Sociocultural Approach - Paper 1 Flashcards
Social Identity Theory
Developed in response to Realistic Group Conflict Theory (Sherif et al, 1954)
- Intergroup conflict (in-group favourism and out-group discrimination) is a result of limited resoures
- Belonging to social groups can only influence behaviour when resources are limited
- Re-analysis proved this false → intergroup conflict occurred prior to limited resources
Social Identity Theory states that:
1. Competition over resources is not necessary
2. Mere perception of belonging in a social group (social categorization) is sufficient to trigger intergroup conflict
3. Social categorization is linked to social identity
- Social identity is based on social comparison with members of other groups
4. People strive to achieve a positive social identity as it increases their self-esteem
5. Positive social identity is based on group distinctiveness (part of social comparison)
6. When social identity is not positive, people will seek changes to this
7. Either dissociating themselves from the group or making the existing group more positive
Social Identity Theory
Cialdini et al.
AIM: investigate the tendency to associate one’s self-publicity with successful others
METHOD: Field-experiment along with interviews, They looked at the correlation between the result of a football game and the number of people who wore the college representative clothing after the game, or membership
RESULTS:
- Students were more likely to be seen wearing clothes associating themselves with their own university when their football team won, while the students from the university in which their football team lost were less likely to.
- During the interviews, students tended to use the pronoun ‘we’ when referring to their team when they had won, while the students referred to their team as “they” when the team had lost.
CONCLUSION: People seek for a positive social identity and their self-esteem is enhanced when their in-group is successful.
STRENGTHS: high ecological validity; field experiment, conducted in a natural setting
- successfully replicated results from lab experiment in a natural setting, confirming that the theory is testable, and applicable in real-life.
Social Cognitive Theory
Developed in response to Social Learning Theory, both proposed by Albert Bandura
- SCT extends SLT by including
Reciprocal determinism: Interrelationship of personal factors (emotional/ cognitive) behaviour and environmental factors
- The idea of human agency
Humans are agents of their own behaviour (do not simply react to their environment)
- Identification and self-efficacy
Similarity to the model and self-belief (“I can do it”)
Social Learning Theory states that there are two types of learning:
- Direct Learning
Individual performs an action and experiences its consequences (behaviourism)
- Indirect Learning (observational)
Individual observes another person’s actions and consequences
This implies that:
- Actual behaviour is not necessary for learning to occur (against behaviourism)
- Learning depends on available models– people whose behaviour we observe
Social Cognitive Theory
Bandura et al.
AIM: to investigate if children would imitate the aggression of an adult model and whether they would imitate same-sex models more than opposite-sex models
METHOD: 36 boys and 36 girls from a nursery school (the Stanford University Nursery School; children ranged in age from 37 to 69 months, the mean age being 4.4 years), A lab experiment was used, in which the independent variable (the type of model) was manipulated in three conditions:
→ Aggressive model is shown to 24 children
→ Non-aggressive model is shown to 24 children
→ No model shown (control condition) - 24 children
RESULTS: the level of aggression was significantly higher in the condition with an aggressive model. the sex of the model also affected the degree of aggression. the boys generally got higher aggression scores than girls.
CONCLUSION: when children observe the behavior of a role model, they are likely to imitate that behavior through vicarious (observational) learning.
learning can indeed be indirect and new behaviors can be learned simply by observing others
EVALUATION:
strengths:
- cause and effect relationship
- increased control and accuracy
- objectivity
- standardization
- internal validity
limitations:
- total control = impossible
- artificial (lacks mundane realism)
- biased results
Stereotypes
Stereotypes: a perceived notion (schema) about a group of people that does not reflect actual differences
- As opposed to prejudice (attitude) and discrimination (behaviour), stereotypes are cogntive beliefs/ schema
2 types of stereotypes:
1. Accurately reflects reality (true)
- No different than schemas
2. Biased/ distorted view of reality
- Focus of psychological research
Stereotypes
Stone et al.
AIM: to study if the activation of a certain stereotype has an effect on judgement
METHODS: College aged participants, Participants were asked to listen to a basketball game and make judgements about one of the players in the game. Half of the participants were shown a picture of a black man and told that that was who they were listening to play and the other half were shown a picture of a white man and told this was who they were listening to play. Participants were then asked to make judgements of this players performance. There is an american stereotype that white athletes are smarter players and black athletes are more athletic players.
RESULTS: Black condition- they rated him a “significantly more athletic and having played a netter game” than those who thought he was white
White athlete condition: more likely to judge the player as exhibiting significantly more basketball intelligence and hustle”
CONCLUSION: Schema theory- shows that activating a particular social schema can influence our processing of new information. We tend to focus on schema-consistent information, which reinforces the schema. Stereotypes- they can be reinforced due to an inner tendency to focus on schema consistent information. They can lead to confirmation bias, which further reinforces the stereotype and may affect behaviour.
EVALUATION:
strengths: Replicability - easy procedure very replicable, High internal validity
weaknesses: Uses self-reported data
Since it was an observational study, there is a risk of participant bias. (however independent samples design was used)
Small sample size
Relies on the belief that the participants will hold the stereotype
Culture
Culture: a “unique meaning and information system, shared by a group and transmitted across generations” (Matsumoto, 2007)
- Cross-cultural research is crucial to understanding the depth of cultural influence
Cultural groups: Group of individuals who share the same set of beliefs, values and behaviours
Culture
Cohen et al.
AIM: To investigate the effect of cultural values on testosterone levels after being faced with a social threat.
METHOD: Quasi Experiment, North and South American males
1) Participants told the experiment was about judgement
2) Saliva samples to measure testosterone levels
3) Fill a questionnaire and return it to a table at the end of a hall
4) Confederate bumps and says “a**hole”
5) Saliva samples taken again
RESULTS:
South -> 12% increase
North -> 4% increase
CONCLUSION: behaviour can be learned not only form direct observation, but also from norms about violence in culture
EVALUATION:
strengths: explains how someone from nonviolent family can be violent
limitations: can’t simply blame biological factors (ex/ high testosterone levels) on violent behaviour; doesn’t consider sociocultural structural factors
Cultural Dimensions
Cultural dimensions: general factors underlying cross-cultural differences in values and behaviour
- Introduces universal phenomena as criteria for cross-cultural comparison
- Identified by massive cross-national surveys (eg Hofstede, 1973)
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (Hofstede, 1973)
- Conducted survey involving 117,000 participants about a range of behaviours
- Factor analysis was used to identify hidden dimensions
- Individualism versus collectivism
- Whether self-identity is linked to personal characteristics or values associated with social group
- Power Distance Index (PDI)
- Masculinity versus femininity
- Uncertainty avoidance
- Long-term versus short-term orientation
Cultural Dimensions
Berry
AIM: To investigate conformity levels between two types of societies (specifically with differences in social norms and socialization practices)
METHOD: Individuals were placed in rooms and were asked to choose a line out of a set of lines that was most similar to a given line (similar to Asch’s experiment)
On the third trial, experimenter gave the individual a “hint” of what others in their culture chose
Observed if the participants conformed to the answers of their peers
RESULTS:
The Temne had high conformity levels.
The Inuit had the lowest conformity rates
CONCLUSION: High conformity among the Temne because they had an agricultural economy and needed to depend on cooperation in farming. Also, their culture emphasized obedience in child-rearing practices.
Lower conformity among the Inuit results from them often hunting alone. As such, they must be able to make their own decisions. Also, Inuit child-rearing practices emphasize self-sufficiency since that is needed within their culture.
Cultural dimension of individualism vs. collectivism affected conformity levels
EVALUATION:
strengths: Controlled environment: causality
Cross-cultural: demonstrates conformity is not limited to a single cultural group
weaknesses: low ecological validity
Enculturation
Enculturation: process by which people internalize the norms of their culture
- Mechanism of enculturation is a combination of active and passive, observational learning
Cultural norms: Unwritten rules of beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that are considered acceptable in a particular social group or culture.
- Bidirectional relationship between cultural norms and individuals in a cultural group (similar to personal and shared knowledge)
Enculturation
Barry et al.
AIM: To investigate the effect of different child training practices on behavior
METHOD: Correlational Experiment, 1) Identified types of child training practices around the world (5 years old till adolescence)
2) Measured from 46 societies
3) Used existing data categorize societies as high food accumulating or low food accumulating,
Child Practices
1) Obedience
2) Responsibility
3) Self-reliance
4) Achievement
5) Independence
RESULTS: Positive correlation
1) high food accumulation cultures and child training practices of obedience and responsibility
2)Low food accumulation cultures and child training practices of self-reliance, achievement and independence
CONCLUSION: Agricultural societies - focus on obedience because if kids do not follow the established rules and norms they risk jeopardizing food supplies
Hunting-Gathering societies - focus on achievement and innovation as there is no need to think about long term consequences
EVALUATION:
1) Temporal validity (changed due to industrialization and globalization)
Acculturation
Acculturation: process by which people internalize the norms of the host/dominant culture (e.g. when you are a migrant)
Two-Dimensional Model of Acculturation (Berry, 1997)
Each strategy is a combination of maintaining heritage culture (enculturation) and seeking societal relationships (acculturation)
Enculturation and acculturation are not necessarily opposites (integration)
Assimilation: modifying one’s behaviour/ perception of the world in order to fit into their schema
Acculturation
Torres et al.
AIM: To investigate the effect of discrimination on acculturative stress
METHOD:
- Correlational experiment
- Sample: 669 participants from the Midwest Region of the US → identified as Mexican, Mexican-American, or Chicano
Series of questionnaires to measure:
- Perceived discrimination (related to jobs, healthcare, being in public, and education)
- Acculturative stress (stress related to language level)
- Psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms)
- Measured integration into mainstream culture
- IV: the type of questions being asked
- DV: The response
RESULTS:
- Higher perceived discrimination = higher levels of acculturative stress → correlated with higher levels of psychological distress
- Anglo-behavioral orientation = lower acculturative stress
CONCLUSION:
EVALUATION:
- Low in population validity because the results only relate to Mexican Americans
- Study is reliable
- Study is valid → the IV affected the DV
Globalization
