Perceptions
Social and cultural psychology, now referred to as Sociocultural psychology, explores how we perceive the social world and how we behave in relation to other people. This lesson explores how social and cultural contexts influence behavior.
Social Perceptions of the Individual
The first part of this lesson will focus on social perceptions of the individual. The main idea is that we explain the behavior of others by making judgments about them. Our judgments are influenced by our perceptions of others.
For example, imagine that you are meeting someone for the first time. How do you treat that person? Why? Your first impression of someone is usually based on the way that person is dressed or how they look, right? These initial judgments may influence us more than later information does.
Forming impressions about others helps us place these people into categories. The knowledge or a set of assumptions is known as a schema.
We develop schemas for people and events. The schemas associated with people are judgments about the traits people possess or the jobs they perform. Sometimes we develop schemas for entire groups of people, which is a stereotype.
Schemas are useful because they help us predict with some degree of accuracy how people will behave. But, like stereotypes, if the assumptions do not change as we get to know them better, then we are guilty of prejudice.
Attribution Theory
You and a friend are waiting at a traffic light. Someone behind you honks and is screaming, and waving their arms frantically, for you to get out of the way. Not sure exactly what is happening, you move your car slowly, so they can get around you, and as the driver pulls beside you, she yells, "Thanks. I think my son has broken his arm. We're in a hurry!"
If you feel like most of us, you feel foolish, but everyone has moments like that. Social psychologists study situations like this and others to determine what caused the behavior. The focus of study in this circumstance is called attribution theory (Heider 1958), an analysis of how we interpret and understand other people's behavior.
When you first heard the horn, you probably thought the woman was being pushy, which is called an internal attribute. Once she thanked you, your analysis changed to credit her behavior to the needs of her son, which is called an external attribute.
We can make errors on when we decide whether a behavior is caused by internal or external factors. This is fundamental attribution error, which is the tendency to attribute others' behavior to dispositional causes. In other words you immediately thought the woman was being pushy without considering that there could be other reasons for her behavior.
An interesting thing is that while we tend to focus on internal factors when explaining the behavior of others, when it comes to explaining our own behaviors we tend to focus on external factors. This is called actor-observer bias.
For example, an actor attributes a behavior to the situation: "I'm smiling because it's a beautiful day.", However, an observer attributes the same behavior to internal causes: "She's smiling because she is a cheerful person."
Yet when there is glory to be claimed, we often demonstrate another form of error called self-serving bias. In victory, we are quick to claim personal responsibility (internal attribution) but in defeat, we blame circumstances beyond our control.
Social Perceptions of the Group
The second part of this lesson will focus on social perceptions of groups.
The main idea here is that a group, which will be defined as a collection of people who interact, share common goals, and influence how members think and act - is unified by the attitudes and standards members of the group share and by their commitment to those beliefs.
To be classified as a group, a collection of people must be interdependent.
For example, in groups of athletes, or band members, each member has a responsibility to the group, and if he or she does not fulfil it, the other members will be affected. Whether it is boys and girls playing a neighborhood game of tag football, or a football team preparing for the state playoffs, or any USA Olympic team, communication is crucial to the function of the group.
There are four types of groups; in-group, out-group, primary group, and secondary group.
When group members can identify with their group, they are referred to as the in-group. The out-group includes everyone who is not a member of the in-group.
A primary group interacts with each other face-to-face daily, such as our family and the secondary group is a larger group of people that you probably have a less personal relationship with such as your psychology class.
The things that work to keep a group together are the norms, ideology, and commitment of its members. Each group has its unwritten rules that govern the behavior and attitudes or group members. These are called norms. These norms may be more like tendencies that hard set rules but each member is expected to act in accordance with the group norms or they will be punished in some way.
For a group to be cohesive, members must share the same ideology, or common ideas, attitudes, and goals.
Groups must also share a commitment to the group.
If a person has to pay, or go through some type of initiation, they usually feel more included and a true part of the group. Another thing that strengthens their commitment is participation. The processes that hold a group together must work both ways.
It cannot achieve cohesiveness if its norms are unenforceable, if its ideology is inconsistent with the beliefs of its members, or if the rewards it offers do not outweigh the sacrifices it requires.
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