Social Structures and Group Behaviour

Recap from yesterday Prejudice Discrimination – examples What causes people to be prejudice? Learned it Competition

Review Activity Using your notes, complete the example chart Think of 2 examples per term 10 minutes to complete this activity

Social Structures Most of our social interactions occur in patterns It is patterned social arrangements in society that causes, and determines, the actions of the individuals We develop a pattern of behaviour within society, and then even as we grow these patterns stay the same

Examples of Social Strucutres They could be institutions: School systems Hospital systems Political institutions Religious institutions Or they could be other elements in society: Family structures Peer relationships

What are Social Structures Example: School Since the day we start school, we have to interact with teachers This interaction has rules, that is, guidelines that lay out how such integrations are to be shaped and how the parties to the integrations are expected to behave The individual teachers that we encounter may change, but the rules remain basically the same The education setting may change (college, university, high school) but the fundamental patterns of interaction remain largely similar

Today! Explain the ways in which social structures affect individual and group behaviour Focus: Family roles and culture Family members have roles within the family (ex. Mother, father, son, daughter). These roles carry particular meanings in every society and influence peoples behaviour

Family roles Change from one culture to the next Roles change over time How has Canadian society family roles changed?

Family obligations Who in your family is responsible for: Repairs in the house? Looking after young children? Cleaning dishes? Earning money? Paying for wedding? These roles would be different if we were in another society

Studying Society Structures We use meta-analysis a study combining the results of many other studies, when we study cultures Canadian researchers, Hamamura and Heine (2007) found that East Asians and Westerners tend to view themselves differently – and those differences have an important effect on family roles Both cultures perceive themselves positively – tend to like themselves and feel that they are good people

Westerner Culture Tend to have a great deal of self-enhancement (the belief that you are more competent and better than your actions and behaviours indicate) Remember: Defense mechanism (denial, self-rationalization) Tend to see themselves more positively than they actually are For example: if a student gets a bad mark on a test then it is a minor mistake, the teachers fault, or bad luck

Asian Cultures Concept of shame is a strong motivation They would try not to get the bad mark in the first place Concerned with what others think Self-concept is closely tied to a person’s family roles and obligations