ERQ - Sociocultural Approach

Name the studys in "The Individual and the Group"

Name the studys in "The Individual and the Group"

1) Social Identity Theory (SIT) - Yuki (2003)
2) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) - Bandura et al. (1961)
3) Stereotypes - Katz and Braly (1933)

What is SIT?

The Social Identity Theory was proposed by Tajfel and Turner (1979). It explains that people's 'self-identify' is partly based on the groups they are in. It has three assumptions; social categorization, social identification, and social comparison.

What is SCT?

The Social Cultural Theory was proposed by Bandura (1961). It explains how people learn new behaviors. The SCT suggests that behavior is learnt through observation or imitation of others. The behavior produced is influenced by personal, behavioral, and environmental factors.

How are stereotypes formed?

Stereotypes are developed by people's attitudes towards other people or groups.

What is a study in SIT? Explain.

Yuki (2003). In this study, the researcher tested the extent to which the SIT applies to US and Japanese contexts. Participants included 120 American and Japanese, and they filled in a self-report questionnaire using a quasi-experiment. The study found that Americans were more loyal to their ingroup than Japanese. The study also found that individualistic cultures will more likely discriminate against outgroups. The study concluded that the SIT may not accurately represent group behaviors among East Asians and therefore it is not a cross cultural phenomenon.

What is a study in SCT? Explain.

Bandura et al. (1961). In this study, the researcher tested why children display aggression. The experiment used 72 children (36 boys and girls aged 3-6). They were involved in a day-care programme at Stanford University. There were 3 conditions applied.
Control Condition:
Children were shown the film with the adult behaving aggressively towards the Bobo doll
Model-Rewarded Condition:
When aggression was over, a second adult rewarded the aggressor with sweets and a soft drink
Model-Punished Condition:
When aggression was over, the second adult scolded and spanked the model for behaving with aggression.
The Control and Reward condition resulted in 2.5 acts, and the punished condition in 1.5 acts.
Children can learn behavior by observing an adult's behavior.

What is a study in Stereotypes?

Katz and Braly (1933). This study was intended to test if stereotypes are not based on strong hostility towards an individual of a group because of their personal characteristics, but rather because of their attitudes against 'race-names'. 100 Princeton Graduates participated in this, and were asked to fill in a self-report questionnaire where they had to identify the top 10 prominent groups in the United States. (Germans, Italians, Jews, etc.) and match each group to 5 traits from 84 (superstitious, lazy, practical etc.)
The study showed a range of results; 84% said African Americans were superstitious but only 11% said Germans were practical.
The study concluded that interactions with members from groups was not required in order for stereotypes to form.

What are the studys in Cultural Origins of Behavior and Cognition?

1) Counting and Arithmetic - Reed and Lave (1979)
2) Cultural dimensions - Schwartz (1992)

What is Culture and its influence on behavior?

A group's culture is its norms and beliefs made up of shared attitudes and behaviors. Culture is learnt by observation and instruction. People's perceptions of themselves are affected by the culture in which they live. This self-perception affects cognition, hence affecting behavior.

What is a study on "Culture and its influence on behavior"?

Reed and Lave (1979). This study was to investigate the role of culture on counting and arithmetic problem solving. The research was based on participant observations and informal interviews. Participants included 140 males from the Vai and Gola tribes working as tailors in Liberia. The interviews covered the tailors personal background, including family and beliefs about teaching/learning. Tailors either used the Western counting style, or the apprenticed Vai/Gola arithmetic system, which is a numeration system and uses numbers larger than 20. The findings showed that apprenticed tailors used the Vai/Gola arithmetic system, and the tailors that were taught in Western schools used numbers based on names. The study conculded that the arithmetic problem-solving Western approach is new to traditional tailors who use the Vai/Gola numeration system. (use pebbles, or markers)

What is a study on Cultural Dimensions?

Schwartz (1992). This study was aimed at figuring out whether a universal set of cultural dimensions exists. 25863 participants from 44 countries participated in a survey and identified the following cultural dimensions:
- power
- achievement
- hedonism
- stimulation
- self-direction
- universalism
- benevolence
- tradition
-conformity
- security
They rated the cultural dimension on their life on a 9 point scale. 9 being the most important.
The study concluded that there is no universal set of cultural dimensions, as the findings showed that cultural dimensions and values varied from different regions in the world.

What are studies in "Cultural influences on individual attitudes, identity, and behaviors"

1) Enculturation - Ochs (1982)
2) Acculturation - Berry et al. (2006)

What is enculturation?

the process of learning culture and acquiring cultural norms. Enculturation is through direct instruction or social learning.

What is acculturation?

process of adapting to and acquiring another culture.

What is a study of enculturation?

Ochs (1982). This is a longitudinal case study. The aim of this study was to see how language develops in traditional Samoan households. In this study, the researcher observed 23 Samoan children under 6 years old from different households every 5 weeks for 10 months. The study found that instruction was given by the child's caregiver who was most often their older sibling. There is a lack in the communication between a child and their parent primarily because in Samoan cultures parents are regarded as higher status people who are not expected to change their language for a child to understand.
The enculturation which is the process where the child learns Samoan culture (hierarchy and social status) has an effect of the process of language acquisition because the cultural expectations are important tot he way children learn language.

What is a study of acculturation?

Berry et. al (2006). This study was aimed at investigating how immigrant youth acculturate. A questionnaire was given to 7997 adolescents (13-18) where 5366 were immigrants and 2631 were nationals living in 13 countries. The questionnaire assessed the participants' acculturation attitudes (cultural identity, language proficiency, degree of contact, family relationship values, and adaptation). The study found 4 acculturation profiles, integration (high involvement with both cultures, strong proficiency in both languages, friendships with both cultures), ethnic (strong identity with own culture, language and friendships. supported separation attitude, little involvement in host countries culture) , national (strong orientation towards new culture, identified more with host country than own country, used host countries language more often, low support for family and friendships in own culture), and diffuse (high usage of own language, low identity to own culture, low proficiency in language of host country, few peer contacts, lacked skills to be a part of the larger society.).
Involvement and engagement in both the host country cultures and ethnic cultures are associated with better adaptation for immigrant youth than preference for either culture.

What research methods are used in the sociocultural approach?

1) Quasi Experiments (Yuki 2003)
2) Correlation study using a self-report questionnaire (Berry et al. 2006)
3) Emic and Etic approaches (Ochs 1982)

What is an emic approach?

when research is conducted by an insider. The researcher usually has first hand experience.

What is an etic approach?

When research is conducted by an outsider. (Ochs 1982)

What are quasi-experiments?

Studies variables that are inherent to participants (age, height, nationality etc.)
Yuki 2003 conducted a cross-cultural study using a quasi experiment.

What are correlation studies using self-report questionnaires?

Correlation studies focus on variables to determine if they are co-variables and co-occur.
Berry et al. 2006 conducted a correlation study in form of a self-report questionnaire to determine if acculturation stratergies and success were co-variables. Self-report questionnaires are quick, inexpensive, and simple to do. However they rely on honesty.

What are some ethical considerations in the sociocultural approach?

1) Studies involving children
2) Cross-cultural studies and stereotypes
3) Cross-cultural studies and researcher effect
4) Unethical use of research

Why are studies involving children unethical?

A rule in ethical considerations is protection from harm. Bandura et al (1961) was unethical because it exposed young children to aggressive behavior and taught them aggression.

Why is the use of "cross-cultural studies and stereotypes" unethical?

There is a risk that conclusions relating to cultural dimensions re misinterpreted and it becomes a generalization about people from particular countries which then becomes a stereotype. Stereotypes tend to persist, and are hard to get rid of. Researchers must present their results in ways that minimize risk of being misunderstood.

Why is the use of "cross-cultural studies and researcher effect" unethical?

Researchers have an ethical obligation to not 'disturb' the culture and participants being study. Ochs (1982) was a longitudinal study that observed children from traditional Samoan cultures. Samoan culture is hierarchical with the higher status people (parents) remaining unresponsive of lower status people (children). The researcher would find it hard not to intervene in situations where the child is in distress and not being tended to, however, an intervention would be imposing on their culture and disturbing the subject of research.

What is social categorization?

One of SIT's basic assumptions. It explains how people categorize others in order to identify and understand them. By understanding categories of others, you begin to understand yourself and develop a sense of identity.

What is social identification?

One of SIT's basic assumptions. People tend to join their group by behaving in ways that the group members behave, taking on a group identity. This group becomes the person's ingroup.

What is social comparison?

One of SIT's basic assumptions. Once people have categorized themselves within a group and identified themselves as members of that group, they compare their ingroup with respect to outgroups. To increase their self-esteem, they might see their ingroup in positive light, and outgroups in negative light, people also tend to percieve the individuals within the outgroup negatively.

What is ingroup bias?

The tendency to favor one's own group in order to feel good about themselves.

What are responses to intergroup inequality?

SIT has shown that collective protest can be predicted by people's level of identification with their ingroups. Wright et al. (1990) showed that collective protest only occurs when people feel like they cannot leave their group.

What are some limitations of the SIT?

- Research supporting it is limited.
- Assumes that a positive social identity is based on favorable intergroup comparisons, but some research (Yuki 2003) showed only modest support of this.
- Assumes that ingroup bias is driven by desire to percieve the ingroup positively. (Yuki 2003) did not support this claim.
- Theory of how people make their ingroups different from and better than outgroups. (Yuki 2003) did not support this.

What is self-efficacy?

A person's perception of the likelihood that they will succeed. Relates to SCT - if learners do not think they will succeed, they are less likely to replicate the behavior.

What is the relation between aggression and SCT?

Bandura et al. (1961) wanted to see when and why children show aggressive behaviors. They conducted a study where adults showed verbal and physical aggression towards a Bobo doll in the presence of pre-schoolers, many of whom reproduced this behavior.

Evaluate SCT

- Derived from studies that have been replicated, where original studies lacked ecological validity and had limited generalizability.
- Broad theory of learning, that is still evolving.
- Neglects role of emotion and cognitive learning in explaining behavior.
- Does not explain why, explains what.

Correspondence bias and stereotype formation

Correspondence has an important role in forming sterotypes. It is the tendancy to over-attribute a person's behavior to their personality (dispositional) factors and under-attribute their external (situational) factors cause behavior.

Illusory correlation and stereotype formation

An illusory correlation is an error of association: incorrect conclusion that two events that happen at the same time are related.

Study of illusory correlation and stereotype formation.

Hamilton and Gifford (1976)

Aim: To investigate the illusory correlation of group size and negative behavior.

Procedure:
- 114 university students from the US to read descriptions and then make conclusions about two-made up groups, Group A and B.
- Group A had 26 members and performed 18 positive and 8 negative behaviors.
- Group B had 13 members and performed 9 positive and 4 negative behaviors.

Findings:
- No correlation between group and behavior, however, participants made an illusory correlation because more of the negative behaviors were attributed to the minority Group B, than majority Group A.

Conclusion:
- Support theory that distinctive information draws attention.
- Number of group B members and negative behaviors are numerically fewer than group A and so more distinctive than group A.
- Participants showed illusory correlation.

What is stereotype threat?

Occurs when people know about a negative stereotype associated with them, and develop anxiety that they might conform to it.

What is the role of culture in behavior?

Wong and Hong (2005) investigated role of culture in behavior by priming Chinese-American participants with cultural icons before asking them to participate in the Prisoner's Dilemma game with friends.

- The bicultural participants showed higher levels of cooperation with friends after they had been primed with icons from their Chinese culture than with icons from their American culture.

- Concluded that a person's culture affects interpersonal decision making.

- Culture affects judgements and decision making, including the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE - people overstate factors about themselves while talking about their successes than the external factors like weather etc.). FAE is less powerful in Russian and Indian cultures.

Surface and deep culture and its influence on behavior

Surface Culture:
- obvious differences between a person's indigenous and host countries, e.g language, diet, clothing, etc.

Deep culture:
- profound cultural norms, those that are less obvious; social hierarchies, religion, humor, etc.

Cultural Dimensions

Commonly held values of a group that affect behavior.
Hofstede (1984) suggested these 4 cultural dimensions:
- Power distance
- Individualism
- Masculinity
- Uncertainty avoidance

- Power distance is how les powerful individuals accept inequality as normal.

- Individualist societies are those which people focus on themselves and their families, while collective societies value wider, extended family groups.

- Masculinity refers to individuals' expectation that men are assertive, ambitious, competitive, big, strong, etc - while women care for children and elders.

- Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which individuals are tolerant of uncertainty. Culture with a strong tolerance are active, and emotional, while those who have low tolerance are less aggressive and more accepting.