cultural influences on individual attitudes, identities

• what is enculturation? Link this to Social Learning Theory?

  Where an individual learns its culture and copies it. Learned at a young age when babies develop an understanding of values, expectations, and language of their culture which they learn from parents, teachers, and friends.

  
  

  Is never fully completed as it is a continuous process that reinforces our identity within a culture.

  
  

  
  

  SLT - we learn things through the observation of others with participant learning being important for enculturation.
• What is cultural schemas? What can culture influence?

  Prior knowledge shared within a culture or group which is developed through interactions from members within the culture. Allows for enculturation to occur.

  
  

  Culture can influence our behaviour - preference of music, language use, food choices and how we spend our free time.

  
  

  Can also influence our cognitions - our attitudes of gender roles and our beliefs about health and illness.
• Odden + Rochat 2004, aim procedure, finding, conclusion.


  Aim - study role of social cognitive theory on cultural norms in Samoa.

  
  

  Background - Samoa have a high power distance index with more social norms limiting social interaction between children and adults. Parents are therefore non-interventionist meaning children are left to learn things by themselves without motivation from adults.

  
  

  Procedure - data from observation and interviews of 28 children in 25 months.

  
  

  Findings - Young males watch adult males fish and found that children (aged 10) would borrow the equipment and experiment on their own without adult supervision. Meaning by 12 most children were able to fish.

  
  

  There is also no direct teaching of their culture and system, other than children hearing through parents and observations of others. However when 46 12 year olds were given a multiple-choice test on the system they all had a clear understanding of their society.

  
  

  Conclusion - Cultural norms are not taught directly and are learnt through observation in Samoa.
• Link Odden and Rochat to SLT and enculturation.

  Enculturation took place in social learning theory. Where children observe adults by paying attention and respect them enough to copy their behaviour through reproduction and retaining the information. They are then motivated to reproduce the behaviour due to it being a non-interventionist approach to learning.
• What is acculturation?


  The process when someone comes in contact with a new or different culture and adopts the norms and behaviour of this new culture.
• what is berrys model of acculturation? what can this cause?


  Integration - Where they maintain the old culture and adopt some of the new.

  
  

  Assimilation - Adopt the norms of the new culture and forget about the old.

  
  

  Separation - Maintains old cultural norms and ignores new culture.

  
  

  Marginalisation - Do not have old or new cultural norms.

  
  

  -> Can cause acculturative stress where culture shocks are a big thing. Causing anxiety, depression and mental or physical stress.
• Berry 2006 aim, procedure, findings, conclusion

  Aim - investigate how well immigrants adapt to their new culture.

  
  

  Procedure - 26 cultural backgrounds in 13 countries, with 7997 participants between the ages of 13 and 18 with a mean age of 15.3.

  
  

  Used unstructured questionnaires with questions related to acculturation such as cultural attitudes, acculturation attitudes and sociocultural adaptions. All had to rate from 1-5 on questions.

  
  

  Results - Coded into 4 immigration profiles:

  
  

  1) People in the integration group = had more integration meaning they were good with old and new cultures.

  2) People in the national profile = had assimilation meaning they are losing old culture due to focusing on new culture.

  3) People in the ethnic group = had a separation strategy meaning they linked to the old culture but not the new one.

  4) Diffuse profile = mix of separation, assimilation, and marginalization meaning they are negative about all cultures.

  
  

  Conclusion - Integration is the most successful acculturation strategy due to it being more positive. Individuals will be happier if they remember their old culture but make an effort within the new culture as it is important for psychological adaptation.
• Research methods what study for what topic?

  Individual and group = Tajfel - lab

  
  

  Cultural origins = Berry 1967 - Lab

  
  

  Cultural influence = Odden and Rochat 2004 - Naturalistic observation.

  
  

  Qualities:

  Lab = Randomly allocated to IV groups, where the IV manipulates the DV in an artificial setting. With highly controlled conditions, standardised procedures, and operationalised variables.

  
  

  Natural = Observing of natural behaviour, which can be overt or covert and can also be participant or non-participant. Can also document what they find through filming or writing what they see.
• Ethics for each topic and link to the study?

  - Psychological/physical harm

  - Deception

  - Debrief

  - Informed consent

  - Confidentiality

  - Anonymity

  - Privacy

  - Right to withdraw

  
  

  Individual + group = Bandura 1967 - protect from harm

  - Psychological harm present through aggression.

  
  

  Culture origins = Brown + Kulik 1977 - protect from harm

  - Psychological harm present due to FBM of the killings of political figures.

  
  

  Culture on attitudes/identity = Odden + Rochet

  - Consent from group before it took place.