Social Definition

Question 1

Social identity theory

Answer 1

The theory that people perceive themselves in a certain way due to their membership of a particular social group. The three stages of social identity development are social categorisation, positive distinctiveness with one group, and social comparison – favourable comparison of one’s own group with others.

Question 2

Three stages of SIT

Answer 2

The three stages of social identity development are social categorisation,positive distinctiveness with one group, and social comparison – favourable comparison of one’s own group with others.

Question 3

Social identity

Answer 3

the self that emerges from social interactions.

Question 4

Personal identity

Answer 4

an individual’s self-knowledge derived from a person’s unique attributes, beliefs or values.

Question 5

Processes of social identity theory

Answer 5

• Social identification–Assume that individuals strive to improve their self image by trying to enhance their self esteem based on persona/social identities
• Social catergorization—People can boost their self-esteem through personal achievement or affiliation with successful groups based on social categorization (ingroup favoritism and outgroup discrimination)
• Social comparison: benefits of belonging in the ingroup, maintains ones self esteem
• Positive distinctiveness: an individual’s motivation to show that an in-group is preferable to an out-group

Question 6

Social cognitive theory

Answer 6

the theory that behaviour is acquired by observation or imitation of behaviour from other members of a group, based on the observed consequences of a behaviour.

Question 7

Conditions for SCT: (ARMP)

Answer 7

• Attention (pay attention to the behaviours)
• Retention (remember the features of the behaviour)
• Motivation (willingness to reproduce the behaviour)
• Potential (physically or mentally able to reproduce)

Question 8

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 8

Refers to the idea that an individual is both influenced by, and exerts an influence on, their environment.
This means that society and culture can influence individuals, but individuals can also influence society and culture.

Question 9

Cultural dimensions

Answer 9

Cultural dimensions theory is a framework for cross-cultural communication developed by Hofstede. It describes the effects of a society’s culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behaviour.

•Individualism VS collectivism
• Power distance index(PDI)
• Masculinity VS femininity
•Uncertainty avoidance index
Long-term VS short-term orientation
• Indulgence VS restraint

Question 10

Stereotype

Answer 10

A stereotype is a oversimplified and generally fixed perception about a group of people.
They are a system of categorisation that allow us to predict the behaviour of others.

Question 11

Stereotype developments

Answer 11

• Social Identity Theory (Tajfel)
• Self-categorization Theory
• Social Cognitive Theory
• Confirmation bias

Question 12

Illusory correlation

Answer 12

When two relatively unusual events occur simultaneously, and incorrect inference is drawn from this co‐occurrence (People overestimate the link between two variables)

Question 13

Stereotype effects

Answer 13

• Stereotype threat

- Spotlight anxiety

Question 14

Stereotype threat

Answer 14

The idea that people feel at risk of conforming to stereotypes about themselves

Question 15

Spotlight anxiety

Answer 15

underperformance due to emotional distress and pressure

Question 16

Self-fullfilling prophecy

Answer 16

Schemas and stereotypes can cause people to change the way that they think about themselves and influence their behaviour. People can unconsciously change their behaviour, causing the schema/expectation to become true.

Question 17

Etic approach

Answer 17

Outsider lab approach, cultural practices and beliefs are examined as if from above or outside the culture.

Question 18

A universalist perspective

Answer 18

A universalist perspective proposes that psychological concepts and theories apply in the same way across cultural groups, but that the way these concepts manifest themselves in behaviours can change.

Question 19

Emic approach

Answer 19

Insider prioritize trying to understand a culture from within( from the perspective of people who live in that culture)

Question 20

A relativist perspective

Answer 20

A relativist perspective proposes that psychological concepts and theories cannot be applied across cultural groups, because these groups differ so substantially.

Question 21

Enculturation

Answer 21

the process by which people learn the necessary and appropriate skills and norms in the context of their culture.

Question 22

Acculturation

Answer 22

People may change as a result of contact with other cultures in order to assimilate with a new culture.

Question 23

Four acculturation stages:

Berry’s acculturation models

Answer 23

• integration
• assimilation
• separation
• marginalisation

Question 24

Integration

Answer 24

Individuals maintain their heritage culture, but interact with other groups and adopt some norms of the new culture.

Question 25

Assimilation

Answer 25

Individuals adopt the norms of the new culture, and do not maintain their heritage culture identity.

Question 26

Separation

Answer 26

Individuals maintain the norms of their heritage culture, and do not adopt the norms of the new culture.

Question 27

Marginalisation

Answer 27

Individuals do not maintain their heritage culture, do not interact with other groups and do not adopt norms of the new culture.

Question 28

Culture identity

Answer 28

The feeling of belonging to a certain group or culture and the sense of self that is gained from this.

Question 29

Global culture

Answer 29

• Based on individualism, free-market economics and democracy(US based)
• Cultural globalization contributes to an increasing interconnectedness among different people and cultures because it involves the formation of shared norms and knowledge.
• Globalization process has resulted in the destruction of cultural identities.

Question 30

Local/heritage culture

Answer 30

The culture that we grow up in and share with others

Question 31

Effects of globalization on identity:

Arnett’s Theory on biculturalism

Answer 31

Transformations in identity
Bicultural identity:combines both the local culture and the global culture
Problem: identity confusion or a sense of marginalization
Delocalization: globalization increases the proportion of young people who have a global consciousness, but very little connection to the place where they live.

Question 32

Three components of behaviour

Answer 32

1. Affective component
   A person’s feelings or emotions about a person, event or object
2. Behavioural component
   The way the attitude affects how we behave
3. Cognitive component
   A person’s beliefs or knowledge about a person, event or object

Question 33

Evaluation of SIT

Answer 33

Strengths:
- High testability
- Supported by empirical research
The strengths of Social Identity Theory could also be evaluated from different aspects. The mechanisms of social categorization and social comparison are observable and measurable. Thus the concepts that make up the theory are well-defined which establish the construct validity. It is unbiased as it includes all human beings regardless of the culture, gender and social class.

Limitations:
In synthesizing the theory, there are some limitations to SIT. It is a reductionist approach because it excludes other factors which might affect the results, such as the social environment. It doesn’t fully predict human behaviours because social comparison doesn’t influence personal identity and sometimes personal identity might be stronger than the group identity.

Question 34

Evaluation of SCT

Answer 34

Strengths:

- Broad application--develop programs in educational setting, research on parenting style help to develop the altruistic personality of their children at an early age
- High real-world applicability-- Positive social implications-- positive reinforcement to encourage certain behaviours that are valued by the society ( prosocial) 
- Easily replicable/ adaptable in the real-life setting 

Limitations:

• Did not acknowledge the complexity of personalities and biological differences– humans respond differently to the same situation/ behaviour
• Observation does not always lead to imitation
• Media– lead to violence in children
• Research methodologies lack ecological validity
• Biases– cultural bias (cultural differences in parenting style), gender bias, age bias
• Ignore the changes of personality/ behaviour overtime– more longitudinal studies are needed
• Reductionist– based on the assumption that individuals learn through observation, did not consider other factors, e.g. cognitve process of decision-making/ the role of emotion
• Lack construct validity– the concepts of observation and motivation/ retention are not well-established, elements are not clear
• Difficult to control extranous variables in the theory– consider the context

Question 35

Conformity

Answer 35

Conformity: behaviour that goes along with the social conventions, social norms, social standards and so on.
Informational conformity: people conform because they want to be ‘right’
Normative conformity: people conform because they want to ‘fit in’ (e.g. Asch’s paradigm)