SCLOA

Examine the role of two cultural dimensions

A dimension of culture is an aspect of culture that can be measure relative to other cultures. Hofstede argues that differences in behaviour are a concept of culture which was suggested by Hofstede (1980) in his survey of 88,000 IBM employees working in 66 different countries. * Culture is to some extent a collective phenomenon that may distinguish one group from another on specific dimensions. Culture determines the a persons at and thinks, and it is hard to change. Unlearning what is once learned and internalized is very difficult. 1. Collectivism and individualism. - Relates to the relationship between the individual and the group. - Individualistic countries, such as France, Denmark, people tend to see themselves as individuals who must take care of themselves. Ties between individuals are loose and voluntarily, and they value things such as freedom and personal time. Collectivistic countries such as, Japan and Korea, the individual is tied to social groups such as families or clans throughout their lifetime, and it provides safety in return for loyalty. Study, Wei et al. (2001) survey on collectivism vs individualism on conflict resolution style. Discussion of results: the collectivism vs individualism dimension in relation to conflict resolution styles was only somewhat confirmed. The researchers concluded that conflict resolution styles are complex, and cannot be reduced to cultural dimensions alone. E.g., differences found within the groups of Asian managers were larger than between the groups. Evaluation: The survey used aa large and representative cross-cultural sample of managers in Singapore so the results can be generalized. May be issues of reliability due to the study relying to self-reports. Overall the results are reliable. 2. Long-term orientation and short-term orientation (Hofstede et al. 1988) Relates to the a cultural dimension found in Asian countries. Suggested this dimension based on the Confucian work dynamism. Values such as persistence, loyalty and trustworthiness are central to this dimension. Study, Basset (2004), qualitative research to compare perception of conflict resolution in Australian and Chinese students. Results: Generally, the data confirmed Hostede's individualistic and collectivistic dimension. As for long term vs short-term orientation, the Chinese data confirmed the importance of this dimension in understanding behaviour. Chinese, concerned about face-saving and interpersonal relationships. It is important to pay attention to a relationship; perhaps inviting the person to dinner could help the relationship. Australia, policies and procedures dictate the way employees and the organization operates rather than culture and tradition. Issues such as saving faces are not important since parties will push for negotiation if they feel they are being treated unfairly.

Describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behavior

Attribution theory, Heider (1958), people try explain observable behavior in form of external or internal causes to that behaviour. Humans have a need to understand why things happen. And also look for reasons and causes to other peoples behavior because they feel there are motives behind most of their own behavior. In that way it makes the world more predictable. There are two causes to that observed behavior. It can be caused by something within the person, such as a personal trait, and therefore it is an internal factor. E.g. intelligence. That is called dispositional attribution. The other cause to the observed behaviour are the external factors, something that the person can't control. This is called situational attribution, e.g. weather and luck.

Explain social learning theory, making reference to one relevant study

Bandura (1977) suggested social learning theory as an extension of existing learning theories. SLT is baed on the assumption that people learn behaviors, attitudes and norms through direct experiences but also through observing other humans or models. 4 important factors in SLT 1. Attention, paying attention to the model is a condition for learning 2. Retention, remembering what the model did is a condition for imitating the model's behavior 3. Reproduction, must have the capacity to imitate 4. Motivation, must be motivated to imitate, e.g. reward We learn consequences of behavior from watching what happens to other humans, also called vicarious reinforcement. And it serves as a guide to future actions, and people are more likely to imitate behaviour that has positive effects. Study 1. Bandura and Ross (1961) Aim: children would imitate the aggression of an adult model and whether they would imitate same-sex models more than opposite sex models. Children exposed to aggression model --> more aggressive Children more likely to imitate same-sex model. Boys more aggressive than girls This study supports SLT. Aggressive behaviour can be learned through observational learning. Generally, research supports that children tend to imitate same-sex models more, also case for adults Experiment, laboratory, low in ecological validity. Artificial agression, demanded characteristics. Children were very young, criticized for ethical reasons. In the Charlton, (2002) study, the results shows that social and cultural factors also play a role in what behaviors are acceptable, so even though children had no doubt learned aggression behaviour, they did not show it. The study conforms the idea that people must be motivated to imitate behaviour.

Discuss factors influencing conformity

Conformity can be defines as when an individual identities with a particular social group and conforms to a prototypical group norm, which results in increase in similarities between ingroup members as we all differences to outgroup. Deutsch et al (1955) argue that conformity is a result of informational influence and normative influence Informational influence: when an individual turn to members of the group to obtain information about what is right. Ex. Sherif (1936) Normative influence: Individual conforms in order to be accepted or liked by other members of the group. Ex. Asch (1951) Situational factors in conformity. Group size: Asch study, size of opposition is important only up to a point. Asch suggested that with larger groups, participants may become resistant to conform if they suspect that members of the majority are working together on purpose Group unanimity: Social support made it easier to resist conformity. Asch Cultural norms as a factor in conformity Berry (1967) Variation of Asch conformity experiment. Temne people, Inuits.

Evaluate research on conformity to group norms

Conformity is the tendency to adjust one's thoughts, feelings or behavior in ways that are in agreement with particular individuals or group, or with accepted standards about how a person should behave in specific situations such as social norms. A study on conformity, done by Asch (1951) Aim: whether perceived group pressure by a majority can influence a minority in an experimental set-up that is not ambiguous. Results: control group 35 participants did not make a single error so in total 0.7% errors were made compared to the 37% errors in the experimental group. Strenths: - A high degree of control ensured that a cause-effect relationship could be caused between variables. - High reliability due to the number of replications of Asch's results - Results, can to some extent, explain why people conform to social and cultural norms in real life Limitations: - Lab. experiments are artificial and somewhat difficult to generalize to real life, issues of ecological validity - Low in population validity, participants white male from us - Results can only explain how majority influence minority, not the other way around - Raises ethical issues, as the participants were deceived about the purpose of the experiment. Sherif, (1936) investigate conformity to perceived group norm Strengths - One of the most influential experiments in social psychology. It has generated a large amount of research - Demonstrates how a group norm can be established and continue a person's judgement even when the social influence is no longer present. Limitations: - The experiment was conducted in a laboratory. Artificial and ambiguous, this could influence the results - Participants not informed, low on ethics. Moghaddam (1993) argues that the research may have a cultural and social bias. Sherif's study conducted in a time when conformity was the norm in America and this may have changed since then. And conformity patterns may be different in other cultures.

Define the terms culture and cultural norms

Culture Lonner (1995) Common rules that regulate interactions and behavior in a group as well as a number of shared values and attitudes in the group. Hofstede (19995) Culture can be defined as a collective mental programming that guides a group of people in their daily interactions and distinguishes them from other groups of people Matsumuto (2004) Culture can be defined as a dynamic system of rules, explicit and implicit, established by groups in order to ensure their survival, involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms and behaviors. Cultural norms Defined: rules that a specific group uses for stating what is seen as appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, values, beliefs, and attitudes. Gives people sense of order and control in their lives as well as a sense of safety and belonging. Cultural norms can be explicit, e.g. law, or implicit, e.g. rituals.

Discuss two errors in attribution theory

Fundamental Attribution Error, Ross (1977) Attribution Theory argues that people are more likely to explain another persons's actions by pointing to dispositional factors, rather than to the situation. So there is an overestimation of disposition when explaining a behavior. Makes life more predictable if peoples behavior was caused by their personality. Study made by Ross et al. (1977) where the aim was to investigate whether knowledge of assigned social roles in a quiz show would affect participant's judgement of people's expertise, showed a clear demonstration of FAE. The contestants and the observers attributed the questioner's ability to answer the questions to dispositional factors, and failed to take in consideration the sit. factors that the gave the questionares an advantage. The experiment may contain sampling bias due the students. Difficult to generalize. Suedfeld (2003) investigated attributions made by holocaust survivors. 34% made situational attribution about the survival, 71% of the control group (jewish people who had not experienced Holocaust). This shows study shows support to FAE (1977). Cultural bias in FAE; culture seems to be a determinant in attribution style. Collectivist cultures emphasis is on the primary social relationships of an individual. Individualistic cultures emphasis on the individual as the primary cause of action that leads to dispositional factors, and is seen as the main cause of success and failure. Norenzyan (2002), may be universal features in the FAE and that available information influences attributions. Strengths The theory has promoted of common errors in explanation of what happens in the world. Has been supported by many research studies. Limitations Culturally biased with too much focus on the individualism Much research has been concluded in the laboratories and with a student sample. (problems with generalization )

Outline one principle that define the sociocultural level of analysis and explain how this principle may be demonstrated in research

Humans have a social self which reflects their group memberships. People do not only have an individual identity, but also a collective or social one. Social identities are very important to the definition of who we are, and many behavior are determined by the memberships of groups such as family, nationality or community.Group memberships give rise to social identities (in-groups) and comparison with other groups (out groups). This might lead to bias in information processing (stereotyping) and discrimination. Demonstrated in Social Identity Theory (SIT) by Tajfel and Turner (1979) suggested that group-based social identities are based on categorization into in-groups and outgrips. In-groups are generally seen as more positive than outgroups and in-group favorism is common. Tajfel (1970) suggested the minimal group paradigm. He performed experiments with boys who were randomly divided into two groups. They were told that it was based on their estimation of dots or preference for paintings, but in reality it was random. The boys believed they were placed according to their estimation and preference, to award points to members of the group. They consistently demonstrated in-group favoritism by awarding members of their own group more points. The experiment showed that a kind of social identity can be established even as a consequence of a minimal and unimportant task.

Explain, using examples, epic and etc concepts

Pike (1967) suggested the emic and etic concepts to address the issues of "cultural specific" versus "universal". Emic * studies one culture alone to understand culture-specific behavior The focus is on norms, values, motives as they interpret and understand it themselves, with their own words. Ex. 1 (Barlett, 1932) mentioned the extraordinary ability of Swazi herdsmen to recall individual characteristics of their cattle. He explained that the Swazi culture revolves around the possession and care of cattle and it is important for people to recognize their animals because this is a part of their fortune. Etic * Universal studies across cultures * Purpose is to compare and contrast cultural phenomena across cultures to investigate whether phenomena are culture-specific or universal Ex. 1 Berry (1967) used a variation of Asch conformity experiment to study whether conformity rates among the Temne people in Sierra Leone and the Inuits in Canada could be linked to social norms. Temne --> high conformity rates, cooperation in farming. Inuits --> low in conformity, high on self-independence.

Explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behavior

Stereotypes are mental representation and a form of social categorization made about specific individuals or a group and its members In order for humans to simplify the complex world we live in, we organize all the information we are represented with. And we use social categorization, which is often based on stereotypes. Stereotypes are formed through daily interactions, conversations and the media. They are to some extent based on individual experiences. The Princeton Trilogy Studt (1933) by Katz and Braley, investigated whether traditional social stereotypes had a cultural basis. They asked 100 male students from Princeton University to pick out 5 traits that characterized different ethnic groups such as Japanese, African Americans. 84% of the students said the African Americans were superstitious. They were very positive towards their own group. The study suggests that stereotypes are learned because most of the students in the study did not have any personal contact with members of the ethnic group they rated. Stereotype have an effect on our behavior. Social groups are categorization into in-groups and out-groups. Once someone belongs to a group they tend to emphasize on similarities between individuals of the same group and exaggerate the differences between groups. Stereotypes have a close link to group identity. Confirmation bias makes stereotypical thinking resisting to change due to the fact that people would rather pay attention to behaviour that confirms what already believe about a group and ignore those behaviour that contradicts those beliefs. To conclude, stereotypes are formed through daily conversations and media. And divide people based on their characteristics. These types of social categorizations lead to behaviors such as conformation biases and generalization.

Evaluate Social Identity Theory - Maje ab appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations of something

Tajfel's social identity theory assumes that individuals strive to improve their self-image by trying to enhance their self-esteem based on either personal identity or social identities. SIT in based on the idea of social categorization theory (1979). The theory has been used to explain social phenomena such as ethnocentrism, in-group-favorism, stereotyping. Social identification may in fact underpin some of these behavior because social categorization can produce competitive intergroup behavior. Tajfel argued that people who belong to a group, or when people were randomly assigned to a group- they automatically think of that group as their ingroup and all others as an outgroup, and they will exhibit ingroupfavortism. In the famous Kandinsky versus Klee experiment, Tajfel et al. (1971) observed that boys who were assigned randomly to a group, based on their supposed preference for the art of either Kandinsky or Klee, were more likely to identity with the boys of their group and were willing to give higher awards to members of their own group. When the experimenters asked the participants for ratings of ingroup and outgroup on traits such as likeability, they found that the outgrip was rated as less likeable, but was never actually disliked. Tajfel et al. (1971) supports the predictions of the Social Idenity Theory, which states that the social groups and categories to which we belong are an important part of our self-concept. That was demonstrated in the experiment with the minimal group, and that was all that was needed for individuals to exhibit discrimination against outgrips. This experiment has been criticized for artificiality and demand characteristics. Cialdini et al. (1976) demonstrated the social comparison phenomenon among fotball supporters. After a successful football match, the supporters were more likely to be seen wearing college clothing than after defeats. It is assumed that our need for positive self-concept will result in bias these intergroup comparisons, so you will be more positive towards anything that your own group represents. Some strengths to the SIT is - SIT assumes that intergroup conflict is not required for discrimination to occur. This is supported by empirical research such as Tajfel (1970) - SIT can explain some of the mechanisms involved in establishing "positive distinctiveness" to the in-group by maximizing differences to the outgroup. - SIT has been applied to understanding behavior such as ethnocentrism, in-group favors, conformity to ignore norms, and stereotyping. Limitations - Minimal group research has been criticized for artificiality. The experiment set-up is so far from natural behavior that it can be questioned whether it reflects how people would react in real life. This could limit the predictive value of the theory. - SIT cannot fully explain how ingroup favorism may result in violent behaviour towards outgroups -SIT cannot explain why social constraints such as poverty and cultural expectations could play a bigger role in behaviour than social identity.

Discuss two errors in attribution theory

The self-serving bias (SSB) - Evaluate themselves positively by taking credit for their success and attribute their failures to situational factors. A possible explanations to why SSB occurs is when people don't have enough information and limit themselves to the available information, Miller and Ross, (1975) Lau and Russel (1980) found that american football coaches and players attributed their success to dispositional factors and failure to situational factors. There may be cultural considerations in SSB. Some argue SSB is primarily linked to individualistic cultures but others believe it can be found in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Kashima and Triandis (1986) showed slides from unfamiliar countries to American and Japanese students and asked them to remember details. When the students were asked to explain their performance, the Americans --> internal factors, such as ability and failure --> external factors. Japanese --> failure with lack of ability. This is called modesty bias and is a cultural variation of the SSB Strengths of the SSB The theory can explain why some people explain their failures as being caused by sit. factors Limitations The theory is culturally biased

Discuss the use of compliance techniques

The social norm of reciprocity dictates that we treat other people the way they treat us. (Cialdani, 1993). People are socialized into returning favors and this powerful rule underpins compliance. Study Regan (1917), test reciprocity Aim: test whether participants who had received a favor from another would be more likely to help this person than if they had not received a favor. Evaluaiton: lab experiment, with a high degree of control. Possible to establish a cause-effect relationships between "receiving a favor" and "returning a favor". This supports the principle of reciprocity. May be issued of artificiality as well as sample bias. Limits the possibility of generalization. But the findings have been supported by observation in real life. Foot-in-the-door-technique (FITD) The real and large request is preceded by a smaller one. The FITD technique has been used in fund raising and to promote environmental awareness. Dickerson et al. (1991), field experiment. Shower in dorms increased with the students who had been asked to sign poster. Experiment shows that compliance with a small request increases the likelihood of compliance with a second, much larger request. Door-in-the-face-technique Request is made which will surely be turned down, then a second request is made which asks less of someone. People are more likely to accept the second request because they fell that the person has already lowered the request to accommodate them. Study done by Cialdini (1975). Prison chaperons. Tina-Tomney (1986) compared reciprocity in individualistic cultures, such as Australia, The USA and France, and collectivistic cultures, Japan and China. Study shows that the principle of reciprocity is universal, but in the individualistic countries it was more voluntarily, however in the collectivistic it was rather obligatory.