Social Psychology
Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling, and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) double-spaced pages; refer to the “Format Requirementsʺ page for specific format requirements.
Part A
Objective: Describe the ways culture influences aggressive behavior.
Sandy’s college friend, Matt, is a biology major. He’s convinced that human aggression is innate. It’s woven into our DNA. Sandy, who’s majoring in sociology, is absorbed in completing a course in social psychology. If you’re Sandy, how might you rebut Matt’s position if you’re aware that aggression is greatly influenced by culture? Provide evidence for your understandings based on Chapter 12 in your textbook.
Part B
Objective: Explain the concept of social identity and describe its components.
Karen, a student of social psychology, wants to explain social identity theory to Molly, a fellow student majoring in math. Karen realizes she’ll need to enumerate the pros and cons of (1) social identity, (2) ethnocentrism, (3) in-group bias, and (4) out-group homogeneity. Imagine you’re Karen, and based on what you’ve learned from Chapter 13, write an essay in which you explain social identity theory to Molly.
Part C
Objective: Briefly describe five aspects and components of prejudice using examples.
Based on Chapter 13 of your textbook, write an essay that addresses the following topics: (1) The definition of prejudice; (2) the affect component of prejudice; (3) the cognitive component of prejudice; (4) the nature of stereotypes, and (5) the behavioral component of prejudice. You should provide examples of each concept based on your text and/or on your personal experience.
ANSWER
Social Psychology
Part A: Human aggression
Human aggression is not innate but a result of cultural influence on individual aggressive acts. Shared beliefs and meaning offer a framework for effective behavioral norms. Considerably, social reinforcement is an excellent cause of aggression based on cultural and social rules (Stangor, Tarry and Jhangiani, 2014). This refers to an individual being reinforced by society to exhibit specific behavior. For instance, in most cultures, males are expected to show aggressive tendencies. Therefore, boys who show aggressive behaviors are highly accepted in society compared to those who fail to show aggressive behaviors. Additionally, other cultures tend to demand aggression under specific circumstances.
Part B: Social Identity
Social identity entail’s a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership. Social identity theory focuses on specifying and predicting the situations under which individuals consider themselves members of a particular group (Hogg, 2020). Social identity offers individuals a sense of self-esteem, influences their behavior and a framework for socializing. Social identity helps in understanding group conformity. However, social identity leads to social categorization, stereotyping, and group favoritism, resulting in violent behaviors. Social identification leads to ethnocentrism which prevents interaction among people of varying social groups. This is because social identity classifies people, making it difficult for people to interact with others from different social groups (Hogg, 2020). Forming group identities have also led to in-group bias, which leads to conflict and unrepresentative interactions. Relatively, outgroup homogeneity has increased since members of a group find themselves heterogeneous and diverse from another.
Part C: Prejudice
Prejudice is considered as affecting the feeling of liking or disliking a person based on their group membership. Prejudice is based on factors such as race, sex, age, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, and socioeconomic status. Prejudice is categorized into three varying components; affective, cognitive and conative (Akrami, Ekehammar and Bergh, 2011). Affective prejudice entails what people like and dislike on an emotional aspect. Cognitive prejudice entails what people consider valid with references to their beliefs, impressions, assumptions and criticism (Akrami, Ekehammar and Bergh, 2011). This is the nature of stereotypes that have a generalized belief on how individuals are inclined to behave. The behavioral component of prejudice entails prejudiced persons acting negatively towards their targets, such as racial discrimination, which leads to discriminatory behavior.
References
Akrami, N., Ekehammar, B., & Bergh, R. (2011). Generalized prejudice: Common and specific components. Psychological Science, 22(1), 57-59.
Hogg, M. A. (2020). Social identity theory (pp. 112-138). Stanford University Press.
Stangor, C., Tarry, H., & Jhangiani, R. (2014). Personal and Cultural Influences on Aggression. Principles of Social Psychology-1st International Edition.
