Sociocultural

Social Identity Theory

Social identity theory is a theory of intergroup conflict that aims to understand why conflict and discrimination occur. An in-group is a group in which an individual identifies, while an out-group is a group the person does not identify with. Social identity theory states that individuals are motivated to identify with their group and conform to its norms to achieve a sense of belonging and positive self-esteem.

Social Identity study

Aim: To investigate the effects of social categorization on intergroup behavior in a minimal group paradigm.

Method: A minimal group paradigm of 64 male students of a school in Bristol. At stage 1 (categorization) participants were shown 40 slides (each for less than a second) with clusters of dots on a screen and requested to estimate the number of dots.  Following this, experimenters told participants that the researchers were also interested in a completely different kind of judgment, and that they would investigate those as well, taking advantage of the participants’ presence. Participants were told that, for convenience, they would be divided based on the previous task—a group of four “overestimators” and four “underestimators”.  At stage 2 (distribution of rewards), participants were taken to another room one by one, where they worked independently in separate cubicles. They had to distribute rewards and penalties in real money to others. For this, they were given a booklet with 18 matrices. Table 3.1 shows an example of a matrix.

Results: The mean choice in the different-group matrices was 9.2 (compared to 7.5 as the point of maximum fairness).  The choices in the same-group conditions (two members of the in-group or two members of the outgroup) were more closely clustered around the point of fairness (7.5). 

Conclusion: Participants demonstrate in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination when categorized into groups based on trivial criteria.

Social Cognitive Theory

Social cognitive theory is an extension of social learning theory, which states that learning can occur indirectly. Social cognitive theory further includes reciprocal determinism, human agency, identification, and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the extent to which individuals believe they can master a particular behavior. Reinforcement is a key component of self-regulation, where individuals reward themselves for meeting specific goals or standards, which strengthens desired behaviors and improves performance. Social cognitive theory also observes the four key stages of modeling: Attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.

Social Cognitive Theory study

Aim: To find out how observing an adult model behaving aggressively towards an inanimate doll (Bobo doll) influences children’s subsequent aggressive behaviour.

Method: Lab experiment of 72 children. The children were randomly split into groups of either an aggressive role model, a non-aggressive role model, or a control group. At stage 1 a child was seated in the corner of a room with an adult model in another corner. The child was given things to play with, and the model had a mallet and a bobo doll. In the aggressive model, the model played with the toys and then be aggressive toward the bobo doll. In the non-aggressive condition, the model just played with the toys. In stage 2, the child was taken to another room and a frustrating situation was created to instigate the child’s aggression. At stage three, the children were given similar toys to those in the first room, and researchers observed the children’s behavior.

Results: Exposure of children to the aggressive model increased the frequency of aggressive behaviour among the children. Imitation in same-sex role model conditions was more likely than in the conditions where the sex of the child and the sex of the model were different. Boys were more likely to be aggressive than girls across all groups. Boys were more likely to imitate physical aggression, while girls were more likely to imitate verbal aggression. 

Conclusion: The main conclusion from the study (apart from additional gender-related findings) was that the idea of observational learning was supported: learning can indeed be indirect, and new behaviours can be learned by simply observing others.

Stereotypes

Attribution theory explains how people make sense of others’ behaviors by assigning causes to them, while errors in attribution occur when these explanations are biased or inaccurate. This causes stereotypes, a schema we develop about others that are simplified to ignore certain details.

Stereotypes study

Aim: To investigate test performances as a function of stereotype threat in white and black participants

Method: Black college students and white college students were given a 30-minute verbal test that was difficult enough for most participants to nd it challenging. In the experimental (stereotype-threat) condition, participants were told that the test diagnosed intellectual ability: “a genuine test of your verbal abilities and limitations” (Steele & Aronson, 1995). In the control condition, participants were told that the purpose of the research had nothing to do with intellectual ability: “to better understand the psychological factors involved in solving verbal problems” (Steele & Aronson, 1995). The assumption was that linking the test to ability would activate the existing racial stereotypes, so black participants faced the threat of fulfilling the stereotype.

Results: White participants performed equally in the diagnostic and the non-diagnostic conditions.  Black participants performed as well as white participants in the non-diagnostic condition. However, black participants performed worse than white participants in the diagnostic condition. 

Conclusion: Linking the test to diagnosing ability depresses the performance of black students through stereotype threat. When the test is presented as less reflective of ability, black participants’ performance improves and matches that of white participants. The researchers suggest that this may be explained by increased apprehension of black students over possibly conforming to the negative group stereotype. Faced with this possibility, participants become anxious, which affects their test performance.

Culture and its influence on behavior and cognition

Surface culture vs. deep culture

Surface culture refers to the visible and tangible elements of a culture, like food, dress, or music. Deep culture, however, encompasses the underlying and often unconscious beliefs, values, and assumptions that shape a culture.

Cultural Norms

Cultural norms are the shared expectations and rules that guide behavior within a society.

Culture and its influence on behavior and cognition study

Aim: To carry out a cross-cultural comparison of cognitive styles in Chinese and US students.

Method: A 28-item cognitive-style test was used. Each item consisted of three pictures (for example, “cow”, “chicken”, and “grass”). The task was to select any two out of the three objects that were alike and went together, leaving the third one out. 

Results: US students scored significantly higher than Chinese students in analytic style: they grouped objects more often on the basis of separate components, for example, classifying human figures together because “they are both holding a gun”. US students also scored significantly higher in the categorical style, for example, a cow and a chicken were grouped together “because they are both animals” (leaving grass unpaired). On the contrary, Chinese students demonstrated a much higher prevalence of the contextual style, for example, classifying pictures together on the basis of contextual commonality. When given “cow”, “chicken,” and “grass” as the three objects, they would group the cow and the grass together because the cow eats grass, and the chicken would be left out. 

Conclusion: Chinese students process stimuli holistically rather than analytically. They prefer to categorize objects on the basis of interdependence or relationships, while US students prefer to focus on components of the stimulus and categorize on the basis of membership in abstract groups

Cultural dimensions

Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are a framework for understanding how values in the workplace are influenced by national culture. It identifies six key dimensions: power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term vs short-term orientation, and indulgence vs. restraint.

Cultural dimensions study

Aim: To investigate whether cultural differences in individualism versus collectivism affect conformity. 

Method: The researchers measured conformity using the Asch paradigm: participants are shown a series of lines of varying length, with one target line on top of a page and several other lines below. Participants are then asked to identify which of the other lines is of equal length to the target line. They are also tricked into believing that most of the other participants (Temne or Inuits, respectively) pick a particular line as the correct answer; however, this line is actually not equal to the target line. The measure of conformity in this procedure is whether or not the participant will accept the suggestion of the “majority” and pick an incorrect response because most other group members have chosen it.

Results: The Temne had a significant tendency to accept the suggestion of the group and select the incorrect response. Participants from the Inuit group were mostly unaffected by this suggestion of the “majority”.

Conclusion: The researchers concluded that the individualist Inuit participants conform less often than the collectivist Temne because conformity to group norms is ingrained as a cultural value in the Temne society, which depends on tight social relations.

Enculturation and Acculturation

Effects of enculturation and acculturation

Enculturation, the process of learning and internalizing one’s native culture, has positive effects on identity formation, cognitive development, and social skills. Acculturation, the adaptation to a new culture, can be a source of stress and mental challenges, but also leads to increased cultural competency.

Emic and Etic

Emic refers to understanding a culture from within the culture, while etic is understanding a culture as an outsider.

Universalism vs. Relativism

Universalism asserts that certain principles are universally applicable, regardless of cultural differences, while relativism argues that morality is relative to specific cultures or individuals, with no universal standard.

Factors that influence cultural change

environmental shifts, technological innovations, and contact with other cultures.

Enculturation and Acculturation study

Aim: To investigate the influence of enculturation on musical memory

Method: Participants listened to several novel musical excerpts from both familiar and unfamiliar cultures (Western, Turkish, and Chinese) and then completed a recognition memory task. 

Results: • Participants were significantly better at remembering novel music from their native culture. 

• Musical expertise did not correlate with this result.

Conclusion: Enculturation influences musical memory on a deep level (cognitive schemas for musical information)