SOCIOCULTURAL APPROACH PSYCH

• Socio-cultural approach to psychology

  Focuses on group psychology, how we act differently in groups vs. individually, how we identify with groups, how we're affected by social norms and cultural influences
• Social identity theory


  Theory that our social identity is the part of our self-concept based on what we know about group relationships, separate from our personal identities
• Underlying assumptions of socio-cultural approach

  • Humans have a basic need to belong and be social, engage with other people
  • Humans have an innate need for self-esteem, try to engage in actions that make us perceive ourselves more favorably
• How we create social identities

  1. Social categorization - categorize people based on shared characteristics

  2. Social identification - actively adopt a shared identity and group membership

  3. Social comparison - make comparisons between in-group and out-group, engage in positive distinctiveness
• Tajfel and Turner's minimal group paradigm study
• Findings of minimal group paradigm study
• Limitations of minimal group paradigm study
• Cialdini's study on basking in reflected glory
• Findings of basking in reflected glory study
• Limitations of basking in reflected glory study
• Pros of social identity theory


  • Explains stereotyping, ethnocentrism, norms, conflict not needed for discrimination, well-supported by research
  • Explains crowd behavior and rioting
• Cons of social identity theory


  • Doesn't account for individual differences, reductionist in isolation, doesn't explain why in-group favoritism can lead to violence, artificial lab settings
• Need to consider social identity theory as part of a broader, complex understanding of human behavior
• social categorisation is the process of distinguishing who is a member of an in- group and out- group