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