The social-cultural level of analysis Social Psychology The social-cultural level of analysis

Learning outcomes: General Learning Outcomes Outline principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis. Explain how principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis may be demonstrated in research (that is, theories and/or studies). Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the sociocultural level of analysis. Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the sociocultural level of analysis.

SCLA: Sociocultural cognition Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behaviour. Discuss two errors in attributions. Evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies. Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour.

SCLA: Social Norms Explain social learning theory, making reference to two relevant studies. Discuss the use of compliance techniques. Evaluate research on conformity to group norms. Discuss factors influencing conformity.

Cultural Norms Define the terms “culture” and “cultural norms”. Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behavious Using one or more examples, explain “emic” and “etic” concepts.

The Sociocultural Level of Analysis SCLOA is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings and thus behaviours are influences by actual, implied or imagined presence of others. Thus it is;  The scientific study of individuals and groups in social and cultural conditions  How we think, feel and thus act in the presence of others  And thus how this presence of others affects our behaviour 

The principles of the SCLA There are four overarching principles of the SCLA  Principle 1: Humans are social animals and thus have the need to 'Belong'  Principle 2: Culture influences behaviour  Principle 3: Humans have a social-self  Principle 4: People's views of the world are resistant to change and developed by the community and culture 

Purpose of the Principles These principles are the main ideas that have driven focused research on specific areas of how our environment can influence our behaviour in the SCLA. They also allow us to understanding how behaviour can be caused or influenced by social factors. 

Experiment time Visual estimation

Principle 1: Sociocultural psychologists believe that social and cultural environment influences behaviour. States that behaviour can be influenced by the social and cultural environment. For Example:  In a Social and Cultural Environment: you eat with a knife and fork whereas in some other places/cultures, you may eat with chopsticks or a spoon and fork  This further reinforces the idea that the real or imagined pressure of others influence behaviours  Culture can be defined as the norms and values that define a society Research into conformity outlines social norms and also how, in the form of internalized standards of behaviour, they regulate our social behaviours  Conformity also shows that strong situational influences may cause us to put our own believes, values and morals to the side in order to fit in and be accepted by our social world (thus influencing behaviour) This principle is further supported by research conducted by Asch (1951)

Asch experiment in more depth Aim: Solomon Asch (1951) conducted an experiment to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. Procedure: Asch used a lab experiment to study conformity, whereby 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the USA participated in a ‘vision test’. Using a line judgment task, Asch put a naive participant in a room with seven confederates.

More Asch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyDDyT1lDhA Results: Asch measured the number of times each participant conformed to the majority view.  On average, about one third (32%) of the participants who were placed in this situation went along and conformed with the clearly incorrect majority on the critical trials. Over the 12 critical trials about 75% of participants conformed at least once and 25% of participant never conformed. In the control group, with no pressure to conform to confederates, less than 1% of participants gave the wrong answer.

Asch Conclusion: Why did the participants conform so readily?  When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought "peculiar".  A few of them said that they really did believe the group's answers were correct. Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) because they believe the group is better informed than they are (informational influence).

Asch Explained This study thus shows that our social and cultural environments may affect us thus result in conforming to a group or social norm May result in a change in behaviour  Significance Shows that social settings affect how one behaves. Also has important implications for conformity and understanding the process of conforming. Why do we want to conform? Normative and informational reasons.

Evaluation of Asch Biased sample. All male college students. Lacks population validity. Artificial task to measure conformity - judging line lengths. This means that study has low ecological validity. Ethical issues: participants were not protected from psychological stress which may occur if they disagreed with the majority. Cross-cultural and temporal issues.

Principle 2? Culture influences behaviour. The SCLA assumes that we construct our individual and social self through our conceptions. This social self is how we construct our social identity and is also dependent on the types of groups that we belong and identified with. These identities reflect the influence of society on oneself and have been seen to extensively affect our behaviour. Building who we are around our culture and environment (studies have shown that 'norms' considered in one culture may be completely opposite in another).

Principle 2 contd This principle gives rise to the fact that people not only have a individual identity but also a collective or social one.  Likewise our social identity is important as it defines who we are and these behaviours are determined by social groups (such as memberships, communities, clubs, nationality or family).  A study that supports this principle is Zimbardo et al. (1995).  Connection of Study to Principle  Showing that our social self is constructed by our own conceptions (prisoner or guard) and thus we will act in a way that fits with these conceptions. 

Stanford Prison Experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_LKzEqlPto

Zimbardo: The Lucifer Effect http://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil#t-160521

Important Concepts to Remember Concerning behaviour and evil in particular Dispositional factors: Characteristics that within the individual; personality traits that may make a person lean towards cruel and hurtful actions Situational factors: Factors about the situation that increase the likelihood that cruel acts will take place. i.e. anonymity Orders by authority Conformity to group norms

Ethics and the Stanford P.Ex. Highly stressful Not allowed to leave despite demanding to be let out Abusive and degrading treatment Far beyond that which is acceptable in psy. research Lasting traumatic experience for both guards and prisoners Guards shocked by their own potential for cruelty A valued study but still debatable and hard to justify

Research Methods in Soc Psy Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the sociocultural level of analysis. What is a research method? / What is the purpose of research methods in Psychology Researchers need to have a method for collecting and analysing data. There are many different/various methods researchers and psychologists use to conduct their studies. Research methods are ways that researchers use and manipulate to conduct their studies

6 main research methods used in psychology Experiments  Case Studies  Observational Studies  Interviews  Surveys/Questionnaires  Correlational Studies 

Triangulation When researchers incorporate the use of 2 or more research methods of investigation to explore the same aspect Triangulation increases credibility. There are 4 main types of triangulation:  Data  Researcher  Theoretical  Methodological 

Biases in Psy research Researcher bias: Observer bias - The researcher/s sees what they are looking for, in which the expectations of the researcher consciously or unconsciously affect the findings of the study.  Observer bias - The participant/s act differently or accordingly due to the consciousness of being observed by people (researchers), which may influence the nature of the study.

An important premise about Soc Psy In sociocultural psychology, testable theories, and assumptions of a human’s social self and how we come to communicate and interact with the environment are observed through the social environment. Different from CLA of BLA Tested via the different research methods listed above.

Experiments Experiments are used to determine the cause and effect relationship between two variables (independent (IV) and dependent (DV) variables). Researchers manipulate the independent variable (IV) and measure the dependent variable (DV) Attempt to control as many extraneous variables as possible to provide controlled conditions (laboratory experiments) Experiments are considered a quantitative research method, however qualitative data may be collected as well

Types of Experiments

Experiment types contd

Example of a Lab experiment(Sheriff 1935) A: To demonstrate that people conform to group norms when put in an ambiguous situation  IV: The autokinetic effect – the distance of how far a light beam "appeared" to move in a dark room --> therefore, changing the amount of people to represent a group sample to test the level of conformity in the group, in relation to their estimated answers. DV: Their estimate on how far the light moved (except for the fact that the light didn't really move which is an issue, because how can you test conformity to something that doesn't actually happen). 

Sheriff contd. Testing conformity, much like Asch did. Allowed a cause and effect relationship to be developed and recognised Cause: The group situation formed when Sheriff brought the participants together to tell the answer in front of the group.  Effect: Level of conformity between the individuals in the group (How many people conformed to the answer which was the most popular, from their first or original guess). Experiment most useful here because a clear cause-effect relationship is hard to find in a real life setting. Hard to control variables. Again, Asch is also an experiment.

Observational Studies Laboratory Observation Ethological Observation Participant Observation

Laboratory Observation Organized Well controlled settings and variables Can lack ecological validity Subject to the observer effect Examples 2 way mirror Polygraph Sleep studies

Ethological Observations Out of lab studies with people in normal settings Pros Higher validity Occur in natural field setting Cons Difficult to carry out Hard to repeat Observer effect a problem Difficult to concisely record data…qualitative mostly

Participant Observation Dual role researcher. Psychologist Active member of the specific group being studied Pros Excellent qualitative data Emic understanding Cons Objectivity issues Difficult to record and record keep (sometimes impossible in i.e. covert observations). A lot of ethical issues concerning deciept

Example of participant observations Festinger 1956 "When Prophecy Fails" Joins a doomsday cult A religious cult believed that the world would end on 21 December, and that they would be rescued by flying saucers if they followed the rituals and read sacred texts As day comes and goes, able to interview participants and examine how beliefs had been adjusted to fit reality.

Ethical Issues with Festinger’s study Privacy may be violated by the researcher. Informed consent was not obtained Participants were not informed of their right to withdraw  Researchers used deception to study the group"s behaviour  Participants were not debriefed.

Important notes about Festinger’s findings Disconfirmation Expectancy Dissconfirmation expectancy is a psychological term for what is commonly known as a failed prophecy. disconfirmed expectancies create a state of psychological discomfort because the outcome contradicts expectancy. Upon recognizing the falsification of an expected event the individual must either discard the now disconfirmed belief or justify why it has not actually been disconfirmed. The people in the cult told everyone that the reason it did not happen was that the group’s faith caused the event to not take place.

Important Study Asch (1951)

SCLA: Cultural Norrms

Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour. Our social world is very complex and thus presents us with too much information. Since our capacity to process information is limited, our social world needs to be simplified.  One way to avoid this information overload is through social categorisation. The information is used in social categorisation is stereotypes. 

A stereotype A "stereotype" is a mental representation and a form of social categorization made about specific individuals or a group and its members. Once a set of characteristics is used to describe a group of people, those characteristics are often attributed to all members of the group, thus affecting the behaviour of the people or individual who hold the stereotype, and those who are labelled by a stereotype.  Gender, race, political stance, and personality contribute to the stereotypes we place on others, but they are generally based on race and gender. 

Give example, in terms of (+) & (-) stereotypes This generalization may either be positive or negative, based on certain group membership or physical attributes, however most stereotypes of today are negative, exaggerating the quality and cognitively-associating such trait to all individuals that are part of the group leading to discrimination and prejudice, thus increasing self-esteem about themselves and their in-group.  For example, white people can"t dance; black people are stupid and uncivilized; Jewish people are greedy; women are organized, etc. However, some positive stereotypes may exist such as, Asians are intelligent; Christians are good people; women are bad drivers; old people have grey hair, etc.

Stereotypes are similar to schemas Stereotypes are now also argued to be a schema process that conditions those who hold the stereotype and also those labelled after the stereotype, as they are organized internal representations of individuals and or groups, therefore guiding how people act towards them.

Theories of stereotype formation --> leading to affected behaviour Old Theory – Social Categorization & Social Identity Theory  Earlier on, Tajfel (1971) argued that stereotypes developed through a natural process of social categorization, which is when people categorize groups of people based on common traits or characteristics. However, this does not explain how it actually happens

Illusory Correlation (Social Cognitive Theory) Hamilton and Gifford (1976) argued instead that stereotypes formed through a type of cognitive bias, “a person"s tendency to make errors in judgement based on cognitive factors,” which is known as illusory correlation. 

Cognitive bias may be relevant to stereotypes After illusory correlations are formed, people actively seek to confirm and support their beliefs by looking for evidence in a "biased" way, which is known as confirmation bias. Illusory correlation comes in many forms such as culturally based prejudice about social groups. Cognitive bias may cause us to reinforce previously developed stereotypes  Therefore making this bias, “stereotypical thinking resistant to change.” 

Hamilton and Gifford (1976), A study done by Hamilton and Gifford (1976), argued that stereotypes are a result of an illusory correlation, because “people see a relationship between two variables even when there is none,” e.g. "blonds" or "women," etc. That is, for example, that people can form “false associations between membership of a social group and specific behaviours.” 

Hamilton and Gifford (1976), AimTo investigate illusory correlation of group size and negative behaviour. Method  Researchers asked participants to read descriptions about two made-up groups (Group A) and (Group B). Descriptions were based on a number of positive and negative behaviours.  Group A (majority group) – twice as many members than B; performed 18 positive and 8 negative behaviours.  Group B (minority) – performed 9 positive and 4 negative behaviours.  Asked to attribute behaviours to group. 

Results:  Although there was no correlation between group membership and the types of behaviours exhibited by the groups, in that the proportion of negative and positive was the same for both groups, the participants did seem to have an illusory correlation. More of the undesirable behaviours were attributed to the minority Group B, than the majority of Group A. 

Results:  Although there was no correlation between group membership and the types of behaviours exhibited by the groups, in that the proportion of negative and positive was the same for both groups, the participants did seem to have an illusory correlation. More of the undesirable behaviours were attributed to the minority Group B, than the majority of Group A. 

Grain of truth hypothesis Supporting Researcher 2: Campbell (1967)  Campbell (1967) states that there are two keys to stereotypes and are formed through,  personal experiences with the groups and people we stereotype  gate keepers (parents, media, other members of our culture)  This is what forms his grain of truth hypothesis, in which he argued that experiences are generalized and passed on to groups, as a result of an experience shared with an individual of the group or stereotype that are categorized to. However, this theory has been criticized, since errors in attribution are common.

Supporting Study 3: Synder and Swann (1978) – study of confirmation bias  Method  In a research study by Snyder and Swann (1978), female participants were told that they would meet a person who was either introverted or extroverted. They were asked to prepare a set of questions for the person they were going to meet.  Results:  The study showed that the participants wrote questions that were consistent with whom they were expecting to meet. 

Snyder and Swann contd Conclusion: Researchers concluded that the questions asked confirmed participants" stereotypes of each personality type.  Connection to question  Evidence for illusory correlation. This belief is biased, because we pay attention to behaviours that confirm what they believe about a group and ignore those behaviours contrary to their beliefs. 

Stereotype threat Introduce stereotype threat, as a result of categorization  Through categorization and by being part of thoughts resistant to change, stereotypes have a tremendous potential to affect a certain group"s behaviour negatively, which can be explained by stereotype threat. Stereotype threat occurs when one is in a situation where there is a threat of being judged or treated stereotypically, or a fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype.  Steele (1997) claims that the stereotypes" of prejudice is the cause of spotlight anxiety, an emotional stress that inhibits a stereotype-targeted individual"s performance. 

Supporting Study 1: Aronson and Steele (1995)( stereotype threat) Aim:  To investigate the effect of stereotype threat on performance in a test. Method:  Gave a 30 minute verbal test to African American and European-American participants.  Tested two groups of the participants and told one group that it was an articulation test whilst the other group was told it was a laboratory task.

Findings: Conclusion: African Americans scored lower than the European Americans when they were told it was an articulation test but when told it was a laboratory test the African Americans scored higher than the European Americans.  Conclusion:  Shows that stereotype threat can affect an individual"s performance in a task. 

Conclusion These studies show the formation of stereotypes according to the social cognitive theory, social categorization, grain of truth hypothesis and illusory correlation.  Shows how stereotypes simplify our social world and how as the studies demonstrate, stereotypes are widely held to evaluate generalise a group of people.  Stereotypes may lead to discrimination and prejudice and affect the behaviour of those who create the stereotype and also those who are stereotyped.  From this, it can be concluded that stereotypes most often negatively affect our behaviour; however more research has to be made in order to investigate how stereotypes are formed and how they affect behaviour.