sociocultural approach: cultural influences on individual attitudes, identity and behaviours Flashcards
enculturation
the process by which people learn the appropriate and necessary skills and norms in the context of their culture
3 ways to learn skills and norms (explain them)
direct tuition, refers to your parents telling you what to do
participatory learning
observation, links to Social Cognitive Theory, it is watching the model do something, and participatory learning is where children engage in an activity and then transfer that learning to later situations
behavioural effect of enculturation
gender role stereotypes
gender role
a social role encompassing a range of behaviours and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate or desirable for people based on their biological or perceived sex
fagot 1978, aim
To investigate the roles parents may play on gender role development
fagot 1978, method
Toddlers and their parents were observed in their homes using an observation checklist. The researchers wanted to examine the parental reaction when the behaviour of the child was not stereotypically ‘gender appropriate’.
fagot 1978, results
Parents reacted more favourably when the child was engaged in gender-appropriate behaviour and was more likely to give negative responses to gender-inappropriate behaviours. After the study, Fagot interviewied the parents and found that the parents perceptions of their interactions with their toddlers did not correlate with the observations.
fagot 1978, conclusion
This showed Fagot that the reactions are not a concious behaviour. This study suggests that we learn gender-role stereotypes and gender-appropriate behaviour through our interactions with our parents. Direct tuition can be seen as when the parent reacts negatively to the toddler’s stereotypically gender inappropriate behaviour, the toddler is then deterred from this behaviour and is less likely to repeat that behaviour.
fagot 1978, strengths
Naturalistic, high ecological validity, in the parent’s home so observed interactions were likely to be natural and realistic
fagot 1978, weaknesses
Demand characteristics as it was an overt observation, parents could have changed their behaviour to be seen more favourably, reducing validity of the findings
Does not show the effect on children
smith and Lloyd, aim
to see how gender labelling would affect toy choice for children
smith and Lloyd, method
They got new mothers to play with six month old babies, however they were unaware of the babies’ gender.
The babies were cross-dressed, meaning that if the baby was a boy, it was dressed and named as a girl but if the baby was a girl, it was dressed and named as a boy.
The mother and the child were then put into a room with gendered toys, such as footballs for a boy and dolls for a girl.
The interactions between the mother and the child were filmed.
smith and Lloyd, results
Smith and Lloyd found that mothers chose toys that matched their perception of the gender of the baby and they were also more active when they thought the baby was a boy
smith and Lloyd, conclusion
This study suggests that the way parents interact with a child may play a role in enculturation, teaching the child what is appropriate behaviour in their culture. In this case, the appropriate behaviour is the toys they play with and accepted levels of physical activity.
smith and Lloyd, strengths
Lab experiment, highly standardised, same toys presented for each mother
smith and Lloyd, weaknesses
Lacks mundane realism as they are not their children however it still does represent stereotypes
Doesn’t show us whether the mothers’ reactions have an effect on behaviour
enculturation, critical thinking
SCT suggests that children learn gender role stereotypes by imitating their mothers
SCT can’t explain significant variation in the degree of childrens’ conformity
Too many variables- cannot restrict enculturation to modelling of behaviour
Most research is correlational- can’t establish cause and effect relationship between parents teaching cultural norms & childrens’ behaviour and cognition
Other variables- genetics & biological differences
Low predictive power- doesn’t explain why some don’t conform
Most caregivers are female- makes us question how boys learn cultural norms
→ highlights the importance of peers & socialising factors
It is a complex process which occurs over time
acculturation
people may change as a result of contact with other cultures in order to assimilate with a new culture
2 types of acculturation + example of each
Voluntary → migrant workers
Involuntary → refugees
acculturation strategies used by individuals proposed by Berry (1974)
assimilation
integration
marginalisation
separation
assimilation
when an individual abandons their original culture and adopts the cultural behaviour of their new culture
integration
when there is an interest in adopting the behaviours and values of the new culture, while still maintaining their original culture
separation
when migrants maintain their own culture and minimise contact with the new culture
marginalisation
when it is not really possible to maintain one’s original culture, but because of exclusion or discrimination, it is not possible to assimilate into the new culture
acculturative stress (culture shock)
↳ psychological and social difficulties that may accompany acculturation, often resulting in anxiety, depression and other forms of mental and physical stress
↳ reduction in the mental health and wellbeing of ethnic minorities that occurs during the process of adaptation to a new culture
miranda and matheny (2000), aim
to see which factors in the lives of Latino immigrants to the US would decrease the levels of acculturative stress
miranda and matheny (2000), method
random sample of 197 Latino immigrants to the US. questionnaire and series of standardised tests to assess family cohesion, level of acculturation, acculturative stress and coping strategies for stress
miranda and matheny (2000), results
Immigrants with effective strategies, good proficiency in English, and a strong family structure were less likely to experience acculturative stress.
Immigrants who had spent a longer time in the US were less likely to demonstrate this stress and show a higher level of acculturation
miranda and matheny (2000), conclusion
Acculturation may lead to acculturative stress if the immigrant has not integrated or assimilated into the new culture.
Many protective factors that may influence the extent to which an individual acculturates and the effect this will have on mental health
miranda and matheny (2000), strengths
Standardised
Low gender bias
Ethical: informed consent, no deception, confidential, right to withdraw, protected from harm
miranda and matheny (2000), weaknesses
Not generalisable- only carried out on Latino cultures
Social desirability bias- false responses
Correlational
Questionnaires and tests are reductionist- conclusions drawn may be influenced by multiple factors e.g. biological
lueck and wilson 2010, aim
to investigate the variables that may predict acculturative stress in a nationally representative sample of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans
lueck and wilson 2010, sample
2095 Asian immigrants- several different Asian cultures including Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese
lueck and wilson 2010, method
Semi-structured interviews, either face-to-face or over the internet (interviewers had cultural and linguistic backgrounds similar to those of the target population), randomly selected sample of PPS was contacted to validate the data taken from their interview
Interviews measured the PPS level of acculturative stress and measured: impact of language proficiency, language preference, discrimination, social networks, family cohesion and socioeconomic status on acculturative stress
lueck and wilson 2010, results
Results
70% had acculturative stress
Less likely to have acculturative stress → bilingualism, sharing similar beliefs as family, satisfaction with economic opportunities
More likely to have acculturative stress → speaking only English, negative treatment
lueck and wilson 2010, conclusion
Integration is the best acculturation strategy to reduce acculturative stress. Because only speaking English is a predictor for high stress and bilingualism is preferred
Acculturation is likely to lead to acculturative stress if an immigrant assimilates to their culture and loses aspects of their native culture
lueck and wilson 2010, strengths
Semi-structured interviews → more personal than questionnaires, allow for follow up questions (if interesting or unclear response), avoids issue of misunderstanding or an ambiguous/ undeveloped answer
Large sample which is representative
Diverse sample
lueck and wilson 2010, weaknesses
Semi-structured interviews → time consuming, costly, need to train interviewers, open to interviewer effects (interviewer’s characteristics may lead to the interviewee disclosing more/ less information)
Construct of acculturative stress and level of acculturation are quite subjective
→ a reported level of economic satisfaction differs to that of another person
→ measuring the extent to which one shares values with family assumes that values of Asian culture are the same for all families
Only Asian sample, certain assumptions made by Asians which could result in ‘ecological fallacy’ e.g. assumptions that cultures are collectivist without measuring each individual level of collectivism
acculturation, critical thinking
Complex
Holistic approach to understanding human health & wellness → hard to know the extent to which the variables involved play a role
Refugees, maybe trauma, can’t go back home → different to international workers who plan to go back home (no acculturation benefit)
Berry’s model is helpful but simplistic
→ labels people as having a ‘strategy’ but strategies are context-dependant
→ is in one direction → immigrants must fit mainstream culture → hierarchical
→ doesn’t understand that culture changes over time, “Culture is dynamic”- Matsumoto
