Tajfel and Turner: part of our self-concept comes from group memberships; we categorize, identify and compare.
In-group favouritism
Favouring members of one's own group.
Social cognitive theory
Bandura: behaviour is learned by observing models, with attention, retention, reproduction and motivation.
Self-efficacy
Belief in one's ability to succeed in a task.
SIT processes: social categorization, social identification and social comparison. Positive distinctiveness raises self-esteem but can lead to prejudice.
The full notes, worked example and check questions for this subtopic are in the app.
Exam tip: Explain SIT through its three processes before applying it to a behaviour such as prejudice or sport fandom.
S.2Stereotypes
Key terms
Stereotype
A generalized, oversimplified belief about members of a group.
Illusory correlation
Perceiving a relationship between two variables when none exists, often between minorities and rare behaviours.
Stereotype threat
Fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group, which harms performance.
Stereotypes form through social learning, schemas, social identity and illusory correlation, and are maintained by confirmation bias.
The full notes, worked example and check questions for this subtopic are in the app.
Exam tip: Show both the formation of a stereotype and its effect: these are often asked separately.
S.3Culture and cultural norms
Key terms
Culture
Shared beliefs, values, norms and practices of a group, passed between generations.
Cultural dimension
A way of describing and comparing cultures, e.g. Hofstede's individualism–collectivism.
Norm
An unwritten rule of expected behaviour in a group.
The full notes, worked example, interactive diagram and check questions for this subtopic are in the app.
Exam tip: Avoid stereotyping countries: describe dimensions as tendencies and mention variation within cultures.
S.4Acculturation and globalization
Key terms
Acculturation
Psychological and cultural change following contact between cultures.
Enculturation
Learning the norms of one's own culture.
Acculturative stress
Stress caused by the challenges of adapting to a new culture.
Globalization
Increasing interconnection between cultures through trade, media, migration and technology.
Berry's model: integration (keep own culture and adopt the new), assimilation (adopt the new, give up the old), separation (keep the old, reject the new), marginalization (neither).
The full notes, worked example and check questions for this subtopic are in the app.
Exam tip: Name the specific acculturation strategy and link it to an outcome (stress, health, identity).