Bennett IB Psychology
Sociocultural Level of Analysis Review
Sociocultural Cognition
Principles of the sociocultural level of analysis
Human beings are social animals and we have a basic need to "belong."
The biological and cognitive systems that makeup the individual are embedded in an even larger system of interrelationships with other individuals.
The relationship between the individual is affected by being part of a group is bidirectional: as an individual is affected by being part of a group, the individual can also effect behavior in the group.
Culture influences behavior.
Culture can be defined as the norms and values that define a society.
In a multicultural society there is a need to understand the effect of culture on a person's behavior, because the study of culture may help people better understand and appreciate cultural differences.
Humans are social animals, they have a social self.
People not only have an individual identity, but also a collective or social one as well.
Figure 1
Figure 2Social identities are very important to the definition of who we are, and many behaviors are determined by membership of groups such as family, community, club, or nationality.
People's views of the world are resistant to change.
A world view can be defined as the way the world is understood: how it is supposed to work, why it works the way it does, and what values are essential in the world community.
According to psychologists the sense of self is developed within social and cultural contexts.
Research Methods at the Sociocultural Level of Analysis
In sociocultural research, the goal is to see how people interact with each other.
Behavior of participants needs to be as realistic as possible.
A significant amount of the research is naturalistic- "as it really is."
Research is done in the environments in which the behavior...