Sociocultural level of analysis:

1. Sociocultural level of analysis: Sociocultural cognition

2. Outline principles that define the socio-cultural level of analysis - for example: As human beings we are constantly being influenced by other people, and by the requirements of society, even when we believe we are acting independently; Human behavior is explained by the social situation more than dispositional factors, such as individual personality; We are social animals and require others for our survival

3. 4 Principles that define sociocultural levels of analysis 1. Human Beings are social animals 2. Culture influences behavior. 3. Humans have a social self 4. Peoplesviews of the world are resistant to change

4. Human Beings are social animals • Human behavior is explained by the social situation more than dispositional factors, such as individual personality; • We are social animals and require others for our survival. • We have the need to belong • Note group relationship: • group effect ↔ individual effect

5. Example: Humans are Social Animals • Howarth (2002) focus group with adolescent girls in Brixton. • Aim: to study how the girls described and evaluated themselves. • Method: focus Group • Results: girls had a positive view of “being from Brixton” which contrast to view of people living outside Brixton. • Conclusion: This can be seen as creating a positive “social identity” based on belonging to a group.

6. Culture influences behavior • Culture = the norms and values defined by a society.

7. Berry (1967) • Aim: how does conformity relate to culture • Method: experimental (version of the Asch experiment ) • Temne people (agricultural) – rely on cooperarion. • Inuits (hunters & fishers) must be able to track and hunt on their own. • Results: Inuits were almost non-conforming whereas the Temne were mostly conforming Example: Culture influenced Behavior

8. Humans have a social self • The social self is said to be a collective or social identity. • Example: when Princess Diana died people mourned as if she were a member of their family. • When the US Hockey Team won the gold, the connections was so strong, you would have thought each of us had a brother playing in the team!

9. Peoplesviews of the world are resistant to change • World View: • The way the world is understood • How is it suppose to work • Why it works the way it does • What values are essential to the community

11. Explain how principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis may me demonstrated in research Research Methods at the Sociocultural levels of analysis Pg. 102 -103

12. How do people interact with each other? • Research: Qualitative in nature • Naturalistic – research is done in the environments in which the behavior is most likely to take place. • Methods: • Observations • Interviews • Focus groups

13. Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the sociocultural levels of analysis

14. Qualitative Research Cont., • Why choose qualitative research for sociocultural study? • Ecological Validity • Environment is more realistic to the behavior • What kind of data is gathered? • Descriptive data • Does not show cause and effect • How does this differ from Lab Experiments?

15. Participant Observation • Participant observation attempts to view the world through the eyes of the individual being studied. • Two types of observation techniques • Overt • Require researcher to gain trust • O’Reilly (2000) study of British expatriates on the island of Costa del Sol. • Covert • Used to infiltrate groups that would not normally permit observation. • Researcher must gain trust – Done through deceit. • No informed consent • Relies on memory, thus data is open to distortion. • NO interviews can be carried out!!!!!

16. Covert Research • Leon Festingeret al’s. When Prophecy Fails (1956) • Religious cult that believed the world was going to end on Dec. 21. • When the catastrophe occurred they would be rescued by a flying saucer as long as they followed the prescribed rituals and read the sacred text. • Festinger and his team became members of the cult. • Monitored the group members doubt. Debate and rationalization of what had taken place. • The group decided that God had not destroyed the world because of their prayers.

17. Discuss Ethical Considerations related to research studies at the SCOA

18. Ethics • Overt vs covert (Festinger, 1956) • Use of Deception (Berry, Ach, Festinger) • Harm to individual (Zombardo, Milgram)

19. Be a thinker • If you were a reporter covering the study, what questions would you ask Festinger and his team? • Discuss the ethical concerns you would have with this research.

20. Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behavior. pgs103 - 106

21. Fritz Heider (1958) Attribution Theory • Attribution is theory is based on the assumption that people: • Tend to look for cause and reason for others behavior because they feel that there are motives behind most of their own behavior. • Are intuitive psychologist who construct their own causal theories of human behavior. • Construct causal theories because they want to understand, predict, and control the environment around them.

22. Attribution Theory • Fritz Heider (1958), The Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships • Actor-observer effect • Attribution about behavior based on whether they are performing or observing. • Situational factor • External factors associated with individual discussed their own behavior. • Dispositional factor • Internal factors associated when an individual discusses someone else's’ behavior. • Attribution Theory Video (9:41)

23. Discuss two errors in attribution.

24. 3 Errors in Attribution 1. Fundamental error attribution error 2. Self-serving bias (SSB) 3. Modesty bias

25. Errors in Attribition • Fundamental attribution error: (3:55) • When individual overestimate dispositional factors in someone's behavior and underestimates situational factors. • Example: the public tends to describe actors based upon the roles (dispositional) that they have been casted (situation – auditioned for). • What may cause this behavior? • Not enough information to create a balance decision, thus individual attribute behavior based upon disposition. • When assessing themselves, individuals tend to take into consideration the situation or circumstances.

26. Fundamental attribution error: Ross et al. (1977) • Aim: would students make the fundamental attribution error knowing that all the actors were simply playing a role? • Method: experimental • Procedure: Randomly placed in groups • Game show host • Designed their own questions • Contestants • Members of the audience • Asked to rank the intelligence all invovlved

27. Fundamental attribution error: Ross et al. (1977) • Result: they consistently ranked the game show host the most intelligent. • Conclusion: People overlook situational factors when assessing attributes • CONCERNS: • Made up of students – may perceive the question make with higher authority. • Not a representation of the general population

28. Strengths and limitation FAE • The theory has promoted understanding of common errors in explanation of what happens in the world. • The theory has proven very robust and has been supported by many research studies • The theory is culturally biased with too much focus on individualism. • Much research has been conducted in laboratories and with student samples.

29. Self Serving Bias (SSB) • Self serving bias (3:25) • one attributes success to disposition factors, • and dissociate themselves from their failures attributing them to situational factors. • Lau and Russel (1980) • American football coaches and players attribute their wins to internal factors (being in good shape, talent) - - and their failures to external factors (weather, injuries, fouls committed by the other team)

30. Cultural difference in SSB • Kashima and Triandis (1986) • U.S. and Japanese students • Procedure: remember details of slides of scenes from unfamiliar countries • When asked to explain their success, American attributed to their ability, while Japanese tended explain their failures in terms of lack of ability. • This is termed modesty bias • Conclusion: because of the more collective nature of many Asian societies, people derive their self esteem not from individual accomplishments but from group identity. (less likely to use SSB)

31. Strengths and Limitations SSB • The theory can explain why some people explain their failures as being caused by situation • The theory is culturally biased. It cannot explain why some cultures emphasize a self-effacing attribution (modesty bias).

32. Evaluate social identity theory. Pages 106 – 108 Social Identity 4:22

33. Henri TajFel’sSocial Identity Theory • Individuals strive to improve their self image by trying to enhance their self-esteem, based on: • personal identity • Personal achievement • or various social identities • Affiliation with a successful group. • Cognitive Process = Social Categorizing

34. In-group (us) vs. out-group (them) • In-group favoritism: When an individual gets self-esteem from being a member of a group and sees his/her group as superior to others. Actions taken tend to benefit the group. • Level of self esteem is maintained by Social Comparison • Cialdini et al.,(1976) after a successful football match college supporters were more likely to be wearing logo/insignia than after the team lost a game. • Tajfel “the establishment of positive distinctiveness”

35. In-group (us) vs. out-group (them) • Out-group homogeneity: A result of social categorization, this is when all members of the out-group are seen to have the same characteristics. They are all cheaters or rich or snobby or fashion unaware.

36. Tajfel et al. (1971) Kandinsky vs. Klee experiment

37. Boys were randomly assigned groups based supposedly on their preference in art were more likely to identify with the boys in their group and were willing to give higher awards to members of their group. The out-group was ranked as less likable, but was never actually disliked. Conclusion: group identity alone does not account for intergroup conflict. In the absence of competition, social comparison does not necessarily produce negative outcome.

38. Social Identity Learning Theory • Downward comparison: In a study by Taylor, Wood & Lichtman (1983), they found that breast cancer patients who engaged in downward comparison (comparing themselves to someone worse off than themselves) had better recovery times and more positive self-esteem; those who engage in upward comparison (comparing themselves to someone better off than themselves) tended to have longer recovery times and were more likely to suffer from depression.

39. Strengths and limitation of social identity theory • Good way of understanding human behavior, i.e. ethnocentrism, favoritism, conformity, serotyping. • Assumes intergroup conflict is not required for discrimination to occur (Tajfel, 1970) • Established + of in-group by establishing the – of the out-group. • Describes, but does not accurately predict human behavior. • Why is our personal identity stronger than our group identity at times? • It fails to take into account the environment • Cultural expectations • Rewards • Social constraints (poverty)

40. Social Representations • Moscovici (1973) – group theory • Social Representations – shared beliefs and explanations held by the society in which we live. • Social Representations create the foundation for Social Cognition • Cultural Schemas that are fundamental to identity of the group • Howarth (2002) Brixton focus group study

41. In –group/out-group • How effective are these group based activities? Why or Why not? • Fall Fling/Spring Fling? • Pep-rallies • Group therapy

42. Homework • Read 108-110 • Find 2 examples of stereotypes in the media (newspaper, magazines, books, packaging, products, posters or films). Bring the image to class, and explain why the image represents a stereotype and why you think this image persists.

43. Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behavior Pg 108 -110

44. Stereotyping • Stereotype – a social perception of an individual in terms of group membership or physical attributions. • Positive/negative • A form of social categorizing that affects the behavior of those who hold the stereotype and those that are labelled. • A form of schema processing.

45. Stereotype threat: the effect of the stereotypes on an individuals performance • Steele and Aronson (1995) • Aim: to determine the affects stereotype has on performance • Method: lab experiment • Procedure: Minority Group and European American Group. When both were told it was a test for ability, the minority group did poorly. When both were told it was a ‘lab test to study how certain problems were solved’ the performance were not significantly different. • Conclution: Stereotype threat can affect the members of just bout any social or cultural groups, if the members believe in the stereotype.

46. Spotlight Anxiety • Steele (1997) argurs, stereotype threat triggers spotlight anxiety, • Emotional distress and pressure that may undermine performance • Spencer et al., (1977) • Assessed mathematical performance and literary performance of men and women (both of which were highly skilled in both areas). • Women scored high on literary but not in the math. • Spencer attributes this to stereotype threat and spotlight anxiety.

47. What do you think? • In 1994, a controversial book, The Bell Curve (by Richard J. Hernstein) was published, discussing the IQs of different ethnic groups. One stereotype it perpetuated was that all Asians are very intelligent. In spite of this being a rather “positive” stereotype, how could this also be an example of stereotype threat? • What are the negative effects of such stereotype?

48. Formation of stereotypes • Social categorization: The cognitive process of allocating people to groups - either as an "in-group" to which one belongs, or an "out-group.." This process helps us to describe and predict the world more efficiently. • Social comparison: Individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains, and learn how to define the self. It is a way to build self-esteem and a way to resolve ambiguity

49. How Stereotypes Develop • Campbell (1967): There are two key sources to stereotypes • Personal experience • Individuals and groups • Gatekeepers (media, parents other members of culture) • Grain of Truth hypothesis: an experience with an individual from a group will then be generalized to the whole group.

50. Illusory correlation • Hamilton and Gifford (1976) : Illusory correlation • People see a relationship between two variable even when there is none. • Gender and culturally based prejudice about social groups • Illusory correlation is an exampleof cognitive bias. • *Attribution errors are also examples of cognitive bias. • Once Illusory correlations are made, individuals will seek information to remember/support = conformational bias