Sociocultural Approach: HL Globalization

Question 1

What is globalization?

Answer 1

• the process of interaction and integration among people of different nations
• the movement towards a unifying, global culture and a set of values based on individualism, free-market economics, and democracy

Question 2

What is local culture?

Answer 2

• the culture I am enculturated into

Question 3

What is global culture?

Answer 3

• the culture I am acculturated into

Question 4

Becker et al (2002) - aim

Answer 4

• to measure the role of globalization on attitudes toward body weight in Fiji
• wanted to see if introducing TV to the island would lead to an increase in eating disorders

Question 5

Becker et al (2002) - procedure

Answer 5

• prospective study - behaviors of the participants were measured prior to the introduction of TV into their culture
• natural experiment - TV was not an independent variable that was manipulated by the researcher
• Fijian culture focuses on having a large appetite - larger bodies are more desirable (up until this study there was only 1 reported case of anorexia in the islands of Fiji)
• 2 samples of Fijian school girls (aged 16-18)
• girls were given surveys and an interview to confirm survey results

Question 6

Becker et al (2002) - findings & conclusion

Answer 6

• researchers found a significant increase in negative attitudes toward body weight and a higher rate of dieting and purging behavior
• most girls reported that TV made them think differently about their bodies

Question 7

Becker et al (2002) - evaluation

Answer 7

strengths:
- prospective study: change over time
- other studies have shown the introduction of Western media in places like China and India had led to similar results

limitations:
- natural experiment: no controls for confounding variables
- cannot be replicated so it’s not easy to determine the reliability of the results
- imposed etic approach (test given was a Western test) - researchers are assuming that the behaviors will be like behaviors in the West (does show increased ED)

Question 8

What is Hikikomori?

Answer 8

• a disorder in which people isolate themselves from society due to internal/external pressures
• mainly seen in Japan

Question 9

N and Uchida (2014) - aim

Answer 9

• to find out what happens when there is a conflict between one’s local and global culture

Question 10

N and Uchida (2014) - procedure

Answer 10

• correlational study to see if there’s a correlation between a person’s attitudes about conformity and collectivism, their local culture, and the risk of Hikikomori
• given a test to see their risk level for hikikomori and a test to see their level of collectivism and attitudes toward Japanese society

Question 11

N and Uchida (2014) - findings & conclusion

Answer 11

• participants at high risk for hikikomori were also those who scored low on local culture (not agreeing with conformity in Japanese society) and global culture (not identifying with the internet world)
• indicates that isolation increases the risk of hikikomori

Question 12

N and Uchida (2014) - evaluation

Answer 12

strengths:
- correlational study: compared data from different tests and found the relationship between variables

limitations:
- no cause and effect relationship was found
- bidirectional ambiguity - not clear whether alienation leads to hikikomori or whether the nature of hikikomori leads to feelings of alienation
- information from surveys - may be subject to demand characteristics where the participants may fill it out in a way to be more socially acceptable
- although they were at a risk for hikikomori, they don’t actually have it - concern about the validity of findings