Invitation to Psychology

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Chapte

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10

Behavior in Social and Cultural Context

ChapteR 10 Behavior in Social and Cultural Context 379

Us Versus Them: Group Identity

Social identities are based on a person’s identification with a

nation, religion, political group, or other important affiliations.

Ethnic Identity

People often face the

dilemma of balancing an

ethnic identity, a close

identification with a

religious or ethnic

group, and accultura-

tion, identification with

the dominant culture.

Increasing numbers of

people are identifying

themselves as combina-

tions of ethnicities.

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism,

the belief that one’s

own ethnic group

or nation is superior

to all others, can

create “us–them”

thinking and hostile

competition.

Stereotypes

Stereotypes can be

efficient cognitive

summaries of other

groups, but they distort

reality by:

• exaggerating differences
  between groups.


• producing selective
  perception.


• underestimating the
  differences within other
  groups.

Individuals in Groups

Conformity

• The Asch experiment shows that
  most people will conform to
  others’ judgments, even when
  others are obviously wrong.


• The two main motives for
  conformity are the need for social
  acceptance and the need for
  information.

Groupthink

Groupthink, an extreme form of

conformity, leads to faulty decisions

because group members are vulnerable to:

• an illusion of invulnerability.


• self-censorship.


• pressure on dissenters to conform.


• an illusion of unanimity.

The Wisdom and Madness of Crowds

When people are part of large, anonymous groups,

two processes may occur:

1. Diffusion of responsibility, the spreading out of
   responsibility among many people. It can lead to
   bystander apathy. When the need for help is
   unambiguous, bystanders are more likely to help.


2. Deindividuation, the loss of awareness of one’s
   own individuality:

• increases as groups gets larger.


• increases when group members wear masks or
  uniforms.


• may increase helpfulness as well as destructive-
  ness, depending on social norms.

Altruism and Dissent

Situational factors can influence

altruism and dissent, including:

• perceiving that help is needed.


• norms that encourage action.


• having an ally.


• becoming entrapped in a
  commitment to help or dissent.

Prejudice and Group Conflict

A prejudice consists of a negative stereotype and a

persistent, unreasonable negative feeling toward a

category of people.

The Origins of Prejudice

1. Psychological causes: Prejudice
   wards off feelings of anxiety,
   simplifies problems by
   providing a scapegoat, and
   boosts self-esteem.


2. Social causes: Prejudice can stem
   from pressures by friends,
   relatives, and associates.


3. Economic causes: Prejudice
   justifies a group’s economic
   interests and legitimizes war.


4. Cultural and national causes:
   Prejudice bonds people to their
   own group and fosters the
   dehumanization of other
   groups.

Defining and Measuring Prejudice

Prejudice is a challenge to define and measure; for

example, hostile sexism is different from benevolent sexism,

though both legitimize gender discrimination.

• Many explicit forms of conscious prejudice have declined,
  but implicit, unconscious prejudice may express itself in
  new forms.
  Some researchers measure prejudice indirectly by:


• studying “microaggressions” and social distance, which
  reveal people’s reluctance to get close to another group.


• documenting unequal treatment, for example in arrests
  for illegal use of drugs.


• seeing whether people are more likely to behave
  aggressively toward a target when they are stressed or
  insulted.


• observing changes in the brain.


• assessing unconscious positive or negative associations
  with a group, as with the Implicit Association Test (IAT).
  However, critics believe that the IAT does not capture
  true prejudice.

Reducing Conflict and Prejudice

Social psychologists have identified

four conditions that decrease

prejudice and animosity between

groups:

1. Both sides must have equal legal
   status, economic standing, and
   power.


2. Both sides must have the moral,
   legal, and economic support of
   authorities and institutions.


3. Both sides must have opportuties
   to work and socialize together
   (the contact hypothesis).


4. Both sides must cooperate in
   working toward a common goal.