Sociocultural Approach

individual/group - SIT

• we don’t have 1 personal self, but several social selves corresponding to group memberships

  • each identity comes with associated concepts that guide our thoughts/feelings/behaviours

• sense of self depends on which of p+s identities is salient (depends on context)

  • SIT predicts that when 1 s identity becomes salient it influences behaviour

• mechanisms of forming SIT: social categorization → organising people into groups based on similar characteristics (+ ourselves) (creates ingroups vs. outgroups)

• social identification → adoption of group identity

• social comparison → comparing ingroup to outgroup to determine value of membership

• + tendency for people to use group memberships as source of self-esteem

  • maintain/enhance it by outgroup discrimination or in-group favouritism

rogers & frantz

• [A] investigate whether white European immigrants in Zimbabwe adopt prejudiced attitudes toward local African population over time

• [P] stratified sample of Ps that had lived in Zimbabwe for varying lengths of time (5-40+ yrs) responded to a survey with examples of laws/customs in which Europeans/Africans were treated diff. Likert scale choices ranging from it being important to maintain current segregation or discontinue it

• [F] majority of Ps favoured retaining segregation. longer residence (5-9 years) was associated with stronger support for maintaining segregation

• [C] new immigrants inc. adopt local norms/prejudices of general European population the longer they live in the society, suggesting social conformity to group norms plays a role in the formation of stereotypes. 

  • stereotypes ab African population were integrated into identities of newcomers as they began to identify w/ new group + accept ‘social role’

individual/group - SCT

• we learn/imitate behaviour thru observational learning (models who provide e.g. of behaviour) based on a behaviour’s consequences

  • vicarious reinforcement - more likely to imitate behaviour w/ + consequences

    • learn based on the consequences of someone else’s behaviour

  • model stands out in contrast to others, behaviour must be consistent and reinforced, liked by observer/observer identifies w/ model

• mediating processes to determine whether to acquire new behaviour

  • Attention: need to pay attention to behaviour/consequences

  • Retention: individual must remember behaviour. takes time

  • Reproduction: must be able to perform behaviour that model demonstrates

  • Motivation: must be motivated to perform behaviour (reward/punishment)

bandura

• [A] investigate whether children learn aggression from observation + imitation as supported by the SCT

• [P] children placed in a room with a bobodoll under ⅓ conditions: one with an aggressive model (adult models acted aggressively towards doll), a non-aggressive model (adult model played w/ blocks, ignored doll), control group.

  • then moved to another room to arouse aggression by saying …, then to 3rd w/ bobodoll to observe aggression

• [F] children in aggressive condition demo. more aggressive behaviours than those in other conditions. boys more physical, girls more verbally aggressive. children more likely to imitate same-sex adult models

• [C] behaviour can be learned through obs./imitation w/o direct reinforcement, demonstrating the role of models in shaping behaviour

individual/group - formation/effect of stereotypes

Formation

• SIT categorises groups → need for positive distinctiveness → we attach neg. stereotypes to outgroup

• SCT explains formation as learned behaviour 

  • learn from models (enculturation), imitate models bc want to adhere to group norms

• grain of truth hypothesis

  • gatekeepers (media, models) help create schemas ab person based on group membership

  • form stereotype by personal experience w/ 1 individual from 1 group → generalisation to whole group

Effect

• stereotype threat  → individual worries that own behaviour is confirming - stereotype about own group → leads to spotlight anxiety + underperformance/distress

steele & aronson

• [A] investigate how stereotype threat affects test performance of AfAm

• [P] sample consisted of white + AfAm students. Ps given standardised test under ½ conditions: told test of intellectual ability (stereotype threat condition) or problem-solving skills (non-threat condition)

• [F] AfAm performed sig. worse than white Ps in first condition, no sig. diff. between Ps in 2nd condition. white Ps performance unaffected by test framing.

• [C] AfAm performed worse bc awareness of negative stereotypes surrounding intellectual ability created stereotype threat + impaired performance

cultural origins of behaviour - cultural dimensions (individualism/collectivism)

• = pattern of values in a culture that affects behaviour/cognition

• concept introduced by hofstede as a way to compare and discuss cultures

• individualism → uniqueness and autonomy valued, self-reliance is seen as a virtue. individual defines personality in terms of own characteristics, and speaking one’s mind important

• collectivism → social harmony, group cohesion, modesty valued. interdependence is seen as the way of life, and the ‘goal’ is to advance group interests instead of being self-sufficient.

berry

• [A] investigate how culture influences conformity by comparing two different types of cultures to support role of dimensions on behaviour

• [P] 3 diff. cultures: temne of sierra leone (collectivist), inuit of baffin island (individualist) + scots (control group) completed variation of Asch’s conformity task, where they were shown series of lines + asked to match 1 to ref. line. on certain trials, Ps given suggestions by researcher (people from ur culture chose this) to see if they conformed. one suggestion was right, but others were wrong

• [F] temne showed highest lvls of conformity, inuit lowest, scots between. not much variation within cultures

• [C] collectivist culture (temne) had higher conformity → emphasised group harmony/cohesion while individualist culture (inuit) had lower conformity → valued independence. supports hofstede’s theory that dimensions influence behaviour, as the type of culture directly affected the lvl of conformity

• [research done before Hofstede’s theory]

cultural influences on behaviour - enculturation

• lifelong process by which individuals learn own culture (from parents, school, friends, media, religion) in order to function within culture successfully

  • via observation, formal instruction, direct experience through + reinforcement

• this + social cognition enable cultural transmission (theory of learning according to which individuals acquire sig. amt. of info by just interacting w/ culture)

• enculturating gender stereotypes → form of schemas (shaped by caregivers via enculturation but when circle widens, so does influence, so schemas can be broken thru accommodation)

• studied thru case studies (obs. + interviews) bc it allows Ps to determine what is most relevant in their lives and bc it’s difficult to operationalise

wood et al.

• [A] to investigate gender role enculturation as a result of parenting + toy selection, supporting role of enculturation in shaping gender identity

• [P] 2-6 y.o. given selection of gendered toys + adult played with them: half the girls w/ mother, other mother, non-mother, other half w/ fathers. same for boys

  • researchers analysed which toys children chose + adult’s response

• [F] adults reinforced gender-consistent toys. fathers more likely to discourage cross-gender play, mothers more subtle but still did

• [C] gender roles socially constructed + reinforced through parenting – hence, enculturation plays key role in shaping gender identity from young age

cultural influences on behaviour - acculturation

• process of psych (individual) + cultural (social) changes as result of interaction w/ new culture

  • in terms of majority (dom.) / minority (non-dom.) culture

• 2 dimensions: 

  • desire for cultural maintenance (CM) → wish to preserve distinctive aspects of cultural identity 

  • desire for intergroup contact (DC) → wish to have contact w/ other culture

• acculturative stress → difficulties in process, stemming from differences between individuals and host culture

• discrimination can heighten A.S. bc process seen as too demanding/impacts individual’s self-concept, coping

  • less desire for DC + isolation

lueck & wilson

• [A] investigate factors that predict A.S. in asian immigrants + asian-americans

• [P] semi-structured interviews (face-to-face or online) measured level of A.S. and examined factors such as the impact of lang. proficiency/pref., discrimination, social networks, family cohesion, socioecon. status. 

• [F] 70% of Ps reported A.S. lower stress levels linked to bilingualism, strong social support, integration. higher linked to only using 1 language, discrimination, economic struggles

• [C] lvl of A.S. influenced by language proficiency, discrimination, social support, and bicultural identity+integration can help reduce it, supporting importance of acculturation in mental wellbeing