Socio cultural Approach Flashcards
Define Social Identity theory
Social Identity Theory (SIT), proposed by Tajfel and Turner, explains how individuals derive part of their identity from the social groups they belong to.
It suggests that people strive to maintain a positive self-concept by positively distinguishing their in-groups from out-groups.
SIT is composed of three cognitive processes: social categorization, social identification, and social comparison.
Define social categorization
Social categorization is the process of dividing people into groups based on shared characteristics, such as ethnicity, nationality, or even arbitrary traits.
Define social identification
After categorization, individuals engage in social identification, adopting the norms and behaviors of their in-group, which becomes part of their self-concept.
Define social comparison
After social identification,individuals often perform social comparison, where they compare their in-group to out-groups to boost self-esteem, often resulting in in-group bias
Tajfel et al aim
The aim of Tajfel et al was to investigate whether simply being assigned to a group is enough to lead individuals to show in-group favoritism and discrimination against out-groups, even when the groups were meaningless.
Tajfel et al procedure
In the procedure, the researchers used the minimal group paradigm. (define minimal group paradigm). Schoolboys were randomly assigned to groups based on insignificant preferences, such as which abstract painting they liked more. These groups had no real meaning or prior relationships. The boys were then asked to allocate points to other participants, knowing only whether each person was in their in-group or the out-group. This setup allowed researchers to test whether mere group membership would influence their behavior.
FIndings of Tajfel et al
The findings showed that the boys consistently favored their in-group members when distributing points, often choosing to maximize the difference between groups rather than the overall reward. This demonstrated that even minimal group membership was enough to create in-group bias, supporting the claims of Social Identity Theory.
Define social cognitive theory
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), proposed by Albert Bandura, explains how people learn behaviors by observing and imitating others within a social context.
What does SCT argue
The theory argues that individuals are more likely to imitate someone they perceive as similar to themselves and that identification occurs when there is a sense of self-efficacy. Additionally, vicarious reinforcement increases the likelihood of imitation
Bashing bobo - Albert bandura aim
The aim of Bandura’s study was to investigate how children’s behavior could be influenced by observing an adult role model, specifically whether they would imitate aggressive behavior toward a Bobo Doll
Bashing bobo - Albert bandura procedure
In the procedure, young boys and girls were pre-tested for aggression and then divided into three groups: one observed an aggressive model, one observed a passive model, and the third was the control group. The children were then further subdivided by gender. The study took place in three stages. In the first, the children observed the adult model behaving aggressively or passively towards a Bobo Doll. In the second stage, children were subjected to “mild aggression arousal” by being frustrated with toys they couldn’t play with. In the final stage, children were taken to a room with both aggressive (a mallet, dart guns etc)and non-aggressive toys(crayons, bears), including a Bobo Doll, where their behavior was observed for 20 minutes.
Bashing bobo - Albert bandura findings
The findings showed that children who saw the aggressive model made more aggressive acts than those who saw the non-aggressive model. Boys exhibited more aggression than girls overall. Boys in the aggressive condition showed more aggression if the model was male than if the model was female. Girls in the aggressive condition also showed more physical aggression if the model was male but more verbal aggression if the model was female. The only exception was in the observation of how often the children punched the Bobo Doll, where the gender effects were reversed.
Aim of Hamilton & Gifford
Hamilton and Gifford’s (1976) experiment aimed to investigate if distinctiveness based illusory correlations lead to stereotyping
Define Stereotypes
Stereotypes are generalized beliefs or assumptions about the characteristics of members of a particular group. They are often oversimplified and can be based on factors such as race, gender, or social class. These stereotypes can influence how individuals behave, perceive others, and are treated by society.
One theory of the formation of stereotypes
One theory of the formation of stereotypes is the Illusory Correlation Theory, which suggests that stereotypes arise when people perceive a relationship between two variables, even when none exists.
According to this theory, individuals tend to overestimate the association between rare events or behaviors and particular groups, which leads to the formation of biased beliefs. This phenomenon is known as distinctiveness-based illusory correlation.
Hamilton & Gifford procedure
In the study, participants were shown descriptions of two groups, Group A and Group B, each performing either positive or negative behaviors. Group A had a larger number of members, while Group B had fewer members.
After viewing the slides, participants were asked to rate the behaviors of members from both groups, deciding how likely they thought each group was to engage in both positive and negative behaviors.
Hamilton & Gifford findings
Despite both groups performing the same proportion of positive and negative behaviors, participants were more likely to associate the negative behaviors with Group B, the smaller group.
This suggests that participants formed a stereotype about Group B, perceiving them as more likely to engage in negative behaviors.
This is an example of distinctiveness-based illusory correlation, where the rarity of the smaller group led to an overestimation of their association with negative behaviors, even though there was no real difference in behavior between the two groups.
One effect of streotyping
One effect of stereotyping on behaviour is memory distortion, which occurs when people recall information in a way that fits their existing stereotypes.
These false associations can influence how people encode and retrieve information, often aligning their memories with stereotypical expectations.
Martin & Halverson aim
The aim of Martin and Halverson (1983) was to investigate how enculturated gender stereotypes/schemas influence children’s memory and recall of gender-related information
Martin & Halverson procedure
In the study, the researchers showed children a series of photographs of boys and girls engaging in gender-typical or gender-atypical activities. Afterward, the children were asked to recall what they had seen.
Martin & Halverson findings
The results showed that children were more likely to remember and accurately recall gender-appropriate behaviors (e.g., boys playing with trucks, girls playing with dolls) and were less likely to recall gender-inconsistent behaviors (e.g., boys playing with dolls or girls playing with trucks).
Furthermore, With gender-inconsistent image, many children misremembered the gender of the person in the image to match stereotypical expectations.
This demonstrates that children were enculturated into gender roles from an early age, which shaped how they processed and remembered information about gender.
Aim of Kulkofksy et al
The study investigated how individuals from different cultural backgrounds recall events such as the death of public figures or natural disasters.
Procedure of Kulkofsky et al
Kulkofsky et al. (2011) conducted their research across five countries: the United States, China, Germany, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Participants were asked to recall memories of a personal event as well as a public event (e.g., the death of Princess Diana).
The researchers then assessed the emotional intensity of the memory and how often it was discussed with others.
Kulkofsky et al findings
They found that cultural differences played a significant role in the formation and recall of flashbulb memories.
For example, participants from collectivist cultures like China were less likely to report detailed flashbulb memories compared to those from individualist cultures like the United States, where personal emotions and individual experiences are often emphasized.
This suggests that cultural dimensions, like individualism vs. collectivism, influence the emotional intensity of flashbulb memories and how they are recalled.
