Social Psychology Assignment 4 Part A: Humans have demonstrated aggressive behavior since the begging of recorded history. A close examination of the reasons behind the aggression will show that the human species is not inherently aggressive. One's cultural beliefs, values, and location will affect their group's level of aggressive behavior. Cultural beliefs have a strong effect on a group’s level of aggressive behavior. The idea of honor has been shown to have a link to higher levels of homicides (Aronson et al., 2016). In a series of studies conducted by Richard Nisbett at the University of Michigan, it was found that people from the southern states in America, that formally relied on herding as its main economic source, tend to be more aggressive than people from areas that relied more on agricultural. It is believed that this is derived from the history of herding and the importance of protecting the livestock. If a herder was to have their cattle or other animals stolen, they may lose their entire livelihood. Any person not showing a “manly” attitude that is ready to engage in conflict may be taken advantage of. So, the herding cultures of the South and Southwest developed a behavior that values honor, making the men more likely to display aggressive behavior when they feel they have been insulted or mistreated. The location of a culture can also play a role in its level of aggression. For example, the Native American Iroquois tribe lived relatively peacefully for centuries. But in the seventeenth century, the expansion of European settlers caused the Iroquois to come into direct competition with the Heron tribe over animal furs and skins. This led to increasing levels of aggression between the tribes as they vied for limited resources. The location of the tribes in relation to each other and the desired resources led the Iroquois and Heron to fight. This ultimately resulted in the once peaceful Iroquois becoming fierce warriors (Aronson et al., 2016). Cultures that value cooperation and collectivism tend to have lower levels of violence within their society. The Teduray of the Philippines is a hunter and gathering tribe. They have developed institutions to prevent and control aggression among the tribe (Aronson et al., 2016). When there is an incident that may cause one member to become aggressive towards others, designated members of the tribe will intervene and mediate the situation, focusing on placating the injured party (Aronson et al., 2016). Members of the Teduray pay close attention to their emotions and how they are expressed. This conscious observation allows for minimal aggressive outbursts among members of the tribe. Part B: Life can be difficult. With all of the challenges and dangers, having a group to which a person can belong helps make navigating the world a bit easier. Having a social identity allows for people to relate to a group that has common values, beliefs, and goals. However, there can also be negatives to identifying with a particular group, especially if that group views themselves as superior to others. The components of social identity, ethnocentric, in-group bias, and out-group homogeneity, all have pros and cons. Social identity is a person's sense of whom they are based on their group memberships (McLoed). These group memberships can be anything from nationality or race to religion or politics. Everyone has a social identity. The level of investment in some groups and not others will form the personality of an individual. Belonging to a group offers the feeling of 'us'. This can be comforting to many people. Although communicating with people that share your thoughts and opinions is mentally healthy, if taken too far, the components of social identity can have negative effects. Ethnocentrism is the belief that your own culture, nation, or religion is superior to all others (Aronson et al., 2016). This may be based on the survival instinct to trust the group, or “us”, and be suspicious of outsiders, or “them”. This would have been very useful during the early development of civilization when tribes of people would rely on each other for protection against any outside threats. Also, close groups like the family unit provide important emotional bonds. But ethnocentrism is taking this idea to the extreme and applying negative connotations to other groups. When doing this, negative stereotypes begin to cause division among groups that see others as inferior. In-group bias occurs when positive characteristics or feelings are given to someone who is perceived as being a part of the same group. It can be beneficial in that it provides a feeling of "belongingness" and can build self-esteem (Aronson et al., 2016). It is also comforting to know that others share your values and beliefs. But it can quickly cause unfair treatment in favor of those within the in-group. Job hiring and promotions are two examples of how in-group bias may benefit one person and harm another (Aronson et al., 2016). The reasons used to qualify as a member of the in-group can be minimal, such as a favorite sports team or home state. Out-group homogeneity is the idea that all people that are apart of a specific out-group are alike. In-group members tend to perceive those in the out-group as more similar to each other than they may be (Aronson et al., 2016). This may occur when information is known about one member of the out-group and is then associated with every member of that group. It can be helpful to quickly summarize a group of people if that systematization is not used for a negative purpose. For example, if someone is invited to a get-together by a friend and wants to bring a plate a food, they may consider what their friend enjoys eating with the assumption the members of the friend's group will like the same foods. Problems arise when out-group homogeneity applies the negative attributes of a particular group member to everyone in the same group (Aronson et al., 2016). Applying negative stereotypes in this way can be very dangerous. Assuming all cops are corrupt or that all African-Americans are criminals causes a very misleading view of each of these groups. Part C: 1) Prejudice is “a hostile or negative attitude toward people in a distinguishable group, based solely on their membership in that group,” (Aronson et al., 2016). Prejudiced people will dislike another person simply because they belong to a particular group. Prejudices can be bases on race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, or other qualities. Out-group homogeneity is often common among prejudiced views. Negative actions from one member of the out-group will be associated with all members of that group, regardless of the other members' actions. I have personally experienced the ugly side of prejudices in my life. I currently live in China. I am mixed-race (black and white) and my wife is Chinese. We have an 18-month old son. While the large majority of people in the community in which I live are kind and accepting, every once-in-awhile we will encounter an individual that is not accepting of our life situation. They feel that all foreigners, or waigouren, (literal translation is “outside person”) cannot be trusted. They also are prejudiced towards my wife because she has chosen to marry a man who is not Chinese. Fortunately, my wife is a strong and intelligent woman who does not allow the ignorance of others to affect her emotions. 2) The affective component of prejudice deals with emotions. When a person is emotionally invested in a dislike for a certain group, they will ignore all logical arguments and facts. A great example of this is found in The Nature of Prejudice by Gordon Allport, as quoted in our textbook on page 420. In the quoted dialogue, Mr. X ignores the statistical data presented by Mr. Y. He instead uses fallacies of logic to support his prejudices against Jewish people (Aronson et al., 2016). 3) The cognitive component refers to the grouping of people into categories. This has been done for as long as humans have existed. Research has shown that newborns can begin to develop a preference in faces by the age of 3 months (Aronson et al., 2016). This can be harmful when using our imagination to visualize a vague description of a person. But when this visualization is projected onto an entire group of people, it creates a stereotype. 4) Stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people in which certain traits are assigned to virtually all members of the group (Aronson et al., 2016). Stereotypes can be both positive and negative. A person’s overall opinion of a group will determine the stereotype they accept and believe. The concept of saving money can be viewed as being frugal if done by a group given a positive perception. On the other hand, if a negative view of the same group is held, then the idea of saving money may be interpreted as being stingy or cheap (Aronson et al., 2016). 5) The affective component involves emotions and the cognitive component creates stereotypes. The behavioral component describes the actions taken based on prejudice. Discrimination, while far less common in recent times, is a prevalent example of the behavioral component of prejudices. Failing to get a job or not being considered for a job based on race, religion, gender, or ethnicity is an example of discrimination. In 2020, women make only $0.81 for every dollar a man makes (Payscale, 2020). Even though there have been many laws created to prevent discrimination throughout various institutions in America, it remains present throughout all career fields. Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D., Akert, R.M, & Sommers, S.R. (2016) Social psychology (9th edition) Pearson. McLeod, S. (2019) Social identity theory. Simply Psychology. Retrieved on Oct 9, 2020, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html Payscale (n.d.) The state of the gender pay gap in 2020. Payscale. Retrieved on Oct. 7, 2020, from https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap