Sociocultural Approaches to Understanding Behavior (SAUB)

Strengths of Cultural Globalization: Weaknesses of Cultural Globalization:

Exposure to many new It affects indigenous cultures (affects local

ideas/cultures/traditions stores/brands)

Fights against very constructed concepts that Resurgence of some traditional forms of
could be extremely negative identity

Sells culture to the rest of the world which Individuals have to change beliefs or way of
benefits their own culture (smaller countries communication in order to adapt and prosper.
can benefit from this exposure)

Trade becomes easier Inequality, Cultural Appropriation

Acculturation - two cultures adapt using each Clothing becomes less traditional
others culture

Metris - a near culture built off two different People visiting foreign countries will be more
cultures inclined to buy from brand names, rather than
the countries native brands.

The need to assimilate when you are a

minority.

Terminology you should reference when critically analyzing

research/theories/studies:

● Reliability - can the results of the study be replaced

● Validity - does the theory test what it is designed to test / it is valid
● Predictive validity - is the theory able to accurately predict future behavior
● Heuristic validity - is the theory relevant to other areas of research
● Cross cultural validity - is the research relevant to other cultures
● Researcher bias - do the researcher(s) influence the results of the experiment
● Ecological validity - do the results of the study represent what would happen in
real life
● Generalisability - refers to the extent to which the results of the study can be
applied beyond the sample and the settings used in the study itself.
Considering who the participants are: Critical Thinking

➢ A lot of researching in psychology

INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETIES EXAM

★ Tuesday 23rd April 2019

★ 9:45 - 11:15 AM

➢ Psychology only - 3 sections

➢ SECTION A - (Terms and short response answers) Definitions
➢ SECTION B - (Terms and short response answers) Describing a study
➢ SECTION C - (Critical Thinking Response) Evaluating a study
➢ Criteria A, D, B assessed

Cultural Globalization: Ramifications

What is Hikikomori?

➔ Culture bound syndrome / “Social isolation syndrome”

➔ Found in Japan
● Where a young Japanese male may lock himself in his room and refuse to come
out for years at a time
➔ Has 3 characteristics:
1. No motivation to participate in school or work
2. No signs of other psychological disorders
3. Persistent social withdrawal for at least six months
➔ Primarily affects men
● 4.6% lifetime prevalence rate of Japanese youth (ages 15-34)
● Affects 1.2 million young people
● Has been rising significantly overtime
➔ Goal is to avoid possible social interactions with others who may know them & judge
them.
➔ CAUSES / BLAME:
● Pressure
➢ From school
➢ Work
➢ Society
● Conditions at home
● Feelings of worthlessness / depression
Cultural Globalization: Relationships

Globalization can have some rather unexpected outcomes to society, EXAMPLE:

❖ Rise of ‘herbivores’ in Japan
➢ Japanese men who have no interest in getting married or having a girlfriend
➢ 61% of men in their 20s & 70% of men in their 30s considered themselves to be
herbivores.
➢ Cause of Japan’s declining birth rate

★ What does globalization have to do with this?

❏ As part of Japan's collectivistic culture, marriage was arranged through family
connections - a practice known as Miai. As Japan becomes more individualistic,
this cultural practice is seen less and less.
❏ However, as part of their culture, Japanese men also have a strong fear of losing
face.

17/3/19 PAST EXAM QUESTION

Describe in a brief paragraph what a Herbivore is (within Japanese culture), what the
sociocultural problem is with this phenomenon and what the Japanese Government is
doing about this social issue.

Herbivores are Japanese men who have no interest in getting married or having a girlfriend,
affecting 61% of men in their 20s, and 70% of men in their 30s. It is the cause of Japan’s
declining birth rate. Japanese men also have a strong fear of losing face, and rejection. The
government is taking action by implementing speed dating into society.

Acculturation - The process by which someone comes into contact with another culture and
begins to adopt the norms and behaviors of that culture.

How does acculturation impact behaviour?

● Acculturation happens through - contact and exchange between cultures

● How important is communication and involvement with immigrants to help acculturation
process?
 ● When examining the impact of acculturation on behavior, a limitation appears.
● Most migration occurs from poorer, less developed countries torcher, more developed
countries. Therefore research is biased towards a study of acculturation in on direction/
Do we see the opposite way?
● Acculturation looks mostly at movement from more traditional, poor countries to rich
modern ones → problem with generalization

Homework - 18/3/19

1. Yes, acculturative stress did play a role in the death of the Shafia girls, because they are
originally from Afghanistan, but they were adopting the norms and behaviors of
Canadian culture, as they were raised. One of these behaviors they came into contact
with was dating, which clashed with their father’s beliefs of marrying a fellow Afghani,
therefore, their father decided against the further continuation of acculturation and killed
them.
2. Unlike the girls themselves, the parents are immigrants they have been brought up in
Afghanistan, surrounded by its culture, therefore, it would be harder for them to
transition, and accept the Canadian culture. On the other hand, the girls were born if not
raised in the country, therefore, they have been exposed to its beliefs and values from a
young, from having gone to school there, learning from people around them, and seeing
how “normal” it was to act or think a certain way.
3. External cultures should be respectful and accepting of the norms and values of
immigrants, to the extent that their values clash with their ethical and moral beliefs.
Immigrants should be able to practice these norms and beliefs so as long as they are
respecting the nation they are living in.
4. To a certain extent, yes, immigrants should assimilate to the culture of their new homes,
particularly in the form of communication. They should learn some form of verbal or
physical language, so it can be easier for them to navigate around the country safely, as
well as express their own culture to the people around them.

Western = individualistic
Eastern = collective
24/3/19 GLOBALIZATION AND CULTURE - RESEARCH

Collectivist cultures, such as those of China, Korea, and Japan, emphasize family and work
group goals above individual needs or desires.

Research in the UAE ‘ the Abu Dhabi Stone? Shah et al (2015)

● EXAM QUESTION!! → aim, method, result

● Aim:
➢ To find out if acculturation increases the likelihood of obesity
● Procedure:
➢ 1,375 mainly South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi) male migrant
workers in the UAE
➢ Participants completed a health and lifestyle questionnaire between January and
June 2012.
● Results:
➢ Migrant workers in the UAE had significantly higher body mass index (BMI) than
the same age in their cultures of origin.
➢ Prevalence of obesity and being overweight in the study sample (63.4%) was
also higher than in Emirati men (58.6 %). This means that it is not simply the
local diet that is creating this weight change; perhaps it is Acculturation.

Exam Question: 1. Write down aim, procedure, and result of the research ‘the Abu Dhabi Stone’

2.evaluate the study - minimum of 3 limitations, strengths and justify!

One limitation of this study is that the sample used are all male. This is an issue because it
cannot be applied and generalized to the female population; therefore limits what we can do
with the results.

Another limitation of this study is that all participants were from the South Asian region. This is
an issue, as it lacks population validity and the results can not be applied and used on any other
group of people apart from South Asians.

What is the biggest issue with questionnaires?

1. BMI = unreliable side

2. Self-reported questionnaires = lack validity
➔ Lying
➔ Exaggerated
 ➔ Misinterpreted

Strengths;

1. Can we use the results to help us in real life?

2. Testable
3. Presents predictive validity for UAE SA individualss

25/3/19 DELOFOSSE, FOURASTE & GHOBOUO, 1993 - Research in Culture

1. List the study aim, research procedures, and results of this study.
★ Study aim: The aim of this study was to find out if identity confusion plays a role
in negative behaviors in young adults.
★ Research Procedure: The researchers used clinical interviews and data from
police and social workers.
★ Results: The researchers found an increase in suicide attempts, drug use,
prostitution and interpersonal aggression.
2. What is being measured in this study?
➔ The level of negative behaviors due to westernization (globalization).
3. To what extent do you think that the study is transferable to other cultures?
➔ The study only focuses on a sample of young adults from the Ivory coast.
4. How is the data collected?
➔ Clinical interviews and data collected from police and social workers.
5. What are the limitations of this above strategy?
❏ Temporal validity - Time period was long ago, factors in globalization may have
changed
❏ Implicit Bias
❏ Population Validity
❏ External Factors
6. What are the strengths of this above strategy?
❏ Predictive Validity
❏ Temporal Validity