Sociocultural Psychology and Festinger's Study

Sociocultural Approach to Psychology

• Examines the impact of social and cultural factors on human behavior.
• Researchers increasingly use qualitative methods for richer detail on individual lives.

Festinger's Study of a UFO Cult (1956)

• Research Method: Covert participant naturalistic observation.
• Setting: A small UFO cult believing the world would end and aliens would save them.
• Aim: To understand how cult members would react when the apocalyptic event didn't happen.
• Procedure: Researchers immersed themselves in the cult's activities, observing behaviors and documenting commitment levels before and after the predicted event.
• Findings/Outcome: Cult members exhibited strong cognitive dissonance (anxiety from false beliefs) and justified their actions by believing their leader's message that the world had been saved.
• Importance: Highlights the role of social belonging and normative social influence (pressure to remain in the group), even when challenging evidence, in shaping beliefs.

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory

• Identifies six dimensions to analyze cultural differences.
• Important Dimension: Individualism vs. Collectivism.
  • Individualism: Loose ties between individuals, individuals prioritize self and immediate family.
  • Collectivism: Strong in-group ties; extended family provides support and protection.
• Berry's Study: Investigated conformity in Temne (collectivist) and Inuit (individualist) cultures.
  • Method: Conformity experiment using line-matching tasks.
  • Results: Temne exhibited significantly higher conformity rates compared to Inuit and Scottish participants. Cultural background (i.e; a more "westernised" approach) played minimal role in results.
  • Conclusion: People in collectivist cultures generally conform more due to a need for social harmony and group cooperation, whereas those in individualist cultures prioritise personal judgment and independence.

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1979)

• Concept: Argues individuals possess multiple social selves corresponding to group memberships.
• Mechanism 1: Social Categorisation: Self-perception as a member of a group.
  • Group memberships based on various factors (gender, social class, religion, etc.).
• Mechanism 2: Social Identification: Categorizing others as either ingroup (share identity) or outgroup (different identity).
  • Adoption of ingroup values, attitudes, appearance, and behaviours.
• Mechanism 3: Social Comparison: Favoring ingroup and regarding it as superior to outgroups.
• Tajfel's Minimal Group Experiments:
  • Procedure: Participants divided into arbitrary groups based on painting preference.
  • Aim: To investigate intergroup favoritism/outgroup discrimination in the absence of previous social or historical connections.
  • Results: Even in arbitrary groups, participants favored their own group in resource allocation, exhibiting ingroup favoritism and outgroup discrimination, even if it involved minimal personal benefit. This supports the notion that individuals prioritize their ingroup.
  • Conclusion: These studies reveal that social categorization, identification,and comparison lead to group-based preferences and biases, even without real conflict or competition.