Sociocultural Studies Flashcards
Tajfel et al (1971)
SIT
Aim: investigate if intergroup discrimination exists without prior prejudice
Procedure: sample of 48 teenage boys
1. split into 2 groups based on preferred painter (Klee or Kandinsky)
2. Given the task to award points to 2 boys (1 from in-group, 1 from out-group)
3. 2 systems of awarding points ( to test how specific variables could influence the boys’ choices of reward):
(1) maximum joint profit (give largest reward to members of both groups)
(2) maximum in-group profit (give largest reward to a member of the in-group)
(3) maximum differences (give largest possible difference in reward between a member of the in-group and a member of the out-group.
Conclusion: max joint profit had very little effect.
- favoured own group when they had choice between maximizing profit for all or maximizing profit for members of in-group
- willing to give own team fewer points with goal of maximizing difference between in- and out-group
–> natural tendency to favour in-group; minimal group is sole necessity for discrimination
Evaluation:
+ + highly controlled (no confounding variables)
- - lack of ecological validity
- - high possibility of demand characteristics
- - sampling bias –> difficult to generalize for gender, age and culture
in support of SIT
Abrams et al (1990)
SIT
Aim: test role of social identity on the likelihood to conform (if more likely to conform to in-group)
Procedure: independent sample of 50 undergrad students, 2x2 factorial design (in-group/out-group & private/public response)
1. shown a line which had to be matched as pair with one of other 3 lines shown
2. Confederates (psych or history students) gave answer first
3. Participant gave answers last, either privately (on own sheet) or publicly
Results:
- conformity in public in-group condition higher than normal and lower in public out-group condition –> social categorization plays role in public conformity
Evaluation:
- - highly artificial –> low ecological validity
- - ethical concerns (deception)
- - difficult to generalize (sampling bias)
- - cultural bias (in individualistic society)
+ + gives rate of conformity to an incorrect response
Bandura et al
SCT
Aim: investigating whether children could learn aggressive behaviour by watching the behaviour of adults
Procedure: sample of 36 young children (<6yo)
1. split into 3 conditions: (1) exposed to aggressive model, (2) to pasive model (3) control group.
2. pre-tested the kids to asess aggressiveness on 5 point scale
3. exposed them to either model playing calmly or model being physically and verbally aggressive towards bobo doll.
4. then taken to room with attractive toys but not allowed to play with them (mild aggression arousal)
5. after: taken to room with aggressive/non-aggressive toys and observed for physical/verbal aggression and non-aggressive verbal responses
Results: the children who saw the aggressive model made more aggressive acts than the children who saw the non-aggressive model
- boys more aggressive than girls, and more aggressive in male model condition
- girls showed more physical aggression after male model and more verbal aggression after female model
Evaluation:
+ + controlled for previous level of aggression (matched pairs design)
- - small sample size (hard to generalize)
- - not a counter argument to biological theories
- - ethical issues
- - low ecological validity (highly controlled)
Charlton et al (2002)
SCT
Aim: investigate the effects of television on children’s behaviour (aggression)
Procedure: sample of 160 children in natural experiment
1. observed children’s behaviour on an island in 1994 before TV was introduced using cameras on playground
2. again 5 years after introduction of TV
3. sent questionnaires to teachers & parents about level of aggression of children
Results: little differences found (low rate of behavioural problems was maintained) –> violent behaviour on TV was not replicated
Evaluation:
+ + naturalistic/realistic (high ecological validity)
+ + data triangulation
- - low control of variables (low internal validity)
- - difficult to replicate (low reliability)
not in support of SCT
Hamilton & Gifford (1976)
Stereotype Formation
Aim: investigate illusory correlation of group size and negative behaviour
Procedure: sample of 70 undergrads
1. participants shown slides with statements about made up groups: A with 26 people and B with 13 (minority)
2. statements about group members either positive or negative, both groups had same proportion of each
3. participants asked how many members of each group had positive/negative traits
Results: overestimated number of negative traits in the minority group
minority group was by nature smaller in number so their negative behaviors appeared more distinct and representative of the group
Evaluation:
+ + high internal validity (creation of 2 groups without pre-existing stereotypes)
+ + no participant variability (repeated measures design, concurrent variables)
- - low ecological validity (highly artificial)
in support of Stereotype Theory
Steele and Aronson (1995)
Stereotype Threat
Aim: demonstrate how stereotype threat affects test performance in African Americans
Procedure: sample of 114 black & white undergrads
1. participants given a verbal test and were randomly either told:
(1) to diagnose intellectual ability (threat condition)
(2) to test problem-solving skills (non-threat condition)
Results: black participants performed worse than white participants in stereotype threat condition, but equaled performance in the non-threat condition
Evaluation:
+ + minimized participant variability (independent measures design, considering of previous SAT scores)
- - not generalizable (sampling bias - university students)
in support of Stereotype Threat
Stone (2002)
Stereotype (threat)
Aim:
Procedure:
Results:
Evaluation:
+ +
- -
Kulkofsky et al (2011)
Cultural dimensions (&Cognition): Memory
Aim: to test the role of culture on flashbulb memory
Procedure: sample of 274 adults from 5 different countries
1. given 5 minutes to recall as many memories of public events occurring in their life (1 year + old)
2. then asked “memory questionnaire” and about event’s personal importance
Results:
in collectivistic culture (China), personal importance/ intensity of emotion played less of a role in predicting FBM
individualistic cultures placed greater emphasis on individual’s personal involvement and emotional experiences
Evaluation:
+ + avoided interviewer effect (done in native language)
+ + ensured language was not confounding variable (back-translation)
- - ecological fallacy (
- - self-reported data
- - etic approach
Flashbulb Memory: vivid memory of emotional or traumatic event
in support of
Li-Repac (1980)
Cultural dimensions: Mental Health
Aim: test the role of stereotyping in diagnosis
Procedure: sample of 10 patients with mental illnesses (5 chinese, 5 white) and 10 clinicans (5 chinese-american, 5 white)
1. researcher videotaped semi-structured interviews with patients
2. clinicians were asked to describe normal functioning individual based on test to assure that they have similar understandings
3. each randomly assigned 4 videos (2 white/2 chinese) and asked to describe the patients
Results: overall differences in describing the patients:
- White raters tended to see signs of lower self-esteem, higher depression and inhibition in Chinese patients
- Chinese raters tended to see Whites as more aggressive and quiet patients as more pathologic
Evaluation:
- - small sample (hard to generalize)
- - no pre test of stereotyping
- - patients had different disorders
- + controlled for cultural differences
in support of stereotyping in diagnosis
Fagot (1978)
Enculturation
Aim: observe the role that parents may play in gender-role development
Procedure: sample of 24 families (12boys/girls), natural observation of parental reactions to behaviour that was deemed not appropriate for gender of child
parents reacted visibly displeased when child’s behaviour went against gender stereotype –> in follow-up interviews parents stated that it was not a conscious reaction
Results: parents subconsciously enculturate children by giving negative reactions to cross-sex-preferred behaviours
Evaluation:
+ + high ecological validity (naturalistic)
- - sampling bias (small sample, american)
- - demand characteristics (knew they were being watched)
supports enculturation
Martin & Halverson (1983)
Stereotyping, Enculturation
Aim: to investigate whether existing sex-typing schemas distort memories of experiences that are inconsistent with existing schemas
Procedure: sample of 48 children (24 boys, 24 girls) aged 5-6, lab experiment
1. assessed each child’s knowledge of traditional sex-roles
2. each child individually shown 16 pictures for ten seconds and asked to identify the sex & age of actor in picture (either woman, girl, man or boy)
3. Half the pictures displayed actor doing something with a traditional gender stereotype, rest of the pictures something inconsistent with traditional gender stereotype
4. answers were recorded & for each picture child asked to rate how similar the actor was to themselves
5. 1 week later: child tested for memories of picture by asking whether remembered seeing actor doing [certain activity] in picture they saw last week
6. child rated confidence of seeing such activity in pictures
7. child was asked whether the activity was performed by a woman, man, girl, or boy and how confident they were in their answer
Results: participants more susceptible to remember stereotypical gender roles
- both boys & girls more likely to misremember the sex of an actor on inconsistent (non-traditional) pictures than on consistent (traditional) pictures
- both boys & girls more confident in their recollection of the actor’s sex on consistent pictures than on inconsistent pictures
Evaluation:
- + cause and effect relationship
- + increased control and accuracy
- + objectivity
- + standardization
- + high internal validity
- - artificial (low ecological validity)
- - biased results
- - unethical (protection from harm)
in support of enculturation
Lueck & Wilson (2010)
Acculturation
Aim: investigate variables that may predict acculturative stress in Asian immigrants in USA
Procedure: sample of 2095 (50% 1st gen from south/east asia)
semi-structured interviews to measure:
level of accultuartive stress, impact of not speaking native language, language preference, discrimination, family cohesion and socioeconomic status
Results: 70% experience acculturative stress; lower stress when bicultural and bilingual
–> demonstrates acculturation by suggesting more stress for assimilating people
Evaluation:
- + semi-structured interviews (more personal)
- + large sample
- - interviewer effects (more or less disclosre of info based on researchers)
- - ecological fallacy
- - hard to generalize (only asians)
- - subjective (no clear definition of acculturative stress level)
in support of accultuation
Berry (1967)
Conformity, Cultural dimensions
Aim: measure the level of conformity in individualistic and collectivist societies
Procedure: sample of aprox 360 participants from three distinctly different cultures (Temne: rice farming society, Inuits: hunting/fishing, Scots: reference group), quasi-experiment
1. split each culture into traditional and transitional (western education/employment)
2. each individual was asked to match a line with one of the 9 line shown below
3. in the 3rd trial, researcher gave “hint” that most people of their culture answered a certain line and showed participant the correct line
4. in the 3 last trials they hinted towards wrong answers
Results: Collectivistic cultures more likely to conform than individualistic societies
Temne: higher rate of conformity, Inuits: lower rate of conformity than Scots (reference group)
no difference in traditional/transitional rates
Evaluation:
- - lack of ecological validity (highly artificial)
- - quasi-experiment (no random allocation)
- - low temporal validity (dated study)
- - ecological fallacy
- + high internal validity (control condition)
- + highly replicable (high reliability)
supports Conformity, Cultual Dimensions
