sociocultural

Cultural norms

Unique set of attitudes, beliefs and behaviours specific to a particular culture

Culture

A unique meaning and information system, shared by a group and transmitted across generations

Cultural transmission

Process of passing cultural norms from one generation to another

Socialisation

Process by which social norms are incorporated by individuals

Enculturation

Immersion into your own culture and acquisition of the cultural norms. Becoming a part of your original culture culture

Social learning

Mechanism of enculturation that involves observing other people perform actions as well as the consequences of these actions

Acculturation

Acquiring the cultural norms of a different culture

Globalisation

Increasing interconnectedness among all cultures and increasing cross-cultural influence

Power distance

Extent to which people accept unequal distribution of power

Uncertainty avoidance

Describes tolerance for ambiguity

Masculine culture

More competition, focus on material rewards and assertiveness

Feminine culture

More emphasis on co-operation, modesty and quality of life

Individualistic culture

People have looser ties to their social groups, and tend to act independently, driven by their own, personal goals

Collective culture

People have stronger bonds to their social groups, and emphasise loyalty and co-operation with others

Horizontal individualism

Unique members, mostly the same status

Vertical individualism

Unique members, it is possible to distinguish yourself and have a higher status in a social hierarchy

Horizontal collectivism

Members merge themselves with the ingroup, mostly same status

Vertical collectivism

Members merge themselves with the ingroup, and submit themselves to an authority in that ingroup

Long-term oriented culture

People tend to focus on distant future, and are willing to sacrifice immediate gratification in favour of working towards long-term goals

Short-term oriented culture

People tend to focus on the past and present, and tend to seek immediate gratification

Social cognition

How people understand their social world

Social desirability

Most people aim to act in ways that are considered socially desirable

Consensus

Extent to which other people respond in the same way to a situation

Consistency

Extent to which people respond in the same or similar way to a given situation

Distinctiveness

Extent to which the behaviour varies in typical responses to similar stimuli

Categorization

Mentally placing someone into a particular social group, which can be based on their gender, age, race, nationality, occupation, religion, style of dressing, etc.

Generalization

Forming a belief about a particular social group and than applying that belief to all members of that group

Priming

Process by which your recent personal experience increases the accessibility of a schema

Accessibility

The ease with which we use schemas

Stereotype threat

Anxiety and apprehension experienced by an individual or members of a particular group when they believe that their behaviour in a specific situation may confirm and reinforce existing negative group stereotype

Dispositional attribution

Explaining someone’s behaviour by thinking it’s because of who they are (not taking into consideration the possible circumstances)