Sociocultural approach - concepts and definitions

Definitions of culture

1. Common rules that regulate interactions and behaviours in a group, as well as shared values and beliefs in the group. Such rules create a sense of safety and belonging. (Lonner, 1995)

2. The software of the mind, that guides a group of people in their daily interactions and which distinguishes them from other groups of people. (Hofstede, 1980)

3. A dynamic system of rules, explicit and implicit, established by groups in order to ensure their survival, involving attitudes, values, beliefs norms, and behaviours. (Matsumoto, 2001)

4. IB: Cultures are made up of a set of attitudes, behaviours, and symbols shared by a large group of people, and usually communicated from one generation to the next. Cultural groups are characterized by different norms and conventions.

Emic approach

An inside perspective.

Etic approach

An outside perspective. 

Universalism

Applies to all cultures

Relativism

Applies to specific cultures only

Surface culture

generally refers to language, customs and traditions that can be observed and measured through outward indicators.

Deep culture

refers to those elements of culture that might be easily understood by members of the culture, but not easily observed, like values, beliefs, thought processes and assumptions.

Cultural dimensions

The values within a culture that influence behaviour and cognition.

IB: Cultural dimensions refer to the values of members of a society living within a culture.

Study one of the following.

• Individualism/collectivism (we will focus on this one)

• Uncertainty/avoidance

• Power/distance

• Masculinity/femininity

• Long term/short term time orientation

• Indulgence/restraint

Evaluation

Strengths

• At the time, very strong, systematic research

• Objective collection of data

• Can explain many behaviours

Limitations

• Sampling bias: Sample taken from a specific work environment

• Data was self-reported: Survey method perhaps not best way to measure data

• Based on assumption that all cultures are homogenous

Individualism vs collectivism

Whether individuals see themselves as independent or dependent of a social group
Individualism: Achievement, uniqueness, and independence
Collectivism: Social harmony, tradition, interdependence

Enculturation

The process of adopting or internalizing the schemas of your culture.

IB: Enculturation is the process by which people learn the necessary and appropriate skills and norms in the context of their culture.

Cultural norms

 The rules which indicate the expected behaviour in a group.

Acculturation

The process by which someone comes into contact with another culture and begins to adopt the norms and behaviours of that culture.

IB: Acculturation is the process by which people change as a result of contact with other cultures in order to assimilate with a new culture. Relevant examples when studying enculturation and acculturation include universalism/relativism and etic/emic perspectives.

Occurs as a mix of; The degree to which individuals want to maintain their heritage culture and identity and the degree to which individuals seek involvement with the new culture or society

Strategies of acculturation

• Integration - individuals maintain their heritage culture, but interact with other groups and adopt some norms of the new culture.

• Assimilation - individuals adopt the norms of the new culture, and do not maintain their heritage culture identity.

• Separation - individuals maintain the norms of their heritage culture, and do not adopt the norms of the new culture.

• Marginalisation - individuals do not maintain their heritage culture, do not interact with other groups and do not adopt norms of the new culture.

Acculturation gaps

• Also known as acculturation dissonance.

• These are differences in understandings and values between parents and children as they go through the process of acculturation.

• This occurs when parents have a different acculturation strategy from their children (see Berry’s model).

Criticism

• Acculturation is often thought of as one dimensional: you lose one culture and gain another

• Berry’s model does not fit all people: Migrants do not always have an acculturation strategy to adopt

Ethnocentrism

The inability to empathize with another culture; to assume that one's own culture is the standard by which other cultures are assessed.

Acculturative stress/Culture shock

The psychological impact of adaptation to a new culture. 

As with any type of stress, long term acculturative stress also may lead to reduced mental and physical health.

Another term for acculturative stress is “culture shock.”

Protective factors against acculturative stress

• The amount of time spent in new country

• Proficiency in language of country

• Strong family structure

• Effective coping skills

• Negative treatment leads to higher acculturative stress

• Bilinguals have lower acculturative stress

• Sharing values with one’s family lowers acculturative stress

• Those who are economically satisfied have lower acculturative stress

Hikikomori

A disorder also known as “Social Isolation Syndrome” found in young (15-34 year olds) people in Japan. Young Japanese may lock themselves in their rooms and refuse to come out for years at a time. The disorder has three main characteristics:

1. No motivation to participate in school/work.

2. No other psychological disorders.

3. Persistent social withdrawal for at least 6 months.

Social identity theory (SIT)

• Social identity theory refers to the way someone thinks about themselves and evaluates themselves in relation to groups.

• Social identity theory posits that a person’s sense of who they are is based on their membership of social groups. This leads to the creation of in-groups and out-groups.

• Individuals seek to build self-esteem by identifying with specific social groups. Prejudice and discrimination can arise from this.

Tajfel and Turner’s original theory

1. Social categorization: the process by which we identity which groups we belong to and which groups we do not.

2. Social identification: the process of adopting the norms of the group and taking on the characteristics of the group.

3. Social comparison: people compare themselves to others in the group. Positive distinctiveness: people seek to achieve positive self-esteem by positively comparing our in-group to an out-group on some valued dimension.

Evaluation

1. Testable: It is difficult to measure social identity or self-esteem but the theory is testable.

2. Empirical Evidence: There is biological support for the ingroup/outgroup classification (Harris & Fiske). The minimal group paradigm was shown in the study by Tajfel (1970).

3. Applications: The theory can help explain conflict between groups or discrimination.

4. Constructs or Clearly defined variables: It is difficult to explain what we mean by social identity since it’s subjective.

5. Unbiased: There could be culture differences in the way we define social identity. Some of the early research is gender biased.

6. Predictive Power: The theory is rather explanatory than predictive.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

People learn both positive and negative behaviors from observing the actions of people in their environment, so called models.

Social learning

Modeling - involves learning through the observation of other people, which may lead to imitation if the behaviour is to be imitated leads to desirable consequences.

Vicarious reinforcement. - Seeing others getting a reward (or punishment) for behaviour.

Conditions for social learning to happen:

1. Attention: In order to learn, observers must attend to the modelled behaviour.

2. Retention: In order to reproduce an observed behaviour, observers must be able to remember features of the behaviour.

3. Motivation: In order to reproduce an observed behaviour, observers must want to reproduce it and expect a certain outcome from the behaviour.

4. Potential: In order to reproduce an observed behaviour, observers must physically and/or mentally be able to carry out the behaviour.

Factors influencing social learning:

1. The model stands out in contrast to other models.

2. The model's behaviour is consistent.

3. The model is liked and respected by the observer.

4. The observer perceives a similarity between him/herself and the model (member of in-group).

5. The model’s behaviour is reinforced.

Conformity

• A change of behaviour as a result of real or imagined group pressure or social norms.

• The result of social comparison- that is, our tendency to compare ourselves to others around us in order to validate our own behaviour and opinions.

Conformity results from two key factors:

1. Informational social influence: The need for certainty. We engage in social comparison in order to figure out how to behave.

2. Normative social influence: The need for social acceptance and approval. We conform in order to be accepted and to fit in.

Pluralistic ignorance

A form of informational social influence: when we do not react to something because no one else reacts.

Stereotype

An over-generalized belief usually about a group of people.

Prejudice

An often unfavourable attitude toward any member of the category in question.

Discrimination

When a person treats someone differently based on his or her membership of a group, rather than on individual merit. This type of behaviour can range from denying the person a job, to violent hate crimes.

Stereotype threat

Internalized stereotypes could influence an individual’s self-perception and behaviour in negative ways.

Formation of stereotypes

Social identity theory

Stereotypes can be formed when joining groups:

1. Social categorisation into in-groups and out-groups and favouring of in-group leads to positive stereotyping of in-group and negative stereotyping of out group

2. Boosts self-esteem of members

3. Reduced variability in in-group (we are the same)

4. Increased variability towards out-group (they are different)

Social cognitive theory

Stereotyping may be formed when observing and imitating others:

1. When joining groups, people conform to group norms to feel accepted.

2. Group norms may include behaviours involving stereotyping.

3. Stereotypes held by the group are internalized.

Illusory correlation

Illusory correlation is a type of cognitive bias that can lead to stereotyping because:

• There is a human tendency to see a relationship between unrelated variables, like gender and driving ability, or ethnicity and intelligence

• Sometimes, the relationship between variables is overestimated.

Effects of stereotypes

Prejudice and discrimination can result from in-group favouritism, putting your in-group in  high esteem and act negatively towards some out-group.

Stereotype threat is the fear that you will confirm a negative stereotype about a group that you belong to.

Individuals do not have to believe in the stereotype for it to affect their behaviour. It is simply awareness of this stereotype that leads to anxiety that impairs performance.

Bicultural identity

The condition of being oneself regarding the combination of two cultures.

Bicultural identity integration (BII)

The extent to which individuals are able to function appropriately and effectively in a multicultural context.

Globalisation and research

Refers to the transmission of ideas, meanings, and values around the world. This process is marked by the common consumption of cultures that have been diffused by the internet, popular culture media, and international travel.

Evaluation of globalization research

• It is difficult to operationalize variables. The term globalization is an economic term that is now being applied to cultures.  It is difficult to measure the extent of globalization in a country and thus it is difficult to accurately measure its effect on the local people.  

• In trying to understand the effect of globalization, there has been a richer understanding of the need for more diverse samples and a more emic approach to studying local cultures.

• It is difficult to design a study that effectively tests the assumption that globalization affects behavior. There are too many variables that a researcher would not be able to control. Most of the studies have low internal validity.

• Since globalization is an ongoing process, a single snapshot in time (a cross-sectional design) is not adequate to understand the effects of globalization; longitudinal research is necessary.

• Data is often self-reported through questionnaires or interviews. Therefore, demand characteristics, such as the expectancy effect or social desirability effect, may lead to responses that don’t truly affect the realities of the society. This is why it is important to triangulate methods – to see if the results obtained in a one-on-one interview are the same as in a survey or an observational study.

• As data is collected within a cultural group, there will be questions of transferability. This does not mean that it cannot be applied to other groups, but only to groups that are similar to the group that has been studied.