Socio-Cultural Unit Vocab

culture

• generally defined as societal rules based on shared values, beliefs, experiences, morals, and ideation that a community of people follows to dictate their behavior

• culture is on a continuum

  • a spectrum to measure cultural dimensions

• a concept used to describe food, eating habits, gender roles, rituals, communication patterns, and use of free time

Cultural Dimensions

1. Individual vs collective

   • how people define themselves and their relationships with others

2. Power distance

   • the extent to which a culture respects authority and status

3. Masculine vs feminine

   • how competitive a society is

4. Uncertainty avoidance

   • a societies tolerance for ambiguity

5. Short vs long-term orientation

   1. connections to the past and attitude towards the future

6. Indulgence vs restraint

   • a society’s tolerance for relaxation versus strictness

dimensions

• how the values of a society affect behavior in a given culture

factor analysis

• taking questionnaire data and focusing on the key differences submitted by people of different backgrounds

etic approach

• studying culture from outside of the culture rather than observing the culture

• taken within cross-cultural psychology where behavior is compared across specific cultures

• draws on the notion of universal behaviors

ecological fallacy

• when one looks at two different cultures, it should not be assumed that two members from two different cultures must be different from one another or that a single member of a culture will always demonstrate the dimensions which are the norm of that culture

cultural norm

• a set of rules based on socially or culturally shared beliefs of how an individual ought to behave to be accepted within that group

• used to regulate behavior within a group

surface culture

• what is easily seen as different when in contact with another group

deep culture

• the beliefs, attitudes, and values of a group

• could be a result of cultural factors

ethnocentric

• viewing other cultures from the perspective of your culture

universal behaviors

• looking for “rules“ of human behavior that could be applied to all cultures globally

emic approach

• researchers immerse themselves in the culture they want to study to develop an understanding

• research questions are developed through interactions with locals

Social Identity Theory

• a theory for analyzing intergroup relations

• states that the in-group will discriminate against the out-group to enhance their self image

in-group

• any group that an individual is apart of

• groups may try to maintain positive identity by discriminating against other groups

social identity

• ones self-concept based on membership in a social group and the value that is attached to that membership

positive in-group distinctiveness

• a good standing within an in-group

principles of identity

• categorization

• identification

• comparison

naturalistic

• done in environments in which the behavior is most likely to take place

participant observation

• when researchers immerse themselves in a social setting for an extended period of time and observe behavior

• overt observation can occur

overt observation

• when participants in the group know they are being observed

• require researchers to gain the trust of the group that is to be observed and must attempt to experience the world the way the participants experience it

covert observation

• sometimes used in groups that would be hostile to an outsider observing their behavior who would not be open or honest

• the researcher must gain the trust of the group members, but is done through deceit

• data is prone to deception and there are many ethical considerations

• interviews cannot be carried out

Social Identity Theory

• argues that a person is not just one “personal self“ but rather several social selves that correspond to group membership

salient

• we can become more aware of classifying people into groups based on similar characteristics

social categorization

• the process of classifying people into groups based on similar characteristics

• gives rise to in-groups and out-groups

• has a tendency to hold bias towards groups we are apart of, in-group favoritism

social comparison

• a way to maintain self-esteem

• the benefits of belonging to an in-group versus the out-group

positive distinctiveness

• we are more positive toward anything that our own group represents

operant conditioning

• learning based on positive or negative reinforcement

classical conditioning

• a type of unconscious learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with a produces a natural response, resulting in the neutral stimulus producing the same response

social cognitive theory

• AKA: social cognitive learning theory

• suggests that behavior is learned from the environment through the process of modeling and reinforcement

• do not need personal experiences to learn

• based on the assumption that people learn not only through direct experience, but also by observing others

• we learn the consequences by watching what happens to others

modeling

• involves learning through the observation of other people which leads to imitation of behavior and then leads to desirable consequences

• you will receive vicarious reinforcement

social learning

• to social learn the individual must fit this criteria:

  1. attention

     • becoming aware

  2. retention

     • remembering what happened

  3. reproduction

     • developed skills

  4. motivation

     • reward

stereotype

• a mental representation and a form of social categorization made about specific individuals or a group and its members

• a social perception of an individual in terms of group membership or physical attributes

• a generalization that is made about a group then attributed to group members

• a result of schema

• a form of categorization that affects the behavior of those who hold the stereotype

• once formed, it is difficult to change

• provides an easy way to generalize information and acts as a brain shortcut

out-group homogeneity

• we see our out-groups as all having similar traits

grain of truth hypothesis

• a way stereotypes are developed

• argues that an experience with a group will then be generalized to the group

illusory correlation

• a cause of stereotyping

• where people see a relationship between two variables even when there is none

  • this includes prejudice against certain groups

• an example of cognitive bias

  • a persons tendency to make errors in judgement based on cognitive factors, including attribution errors

• fulfilled by conformation bias where people seek out information to support the relationship

stereotype threat

• occurs when one is in a situation where there is a threat of being judged or treated stereotypically or fear of doing something that would confirm the stereotype

spotlight anxiety

• can happen due to stereotype threat

• causes emotional distress and pressure that may undermine performance

memory distortion

• an effect of stereotyping

• when things occur that don’t align with our stereotypes, our memories are more prone to distortion

gatekeepers

• parents, media, members of our culture, etc.

• influence how stereotypes form

Enculturation

• the process by which people lean the necessary and appropriate norms of their own culture

• an essential requirement for survival

• the very first familiarization process to a particular culture

• the process is learned through cultural transmission and enculturation

Acculturation

• the process of change as a result of contact or interaction between cultures

• a process of cultural and psychological change where people move into another culture and they often begin to adopt the norms and behaviors of the majority culture

• not an essential requirement to survival

• not the first, but second or third familiarization to various cultures

cultural norms

• the unique set of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors specific to a particular culture

cultural transmission

• passing cultural norms from one generation to the next

values enculturation

• enculturation on cognition is seen through attitudes about social relations, gender roles, time orientation, beliefs on health and illness, and beliefs about morality

direct tuition

• when enculturation occurs by your parents telling you what you are supposed to do

participatory learning

• when enculturation occurs through learning where children engage in an activity and then transfer the learning to other situations

gender role

• a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their biological or perceived sex

four acculturation strategies

1. assimilation

   • when an individual abandons their original culture and adopts the cultural behaviors and values of their new culture

2. integration

   • is when there is an interest in adopting the behaviors and values of their new culture

3. separation

   • is when migrants maintain their own culture and minimize contact with the new culture

4. marginalization

   • results when it isn’t possible to maintain the original culture but due to exclusion or discrimination it is not possible to assimilate into the new culture

acculturative stress

• the psychological, somatic, and social difficulties that may accompany acculturation

• a reduction in the mental health and well-being of ethnic minorities that occurs during the process of adapting to a new culture

• “culture shock“

acculturation gaps

• generational differences in acculturation and how this leads to conflict within a family

• children develop and acculturate faster than parents due to school which leads to conflict and pressure from two different cultures

reactive identification

• when the individual strengths his or her ethnic or racial identity in response to discrimination

• a response to high levels of acculturative stress

immigrant paradox

• the “greater“ degrees of acculturation were associated with problematic health outcomes

alternation model

• people move back and forth between their own culture and the host culture depending on the situation