The SocialCultural Perspective How ethnicity, gender and culture form our personality

1. The SocialCultural PerspectiveHow ethnicity, gender and culture form our personality

2. Individualism vs. Collectivism • Individualism – Cultures where people define themselves according to their personal identity & give priority to personal goals. • Example: I am a outgoing. I am a teacher. • Collectivism – Cultures where people define themselves according to the group they belong to. Their goals are the goals of the group. • Example: I am Irish Catholic.

3. Which Culture is the U.S.? • Capitalism encourages us to amass personal fortunes and shun social programs. • Movies glorify the person who stands up to authority and stands out from the crowd. • “Be all YOU can be.” • We are Individualistic. • Eastern Cultures (Japan, China) tend to be more Collectivist.

4. Sociocultural Factors affect our Self Concept & Self Esteem • How we believe other people see us affects our belief about ourselves. • Ethnic groups that have held power have higher views of the themselves. • White women have a higher dissatisfaction with their appearance. Why? • Media idea for white female models is on average 9% taller and 16% slimmer than the average woman in the U.S. • 58% of high school African American girls were happy with who they were vs. only 22% of white girls. Why is this? • A.A. girls believe that if they are treated negatively it is not because who they are or what they do but a third factor, prejudice while white girls blame themselves for not meeting the dominant culture’s ideal. • A.A. girls do not compare themselves to the white models of the media but to other girls in their group.

5. Acculturation • Acculturation – process of adapting to a new or different culture. Different paths an immigrant can take to this: • Complete assimilation – stop your native country’s customs and completely adopt the new country’s customs and language. • Separation – Retain native country’s customs and language and never fully adopt those of the new country. • Bicultural – Combine native customs with new country customs and values (melting pot). • People who are bicultural have the highest self-esteem.

6. The Social-Cognitive Perspective:Evaluating the Perspective

7. Evaluation of Socialcultural Perspective • Most agree that external forces are internalized and affect how we see ourselves. • Social perspective allows us to appreciate how culture shapes who we are. • Criticism: Ignores the influences of unconscious, emotions, conflicts