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4.1 Socio-cultural Level of Analysis: Socio-cultural Cognition. Principles that Define the Sociocultural level of analysis. Principle 1: Humans are social animals and have a need to “belong”. Principle 2: Culture influences behavior. Principle 3: Humans have a social self
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4.1 Socio-cultural Level of Analysis: Socio-cultural Cognition
Principles that Define the Sociocultural level of analysis • Principle 1: Humans are social animals and have a need to “belong”. • Principle 2: Culture influences behavior. • Principle 3: Humans have a social self • Principle 4: People’s views of the world are resistant to change and developed by community and culture. • Be Reflexive pg. 102
Research Methods at the Sociocultural level of analysis • Quantitative or Qualitative? • Naturalistic to preserve ecological validity • Participant Observation • Interviews • Focus Groups
Participant Observation • Overt • Participants know • Trust factor • “see the world throught their eyes” • O’Reilly (2000) British expatriates • Covert • Potential hostility • Might not be open and honest • Deceit is used (lack of consent) • Difficulty taking notes • Potential for Distortion (relying on memory) • Festinger et al. (1956) End of World Cult • Ethical considerations?
Attribution Theory • Attribution: how people interpret and explain causal relationships in the social world. • People want to know: Why do things happen? • Explain how people have different ways of attributing causes to events. • Actor-observer effect • Situational factors (external) • Dispositional factors (internal)
Errors in Attributions • Fundamental attribution error • Lee et al. (1977) Gameshow • What does this study reveal? • Overestimate dispositional factors • Why do people do this? • Self-serving bias • Greenberg et al. (1982) • Miller and Ross (1975) • Modesty Bias • Kashima and Triandis (1986) • Bond, Leung, and Wan (1982) • Why do Asians tend to exhibit modesty bias vs. SSB
Social Identity Theory • Individuals strive to improve their self-image by enhancing self esteem • Personal achievement • Successful group affiliation • Indicates the importance of social belonging\ • Social Categorization • Used to explain • Ethno-centrism • Stereotyping • In-group conformity • Inter-group competition
Discuss Tajfel’s arguments about belonging to a group? • In-group • Out-group • Favoritism • Social Comparison • Influences self-esteem • Can you think of real world examples where this happens? • Research Findings • Kadinsky vs. Klee • The boys looked more favorably on members of their “in” group.
Limitations of Social Identity Theory • Describes but does not accurately predict human behavior. • Reductionist • Doesn’t address the environment • Cultural expectations • Rewards and motivators • Societal Contraints (poverty) • Which plays a greater role?
Social Representations • Shared beliefs and explanations held by the society in which we live or the group to which we belong. • Cultural schemas • Provide common understanding for communication within the group
Stereotyping • Social perception of an individual in terms of group membership or physical attributes. • Stereotype Threat • Fear of being judged stereotypically or doing something to confirm a stereotype • Spotlight Anxiety • Pressure that undermines performance
Formation of Stereotypes • Social categorization • Natural cognitive process that forms stereotypes • Campbell (1967) Two main sources • Personal Experience • Gatekeepers: Media, parents, and members of our culture • Grain of Truth Hypothesis: Experiences become generalized • Hamilton and Gifford (1976) • Illusory correlation: people see correlation when there is none. • Confirmation Bias: people tend to seek out or remember information that confirms the bias.