SAQ Sociocultural Approach

Explain Social Identity Theory with reference to one study.

Social identity theory is a theory within the sociocultural approach, which was first proposed by Tajfel and Turner in 1971. SIT is based on four key concepts, social categorisation, social identification, social comparison, and positive distinctiveness. Social categorisation is the tendency to divide individuals into groups, separating the ingroup, a group which someone belongs to, and the outgroup, a group they do not belong to. Thereafter, social identification occurs, where individuals tend to adopt the norms and behaviours of the group, taking on the characteristics of their ingroup. Then, social comparison occurs, where the individual identifies with their ingroup and seeks to raise their self esteem by comparing their ingroup with the outgroup. This achieves positive distinctiveness, where the individual seeks to show that their ingroup is ‘better’ than the outgroup, leading to ingroup favouritism, valuing the traits pertinent to their ingroup whilst discriminating against the traits of the outgroup. This essay will be looking at two relevant studies which support SIT and will then evaluate the theory as a whole. 

In 1971 Tajfel & Turner conducted a study on teenage boys aged 14-15 in order to investigate how social identity can affect behavior and outgroup discrimination. The participants were randomly assigned to a group, where they were told they preferred one of two painters, either Klee or Kandinsky. Thereafter, the participants were asked to take part in a point allocation task where they had to give points to one boy who was in their group and one boy who was not in their group, with two different systems. For the first system, they had to award a total of 15 points, meaning they could give one boy 8 and the other 7. For the second system, the amount of points they awarded to their ingroup member corresponded to the points awarded to the outgroup member, so if a Klee member gave another boy in the same group a high score the Kandinsky member would also receive a high score. The researchers found that for system 1, the boys tended to award more points to the ingroup member, but for system 2, the boys awarded fewer points to the ingroup so that their own team would win. This study clearly supports SIT, as it demonstrates that there is a natural tendency towards ingroup favouritism; favouring the ingroup and discriminating against the outgroup since participants. It also showcased that a "minimal group" is all that is necessary for individuals to exhibit discrimination against an out-group and disproved the notion that intergroup conflict is required for discrimination to occur, instead showing that outgroup discrimination occurs even if there is no conflict and the groups are entirely arbitrary.

Explain Social Cognitive Theory with reference to one study.

Developed by Albert Bandura, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) suggests that behaviour is learned from the environment through modeling and reinforcement. According to Bandura, there are certain cognitive factors that influence social learning; namely, attention, retention, motivation, and self efficacy. The model must be paying attention to the model, they must retain and be able to memorise the behaviour, they must be motivated by vicarious reinforcement to replicate the behavior, and they must possess the physical/mental capability to carry out the behaviour. Furthermore, SCT emphasizes reciprocal determinism—the idea that personal, behavioural, and environmental factors interact and influence one another. 

Albert Bandura coined SCT in 1961, and was one of the first psychologists to consider the link between behaviour imitation and the environment. His ‘Bashing Bobo’ study was a laboratory experiment where his aim was to demonstrate that learning can occur through observation of a model and that imitation of learned behaviour can occur in the absence of the model. He used a sample of 72 children, 36 boys and 36 girls, from Stanford Nursery, aged 3 to 6.The children were either placed in a control group that did not see a model, played alongside a passive model, or witnessed an aggressive model.In the passive condition, the model played with blocks, whereas in the aggressive condition, the model was verbally and physically aggressive to the Bobo doll. All children were exposed to ‘mild aggressive arousal’; being taken to a room with toys and told not to play with them. The three independent variables were the gender of the model, gender of the child, and the type of aggression observed by the child. The dependent variable was the type of aggression observed and the level of aggression compared to usual behavior. He found that the children who saw the aggressive model made more aggressive acts than the children who saw the non-aggressive model, participants were more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour if the model was of the same sex, part of the ‘in-group’. This study shows how humans learn from observation and then replicate it and how children tend to identify with their in-group.

Explain one theory of the formation of stereotypes with reference to one study.

In 1961 Rogers and Frantz conducted a study on the formation and adoption of stereotypes, focusing on a sample of white European immigrants to Rhodesia in the 1960s. The aim was to investigate whether these individuals had adopted negative stereotypes against the native African people. Stratified sampling was used and the participants were chosen based on age, country of origin, period of residence, et cetera, in order to represent the population of white European immigrants in Rhodesia, also known today as Zimbabwe. The research method used was a survey consisting of 66 questions about how the participants felt about certain laws in Rhodesia which discriminated against native Africans. The participants were asked to rate their feelings on these laws on a Likert scale: 0 being that they strongly agreed with keeping the law, 2 being that they agreed with keeping it, 4 being that they were against the law, and 6 being that they were strongly against the law. The researchers found that the mean score given by participants on the survey was 2.45, with the majority of individuals awarding a score of circa 3 or lower, showcasing strong agreement with the status quo The researchers also found that age, gender, place of residence were not factors which affected the participants' answers, however, that country of origin, period of residence, and religion were factors that impacted the score. They also found that as the time of residence increased, the mean score of the participants decreased, showing that over time, they agreed more with the status quo and adopted more discriminatory stereotypes. 

Explain one study of the effects of stereotyping on behavior.

Stereotypes  generalised preconceived notions/assumptions about a group. They are acquired from others, social norms and get assimilated into our mental schemas to help understand our world, they can  be positive or negative. Stereotypes can significantly affect behaviour. An example of this is stereotype threat, where the fear of conforming to a negative stereotype of a group which one belongs to, can impact behaviour. 

In 1990, Steele and Aaronson conducted a study investigating how stereotype threat would affect test performances in African Americans. The sample consisted of both white and African American mixed gender participants from Stanford University. The independent variable in this study was whether stereotype threat was present and the dependent variable was the scores of the participants. They were assigned to one of two conditions; the stereotype congruent condition, where the participants were told they were taking a test which measured intelligence, or the stereotype neutral condition, where they were told they were taking a test which measured problem-solving abilities. The researchers found that African American participants scored worse than white participants when they were told it was a test which measured intelligence, as there is a pre-existing stereotype that African Americans are less intelligent than their white counterparts. However, in the stereotype neutral condition, when the participants were informed that the test measured problem solving skills, the scores of white and African American participants were about the same. This study highlights the manner in which stereotypes, especially negative stereotypes, can affect the behaviour of individuals, showcasing how even if individuals do not necessarily believe in a stereotype, their behavior will still subconsciously change due to the presence of stereotype threat. 

Explain one ethical consideration in one study of the individual and the group

One ethical consideration is preventing undue stress or harm. In psychological experiments, in some cases harm may need to be caused, however it is imperative to prevent “undue” stress or harm, meaning that any unnecessary or unwarranted harm should be avoided when designing and conducting an experiment. This ethical consideration can be seen in the 1961 Bandura study on the individual and the group, where the children participating were subjected to undue stress or harm. 

His ‘Bashing Bobo’ study was a laboratory experiment where his aim was to demonstrate that learning can occur through observation of a model and that imitation of learned behaviour can occur in the absence of the model. He used a sample of 72 children, 36 boys and 36 girls, from Stanford Nursery, aged 3 to 6. The children were either placed in a control group that did not see a model, played alongside a passive model, or witnessed an aggressive model. In the passive condition, the model played with blocks, whereas in the aggressive condition, the model was verbally and physically aggressive to the Bobo doll. All children were exposed to ‘mild aggressive arousal’; being taken to a room with toys and told not to play with them. The three independent variables were the gender of the model, gender of the child, and the type of aggression observed by the child. The dependent variable was the type of aggression observed and the level of aggression compared to usual behavior. He found that the children who saw the aggressive model made more aggressive acts than the children who saw the non-aggressive model, participants were more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour if the model was of the same sex, part of the ‘in-group’. This study shows how humans learn from observation and then replicate it and how children tend to identify with their in-group.

In this study, the major issue is harm and the wellbeing of participants, especially since they are young children is present. During the study the children exposed to aggression may have been distressed by the behaviour they witnessed and have permanently learned aggressive behaviour, this going on to become a behavioural problem. This is an example of "normalising unhelpful behaviours" and may have had lasting effects on the children into adulthood, illustrating how Bandura did not comply with ethical considerations. However, in this case it can be argued that despite the researchers not having complied with the ethical consideration of obtaining informed consent, the research provided groundbreaking knowledge on behaviours of individuals and the group, specifically within Social Cognitive Theory. 

Explain the use of one research method in one study of the individual and the group.

The research method used by Asch (1951) was a laboratory experiment; it was a lab experiment since the independent variable, was the social pressure placed on the naive participants, which was operationalised as whether the participants were part of the trials with confederates giving purposefully wrong answers in certain trials or not, was manipulated in order to examine the effect it had on the dependent variable, whether the participants would give an incorrect answer or not – specifically whether they would conform with the group. Since it was a laboratory experiment there was also high control over any extraneous variables; the task given, the environment, and the number of confederates, in order to standardise the experiment and prevent the extraneous variables from becoming confounding variables and distorting the results. Overall, Asch employed a laboratory experiment for his study. 

This study was conducted by Solomon E. Asch in 1951 in the USA. Asch’s study aimed to investigate conformity and test the power of both normative social influence. Participants were asked to partake in a “vision test”, an unambiguous visual perception task where the participants had to match a line on the left with another of 3 lines on the right. There was one control group made up of only naive participants who were all completing the task. The experimental group was made up of 1 participant and 6 confederates, individuals who were working together with the researchers and would give wrong answers to some of the questions. The participants in this group were unaware of the confederates and would be seated second-to-last so that they would be able to hear the answers of the confederates first before having to answer themselves. There were 18 trials over all, 12 of which were ‘critical trials’, where the confederates would purposefully give obviously false answers. This study found that in the 12 critical trials, on average, 32% of naive participants conformed on all the critical trials and 75% of participants confirmed at least once, whereas during the control condition, incorrect responses were only given less than 1% of the time. This experiment demonstrated the powerful influence of group pressure on individuals. 

This method was used because lab experiments allow for stricter control over the extraneous variables present and to standardise the experiment. Keeping any extraneous variables controlled, like the number of participants or the environment in which it takes place, allows for the researcher to more easily determine a cause and effect relationship between the independent and the dependent variable. Since, minimising the amount of extraneous variables ensures that any changes in the behaviour were caused by the manipulation of the independent variable, where the participants were with the confederates or not. By using a laboratory experiment, Asch was able to isolate the independent variable so that the independent variable would be the only variable affecting the participant’s responses and to more accurately assess the cause-and-effect relationship. Furthermore, the fact that it is standardized, meaning that the procedure was the same and ensuring that the participants are exposed to the same conditions, makes it easier to replicate, which increases the external validity of the experiment and makes it so that the findings can be substantiated easily. For an experiment to be more reliable, it has to be replicable so that the findings can be substantiated by other researchers replicating the experiment and thereby increasing the study’s external validity. 

Explain one cultural dimension with reference to one study

Hofstede carried out a study in the 1970s to determine if there are cultural trends with regard to values and how members of a culture interact with one another.  He carried out a series of questionnaires at an international company and then a content analysis of the replies.  He proposed a set of cultural dimensions to help discuss culture.  One such dimension is long term versus short term. Long term dimension cultures include values such as persistence, thrift or saving money as an important life goal, having a sense of shame, leisure time is not seen as important, and the future is more important than the now, whereas short term orientation values are rooted in the present; spending is based on current needs; emphasis is on quick results; leisure time is important.

One study investigating cultural dimensions is Chen et al (2005). This study investigated the effect of individualist or collectivist cultures on purchasing behaviours of participants. Specifically, the study was investigating Confucian Work Dynamism, commonly known as a long-term versus short-term orientation. Cultures such as China are more long term oriented, cultures like the USA are more short term oriented. The study used a sample of bi bi-cultural participants from a Singaporean university. The study was conducted online and they were randomly assigned to one condition. They were primed to either American or Singaporean identity, their identity made salient by showing photos pertaining to culture before study. The study involved a shopping scenario, where students had to buy a novel online for 2.99 SGD, which takes five days to ship, or to pay extra to get it in one day. Afterwards, they were asked to name 3 politicians. The study found that the participants whose American culture was more salient were more likely to pay for immediate consumption, quicker shipping. Both groups listed politicians from the cultures they were primed, showing how priming was prevalent throughout the study. This study illustrates how Confucian Work Dynamism played a role in online shopping behavior.

Explain one study of the enculturation of one behaviour

Enculturation is a process, beginning in early childhood, by which particular cultural values, ideas, beliefs, and behavioral patterns are adopted by the members of society. We learn cultural norms through our parents, school, or the media. One major form of enculturation is the formation of our gender identity within a culture.

One study on enculturation is Fagot (1978), which examine how parents influenced gender identity, which althoguh is depedent on biology, is also shaped by cultural norms. The aim was to observe parental reactions to behaviour that was gender non congruent, according to American culture in the 1970s. The study was a naturalistic observation on 24 families, 12 with girls and 12 with boys. The observers used an observation checklist of 46 child behaviors and 19 reactions by parents; they conducted five 60-minute observations completed for each family over five weeks, making note of the child's behavior every 60 seconds and then noting the parents’ response. They found that parents tended to react significantly more favorably to the child when the child was engaged in same-sex preferred behavior; children were more likely to receive negative responses to cross-sex-preferred behaviors, such as parents giving boys more positive responses when they played with blocks than they did girls or giving girls a e more positive responses than boys for playing with dolls. This study demonstrates enculturation, as it shows how parents directly taught their children about gender norms and about what is and isn’t appropriate according to cultural norms and expectations, reinforcing appropriate behaviours by rewarding or giving positive responses to behaviour which aligned with gender norms, showcasing how enculturation occurs. 

Explain one study of acculturation.

Acculturation is the process by which someone comes into contact with another culture and begins to adopt the norms and behaviors of that culture. Acculturative stress is a term coined by Berry which is used to describe the psychological impact of adapting to a new culture, as with any type of stress, long term stress will lead to reduction in mental or physical health. One study is Lueck & Wilson, which aimed to investigate the variables that may predict acculturative stress in Asian immigrants and Asian Americans. The study included a sample of 2095 Asian Americans, half of which were first generation immigrants who were over 18 when they immigrated and the second half were born in the US to first generation immigrant parents. The sample consisted of several different Asian cultures, including Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese. In this study the researchers carried out semi-structured interviews, the interviewers had cultural and linguistic backgrounds similar to those of the sample population. Interviews were used to measure the participants’ level of acculturative stress, and also measured the impact of language proficiency, language preference, discrimination, social networks, family cohesion, and socioeconomic status on acculturative stress. The researchers found that 70% of participants were found to have acculturative stress according to their acculturative stress score. They discovered bilingual language preference contributed to lower acculturative stress, whereas preference for speaking English only is a predictor of high acculturative stress. As well that negative treatment significantly contributed to higher acculturative stress, whereas similar values and beliefs with family or satisfactory economic circumstances lowered acculturative stress. 

Explain the use of one research method in one study of cultural influences on behavior and cognition

One research method used in the Cole and Scribner study on cultural influence on memory, is a quasi experiment. It was a quasi experiment because the independent variable—schooling and cultural background—was not manipulated by the researchers. Instead, participants naturally belonged to different groups based on whether they were schooled or unschooled and their cultural setting (Liberia or the U.S.). This means participants were not randomly assigned to conditions, which is characteristic of quasi-experimental designs.

One study on the influence of culture on cognition is Cole & Scribner (1974), where they used an emic approach to see how culture could affect memory. They wanted to see the effect that schooling would have on the strategies that children used to memorize lists of words. The aim was to investigate the development of memory among tribal people in rural Liberia compared to children in the US. They looked at both Liberian children in school and those that were not attending school. Researchers observed everyday cognitive activities before conducting their experiments and worked closely with the university-educated local people who acted as experimenters. The participants were given a free-recall task in which they were shown a large number of objects, one at a time, and then asked to remember them. It was a“free” recall because people are free to recall the items in any order they wish. They used a list of the 20 objects, objects that appear to fall into four distinct categories, to make sure that the list was not too ethnocentric. They found that, unlike the children in school, the children who were not attending school showed no regular increase in memory performance after the age of 9 or 10, they remembered approximately ten items on the first trial and managed to recall only two more items after 15 practice trials. Whereas the Liberian children who were attending school, by contrast, learned the materials rapidly, at the same rate as schoolchildren in the United States, since they used the categorical similarities of items in the list to aid their recall and after the first trial, they clustered their responses, showing the effect of culture on memory. 

A quasi experiment was used in this study because it allowed the researchers to study the influence of culture and education on cognitive processes, in this case memory. in a naturalistic setting, without ethical or practical issues related to manipulating participants' cultural or educational backgrounds. By not manipulating the independent variable they were able to accurately observe how the culture of the participants affected their memory. This adds to the external validity of the experiment, as it is not artificial, taking place in a real world setting without any manipulation and can therefore be applied to real world scenarios. Although this research method cannot establish a causal relationship between the variables, it still provides insight into the link between culture and memory. 

Explain one study of assimilation

Assimilation was first defined by Berry’s acculturation model and is a key aspect of acculturation, the process of adopting the norms of another culture.  Assimilation is the process of adopting the cultural and social norms of the dominant culture, often losing aspects of one’s own culture in the process. He describes that assimilation occurs when a person has a positive view of the new culture and do not find it important to keep their original culture. Often failure to assimilate may lead to marginalization. Psychologists argue that integration, rather than assimilation, is important for the mental health of immigrants, where they would become bicultural, being able to function in both the new culture and their original culture. Assimilation often leads to acculturative stress which can have a negative effect on mental health.

One study which investigates assimilation is Lueck & Wilson, which aimed to investigate the variables that may predict acculturative stress in Asian immigrants and Asian Americans. The study included a sample of 2095 Asian Americans, half of which were first generation immigrants who were over 18 when they immigrated and the second half were born in the US to first generation immigrant parents. The sample consisted of several different Asian cultures, including Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese. In this study the researchers carried out semi-structured interviews, the interviewers had cultural and linguistic backgrounds similar to those of the sample population. Interviews were used to measure the participants’ level of acculturative stress, and also measured the impact of language proficiency, language preference, discrimination, social networks, family cohesion, and socioeconomic status on acculturative stress. The researchers found that 70% of participants were found to have acculturative stress according to their acculturative stress score. They discovered bilingual language preference contributed to lower acculturative stress, whereas preference for speaking English only is a predictor of high acculturative stress. As well that negative treatment significantly contributed to higher acculturative stress, whereas similar values and beliefs with family or satisfactory economic circumstances lowered acculturative stress. This study shows how assimilation can contribute to acculturative stress, as those participants who reported a preference for English rather than a bilingual preference had higher acculturative stress, illustrating the negative effects of assimilation for immigrants.