psychology studies

sociocultural (for erq)

tajfel (1970)

social identity

tajfel (1970)

social identity

aim: if intergroup discrimination would take place based on being put into different groups

method: experiment

sampling method: convenience

procedure: 48 boys were taken from a local school and were put into different groups based on their ratings of twelve paintings by two artists. the boys were told that they preferred either artist and were then given a task of awarding points to two other boys, one from his group and one from the other group.

findings: the boys generally awarded more points to people in their in-groups showing in-group favouritism.

link to theory: social identity theory argues that the boys favoured their own group because it increases their self-esteem

strengths: highly controlled

limitations: low ecological validity, demand characteristics

abrams et al (1990)

social identity

aim: to determine if in-group identity would affect one’s willingness to conform

method: true experiment

sampling method: convenience

procedure: 18 trials where they did a task similar to asch’s paradigm. there were two conditions: public and private. all four members gave their judgments aloud while the experimenter noted down their answers for the public condition. for the private condition, participants wrote down their answers.

findings: 77% of all participants conformed to the confederate judgments on at least one trial.

link to theory: social categorisation is in play here. this is because it affects a participant’s decision to confirm publically.

strengths: replicable, high internal validity (controlled and happened in lab), mundane realism

limitations: low ecological validity, low population validity, culturally biassed (study was done on individualistic society)

hilliard and liben

social identity

aim: to determine how social category salience may play a role in the development of stereotypes and inter-group behaviour in elementary school children

method: field experiment

sampling method: convenience

procedure: the study took place in two preschools. they were randomly allocated to either a high saliency condition (children were made aware of their gender) or a low saliency condition (this was the control group; teachers made no difference in behaviour).

findings: children in the high salience condition showed significantly increased gender stereotypes.

link to theory: social identity theory — a model (the presentation of pictures) was there and boys and girls were separated to encourage the stereotypes.

strengths: high ecological validity

limitations: low internal validity, sampling bias

berry (1967)

conformity & cultural dimensions

aim: to investigate conformity levels between two types of societies (specifically with differences in social norms and socialisation practices)

method: quasi experiment

sampling method: convenience (temne and inuit people)

procedure: participants were given a sheet and told that there are nine lines on the sheet and they would have to choose, from eight lines, which one matches the ninth line the most.

findings: temne had high conformity levels while inuit had low conformity levels.

link to theory: different cultures have different rates of conformity to group norms. shows individualistic and collectivistic communities’ differences.

strengths: controlled environment, cross-cultural

limitations: low ecological validity, high artificiality, temporal validity, ecological fallacy

hamilton & gifford (illusory correlation)

formation of stereotypes

aim: to investigate illusory correlation of group size and negative behaviour

method: true experiment

sampling method: convenience

procedure: participants were presented with a series of statements and each statement was about one individual in the group and was either positive or negative. they were then asked how many of the people in each group had the positive or negative traits.

findings: group A was ranked higher than group B for positive traits. participants overestimated the number of negative traits in group B (the minority group).

link to theory: this study presents illusory correlation through the participants’ overestimation of the number of negative traits in the minority group.

strengths: high internal validity (very controlled), lack of participant variability

limitations: low ecological validity, high rate of artificiality

steele & aronson (1995)

effects of stereotypes

aim: to investigate whether stereotype threat would affect the performance on a test

method: experimental method (lab)

sampling method: convenience

procedure: african american and white college students taking an aptitude test where there are two conditions - stereotype threat (being told that performance of the test will determine their intellectual abilities) and non threat (being told that the test is simply a problem solving exercise and was not a diagnostic of ability)

findings: african american participants performed worse in the stereotype threat condition than their white counterparts.

link to theory: there is a fear of confirming the stereotype – spotlight anxiety.

strengths: cause and effect relationship, high internal validity

limitations: demand characteristics, cannot be generalised to larger populations

martin & halverson

effects of stereotypes & memory distortion

aim: to investigate whether existing sex-typing schemas distort memories of experiences that are inconsistent with existing schemas

method: lab experiment

sampling method: stratified

procedure: kids were shown 16 pictures, half of which showed children performing gender-consistent activities and the other half of children performing gender-inconsistent activities. one week later, they tested the recall of the children to see how many photos they could recall accurately.

findings: kids easily recalled the sex of the actor for the scenes in which actors had performed gender-consistent activities. when the actor’s behaviour was gender-inconsistent, children often distorted the scene by saying that the actor’s sex was consistent with the activity they recalled.

link to theory: demonstrates the schema theory because it displays how previous mental representations of traditional gender roles can both enhance and distort memory.

strengths: cause and effect relationship, increased control and accuracy, internal validity

limitations: artifical, lacks mundance realism

joy et al

social cognitive theory

aim: to investigate the impact of television on children’s aggressive behaviour

method: longitudinal, natural experiment

sampling method: purposive

procedure: researchers observed aggressive behaviour displayed by children before Notel got television and after they were introduced to it.

findings: the aggressive behaviour of children significantly increased after the television was introduced to them. males were more physically aggressive than females.

link to theory: social learning - children can learn aggressive behaviours by observing models (television characters in this instance.

strengths: longitudinal nature, natural experiment, multiple data sources

limitations: lack of randomisation, lack of generalisability, possible confounding variables

bandura

social cognitive theory

aim: to demonstrate that if children are passive witnesses to an aggressive display by an adult, they will imitate this aggressive behaviour when given the opportunity

method: true experiment

sampling method: convenience

procedure: they used one male and one female adult to act as role models. there were three conditions - control group, group exposed to an aggressive model and group exposed to a passive model. children exposed to the adult models were subdivided by their gender and by the gender of the model they were exposed to.

findings: the children who saw the aggressive model acted more aggressively compared to the children who were not shown such a model. boys made more aggressive acts than girls. if the model was male, boys tended to be more aggressive than when the model was female.

link to theory: social learning theory is demonstrated through observational learning.

strengths: all variables were well controlled as it took place in a laboratory, easy to replicate

limitations: demand characteristics, low ecological validity

fagot (1978)

social cognitive theory & enculturation

aim: to observe parental reactions to behaviour that wasn’t deemed appropriate for the child’s gender, at least according to American culture at that time

method: overt naturalistic observations and interviews

sampling method: convenience

procedure: they conducted five 60-minute observations over a period of five weeks in each participants’ homes. they used time sampling. they used a checklist of child behaviours and parent reactions. after the observations were done, parents were asked to rate the behaviour as neutral, more appropriate for a boy or more appropriate for a girl. they also filled out a questionnaire on the socialisation of sex roles.

findings: parents rewarded children performing gender-consistent activities and discouraged gender-inconsistent behaviours.

link to theory: social learning theory: children learn behaviours and attitudes through observation, imitation, and reinforcement.

strengths: longitudinal design, naturalistic observation

limitations: generalisability, lack of diversity, potential researcher bias

kulkofsky (2011)

cultural dimensions

aim: to see if there was any difference in the rate of flashbulb memories in collectivistic and individualistic cultures

method: questionnaire

sampling method: random (274 participants from 5 different countries)

procedure: they were given five minutes to recall as many memories as they could of public events occurring in their lifetime (had to have occurred at least one year ago). they then created a questionnaire based on these experiences.

findings: in a collectivistic culture, personal importance and intensity of emotion played less of a role in determining flashbulb memory. however, individualistic cultures put more emphasis on an individual’s personal involvement and emotional experiences.

link to theory: brings forth the concepts of cultural dimensions, individualistic and collectivistic cultures.

strengths: can be replicated, lack of confounding variables, can be generalised to an extent

limitations: ecological fallacy

ogihara & uchida (2014)

cultural dimensions & acculturation & globalisation

aim: to investigate the effect of working in an individualistic workplace would have on the subjective well-being of Japanese women

method: questionnaire

sampling method: convenience

procedure: participants answered surveys relating to individualistic and collectivistic orientation, subjective well-being, and the nature of their relationships.

findings: japanese women who were acheivement-oriented scored lower on subjective well-being and had fewer close friends.

link to theory: spread of Western values through globalisation could have negative effects on people in collectivist cultures.

strengths: able to show how globalisation is affecting one cultural context of Japan especially as it is on the other end of the spectrum

limitations: no apparent causal relationship, bidirectional ambiguity, lack of external validity, possible confounding variables

norasakkunkit & uchida (2014)

cultural dimensions & acculturation & globalisation

aim: to explain the origins of hikikomori

method: correlational study

sampling method: convenience

procedure: they were given a standardised test to see whether they were low risk or high risk for hikikomori. the test looked at three levels: self-perceptions, perceptions fo their ideal self and perceptions of japanese society. they were also asked to take a test to measure their sense of local identity and global identity.

findings: both groups agreed that social harmony and conformity were highly valued by Japanese society. when looking at the current self and ideal self, students at a bigger risk for hikikomori ranked social harmony values much lower than the students at lower risk. the local culture may alienate or estrange many Japanese youths.

link to theory: identity confusion & the consequences of a sense of loss. not belonging to one's local culture & global culture affects an individual’s behaviour.

strengths: large sample size so it can be generalised to an extent

limitations: no cause and effect relationship is established, demand characteristics, sampling bias

lueck and wilson

acculturation

aim: to investigate the variables that may predict acculturative stress in a nationally representative sample of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans

method: semi-structured interview

sampling method: random (from a criteria)

procedure: researchers carried out interviews that were either face-to-face or over the Internet by interviewers of a similar cultural background to the participants. interviews measured multiple factors, some of which included level of acculturative stress, impact of language proficiency, language preference, and more.

findings: bilinguals had lower acculturative stress than those who were not. negative treatment (racism) led to acculturative stress.

link to theory: this study illustrates the concept of acculturation according to Berry's model, thus suggesting that the process leads to psychological and cultural differences in members of the two cultures under investigation; the study hence demonstrates that integration into a foreign culture, meaning the interaction with the dominant culture while maintaining personal identity, the status of being bi-cultural reduces acculturative stress.

strengths: provides detailed (rich qualitative) information, provides insight for further research, high ecological validity

limitations: inability to generalise results to the wider population, researcher bias, difficult to replicate

miranda & matheny

acculturation

aim: to predict the acculturative stress experienced by Latino adults from socio-psychological factors

method: questionnaire

sampling method: convenience

procedure: all filled in a questionnaire which tested their level of acculturative stress. questions included topics such as family cohesion, level of acculturation, acculturative stress, and coping strategies.

findings: these things helped people acculturate more successfully - proficiency in native language, effective coping skills, strong family structure, the amount of time spent in the new country

link to theory: illustrates the concept of acculturation according to Berry's model, thus suggesting that the process leads to psychological and cultural differences in members of the two cultures under investigation; the study hence demonstrates that integration into a foreign culture, meaning the interaction with the dominant culture while maintaining personal identity, the status of being bi-cultural reduces acculturative stress.

strengths: sample was diverse and relevant, quantitative data

limitations: sampling bias, social desirability, confirmation bias

becker (2002)

globalisation

aim: to investigate how TV can affect eating disorders in a “media native population.”

method: questionnaire and qualitative semi-structured interviews

sampling method: convenience

procedure: reserachers gathered data 3 months after TV was introduced and 3 years later. eating attitudes test (EAT) was used to gather data and a score greater than 20 is considered high and at risk of an eating disorder. qualitative semi-structured interviews are conducted.

findings: girls with TV in homes were 3x more likely to have an EAT score > 20. dieting went from being rare to 69% of girls saying they had tried dieting and 75% saying they felt too big or fat.

link to theory: effects of globalisation on a population that had been sheltered from the effects of the Internet over time from Western implications and globalisation.

strengths: can be generalised to an extent, naturalistic study, high ecological validity

limitations: low sample size so cannot be generalised, cannot be replicated, sampling bias, confounding variables