Sociocultural approach - case studies

Tajfel et al (1970) - social identity theory

aim:

investigate whether simple group categorisation (minimal groups) would lead to in-group favouritism

procedure:

british schoolboys (14-15 yrs. old) randomly assigned to 2 groups based on trivial criteria (preference for paintings)

each boy individually allocated points to anonymous members of both groups

findings:

boys consistently gave more points to their own group members - even when it meant fewer overall rewards

demonstrated that mere group categorisation is sufficient to produce in-group favouritism

Steele and Aronson (1995) - effects and threat of stereotyping

aim:

investigate the effect of stereotype threat on performance in a verbal ability test

procedure:

african-american and European-american participants took a standardised verbal test under 2 conditions

stereotype threat condition: told the test measured intellectual ability

non-threat condition: told the test was a problem-solving task unrelated to ability

findings:

african-american ppts performed significantly worse under stereotype threat condition but similar to white ppts in non-threat condition

suggested stereotype threat negatively impacts performance due to increased anxiety

Bandura et al (1961) - social cognitive theory

aim:

to investigate wether children would imitate aggressive behaviour obersved in adult models

procedure:

72 children (ages 3-6) watched either an aggressive model (hitting a bobo doll) a non-aggressive model or no model

after observation - children placed in room with same bobo doll and observed for imitative behaviour

findings:

children observed aggressive model displayed more physical & verbal aggression towards doll

boys > aggressive than girls - especially when model was male

demonstrated observational learning and modelling behaviour

Lueck and Wilson (2010) - acculturation

aim:

to investigate variables that predict acculturative stress in asian-americas immigrants

procedure:

interviewed over 2,000 asian-americas ppts using structured and semi-structured interviews

questions focused on language proficiency, social support, discrimination, and family cohesion

findings:

about 70% of ppts experienced acculturative stress

lower stress - linked to bilingualism, strong family connections and integration in host culture

high stress - linked to discrimination, language barriers and cultural mismatch