uncomfortable state called cognitive dissonance if we then decide to pull out.
• More likely to continue with the deal, making our behaviour consistent with our attitude.

Question 12

What are situation factors?

Answer 12

when we attribute people’s behaviour to external factors such as the immediate rewards and punishments in a social setting or social pressure.

Question 13

What are dispositional factors?

Answer 13

when attributing the cause of people’s behaviour to their internal characteristics. Somebody’s beliefs, attitudes and personality.

Question 14

Define attribution

Answer 14

How people interpret and explain casual relationships in the social world. Humans have a need to understand why things happen.

Question 15

Heider (1958)

Answer 15

Developed Attribution Theory
Suggests: explain behaviour by either dispositional or situational factors. Our explanations differ depending on whether we are explaining our own behaviour or someone else’s.

Question 16

FAE

Answer 16

When people overestimate personality traits (dispositional factors) and underestimate environmental factors when they explain other peoples behaviour.

Question 17

SSB:

Answer 17

1. SSB: you explain your own behaviour, success to dispositional factors and failure to situational factors. Lau and Russel (1980).
   Cultural evaluation: Modesty bias in collectivist countries (Kashima and Triandis 1986).

Question 18

SIT

-Tajfel and Turner (1979)

Answer 18

A person’s sense of identity based on their group memberships. It is based on the assumption that individuals aim to improve their self-image by trying to enhance their self-esteem, based on personal identity or through social identities.

Question 19

3 main concepts of SIT

Answer 19

1. Social categorization- divide social environment into ingroups and outgroups, to which an individual belongs (us) and outgroups to which an individual doesn’t belong (them).
2. Social identification- idea about yourself based on the membership of a social group. Social and personal identities reflect groups you identify with.
3. Social comparison- making comparisons between ingroups and outgroups based in valued dimensions to establish, maintain and defend positive ingroup distinctiveness (positive distinctiveness).

Question 20

Strengths of SIT

Answer 20

• Drew distinction between personal identity and social identity and explored ways pf basic need to belong affects social interaction.
• Applied to understanding behaviours such as ethnocentrism, ingroup favouritism, conformity to ingroup norms and stereotyping.
• Demonstrated crucial role of social categorization in intergroup behaviour.

Question 21

Limitations of SIT

Answer 21

• Fails to explain why in some situations personal principles are stronger than identification with the group.
• Practical motivators eg poverty and rewards expected for being in the group are more important determinants of behaviour than group identity.
• Artificiality-experimental setup far from natural behaviour-> questioned whether reflects how people would react in real world. Could limit predictive value of the theory.

Question 22

What is a stereotype?

Answer 22

Social perception of an individual based in the group they belong to.

Question 23

Formation of stereotypes

-Social Cognitive Theory: Schema Theory

Answer 23

Social Cognitive Theory: Schema Theory
• Social world is very complex and presents too much information.
• Since capacity to process info is limited, there is a need to simplify our social world.
• Avoid information overload through social categorization (stereotypes).
• Stereotypes and schemas have following characteristics:
o Energy saving devices.
o Automatically activated.
o Stable and resistant to change.
o Affect behaviour.
Research: Cohen 1981.

Question 24

Formation of stereotypes

-SIT

Answer 24

• Social categorization. Link: reduces perceived variability of outgroup, make generalizations and see them all as the same.
• Social identity. Link: we conform to expectations/generalizations made about us.
• Social comparison and positive distinctiveness. Link: look at groups you aren’t in negatively to make your group seem better.

Research: Robbers cave Sherif

Question 25

Effects of stereotypes

-Stereotypes threat

Answer 25

Stereotype threat- occurs in situations where there is a threat of being judged or threatened stereotypically. Fear of doing something that would inadvertly conform to that stereotype.
Research: Steele and Aronson 1995

Question 26

Effects of stereotypes

-Spotlight anxiety

Answer 26

Spotlight anxiety- people overestimate how much attention people are paying to them which causes emotional distress and pressure that may undermine performance.
Research: Spencer et al 1977

Question 27

Cultural dimensions

-Individualism vs Collectivism

Answer 27

Individualism-Collectivism is whether the individual self is more important than societal connections. In individualist countries, such as the UK which has a score of 89, the personal is emphasised more than the social, people are viewed as unique, individualism and self-expression are valued and competitiveness and self-sufficiency are highly regarded. Whereas in collectivist cultures such as Fiji with a score of 14, the social is emphasised more than the personal, self is defined by long lasting relationships, individual autonomy are self-expression are not encouraged and emphasis in on achieving group harmony, not individual achievement.
Research: Bond and Smith (1996) on conformity

Question 28

Cultural dimensions

-Power Distance

Answer 28

Power distance is defined as ‘the extent to which the less powerful members of an organizations and institutions (like family) accept and expect that power is distributed equally’. In this dimension, inequality and power is perceived from the followers, or the lower level. A high degree of the index indicates that hierarchy is clearly established and executed in society. A lower degree of the index signifies that people question authority and attempt to distribute power.
Research: Galdwell Korea Air case study.

Question 29

Emic approach

Answer 29

Challenge traditional (western) views of behaviour.

• emphasises difference between countries
• behaviour patterns are unique to a culture
• insider perspective
• subjective

Question 30

Etic approach

Answer 30

tend to impose western view onto other cultures behaviour

• Emphasises similarities between countries.
• Assumes behaviour patterns universal.
• Outsider perspective.
• Objective.