Socio-Cultural Approach to understanding human Behavior (SCAB)

Introduction ​(+ last year’s General LOs ​for your reference​)

The sociocultural approach to behaviour investigates the role of social and cultural influences in shaping thinking and human behaviour. An increasing body of culturally informed research
has made cross-cultural psychology as well as cultural psychology a contemporary topic of debate among psychologists working in the field. Theories, concepts and research studies
provide the background for a more nuanced understanding of the variety and complexity of human behaviour. This is important in the modern globalized world where issues related to
migration and integration are on the rise.

Key figures in the field of modern social psychology have often favoured experimental methods to understand how social context influences behaviours, identities, attitudes and cognitions,
however, by studying acculturation in terms of intergroup relations, we can start to understand that the same processes may be seen in the interaction between cultural groups. Social and
cultural psychologists are now also using qualitative research methods in order to get a better understanding of intergroup relations as well as the process of acculturation.

GLOs
1. Outline principles that define the SCAB
a. The social and cultural environment influences individual behavior
b. We want connectedness with, and a sense of belonging to others
c. We construct our conceptions of the individual and social self
2. Explain how principles that define the SCAB may be demonstrated in research
3. Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the SCAB
4. Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the SCAB

1. Content Guidance Potential Exam Questions Researchers Summary of Research Critical Thinking Framework
*command terms may vary* Method, Application/Alternative
Explanation, Gender, Ethics, Culture

The Individual and the Group

Social identity theory
Social identity theory refers to the
way someone thinks about
themselves and evaluates themselves
in relation to groups. Social identity
Social cognitive theory
Modelling and observational
learning can be explained using
one or more examples.
Evaluate social identity theory,
making reference to relevant
studies
Steele & Background - There can be
Aronson Information: generalizability issues
1995 Steele & Aronson termed since the sample only
stereotype threat in their contained Stanford
study as an individual being University Students,
at the risk of applying and all undergraduates
theory posits that a person’s sense of
who they are is based on their
membership of social groups.
In-group and out-group
This refers to groups with which
an individual identifies
(in-group) or does not identify
with (out-group).
Conformity and/or compliance
The presence of others can lead
to changes in beliefs and
behaviours resulting in
conformity and/or compliance to
perceived norms, rules and
regulations.
Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is part of social
cognitive theory and relates to
an individual’s perception of the
possibility of success in a given
area based on previous
experiences.
Reciprocal determinism
Individuals are influenced by the
environment but also influence
the environment. This means
that society and culture can
influence individuals but
individuals can influence society
and culture, resulting in
emergent properties such as new
societal and cultural norms.
Describe one study that
investigates social identity
theory
exhibiting a self hence it doesn’t
characteristic rather a represent the whole
negative stereotype of their population
own group. - The study used the
independent measures
Aim: design however using
The study aimed to the matched pairs
investigate how African design would have
Americans test results were been better
affected by the stereotype
- In terms of ethics, it
threat.
hasn’t been
mentioned whether
Participants​:
they were taken
The subjects of the study
consent from or not
were 76 female and male.
and whether
They were all black and
debriefing occurred
white undergraduate
after the study or not
students from Stanford
- There is a cultural
University
bias since all the
.
participants are from
Procedure:​
Stanford University
- The participants
- While there was a
were put into
difference between
either of the two
the results of the two
conditions
conditions this isn’t
- The study had two
necessarily due to the
independent
stereotype threat
variables:
- The participant's
- The race of the
racial identity and
subjects (first IV)
level of stress weren’t
- The test
descriptions based
 on the condition measured while they
Socialization they’re put in were giving the exam
The concept of socialization is (second IV) - Hence these could be
the process of providing the - The subjects were confounding
individual with the skills, habits given a variables to the study
and norms necessary for standardised test - The sample size was
participating within their own based to test relatively small
society. verbal intellectual
ability it was
Social/cultural learning similar to the SAT
Learning takes place within a - In either condition
social/cultural context and can they were given
occur through observation the test, each
(modelling) or direct instruction. condition just had
Individuals gradually internalize
different test
social and cultural norms and
descriptions
values to guide them in the
interaction with other people.
- Condition 1: the
Internalization is the process of first condition
acceptance of a set of norms and was told that the
values established by influential test will test their
people or groups. intellectual ability
- Condition 2: the
Social cognition second condition
This refers to how people was told that the
process information about the test will asses
world including other humans their
based on cognitive elements problem-solving
such as schemas, attributions, skills
and stereotypes. Modern - The first
research into social cognition condition
sometimes includes brain primarily looked
imaging (social cognitive at the verbal
neuroscience). This is also ability
relevant to cultural cognition. - While the second
condition
Stereotypes primarily looked
Examples of stereotypes at their
influencing behaviour could be problem-solving
prejudice and discrimination. skills
The theory of stereotype threat - Both the
indicates that internalized conditions had an
stereotypes could influence an equal number of
individual’s self-perception and subjects
behaviour in negative ways. - All subjects were
randomly
allocated to either
condition
Results:

- The white
participants scored
a mean of 15 on the
first condition
- The black
participants scored
a mean of 13 on the
first condition
- Whereas in the
second condition
the white
participants had a
mean of 12 while
 black participants
had a mean of 11
- There is no
segregation done
between the female
and male results
since there was no
significant
difference between
their results
- The results show
that African
Americans
performed worse
when they were put
in the first
condition as it was
told to them that it
would test their
ability
- However in the
second condition
when they were
told their
problem-solving
skills are being
assessed they
scored just as well
as their white
counterparts
- Overall the African
Americans
performed worse in
 the condition which
had the stereotype
threat condition
(condition 1)
- Whereas they
performed just as
well as the white
Americans when
they were in the no
stereotype threat
condition
(condition 2)

Aim:
Harris and Harris & Fiske wanted to
Fiske (2006) observe the role of the
prefrontal cortex and the
amygdala in reacting to
what they called "extreme
out-groups" - that is,
homeless and addicts.
The researchers wanted
to see the biological
correlates of a
"contemptuous
stereotype."
Participants:
22 Princeton university
undergraduates
- fMRI’s are expensive
and the sample is the
size too small to cut
costs
- It’s hard to generalize
since the sample size
is only 22 students
- There is a sampling
bias since all the
subjects were
Americans(cultural
responses can’t be
ruled out), Princeton
graduates(indicates a
certain level of
intelligence/socioeco
nomic status)
 - The fMRI avoids any
Procedure: demand
- The group was characteristics hence
divided into two there will be no
half the people confounding
were shown variables
images of people - Low ecological
whereas half the validity since it’s an
people saw artificial setting
images of objects
- Before going into
the fMRI scan
they were shown
these images and
asked to
categorize the
images into
disgust, envy,
pride and pity
- In the fMRI, they
were given the
same task with six
sets of 10 images
- The photos shown
included people
with disabilities, a
rich businessman, 
older people,
American
Olympic athletes
 & homeless
people
- The subjects were
shown a response
screen and after
each image, they
had to use the
joystick &
associate one of
the 4 emotions  
Results 
- The pictures that
the subjects
associated with
emotions of
disgust such as
homeless people
& addicts the
amygdala was
activated ​(group
1)
- In addition, even
the insula got
activated, this part
of the brain is
activated when
one sees a
nonhuman object
such as garbage &
human waster
(​group 2)
 - The medial
prefrontal cortex
is activated when
we think about
other
people/ourselves
however this area
of the brain
wasn’t activated
(shows that they
didn’t see
homeless people
as human beings)
Social cognitive theory Making reference to relevant Bandura Et Aim - The study showed
Social cognitive theory suggests studies, contrast social identity Al 1961 The aim of the study was Bandura’s Social
behaviour is modelled by other theory and social cognitive to understand if Learning Theory
members of a group and acquired theory aggression can be learned - The study studied
through observation or imitation by imitation and both the genders
based on consequences of a observation. hence there was no
behaviour. Participants gender bias
There were a total of 72 - Using matched pair
participants. 36 boys and design was beneficial
36 girls they were all since this way the
aged 3-6.All the subjects study avoided much
were from the Stanford of the confounding
University Nursery variables
School. - The study uses
Procedure children hence the
- Before the results can’t be
experiment was generalized to the
conducted the whole population
 children's levels since the sample only
of daily represents children
aggression were aged from 3-6 in the
tested study and not
- The researchers adults,teenagers or
did this by children over the age
observing them of 6
during school and - There is a major
then quantifying sampling bias since
their aggressive all the children were
behaviour based from the Stanford
on 4 5-point University Nursery
rating scales. School
- The researchers - There is a cultural
did this so that bias since all
they could match participants are from
the children’s Stanford
daily levels of - Parents gave consent
aggression to to let the researchers
other children use their children to
- This was because be a part of this study
then they could - The study was
match children to deemed to be morally
each other based acceptable since the
on their daily models showcased
aggression levels their aggressive
hence it wouldn’t nature towards
affect the results inanimate objects and
of the study not real life humans
- The study - Demand
followed the characteristics could
 matched-pairs have manipulated the
design where the results since the kids
subjects were put could have behaved
together based on in a way they were
the 2 conditions expected to behave in
being measured after watching the
- All children were models hence the
individually put results could be false
into a room which positive
had an array of
toys
- The children were
put in the room
for 10 minutes to
play
- The children were
being looked at
through a
one-way glass
- There were three
different
observational
groups
- Group 1 : had 24
children (12 girls
and 12 boys) they
observed a male
or female model
showcasing
aggression to a
Bobo Doll. The
 aggressive actions
and behaviours
that were shown
were: throwing
the doll ,punching
the doll,sitting on
on the doll .Use of
a rubber mallet to
hit the doll on it’s
head , even
kicking the doll
- The showcasers
used verbal
aggression to
show this as well ,
the use of phrases
“sock him in the
nose” , “hit him
down!” , “Pow!”
- The second group
had different 24
children again 12
boys and 12 girls ,
they watched a
non-aggressive
model , they did
things like play
silently with
tinker toys they
showed no
aggression neither
 verbal nor
physical
- The last group
was the control
group it also had
24 children 12
boys and 12 girls
these children
weren’t shown
any model
- After this was
done children
again were
individually taken
into another room
and all these
rooms had been
made in such a
way that
aggression would
be stimulated in
the children
- The room
consisted of lots
of different
attractive &
exciting toys
- After 2 minutes of
the child playing
with the toys the
experimenter said
 that “these were
her very best
toys” further she
added that she
doesn’t just let
anyone play with
them and that they
have been kept for
other kids.
- This was done on
purpose to
stimulate
aggression in the
children
- After this the kids
were taken into
the 3rd room
where they were
looked over by a
one-way mirror
and the
researchers scored
the kids behaviour
for aggression.
Results
- The result showed
that group 1
showed a much
higher quotient of
aggression in
comparison to
 that of group 2
and groups .
- Group 1 was
showcased the
aggressive model
whereas groups 2
and 3 were either
showcased non
aggression or no
model at all.
- The kids were
showed the same
verbal as well as
physical
aggressive
behaviour that
they saw in the
model
- The results
showed a
difference
between the
behaviours of a
boy and a girl
- Boys were seen to
replicate more of
the physical
aggression
- The boys even
showed a higher
tendency to
 replicate those
models who were
of the same
gender
- There wasn’t
much of a
difference
between boys and
girls when it come
to verbal
aggression
- However it was
seen that the girls
from group 1 had
a higher tendency
to showcase
aggression if the
model was male
- The results
showed
transference of
behaviour where
the kids not only
replicated what
the models
showed but also
showed what they
hadn’t learnt in
the experiment
- The kids
exhibited
 behaviours that
weren’t
showcased by the
models such as
the use of a toy
gun to bring out
aggression
towards the bobo
doll
- Transference
behaviour shows
that the kids did
not blindly
showcase some
behaviours but
instead they
understood the
concept of
behaviour being
expressed towards
the Bobo Doll
was aggression
- Hence social
learning took
place since the
children learnt
through their
observations from
the female or
male models
Huesmann Aim:
et Al (2003) - It’s a longitudinal
The aim of this study was study hence it looks
to understand the at the long term
relationship between TV impacts of the social
violence and the effect on learning theory
children and further on - Since they used meta
their aggressive and analysis for the
violent behaviour in results it considered
adulthood. important controls
such as
Participants: socioeconomic status,
The original study was a range of parental
done on 557 children factors and
who all grew up in intellectual ability
Chicago. - The study’s results
supported the social
The follow-up study was learning theory as
done on the same well as Bandura’s
individuals however now findings
as them being adults - The study used a very
during 1992. large sample size
hence it increased the
Procedure: credibility of the
- This was a study
longitudinal study - It was a correlational
study hence there was
- The study a clear correlation
included the use between TV violence
of meta-analysis and it’s long term
- The researchers effect on adult
asked the 4 violence
questions to - There was a clear
understand the demarcation between
data they realistic and
collected unrealistic violence
- The questions - However there was a
were as follows: major cultural bias
- How far since all the children
does were from Chicago ,
young hence making
childhood generalisability
exposure harder
to violence - There were no ethical
in media issues since all the
determine variables were
young naturally occuring
adult - Since the study is
aggression correlational there’s
and no assurance that
violence adulthood aggression
- Is there a was only caused due
possibility to the exposure to TV
of gender violence or if there
difference were other factors
s in that might have
predictabil affected the results
ity?
- How far
does the
belief of
the child
viewer
based on
how far
the plot is
realistic to
them or
how much
they think
of it as
aggressive
behaviour
affect the
prediction
?
- How much
does a
long-term
relationshi
p affect
the
aggression
in children
such as
children
wanting to
watch
violence
 or due to
family,
environme
ntal or
personal
or any
“third
variable”
circumstan
ces which
lead to
childhood
violence
viewing
and
childhood
&
adulthood
aggression
?

Results:

- Both the genders

showed that
childhood tv
violence played a
role in their young
adult aggression
15 years later
- If the children
perceived that TV
violence does
show childhood
identification and
real life situations
they showed
higher levels of
aggression 15
years later
- Parental factors
are a variable to
influence for both
aggressive nature
and TV habits
- Moreover the
parental factors
aren’t the only
reason as to why
this aggression is
bought out in
children and in
their adulthood
based on TV
violence
- The social
learning theory
applies here since
children in their
childhood learnt
from TV violence

Stereotypes Explain the formation of
A stereotype is a generalized and stereotypes and their effect on
rather fixed way of thinking about a behavior
group of people.
Discuss how stereotypes may
arise and affect human
behavior
and hence it
affected their
behaviour in their
young adulthood
life
- There was no
difference in the
results of boys
VS. girls
Steele & Background
Aronson Information:
1995 Steele & Aronson termed
stereotype threat in their
study as an individual being
at the risk of applying and
exhibiting a self
characteristic rather a
negative stereotype of their
own group.
Aim:
The study aimed to
investigate how African
Americans test results were
affected by the stereotype
threat.
Participants:​
The subjects of the study
were 76 female and male.
They were all black and
white undergraduate
- There can be
generalizability issues
since the sample only
contained Stanford
University Students,
all undergraduates
hence it doesn’t
represent the whole
population
- The study used the
independent measures
design however using
the matched pairs
design would have
been better
- In terms of ethics, it
hasn’t been
mentioned whether
they were taken
consent from or not
and whether
students from Stanford debriefing occurred
University after the study or not
. - There is a cultural
Procedure:​ bias since all the
- The participants participants are from
were put into Stanford University
either of the two - While there was a
conditions difference between
- The study had two the results of the two
independent conditions this isn’t
variables: necessarily due to the
- The race of the stereotype threat
subjects (first IV) - The participant's
- The test racial identity and
descriptions based level of stress weren’t
on the condition measured while they
they’re put in were giving the exam
(second IV) - Hence these could be
- The subjects were confounding
given a variables to the study
standardised test - The sample size was
based to test relatively small
verbal intellectual
ability it was
similar to the SAT
- In either condition
they were given
the test, each
condition just had
different test
descriptions
- Condition 1: the
first condition
was told that the
test will test their
intellectual ability
- Condition 2: the
second condition
was told that the
test will assess
their
problem-solving
skills
- The first
condition
primarily looked
at the verbal
ability
- While the second
condition
primarily looked
at their
problem-solving
skills
- Both the
conditions had an
equal number of
subjects
- All subjects were
randomly
allocated to either
condition
Results:

- The white
participants scored
a mean of 15 on the
first condition
- The black
participants scored
a mean of 13 on the
first condition
- Whereas in the
second condition
the white
participants had a
mean of 12 while
black participants
had a mean of 11
- There is no
segregation done
between the female
and male results
since there was no
significant
difference between
their results
- The results show
that African
Americans
performed worse
when they were put
 in the first
condition as it was
told to them that it
would test their
ability
- However in the
second condition
when they were
told their
problem-solving
skills are being
assessed they
scored just as well
as their white
counterparts
- Overall the African
Americans
performed worse in
the condition which
had the stereotype
threat condition
(condition 1)
- Whereas they
performed just as
well as the white
Americans when
they were in the no
stereotype threat
condition
(condition 2)

Harris and Aim:

Fiske (2006)
Harris & Fiske wanted to - fMRI’s are expensive
observe the role of the and the sample is the
prefrontal cortex and the size too small to cut
amygdala in reacting to costs
what they called "extreme - It’s hard to generalize
out-groups" - that is, since the sample size
homeless and addicts. is only 22 students
The researchers wanted - There is a sampling
to see the biological bias since all the
correlates of a subjects were
"contemptuous Americans(cultural
stereotype." responses can’t be
ruled out), Princeton
Participants: graduates(indicates a
22 Princeton university certain level of
undergraduates intelligence/socioeco
nomic status)
- The fMRI avoids any
Procedure: demand
- The group was characteristics hence
divided into two there will be no
half the people confounding
were shown variables
images of people - Low ecological
whereas half the validity since it’s an
people saw artificial setting
images of objects
- Before going into
the fMRI scan
they were shown
these images and
 asked to
categorize the
images into
disgust, envy,
pride and pity
- In the fMRI, they
were given the
same task with six
sets of 10 images
- The photos shown
included people
with disabilities, a
rich businessman, 
older people,
American
Olympic athletes
& homeless
people
- The subjects were
shown a response
screen and after
each image, they
had to use the
joystick &
associate one of
the 4 emotions  
Results 
- The pictures that
the subjects
associated with
emotions of
 disgust such as
homeless people
& addicts the
amygdala was
activated ​(group
1)
- In addition, even
the insula got
activated, this part
of the brain is
activated when
one sees a
nonhuman object
such as garbage &
human waster
(​group 2)
- The medial
prefrontal cortex
is activated when
we think about
other
people/ourselves
however this area
of the brain
wasn’t activated
(shows that they
didn’t see
homeless people
as human beings)

Culture and its influence on
behaviour
and cognition
Cultures are made up of a set of
attitudes, behaviours, and symbols
shared by a large group of people,
and usually communicated from one
generation to the next. Cultural
groups are characterized by different
norms and conventions.
Cultural origins of behavior or cognition
Culture and cultural norms
There is a distinction between
surface and deep culture.
Surface culture refers to the
behaviours, customs, traditions
and words of a culture that can
easily be observed. Deep culture
refers to the beliefs, values,
thought processes and
assumptions of a culture that
may be more easily understood
by members of that culture but
may be less accessible to
members of other cultures.
Cultural dimensions
One or more of the cultural
dimensions could be used to
illustrate the concept of cultural
dimensions.
Outline the distinction
between “culture” and
“cultural norms”
Examine the role of two
cultural dimensions
Kulkofsky Aim:
et Al - The aim of the study was to see if there was any
(2011) difference between the rate of the flashbulb
memories in collectivistic and individualistic
cultures.
Participants:
- There were 274 adults from five different countries
- They were all identified as “middle class”
- The 5 countries studied were China,
Germany,Turkey,UK and USA
Procedure:
- The participants were given five minutes to recall as
many memories as they were able to regarding any
public events occuring in their lifetime
- The condition on the events were that they should have
at least have occured one year ago
- The researchers used the given memories of the events
to create a memory questionnaire
- They were questioned on 5 questions about how they
learned about the event this mirrored the original
questionnaire used by Brown & Kulik (1977)
- The questions that were asked were:
- Where were you when you first learned of the
event?
- What time of day was it?
- How did you learn about it?
 - What were you doing at the time that you
learned about it?
- Whom were you with?
- Then the participants were asked the importance of
each event to them personally
- The questions that were asked in that questionnaire
were:
- How nationally or internationally important
was the event?
- How personally important was the event?
- How surprising was the event?
- How many times have you talked about the
event since it happened?
- Originally the survey and the instructions were
made in english however back translated into
Mandarin,Chinese,German and Turkish by bilingual
research assistants
- This made sure that the translation wouldn’t be a
confounding variable in the study

Results:

- Results showed that in collectivistic cultures like China

individual importance and intensity of emotion played
less of role in predicting the FBM
- In comparison to that of more individualistic cultures
which give more importance to the person’s personal
involvement and their emotional experiences
- Hence since there’s a lower rehearsal of the triggering
of the event compared to collectivistic cultures there
will be lower chances of FBM memories being formed
Evaluation
- The cultures were represented and this was
administered since the test and the questionnaires
had been given to them in their native languages
- This avoided any interviewer effects and it meant
that since they are responding in their native
language this is also the language in which these
memories had been created hence making it easier
for them to recall these memories
- The study used back translation which ensured that
translating the questionnaires isn’t a confounding
variable this helps increase the credibility of the
study
- There is an issue with ecological fallacy since just
because participants from a specific
country/culture have been picked doesn’t mean
it’s compulsory for them to share traits and cultural
references as them.
- This study is correlational hence there is no
causational link
- Due to the large sample size and consideration of
so many different cultures the study has high
generalizability
- The study uses an etic approach to research the
cultural differences since cultural factors could be
affected by how the information is self-reported
Berry Background Information
(1967)
- The aim of this study was based off the findings of
Barry,Child and Bacon (1959) which showed that
fishing and hunting communities have the
tendency to be individualistic , while agricultural
communities are likely to be collectivistic.
- In the original study the word “collectivistic”
wasn’t used since Hofstede’s research wasn’t done
on cultural dimensions by them.
Aim

The main aim of this study was to measure the levels of

conformity in these two types of communities applying an
aspect of the Asch paradigm.

Participants

- Berry took three completely contrasting cultures

- Group 1 : The Temne of Sierra Leone (90
traditional, 32 transitional ) ( a community based
on rice farming)
- Group 2 : The Inuit people of Baffin Island in
Canada (91 traditional, 31 transitional ) (this
community survives by fishing and hunting)
- Group 3 : The Scots they were a reference/control
group (62 rural, 60 urban )
- On an average 120 subjects per group
- Each group had subjects that has never had a
western education and have always maintained the
traditional lifestyle and those who were in
 transition into the western culture such as
employment and education.

Procedure

- All the participants were brought into a room

individually
- The test showed nine lines
- The first two tests asked the subjects to match the
line below to the line on the top based on what
most closely resembled it
- The first two tests were practice tests to understand
whether the participants understood the directions
or not
- The directions to each participant were given based
on the cultural community they came for it was all
pre translated by native speakers from that
community from instructions to questions
- Then after the two tests there were four more tests
- On the third test they were given one more sheet
with 9 lines
- The researcher this time round gave them a clue
“Most Temne (or Eskimo or Scottish) people say
this line (the researcher pointed to one specific
line) is equal in length to the one at the top”
- Then the researcher asked the participants which
one do they say?
- In the third trial the participants were given the
correct response
 - The trials after this from 4-6 were given the wrong
response , all responses were five lines away from
the right response
- The dependent variable in this case was the amount
of lines they were away from the right line
- The total score would be ranging between 0 to 15

Results:

Culture Sample Average Total

Difference

Temne Traditional 9.04

Transitional 8.61

Inuit (eskimo) Traditional 2.75

Transitional 2.25

Scot Traditional 4.00

Transitional 3.85

- The results showed that a collectivistic culture had

higher rates of conformity when they were given
the clue that other Temne believed it , even though
the answer was wrong all of them followed it
- This is because the Temne our a collectivistic
culture
 - While the Inuits had an extremely low rate of
conformity even in comparison to the Scots
- However one key discovery was that there was no
significant difference within the groups , whether
the participants were traditional or transitional
didn’t affect the results at all

Evaluation:

- The study lacks ecological validity since the task is

extremely artificial
- The researchers had a control condition in the
study hence increasing reliability of the study
- The test was given to the participants in their
native languages , which made sure that the
language wouldn’t be a confounding variable
hence increasing credibility of the study
- The study was etic in nature since it used the
standardized Asch paradigm
- The study is easy to replicate and hence increases
the reliability of the results
- The study was conducted in 1967 hence temporal
validity comes into question
- Since the world has evolved a lot with
globalisation there is more access to media which
puts the results and conformity rates in question
and whether they would still be valid today
- Ecological fallacy shouldn’t be formed based off
the results that if a member of the group did one
thing means that he/she would be more/less likely
to conform to this
 - The results from such studies are usually used to
stereotype against cultural groups

Chen Et Al Background Information:

(2005)
● Hofstede ended up adding one more dimension to
the original list of the existing 7 cultural
dimensions this was called the Confucian work
dynamism
● This dimension was also known as long-term VS.
short- term orientation
● Long term orientation is oftentimes seen in
cultures such as China
● The values that are exhibited by this dimension are
persistence, thrift or saving money as an important
life goal , a sense of shame , leisure time isn’t
significant and the future is given more importance
than the present
● Cultures such as US have a lower rate of long term
orientation , however short term orientation values
are rooted in present this is based on current needs
, there is major importance to quick results and
leisure time is extremely important
● This study wanted to test if an individual’s cultural
dimension would affect their purchasing
behaviours
● The study only used one set of participant while
they made some more aware of their Singaporean
or their American identity
Aim

● The aim of the study was to understand the

function of the Confucian Work Dynamism (long -
term orientation ) on one’s buying habits

Participants:

● There were 149 bi-cultural subjects

● All of them were from a Singaporean university

Procedure:

● The study was done online

● They used random allocation to assign the
participants to the conditions
● The researchers first primed all participants to
make one of their identities more salient ( to make
them give more importance to one identity over the
other) either SIngaporean or American
● They did this by showing the subjects a collage of
12 photos which represented their culture
● The images had things like brand names,
celebrities , famous buildings and flags
● After viewing this collage the subjects were asked
to write down as many items that they could
remember
● After priming the subjects the participants were
presented with a shopping situation to buy a novel
online
 ● They were all given 2.99 SGD as the standard
delivery cost of the book
● They were all told that the novel would take 5
business days to come to them
● But if they opted to pay more they could get the
book within a day
● Subjects were then asked how much they would be
wanting to pay to get it within a day
● The subjects were additionally asked to list three
politicians that came to their mind

Results :

● Participants whose western cultural values were

made more salient gave a higher value for
immediately receiving their order
● However the subjects whose eastern cultural value
were made more salient they ended up giving a
lower value for the same
● Hence in conclusion the Confucian Work
Dynamism played a role in the participants online
shopping behaviour
● Even in terms of politicians they listed those
politicians that applied more to the cultural identity
that the subject was primed for
● Showed that the priming stayed throughout the
study

Cultural dimensions
Cultural dimensions refer to the
values of members of a society living
within a particular culture. They
include:
• individualism/collectivism
• uncertainty avoidance
• power/distance
• masculinity/femininity
• long term/short term
• time orientation
• indulgence/restraint.
Evaluation:
● The politician test checked whether the priming
remained or not and how much did It affect the
subjects which increases the credibility of the
study
● However since the study took place in Singapore is
a confounding variable
● The study was naturalistic in nature since most of
the students tend to buy books online anyway
● A major problem with conducting the study online
is that there are several extraneous variables that
can’t be controlled like help from their peers ,
looking up information on google or other search
engines
● The study is easy to replicate and is well
standardised hence increasing the reliability as well
as credibility of the study
Explain the effect of ​one Kulkofsky Aim:
cultural dimension on ​one et Al - The aim of the study was to see if there was any
human behavior (2011) difference between the rate of the flashbulb
memories in collectivistic and individualistic
cultures.
Participants:
- There were 274 adults from five different countries
- They were all identified as “middle class”
- The 5 countries studied were China,
Germany,Turkey,UK and USA
Procedure:
- The participants were given five minutes to recall as
many memories as they were able to regarding any
public events occuring in their lifetime
- The condition on the events were that they should have
at least have occured one year ago
- The researchers used the given memories of the events
to create a memory questionnaire
- They were questioned on 5 questions about how they
learned about the event this mirrored the original
questionnaire used by Brown & Kulik (1977)
- The questions that were asked were:
- Where were you when you first learned of the
event?
- What time of day was it?
- How did you learn about it?
- What were you doing at the time that you
learned about it?
- Whom were you with?
- Then the participants were asked the importance of
each event to them personally
- The questions that were asked in that questionnaire
were:
- How nationally or internationally important
was the event?
- How personally important was the event?
- How surprising was the event?
- How many times have you talked about the
event since it happened?
- Originally the survey and the instructions were
made in english however back translated into
Mandarin,Chinese,German and Turkish by bilingual
research assistants
 - This made sure that the translation wouldn’t be a
confounding variable in the study

Results:

- Results showed that in collectivistic cultures like China

individual importance and intensity of emotion played
less of role in predicting the FBM
- In comparison to that of more individualistic cultures
which give more importance to the person’s personal
involvement and their emotional experiences
- Hence since there’s a lower rehearsal of the triggering
of the event compared to collectivistic cultures there
will be lower chances of FBM memories being formed

Evaluation
- The cultures were represented and this was
administered since the test and the questionnaires
had been given to them in their native languages
- This avoided any interviewer effects and it meant
that since they are responding in their native
language this is also the language in which these
memories had been created hence making it easier
for them to recall these memories
- The study used back translation which ensured that
translating the questionnaires isn’t a confounding
variable this helps increase the credibility of the
study
 - There is an issue with ecological fallacy since just
because participants from a specific
country/culture have been picked doesn’t mean
it’s compulsory for them to share traits and cultural
references as them.
- This study is correlational hence there is no
causational link
- Due to the large sample size and consideration of
so many different cultures the study has high
generalizability
- The study uses an etic approach to research the
cultural differences since cultural factors could be
affected by how the information is self-reported

Background Information
Berry
(1967) - The aim of this study was based off the findings of
Barry,Child and Bacon (1959) which showed that
fishing and hunting communities have the
tendency to be individualistic , while agricultural
communities are likely to be collectivistic.
- In the original study the word “collectivistic”
wasn’t used since Hofstede’s research wasn’t done
on cultural dimensions by them.
Aim
The main aim of this study was to measure the levels of
conformity in these two types of communities applying an
aspect of the Asch paradigm.

Participants

- Berry took three completely contrasting cultures

- Group 1 : The Temne of Sierra Leone (90
traditional, 32 transitional ) ( a community based
on rice farming)
- Group 2 : The Inuit people of Baffin Island in
Canada (91 traditional, 31 transitional ) (this
community survives by fishing and hunting)
- Group 3 : The Scots they were a reference/control
group (62 rural, 60 urban )
- On an average 120 subjects per group
- Each group had subjects that has never had a
western education and have always maintained the
traditional lifestyle and those who were in
transition into the western culture such as
employment and education.

Procedure

- All the participants were brought into a room

individually
- The test showed nine lines
- The first two tests asked the subjects to match the
line below to the line on the top based on what
most closely resembled it
- The first two tests were practice tests to understand
whether the participants understood the directions
or not
- The directions to each participant were given based
on the cultural community they came for it was all
pre translated by native speakers from that
community from instructions to questions
- Then after the two tests there were four more tests
- On the third test they were given one more sheet
with 9 lines
- The researcher this time round gave them a clue
“Most Temne (or Eskimo or Scottish) people say
this line (the researcher pointed to one specific
line) is equal in length to the one at the top”
- Then the researcher asked the participants which
one do they say?
- In the third trial the participants were given the
correct response
- The trials after this from 4-6 were given the wrong
response , all responses were five lines away from
the right response
- The dependent variable in this case was the amount
of lines they were away from the right line
- The total score would be ranging between 0 to 15
Results:

Culture Sample Average Total

Difference

Temne Traditional 9.04

Transitional 8.61

Inuit (eskimo) Traditional 2.75

Transitional 2.25

Scot Traditional 4.00

Transitional 3.85

- The results showed that a collectivistic culture had

higher rates of conformity when they were given
the clue that other Temne believed it , even though
the answer was wrong all of them followed it
- This is because the Temne our a collectivistic
culture
- While the Inuits had an extremely low rate of
conformity even in comparison to the Scots
- However one key discovery was that there was no
significant difference within the groups , whether
the participants were traditional or transitional
didn’t affect the results at all
Evaluation:

- The study lacks ecological validity since the task is

extremely artificial
- The researchers had a control condition in the
study hence increasing reliability of the study
- The test was given to the participants in their
native languages , which made sure that the
language wouldn’t be a confounding variable
hence increasing credibility of the study
- The study was etic in nature since it used the
standardized Asch paradigm
- The study is easy to replicate and hence increases
the reliability of the results
- The study was conducted in 1967 hence temporal
validity comes into question
- Since the world has evolved a lot with
globalisation there is more access to media which
puts the results and conformity rates in question
and whether they would still be valid today
- Ecological fallacy shouldn’t be formed based off
the results that if a member of the group did one
thing means that he/she would be more/less likely
to conform to this
- The results from such studies are usually used to
stereotype against cultural groups
 Background Information:
Chen Et Al
(2005) ● Hofstede ended up adding one more dimension to
the original list of the existing 7 cultural
dimensions this was called the Confucian work
dynamism
● This dimension was also known as long-term VS.
short- term orientation
● Long term orientation is oftentimes seen in
cultures such as China
● The values that are exhibited by this dimension are
persistence, thrift or saving money as an important
life goal , a sense of shame , leisure time isn’t
significant and the future is given more importance
than the present
● Cultures such as US have a lower rate of long term
orientation , however short term orientation values
are rooted in present this is based on current needs
, there is major importance to quick results and
leisure time is extremely important
● This study wanted to test if an individual’s cultural
dimension would affect their purchasing
behaviours
● The study only used one set of participant while
they made some more aware of their Singaporean
or their American identity
Aim

● The aim of the study was to understand the

function of the Confucian Work Dynamism (long -
term orientation ) on one’s buying habits

Participants:

● There were 149 bi-cultural subjects

● All of them were from a Singaporean university

Procedure:

● The study was done online

● They used random allocation to assign the
participants to the conditions
● The researchers first primed all participants to
make one of their identities more salient ( to make
them give more importance to one identity over the
other) either SIngaporean or American
● They did this by showing the subjects a collage of
12 photos which represented their culture
● The images had things like brand names,
celebrities , famous buildings and flags
● After viewing this collage the subjects were asked
to write down as many items that they could
remember
● After priming the subjects the participants were
presented with a shopping situation to buy a novel
online
 ● They were all given 2.99 SGD as the standard
delivery cost of the book
● They were all told that the novel would take 5
business days to come to them
● But if they opted to pay more they could get the
book within a day
● Subjects were then asked how much they would be
wanting to pay to get it within a day
● The subjects were additionally asked to list three
politicians that came to their mind

Results :

● Participants whose western cultural values were

made more salient gave a higher value for
immediately receiving their order
● However the subjects whose eastern cultural value
were made more salient they ended up giving a
lower value for the same
● Hence in conclusion the Confucian Work
Dynamism played a role in the participants online
shopping behaviour
● Even in terms of politicians they listed those
politicians that applied more to the cultural identity
that the subject was primed for
● Showed that the priming stayed throughout the
study

Enculturation
Enculturation is the process by
which people learn the necessary
and appropriate skills and norms in
the context of their culture.
Cultural Influences on Individual attitudes, identity and behaviors
Enculturation
and acculturation
The effect of enculturation and
acculturation on human
cognition and behaviour can be method used in the study
examined using one or more
examples.
Universalism/relativism
With reference to a study
investigating enculturation,
outline ​one​ strength and ​one (2004)
limitation of a research
Evaluation:
● The politician test checked whether the priming
remained or not and how much did It affect the
subjects which increases the credibility of the
study
● However since the study took place in Singapore is
a confounding variable
● The study was naturalistic in nature since most of
the students tend to buy books online anyway
● A major problem with conducting the study online
is that there are several extraneous variables that
can’t be controlled like help from their peers ,
looking up information on google or other search
engines
● The study is easy to replicate and is well
standardised hence increasing the reliability as well
as credibility of the study
Odden & Aim
Rochat The aim of this study is to understand the role of
observational learning in enculturation.
Participants
The study used 28 children , between the ages 4-12.
The study also studied 22 boys between the ages 5-12
There are different theoretical
perspectives when studying
culture. A universalist
perspective assumes that
psychological mechanisms are
largely the same across cultural
groups, while behaviours and
experiences can differ
substantially. A relativist
perspective would be that
psychological processes are so
different that they cannot be
compared across cultural
groups.
Emic and etic perspectives
Cultures are studied in different
ways by researchers—a culture
can be studied by an insider
(emic) or by an outsider (etic).
Both emic or insider analysis
and etic or outsider analysis of a
culture have contributed to
cultural understanding.
Factors underlying cultural
change
Factors could include
modernization, education,
affluence and geographic
mobility.
Procedure
- The children were viewed in the context of their
village life such as family , school, church , peers
and village events
- This study was longitudinal in nature
- Parents, teachers,caretakers and other adult
influencers and influences with children were
interviewed about their child-development &
parenting.
- The 22 boys came from a background of
subsistence fishing
- The researchers held semi-structured interviews of
boys and their fishing relatives
Results
- The results showed that kids are seen to learn
chores by observing elder siblings and their parents
- The study lasted two years over this time period
the researchers never saw any parent needing to
explain the chore to the children
- The interviews brought out that the parents never
believed that it wasn’t necessary to explicitly
explain the chores to their kids
- Hence it can be seen that enculturation plays a role
in observational learning
Evaluation
- Odden was already a part of the community that he
was studying hence he could have had access to
some elements that researchers wouldn’t have had
otherwise
 - The sample was very small and hence doesn’t
represent the whole population so it is harder to
generalise
- There is no mention as to if consent was taken
before the study started or not
- The researchers used naturalistic observation as
their primary research method
- It wasn’t clear if Odden was a participant or a
non-participant
- There is no clarity as to how the researchers
recorded these behaviours hence there is a problem
with researcher bias

Aim
Fagot The study aimed to understand and observe parental
(1978) reactions to behaviour exhibited by their children
especially that which wasn’t seen as the right gender
behaviour for their child’s gender.

Participants
They observed 24 families , 12 families with boys and 12
families with girls

Procedure
- The toddlers and their parents were observed at
home with the help of an observation checklist
- Fagot and her team even followed up by interviews
with the parents

Acculturation
People may change as a result of
contact with other cultures in order
to assimilate with a new culture
With reference to a study
investigating acculturation,
outline ​one​ strength and ​one
limitation of a research
method used in the study
Results
- The results showed that during observation in their
homes parents reacted more positively and gave
more importance to the child when the child
exhibited gender appropriate behaviour whereas
when they did actions that didn’t go with their nder
the parents gave a more negative response.
- The parents interview answers didn’t correlate with
the way they reacted under observation hence
showing that this isn’t a conscious behaviour
- Enculturation is seen in terms of gender roles here
where parents are instructing their children through
their responses to them
Evaluation
- The study used data and method triangulation since
observations as well as interviews took place hence
increasing credibility of the study
- They only took into account one culture hence the
sample doesn’t represent the whole population so it
can’t be generalized
- Moreover the sample size was extremely small
which can limit the results of the findings
- No mention of ethical concerns such as ethics or
debriefing
Berry Et
Al (2006) Aim
- The aim was to understand how well the immigrant
youth would adapt to new cultures from
sociocultural and psychological viewpoints.
- They also aimed to understand if acculturation
strategies & profiles played a role in it.
Contrast ​two​ theories of the
influences of culture on
individual attitudes, identity
and behaviors.
Using one or more examples,
explain “emic” and “etic”
concepts
Participants
The participants included 26 cultural backgrounds and
these were from 13 countries.
Procedure
- The study used structured questionnaires these
were mostly carried out in groups
- These were conducted in classroom settings by
trained research assistants or the researcher this
was done in each country
- All the responses were anonymous
- The questionnaire covered a variety of variables in
relation to adaptation and acculturation
Results
- The results were analysed in a way that they
created four immigration profiles
- Integration profile : this is where the subjects
followed the integration strategy for acculturation
- National profile : this is where participants tended
to follow the assimilation technique
- Ethnic profile: these subjects followed the
separation technique
- Diffuse profile : participants in this profile
followed a mixture of assimilation,separation and
marginalization however they didn’t follow
integration at all
- The most successful techniques was integration
since it was positively linked to psychological and
sociocultural adaptation
 Evaluation
- The study used self gathered data and hence this
data could be contaminated since it doesn’t take
into account confounding variables
- Since the study used structured questionnaires
alongside likert scales this might give the study a
reductionist approach

Aim
Miranda The aim of the study was to understand what variable
& could lower the acculturative stress in latino immigrants to
Matheny USA
(2000) Participants
The subjects of the study were picked at random , there
were 197 immigrants from two social service agencies
Procedure
- The subjects were given tests to assess their family
cohesion
- Their levels of acculturation
- Their levels of acculturative stress and how they
cope with this stress

Results
- It was seen that if the participant had a high
proficiency of english
 - Had a good family
- Had spent more time in US
- Had a good family and knew good coping
techniques then they would have experienced less
acculturative stress
- There are protective factors that affect how much
an individual accultrats and his/her effect of that on
their mental health

Evaluation
- While the sample was random it still fit the criteria
of the study since the researchers used samples
from the social services agency
- Since they had questionnaires the data is
quantitative and hence making it quantifiable
- The study was etic and emic in nature since it was
a cross cultural study and some questions didn’t
take into account the subject’s culture
- There is a sampling bias since the study is
ethnocentric in nature because all the subjects are
from latino families in the USA
- Since there was no follow up questionnaire there is
no way of checking the original questionnaire
- The social desirability effect could have
contaminated the results since the subjects could
have answered in a certain way to look good
- The study doesn’t take into measure the
pre-immigration status of any of the participants
hence this could be a confounding variable
- There is a chance confirmation bias could have
played a role since the questionnaire might have

The individual and the group
Cultural Origins of behavior and
cognition
Cultural Influences on individual
attitudes, identity and behaviors
Citations :
“IB Psychology.” ​InThinking Student Pages​, ​www.student.thinkib.net/psychology/page/24247/steele-aronson-1995-​.
The influence of globalization
on individual attitudes,
identities and behaviour
For all three topics in the
sociocultural approach, and with
reference to research studies, HL
students should study the
following.
• How globalization may
influence attitudes, identities and
behaviour.
• The effect of the interaction of
local and global influences on
behaviour.
• Methods used to study the
influence of globalization on
behaviour.
had leading questions which affects the way the
subjects answer.
HL Extension: Globalization
Discuss how globalization
may influence attitudes
identities and behavior
With reference to relevant
studies, to what extent do local
and global factors interact to
influence behavior?
With reference to ​two or more
appropriate studies, contrast
methods to study the influence
of globalization on behavior.
“Log in to Kognity.” ​Kognity,​
oisindia.kognity.com/study/app/psychology-hl-fe2019/sociocultural-approach-to-understanding-behaviour/the-individual-and-the-group/studies-
4a/.

“IB Psychology.” ​InThinking Student Pages​, ​www.student.thinkib.net/psychology/page/24375/harris-fiske-2006​.

“IB Psychology.” ​InThinking Student Pages​, ​www.student.thinkib.net/psychology/page/24240/berry-1967​.

“IB Psychology.” ​InThinking Student Pages​, ​www.student.thinkib.net/psychology/page/24367/kulkofsky-et-al-2011​.

“IB Psychology.” ​InThinking Student Pages​, ​www.student.thinkib.net/psychology/page/27270/chen-et-al-2005​.

“Log in to Kognity.” ​Kognity,​

oisindia.kognity.com/study/app/psychology-hl-fe2019/sociocultural-approach-to-understanding-behaviour/the-individual-and-the-group/studies-
4a/.

“Studies: Sociocultural Approach.” ​Quizlet​, quizlet.com/308639964/studies-flash-cards/.

“SCLOA :Acculturation (Miranda & Matheny).” ​Quizlet,​ quizlet.com/ca/342435114/scloa-acculturation-miranda-matheny-flash-cards/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4831569/​.