SCLOA - outline & explain how SCLOA principles can be demonstrated in research

Question 1

principles of SCLOA

Answer 1

Principle 1: The social and cultural environment influences individual behaviour
Principle 2: We want connectedness with and a sense of belonging to others.
Principle 3: We construct our conceptions of the individual and social self.

Question 2

Principle 1

Answer 2

The social and cultural environment influences individual behaviour
Social: Bandura (1965)
Cultural: Berry (1967)

Question 3

Social Learning Theory

Answer 3

Coined by Bandura.
Assumes that humans learn behaviour via observational learning, with:
- attention
- retention
- motor reproduction
- motivation

Question 4

factors determining whether social learning will occur

Answer 4

• consistency of model’s behaviour
• identification with the model
• incentives (rewards/punishments)

Question 5

characteristics of individualistic cultures

Answer 5

• focus on self > others
• individual autonomy and self-expression encouraged
• people are viewed as unique individuals

Question 6

characteristics of collectivistic cultures

Answer 6

• focus on others > self

- individual autonomy and self-expression not encouraged.

Question 7

effect of individualist/collectivist cultures on conformity

Answer 7

Berry (1967):

• replicated Asch (1951) with Temne people and Inuits
• found that Temne people conformed significantly more
• likely due to the cooperative nature of their economy
• so social agreement is important for the Temne
• in contrast, Inuits forage for resources individually

Question 8

Principle 2

Answer 8

We want connectedness with and a sense of belonging to others
Main study: Asch (1951)

Question 9

Asch (1951) - Summary

Answer 9

• participants were put in groups with confederates and asked to judge the length of a line
• confederates made obvious misjudgements
• but only 24% of participants didn’t conform at all
• when asked why they conformed, participants said it was to avoid social disapproval/criticism
• Most participants said felt a need to feel accepted by the rest of the group
• the ‘group’ also includes the experimenter (some said they did not want to ruin the experiment)

Question 10

Principle 3

Answer 10

We construct our conceptions of the individual and social self
Main study: Tajfel et al. (1971)

Question 11

Tajfel et al. (1971) - Summary

Answer 11

• participant groups chosen arbitrarily (participants were led to believe the groups were chosen by a preference for paintings by Klee or Kandinsky)
• social identity still established despite the arbitrary method used to form groups
• participants showed strong tendency to award more points to in-group members
• some would give up point gains for their in-group just to make sure there was a difference in points between in-group and out-group
• despite working individually, boys still regarded themselves as belonging to a group
• study also supports the notion of in-group favouritism and positive distinctiveness