Socio-psychological approaches

attribution of meaning, re-explanation, re-valuation and change of perspective

Seminar: The training of cross-cultural competence and skills

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Beneke

Students: Claudia Herr, Angela Kutilek

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1. Introduction2. Social Identity Theory3. Intergroup Attribution: Attribution Theory in

cross-cultural perspective4. Mindsets: Affective and cognitive filters5. Improvement of attributions; re-attribution;

change of perspective6. Goals7. Bibliography8. Questions / discussion

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Inference steps

• 3: attribution theory

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behaviourobserved

event / perception(s)

inferring meaning

categorisation

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Introduction: Social Psychology

• wants to explain human behaviour • is interested in feelings, thoughts, beliefs,

attitudes, goals, and so forth• these are not directly observable but can be

inferred from behaviour

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Social Psychology

Social

1. deals with how people are affected by other people (present / imagined)

Psychology• is concerned with cognitive processes in the

human mind• focus on people‘s reactions to stimuli

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Social Psychology

• People make inferences about the causes of their own and other people’s behaviours.

• Social psychological theories of causal inference are called attribution theories

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Social Identity Theory

The Social Identity theory informs us that people practice in-group favouritism and out-group differentiation for the purpose of enhancing their social and personal identities.

 

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Social Identity Theory

• people can approve their membership self-image in two ways:

• - by enhancing their in-group identity or

• - by bolstering their personal identity.

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Social Identity Theory

• In-group identity refers to the emotional attachments and shared fate that we attach to our selective cultural, ethnic, or social group categories.

• Out-groups are groups to which we remain emotionally detached and that are cognitively distrusted by us.

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Social Identity Theory

• The essential characteristics of the self and in-group relationship appear to be loyalty and preference.

• Loyalty: loyal to (in-group) norms and members.

• Preference: in-group members are preferred over members of out-groups

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Social Identity Theory

• The in-group favouritism principle states that there is positive attachment to and predisposition for norms and behaviours that are related to in-group categories more than to out-group categories. 

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Social Identity Theory In-group favouritism and out-group

differentiation• Attachment to in-groups and preference of in-

groups over out-groups is a universal characteristic of human life.

• People in all cultures desire positive identities in their everyday interaction with others.

• Similar others – similar values & outlooks.

• Dissimilar others – identity threat & emotional vulnerability.

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Social Identity Theory

• People in all cultures tend to behave with

in-group favouritism and out-group prejudice.

• Social Identity theory = Inter group boundary regulation = social categorisation

= social comparison

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Social Identity Theory Social categorisation

• is a fundamental quality of cognition. It helps to manage our environment.

• As a categorical organising system reflecting our highly abstract thoughts, it is also a function of human language.

• The consequences of social categorisation lead to certain expectation states of how others should or should not behave in a certain way.

• These expectancy states are closely related to our stereotypes of dissimilar others.

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Intergroup Attribution

The intergroup attribution process helps us to make sense of our intergroup encounters. It helps us to interpret and evaluate our in-group membership status and out-group membership role in our interactions.Together with the social identity process, the attribution process influences the formation of our in-group/out-group attitudes in cross-cultural perspective.

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Attribution theory

• helps to explain what happens• and is applicable to cross-cultural management

situations for the following reasons:• a) All behaviour is rational and logical from the

perspective of the behaver• b) Persons from different cultures perceive and

organise their environment in different ways, so that it becomes meaningful to them

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example:

American and Greeka dialogue

(quoted from Harry C. Triandis)

Background information: remember that Greeks perceive supervisory roles as more authoritarian than Americans who prefer participatory decision-making.

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Mindsets: Affective and cognitive filters:

Intergroup Perception

“Our expectations influence the way we perceive and interpret cultural strangers’ behaviour, and likewise their reactions to us are based on their expectations and preconceptions“ (Ting-Toomey, 1999)

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Perception is:

• (1) subjective (what we want to perceive)• (2) selective (information-loaded environment)• (3) categorial• (4) consistent (need for stability)• (5) a learned process (cultural socialisation;

culturally influenced programmes)• (6) intergroup perception accentuates differences

between identity groups

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Distinctions between the four concepts

• ethnocentrism• stereotypes• prejudice• ingroup-outgroup distinction

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Ethnocentrism- definitions

• people hold views / standards that are “own group-centric“ and make judgements about others / other groups based on their own group’s values and beliefs

• people view values and norms of their culture (which are perceived as universally valid) as superior to those of other cultures

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Ethnocentrism

• ... ethnorelativism

• solution: perception checking

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Stereotypes- definitions

• stereotyping: assuming that a person has certain qualities (good or bad) just because the person is a member of a specific group (Jandt)

• overgeneralisation about an identity group without any attempt to perceive individual variations within the identity category

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Stereotypes

• the content can convey both positive and negative information (e.g. “Chinese are good in math“ or “Koreans are too aggressive“)

• Stereotypes can have a negative effect when people use them to interpret behaviour.

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Example: »Mexicans are lazy.«• If people from colder climates who are visiting Mexico

notice only that shops are closed at midday, they might make the attribution of laziness. When this attribution becomes shared by a number of outsiders, it can become part of a stereotype. One of the cognitive processes behind this attribution is that people frequently make conclusions based on their firsthand experiences (shops are closed at midday) and rarely consider the possibility that there are other behaviours that are outside their personal observations.

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• Mindless and Mindful stereotyping• As with other learned behaviours, a person can

change, expand, develop, and adapt the ways he/she categorises / stereotypes others, IF he/she is aware of them.

• stereotypes are relative from each culture’s point of view; better: see individuals!

• generalisations; danger: overgeneralisation and negative evaluations (attitudes, prejudices)

Stereotypes

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Prejudice• Prejudice is a form of prejudgment, or judging based on

no particular knowledge, without any previous thougt or concern.

• People make judgments that are harsh, unkind, or discriminatory towards out-group members.

• Part of socialisation into a culture involves treating others who are noticeably different with reserve. People may discover that their previously held beliefs about certain groups may not be accurate or useful once they find themselves interacting with other cultures.

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In-group/out-group distinction

• all people divide others into in-groups and out-groups, it is an aspect of human behaviour found in every culture

• an in-group consist of people who seek each other out , who have close and warm relationships, and who share their experiece with others.

• Out-group members are held at a distance and are often the targets of rejection especially in intercultural context.

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Improvement of attributions; re-attribution; change of

perspective

Example: USA-Japan

shoe-shining

(quoted from Triandis)

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Question

• What attributions does the cleaning person make concerning Mr. Kato’s request?

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Possible answers

1. he or she could say Mr. Kato is ignorant of American customs and in this case the person would not be too disturbed; cultural ignorance is usually forgiven

2. telling the Japanese guest of the custom

3. ignoring the request

4. speaking to his or her employer

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• However, if the cleaning person attributes Mr. Kato’s request to a personal consideration (he is arrogant) then there will be a serious problem in their interpersonal relationship.

• When each one’s expectations are not realised one attributes motives to the “offender“ based on one’s cultural construct.

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Isomorphic attributions

• try to cognitively interpret the behaviours (verbal or nonverbal) of members of the other group from that group’s cultural frame of reference (Triandis 1994)

• result in a positive evaluation of the other person (Harris)

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Goalsbecome culturally sensitive:

• be able to infer / attribute the same meaning to the verbal conversation or behaviour that the other person does

• take into account situational factors and cultural differences

• refrain from rushing into negative evaluation / judgements based on one’s own ethnocentric frames (Ting-Toomey 1999)

• search for alternative explanations; change your conclusions about an event: re-attribution

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Questions / discussion

• See handout

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