The sociocultural approach to behaviour looks at: - the individual and the group (SL and HL) - cultural origins of behaviour (SL and HL) - cultural influences on individual attitudes, identity and behaviours (SL and HL) - the influence of globalization on individual attitudes, identities and behaviour (HL only).
Relevant to all the topics are: - the contribution of research methods used in the sociocultural approach to understanding human behaviour - ethical considerations in the investigation of the sociocultural approach to understanding human behaviour.
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.
Social identity theory: Social identity theory refers to the way someone thinks about themselves and evaluates themselves in relation to groups. Social identity theory posits that a person’s sense of who they are is based on their membership of social groups.
Social cognitive theory: Modelling and observational learning can be explained using one or more examples.
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.
Social cognitive theory: Social cognitive theory suggests behaviour is modelled by other members of a group and acquired through observation or imitation based on consequences of a behaviour.
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.
Socialization: The concept of socialization is the process of providing the individual with the skills, habits and norms necessary for participating within their own society.
Social/cultural learning: Learning takes place within a social/cultural context and can occur through observation (modelling) or direct instruction. Individuals gradually internalize social and cultural norms and values to guide them in the interaction with other people. Internalization is the process of acceptance of a set of norms and values established by influential people or groups.
Social cognition: This refers to how people process information about the world including other humans based on cognitive elements such as schemas, attributions, and stereotypes. Modern research into social cognition sometimes includes brain imaging (social cognitive neuroscience). This is also relevant to cultural cognition.
Stereotypes: A stereotype is a generalized and rather fixed way of thinking about a group of people.
Stereotypes: Examples of stereotypes influencing behaviour could be prejudice and discrimination. The theory of stereotype threat indicates that internalized stereotypes could influence an individual’s self-perception and behaviour in negative ways.
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.
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: 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.
Cultural dimensions: One or more of the cultural dimensions could be used to illustrate the concept of cultural dimensions.
Enculturation: Enculturation is the process by which people learn the necessary and appropriate skills and norms in the context of their culture.
Enculturation and acculturation: The effect of enculturation and acculturation on human cognition and behaviour can be examined using one or more examples.
Universalism/relativism: 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.
Acculturation: People may change as a result of contact with other cultures in order to assimilate with a new culture.
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.