Cultural Psychology Chapter 10: Social Influence - PowerPoint Presentation

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Cultural Psychology

Chapter 10: Social Influence

Robyn M. Holmes

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Chapter 10 Outline

Obedience

The Milgram Experiment: Why do we obey authority figures?

What did Milgram’s Study Reveal?

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Chapter 10 Outline

Obedience and Culture

Cross-cultural Comparison on Obedience

Highlighted Box: Culture Across Disciplines: A Sociological Cross-cultural Study on Independence and Obedience

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Chapter 10 Outline

Conformity

Asch’s Experiment on Conformity

Conformity and culture

Conformity and Disease

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Chapter 10 Outline

Peer Pressure

Culture Specific Studies on Peer Pressure and Alcohol

Cross-Cultural Studies on Peer Pressure

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Chapter 10 Outline

What is Aggression?

Human Aggression

Evolutionary, Biological, and Social Learning Explanations for Aggression

Cultural Factors that Shape Aggression

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Chapter 10 Outline

Parenting Practices and Aggression

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Aggression and Parenting Practices

Other Environmental Factors

Population Density, Climate, and Aggression

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Chapter 10 Outline

Violence against Individuals

Child Maltreatment

Defining Child Maltreatment

Child Maltreatment and Culture

Cross-cultural Comparisons of Child Abuse

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Chapter 10 Outline

Bullying

Cyberbullying

Who are the Cyberbullies?

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Chapter 10 Outline

Where does Cyberbullying Occur?

Cross-Cultural Studies on Cyberbullying

Culturally Embedded Strategies to Combat Bullying

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Chapter 10 Outline

Violence against Women – Rape in India

Why Women?

Treatment of Rape Victims and Blame

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Chapter 10 Outline

Violence against Groups

War

Ethnic Genocide

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Chapter 10 Outline

Child Soldiers

Becoming a Child Soldier

Why use Children

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Chapter 10 Learning Goals

Define the terms obedience, conformity, peer pressure, aggression, and violence

Discuss Milgram’s experiment on obedience and how culture shapes our willingness to obey an authority figure

Explain Asch’s experiment on conformity and factors that influence this behavior

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Chapter 10 Learning Goals

Discuss how cultural values, beliefs, and practices shape peer pressure

Summarize the leading explanations for and reasons why we aggress

Discuss the applied value of cultural psychology in combatting cyberbullying

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Chapter 10 Learning Goals

Define the term violence and provide examples of violence committed against individuals and group

Explain the existence of child soldiers

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Engaging with Culture

On December 2, 2015 a husband and wife entered a local community center in San Bernardino, California

Armed with semiautomatic weapons, handguns, a dozen pipe bombs, and additional ammunition, the husband and wife began shooting those in attendance

The couple plotted and carried out a heinous mass shooting

The tragic outcome was that 14 civilians lost their lives and 22 more were wounded. The couple met their death in a gun battle with police

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What motivated their attack?

The issue is a complicated one:

Was it extreme religious beliefs?

Was it social isolation at work?

Was it a cultural identity crisis?

Was mental illness a factor?

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What motivates us to commit violent acts?

It is difficult to know what drove this couple to commit this violent act

What motivates people to commit violent acts is a complicated issue

What is clear it that some humans are capable of committing very violent acts against other humans

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Obedience

Obedience

- complying with the commands of an authority figure

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Why do people blindly obey authority figures?

Historical events inspired Stanley Milgram (1974) to study this question

He wondered what situational factors produced the Holocaust and the ethnic genocide of European Jews and other cultural groups

This led him to develop the classic experiment, “

Obedience to Authority.

”

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The Milgram Experiment

Participants thought they were taking part in a study on the effects of punishment on memory

He deceived participants

He wanted to know how situational factors shaped an individual’s willingness to obey an authority figure

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The Milgram Experiment

He used a Western sample of middle-income, educated young men (WEIRD)

Created a situation in which “teachers” sat in front of a panel of switches labeled with voltage in increasing amounts from 15 volts to 450 volts or fatal shock

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Conditions of The Milgram Experiment

Teachers read “learners” word list pairs and an experimenter instructed teachers to shock learners when they provided incorrect answers

Milgram had the experimenters dress professionally in white lab coats

Made sure (initially) that teachers and learners had no physical contact

Participants were certain that experimenters were in total charge of the situation

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Milgram’s Findings

Average, everyday citizens responded in ways that violated their own moral compass

What situational factors shaped their responses?

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Milgram’s Findings - The Situational Factors

The mere presence of an authority figure released the participant from any responsibility

Was easier to shock someone you could not see

Participants wanted to do a good job so they behaved in ways that conflicted with their own sense of morality just to please the experimenter

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In his original work, Milgram found

Approximately 67% of his sample delivered fatal shocks to learners even though participants

These were everyday people behaving in horrible ways and in his view the situational factors were exclusively responsible for these actions

Women participated in obedience studies and Milgram reported no sex differences

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Why did Milgram’s Work Produce Inconsistent Findings?

May have been due in part to how he chose to measure responsibility

He measured responsibility

after

the actual experiment and chose not to control for

confounding factors

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Contemporary Studies on Obedience

Burger (2009) modified Milgram’s instructions to participants so that punishment did not exceed 150 volts

Excluded participants who had taken psychology courses and who were familiar with Milgram’s study

Compensated participants with $50

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Would these minor changes affect Burger’s findings?

They did not

Burger’s sample behaved similarly to Milgram’s sample

Burger also found no significant differences between men and women

Concluded that despite social and historical changes, the situational factors that created obedience to authority for Milgram also operated in Burger’s work

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Twenge’s Challenges to Milgram’s Obedience Studies

Milgram neglected cultural or historical factors that might have provided equally possible explanations

Demographic changes in American culture may be one possible explanation

Burger had an ethnically diverse sample composed primarily of Asian participants residing in California

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Twenge’s Challenges to Milgram’s Obedience Studies

Generational differences may offer an alternative explanation

In the 1960s, Milgram’s participants were young adults raised to be obedient

In the 21

st

century, middle income, American parenting goals place more emphasis upon autonomy and self-expression than obedience

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Twenge’s Challenges to Milgram’s Obedience

Studie

Burger set an end limit of 150 volts well below Milgram’s 450-volt maximum

Delivering shocks was due more to the participant’s desire to conform than to aggressive tendencies

Burger’s participants may have voluntarily delivered shocks because of their exposure to media and real violence, a cultural shift not present in Milgram’s sample

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Twenge’s Challenges to Milgram’s Obedience Studies

Personality traits might also affect our willingness to obey

In the United States, people have become more self-absorbed and self-centered than in previous generations

This trend towards self-absorption limits our ability to express concern for others and may partially explain Burger’s higher percentages of disobedience

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What conclusions can we draw from Twenge’s

work?

Cultural practices and beliefs, social norms regarding obedience, situational factors, and personality traits may all interact in shaping our behaviors

Is obedience a universal behavior shaped by cultural practices, values, and situational constraints or is it culture-specific

?

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Obedience and Culture

Meeus and

Raaijmakers

(1995) studied obedience in the Netherlands

They incorporated an experimenter, the actual participant, and a confederate who was a ‘job applicant’

Asked participants to interrupt a job applicant while he was taking a required test for the position

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Meeus and

Raaijmakers’ Instructions to Participants

The experimenter informed participants that if the job applicant failed the test he would not get the job

Instructed participants to make 15 negative "stress" remarks about the job applicant’s performance and personality that would negatively affect his performance

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Meeus and

Raaijmakers’ Findings

91% (22 of 24) of the experimental group made all 15 negative remarks

Similar to Milgram's study, their participants were uncomfortable with the task

Participants also transferred responsibility to the experimenter for what happened

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Meeus and

Raaijmakers’ Findings

Though the situational factors were different, they still obeyed the authority figure

Based upon

Twenge’s

comments, what do you think was responsible for the participants’ obedient behavior in

Meeus

and

Raaijmakers

’ study?

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Cross-Cultural Comparisons on Obedience

Blass (2012) compared Milgram’s findings from the original study in the United States to those performed in other countries

Meta-analysis of studies from Spain, Austria, Germany, Jordan, South Africa, Australia, and India that replicated Milgram’s study

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Blass found very small mean differences in levels of obedience

A high degree of cultural variability and this was true for studies conducted in different countries as well as those exclusively done in the United States

Although these studies differ by design conditions, they do suggest some commonalities with respect to obedience – insignificant sex differences and similar sample percentages for obedience

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Culture Across Disciplines: A Sociological Cross-cultural Study on Independence and Obedience

Some sociologists study childhood socialization

Xiao highlights the interconnectedness of social structure and culture in her comparison of child socialization values in the U.S. and China

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Xiao’s Cross-cultural Study on Independence and Obedience with American and Chinese caregivers

Selected the core values of independence and obedience because these vary with parents’ social status

In the U.S., middle-income, American parents tend to stress independence as a core value in comparison to lower income parents who tend to emphasize obedience

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Differences in cultural ideologies between the two nations

Chinese cultural worldviews emphasize values that support group harmony, obedience to parents, empathy, unselfishness, and support an interdependent self

American cultural worldviews emphasize personal freedom, uniqueness, self-expression, autonomy, and support an independent self

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Differences in cultural ideologies between the two nations

Chinese parenting practices reinforce respect for parents and a strong work ethic, values deeply rooted in Confucianism

Similar to middle-income, American parents, educated 21

st

century Chinese parents also have a desire to instill independence in their children

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Xiao’s Cross-Cultural Study

Compared the two cultures using the World Values Survey (WVS)

Findings - American and Chinese parents shared the values of autonomy, good manners, hard work, responsibility, and respect

Concluded that parents worldwide share similar values for their children that may cross cultural borders but cultural differences emerged

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Xiao’s Cross-Cultural Study - Cultural Differences

American parents valued obedience more than Chinese parents whereas Chinese parents valued independence more than American parents did

Possible explanations:

Societal demographics - China is a more culturally homogenous society than the U.S.

Sample differences - the Chinese sample was younger and contained only urban residents; the US sample had urban and rural participants

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Xiao also examined family structure and demographic factors

Both Chinese and American parents valued independence more than obedience in their children

American parents’ education, age, ethnicity, and belief systems connected to their views of independence

The emphasis Chinese parents placed upon independence related to the number of children in a family

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Xiao’s Cross-Cultural Study - Cultural Differences

Cultural meanings may shape parental attitudes towards obedience and independence

Xiao suggests that independence and obedience are not complimentary opposites

The Chinese emphasis upon independence may reflect concerns for a children’s ability to become self-sufficient rather than many American parents’ concern with self-expression and personal freedoms

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Conformity

Conformity results when a group exerts so much pressure on its members they change their perceptions, emotions, opinions, and behavior

Conformity is a type of

social influence

–

the process by which other people affect our feelings, attitudes, emotions, and perceptions

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Questions to Ponder

Do you think you could resist group pressure to respond in ways that conflict with the group’s view?

Would you change your answer even if you knew it was right just because the other members of your group gave a different answer?

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Asch’s Experiment on Conformity

Assembled a group of six confederates (all young, European American men) to view and judge visual stimuli along with an unknowing seventh participant

Participants compared line lengths against a reference line

Asch intentionally had his confederates perform correctly on the first few trials and then they committed blatant errors

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Asch’s Visual Stimuli

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Asch’s Findings

37% of participants changed their response and conformed to the group

25% refused to conform

50% conformed though not on all trials

Replicated again in the 1990s, people again conformed and at high levels

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Why did people conform to group norms even when they knew their answers were incorrect?

Participants that conformed reported that they did not want others to label them “crazy”

Worried about how the group would perceive them, so much so they behaved in ways that conflicted with what they knew was a right answer

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Why did people conform to group norms even when they knew their answers were incorrect?

The motivation to conform arise because people want others to accept them

The power of

informational influence

– a type of conformity in which a person behaves like others because of the belief that other group members are more knowledgeable

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Conformity and Culture

Why would you want to conform?

Individuals with an independent self-concept strive for uniqueness, self-expression, and autonomy

In this cultural context, conformity is a negative behavior

The perception of people who conform or just go along with the group is that they cannot stand on their own

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Conformity and Culture

Might expect a higher level of conformity in cultural contexts that support an interdependent self

In these contexts, conformity is a positive behavior because it reinforces cultural values that encourage people to establish a sense of belonging and interconnected relationships

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Are there cultural differences in conformity?

Bond and Smith (1996) analyzed prior conformity studies from 17 different countries

All of these studies used line judgement tasks similar to Asch’s classic study

Found an average conformity rate of 25% too and that conformity in the United States has declined since the mid twentieth century

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What might account for cultural differences Bond and Smith reported?

Collectivist countries produced higher levels of conformity than individualistic countries did

The larger the size of the majority population,

and the greater the proportion of women

participants also shaped the findings

The studies they analyzed did not examine the cultural context in which conformity actually occurs in daily social interactions

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Murray, Trudeau, and Schaller’s Meta-analysis on Conformity and Disease

Found a connection between infectious agents and conformity which might explain cultural variability in conformity

Suggest that this might interact with cultural and behavioral norms

If you live in a region where there is a high risk of disease and infection you might take precautions to make sure you teach future generations the cultural practices and routines that would ensure conformity and consequently protect the community

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Peer Pressure

Peer pressure - the direct or indirect encouragement from one’s own age group to participate in activities or behave in prescribed ways

Peer pressure is a form of social influence

The need to belong connects to peer pressure

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Peer Pressure

Contributes to our emotional and social development

Helps us develop our identity and sense of self and

we model peer behavior to gain acceptance

Can also lead to irresponsible and dangerous behavior- smoking, drinking, stealing, and having risky sex can all be the result of peer

Teenagers, and college students are at risk for substance abuse and other dangerous behavior

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Karam,

Kypri, and

Salamoun

(2007) analyzed studies conducted worldwide on college drinking

Found that college students worldwide are at risk for alcohol related problems

Even in Arab countries that have high Muslim populations, college students, especially men develop alcohol related problems

Happens even though Islamic law forbids the use of alcohol

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Karam,

Kypri, and

Salamoun

(2007) analyzed studies conducted worldwide on college drinking

Commonalities across countries included high socioeconomic status, educational experience, family history of alcoholism, and sex of drinker

Protective factors included faith and negative attitudes regarding drinking

Environmental factors also shaped college students’ drinking behavior - living on campus and taking no classes on Friday encouraged more drinking

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Studer and colleagues’ work on peer pressure and alcohol use among Swiss men

Used surveys that measured their drinking habits (how much alcohol they drank on weekdays and weekends). reasons for drinking, and peer pressure (conformity, involvement, and misconduct (risky behavior)

Surveyed several thousand participants

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Studer and Colleagues’ Findings

Peer pressure to engage in unsafe behavior (misconduct) positively connected with alcohol use – appears in other countries, e.g., the US

Peer pressure to conform and become involved in college life acted as a protective buffer against alcohol use

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How might Studer

and colleagues’ findings translate into effective strategies to help prevent alcohol abuse in young adults?

When young men experience severe peer pressure to engage in unsafe activity, they learn that alcohol is a way to escape or cope with difficult situations

When young men socially interact with positive peers, these experiences shape their attitudes about avoiding alcohol

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Ståhlbrandt and colleagues’ comparative

study on Swedish and American

college students drinking habits

These participants shared a risk factor for alcohol abuse - being a college student, a young man, and a campus resident

The team searched through existing survey studies from Sweden and the United States carefully selecting culturally equivalent items to analyze

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Findings from Ståhlbrandt

and colleagues’ comparative study on Swedish and American

college students drinking habits

Swedish freshmen (both men and women) reported more harmful drinking behaviors and are more at risk for alcohol abuse than American students

Living on campus is a risk factor

In the American sample, students living in fraternities and sororities had higher reported drinking rates than Swedish students living in dormitories

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Comparison between Swedish and American

College Students’ Drinking Behaviors

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What are the consequences of alcohol abuse?

Students who drink often do poorly in school - t

rue of freshmen who are most at risk in part because they are making the transition to a new setting if they live on campus

Students may also drink to escape the pressures of school or everyday life - drinking becomes a coping mechanism

Engaging in risky sex which may result in rape or assault

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How do these types of studies help to confront this social issue?

Can help broaden our understanding of risk factors related to alcohol consumption that might be relevant in more than one cultural setting

Culture specific studies and comparative cultural studies can be utilized to design effective treatment programs for college students who may not share the same cultural beliefs but do share the college experience

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What is aggression?

Aggression

- any behavior intended to cause harm to another with the understanding that the victim will suffer or experience pain

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Types of aggression?

Direct aggression - face to face, open, or blatant physical harm or injury to another person

Relational aggression

- aggression aimed at a person’s relationships, social status, and reputation; can be direct (open) or indirect (secretive)

Emotional aggression

- an impulsive act meant to inflict pain for the sake of doing so often times out of anger or provocation; explains vengeful honor killings and rage aimed at an unfaithful partner

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Aggression differs from hostility

Hostility

- a negative, antagonistic attitude toward another person or group

Many instances of hostility are directed at particular ethnic groups

Violence

- an extreme form of aggression

Includes war, ethnic genocide, murder, and rape

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Evolutionary Explanations for Aggression

Focus upon how evolutionary pressures shape our behavior

Emphasize the adaptive value of aggression in ensuring the reproductive success of individuals and species

For men, aggression is important because it can be an advantage when they compete against other men for mates

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Biological Explanations for Aggression

Include genetic, and electrochemical (neurotransmitters) and hormonal (testosterone) causes

Studies with twins support that that physical aggression appears to have a genetic component

Testosterone can increase aggressive behavior and thought

Recent studies are exploring how testosterone interacts with our brain wiring to stimulate aggressive behavior

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Social Learning Explanations for Aggression

Social cognitive theory predicts that we perform behaviors when we see models receive reinforcement and societal approval

This framework suggests that aggression and aggressive acts are learned

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Interactionist Positions on Aggression

Individuals who adopt an interactionist approach, acknowledge that our actions, thoughts, and feelings are the result of the interaction between genetics and environmental influences

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Cultural Factors that Shape Aggression

Cultural communities differ in their displays of aggression and cultural contexts, values, and practices shape the aggressive behavior within those settings

Example: In societies where a culture of honor exists, violence and revenge killings are culturally appropriate responses to wrong doings

These factors may intersect with ecological and economic factors too

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Parenting Practices and Aggression

Cultural anthropologists often seek to understand how child-rearing practices guide personality development and the cultural variability one finds in developmental outcomes

Robert

LeVine

, a prominent cultural anthropologist suggests that childrearing customs function to help societies sustain themselves

Cultures that desire fierce and effective warriors will need to socialize their children to become just that

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Parenting Practices and Aggression

Parenting practices reinforce and connect to cultural worldviews that promote or discourage aggression

Zahn-

Waxler

and colleagues asked similar income, Japanese and U.S. preschoolers to respond to hypothetically stressful situations (a child being hit, caregivers arguing, peer conflict on a playground)

Found that U.S. children were more likely to use more aggressive behaviors and angry displays than Japanese children were

Do you think this conclusion is accurate?

Slide84

What might explain Zahn-Waxler

and colleagues’ findings?

Child rearing and socialization practices

Japanese socialize practices emphasize group cohesion, self-restraint, a sensitivity to others, and support an interdependent self

Japanese mothers reinforce these values in their childrearing practices – e.g., anger displays disrupt group harmony

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What might explain Zahn-Waxler

and colleagues’ findings?

Mainstream American socialization practices emphasize core values such as self-expression, autonomy, and uniqueness

Mainstream American childrearing practices encourage children to display anger and aggression because they connect to an independent self; e.g., anger is a positive emotion because it relates to self-interests

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Cross-Cultural Comparisons of Aggression and Parenting Practices

Guerra, Hammons and Clutter (2011) compared the prevalence of violence (homicides) in Jamaica, Japan, and among Latinos in the U.S. focusing upon cultural norms and worldviews

Slide87

What did Guerra and colleagues’ cross-cultural study on violence find?

Japan had extremely low rates of violent acts

Jamaica had extremely high rates

The U.S. fell in between Jamaica and Japan on the violence scale

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Homicide Rates in Jamaica, Japan, and the United States (Latinos) per 100,000

Slide89

Guerra and colleagues’

explanation for their findings

Connected homicide rates to cultural worldviews and parenting practices that reinforce cultural values with the understanding that all three groups share a type of collectivist ideology

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Guerra and colleagues’ explanation for their findings

Many Japanese parents encourage their children to behave in ways that meet social expectations

Many American parents encourage their children to pursue self-interests - could potentially lead to aggressive acts

Cultural attitudes that reinforce aggression, such as machismo among Latinos and its elevated status among Jamaican men may encourage aggression

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Guerra and colleagues suggest that harsh physical discipline and the encouragement of prosocial behavior might be the best explanation

Jamaican disciplinary routines include strictness and harsh physical forms of punishment

Japanese and Latino parents encourage prosocial and cooperative behaviors - this shapes later attitudes regarding aggression and violence

Japan and the United States have stable, economies; Jamaica does not

In the US and Jamaica, one is more likely to experience violence in urban areas

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Population Density, Climate, and Aggression

Do you get angrier in summer than you do in winter?

Aggressive and violent acts increase during the summer when temperatures rise

Aggressive and violent acts increase when there are more people in a given area

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Cultural factors may interact with population density

Minturn and Lambert (1964) found a positive connection between crowded households and aggression

Parents punished children more severely for fighting and aggressive behavior when they lived in close quarters with limited space and numerous relatives

Mothers were more likely to punish their children for behaving aggressively when they lived in larger, extended families

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Regional differences in violence also intersect with cultural values

More violent acts occur in southern regions of the United States than in northern regions

Nisbett

and Cohen (1996) argue that cultures of honor that justify violence and are more prevalent in the south are responsible for this difference

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Violence against Individuals – Child Maltreatment

In the 21

st

century, we still know very little about child maltreatment

Stems partly from the field’s inability to accurately define and categorize this behavior

Medical, clinical, legal, cultural, and social service definitions often differ from each other

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Violence against Individuals – Child Maltreatment

Even within the United States, individual states differ in their definitions of child abuse

Since cultural practices vary widely, what is abuse in one culture is simply discipline in another

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So how do we define child maltreatment?

In the United States, child maltreatment

includes two very different behaviors – neglect and abuse

In

child

neglect

, a caregiver fails to take care of a child’s basic needs such as food, clothing, and overall care

In

child abuse

, an older person (child or adult) commits intentional acts that harm a child; this abuse can be physical, psychological or emotional, and sexual

Slide98

Maltreatment definitions

Become more complicated when you consider cultural factors

Severe physical punishment is a common child rearing practice in Tonga, but in the U.S., this same behavior would be a crime

Cultural values regarding chastity, parental belief systems, and religious beliefs intersect with other cultural practices to shape children’s experiences of maltreatment

A universal definition of child abuse may not be realistic

Slide99

Unfamiliar child rearing practices often create difficulties for the legal system

Deciding whether an action is abusive

Those involved in the legal system should acquire the skill of cultural competence

Health professionals also acknowledge the need for cultural awareness

Slide100

Unfamiliar child rearing practices often create difficulties for the legal system

Fontes (2005) cautions about the importance of obtaining cultural knowledge before pursuing accusations of child abuse

Many Latino and some Asian caregivers use a similar cultural practice that requires children to place their bare knees on rice for several minutes as a disciplinary technique

To an outsider this might seem harsh and unusual punishment, but in fact, it is a common parenting practice

Slide101

Akmatov’s Cross-cultural Comparison of Child Abuse Rates

Compared child abuse rates between both countries and regions in African countries, transitional countries (former Soviet Union countries), and all other countries

Slide102

Findings from Akmatov’s

Cross-cultural Comparison of Child Abuse Rates

Children in all categories were more likely to suffer psychological abuse rather than physical or sexual abuse - African countries had the highest percentages

High percentages of psychological abuse appear in the Middle East (Yemen) and Asia (Vietnam)

Transitional countries and individual countries of Albania and Bosnia had the lowest percentages

What might account for his findings?

Slide103

Association between parental attitudes towards corporal punishment, abuse, and economic status of the family (based on wealth index)

Slide104

Findings from Akmatov’s

Cross-cultural Comparison of Child Abuse Rates

Suggests there might be a strong connection between parental beliefs and practices and physical punishment and physical child abuse

When parents have positive attitudes, about severe physical punishment, it increases the probability of abuse and this is more noticeable for children who live in poor settings

When parents do not believe in the use of physical punishment to discipline their children, country wealth is not a factor that affects the likelihood of abuse

Slide105

How do we prevent child abuse and neglect in ways that are culturally sensitive to protect children around the world?

The type of program may be dependent upon a variety of factors that include parent beliefs, cultural values, economics, and adult education experiences

Parent training programs in Singapore begin in adolescence. Teenagers take courses that help them acquire the skills and abilities they will need to care for their children

Argentina and China have therapy-based programs

Slide106

Bullying

Is part of many children’s and adolescents’ lived experiences at school and it has become a global concern

Has negative consequences for the child or adolescent victim

The bullied child or teen may experience school related, physical, and psychological problems such as depression and social anxiety avoid social situations and complain of aches and pains to skip school

Slide107

Defining Bullying

In Western conceptions,

bullying

is an organized abuse of power that includes verbal insults, hitting, threats, punching, social exclusion, and rumors intentionally meant to intimidate another person

Translating the word bullying into some languages from English is difficult to accomplish using a single word

Slide108

Bullying

Is an individual act

Bullies are motivated by psychosocial issues such as a need for control and power, and the desire for social dominance among their peers

Slide109

Parenting practices also shape the expression and prevalence of bullying

In Italy, boys bully other boys on the playground as a way to assert their sexual prowess - this is an important cultural quality ingrained in many Italian boys and thus bullying is one way to prove one’s social status

Slide110

Parenting practices also shape the expression and prevalence of bullying

Countries that emphasize cultural worldviews that support an interdependent self also have lower incidences of bullying than individualistic countries

Media plays a role in reinforcing cultural attitudes towards violence and aggression

Slide111

Cyberbullying

Because of Internet access and the growing popularity of social media, cyberbullying is increasing worldwide especially among adolescents

Cyberbullying -

involves repeated, organized, and intentional psychological harm through interactions with electronic media

Unlike direct aggression, cyberbullying is a form of relational aggression in which the bully threatens the victim’s reputation and relationships

Slide112

Why is cyberbullying attractive to bullies?

In cyberspace

You can protect you identity

Threaten and insult your victim in the privacy of your own home

Reach an extremely wide audience

Slide113

Who are the Cyberbullies?

Studies in the U.S. and Sweden suggest girls are more likely to cyberbully

Other studies from the US and the UK suggest boys are more likely to cyberbully

Studies in Turkey suggest boys and girls are more likely to cyberbully members of their own sex

Chinese and Japanese boys are more likely to commit cyberbullying than girls

In New Zealand gender differences are inconsistent

Slide114

Where does Cyberbullying Occur?

Most likely to occur where children and teens have access to electronic media

Europe

North America

Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and South America

Slide115

Wright and Colleagues’ Cross-Cultural Study on Cyberbullying among Chinese, Japanese, and Indian Children

Predicted that:

Teens from collectivist communities would engage less in cyber aggressive behaviors than those from India where individualistic and collectivist worldviews co-exist

China would have a higher incidence of aggressive acts than Japan because of its higher Internet use

Chinese and Japanese socialization goals that promote interdependency should lead to less aggressive actions

Socialization goals that promote independency should connect positively to aggressive behaviors

Slide116

Findings from Wright and Colleagues’ Cross-Cultural Study on Cyberbullying

Indian teens reported more instances of cyber aggression than teens in China with Japanese teen reporting the lowest levels of cyber aggression

Slide117

Means for Cyber Aggressors and Victims across Countries

Slide118

What might explain Wright and colleagues’ findings?

Cultural worldviews place a large role in the teens’ cyber aggressive activity

Indian teenagers are more at risk due the influence of individualistic and collectivist values

Chinese and Japanese teens both experience socialization practices that support an interdependent self - Chinese teens have more exposure to Internet activity which may make them more susceptible or at risk for these types of behaviors

Slide119

Culturally Embedded Strategies to Combat Bullying

Contemporary strategies to combat bullying are culturally situated and include intervention programs, presenting workshops, involving the community in disseminating materials and important information regarding bullying, and empower victims and peers in their social world to work together to combat this problem

Slide120

Culturally Embedded Strategies to Combat Bullying

‘Fear Not!’

in Europe is confronting issues of bullying

Helps coach victims to develop coping skills but also focuses upon the important role bystanders can play in defusing bullying situations and lending aid to the victim

Brazilian approaches to bullying focus upon respect and socializing children to internalize a cultural worldview of peace instead of violence

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Violence against Women – Rape in India

India is grappling with an increase in violence against women, particularly incidences of gang rape

The men who commit these violent crimes victimize women in different ways because these men shape the future of their own wives as well as the women they attacked

Who are the women who suffer from these attacks?

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Why are women victims of such violence?

Rural-urban contact

Rural workers finding employment in urban areas must adapt to a different set of cultural scripts

In rural areas most women must be accompanied by a male escort usually her husband or brother

In urban areas there is increased contact between men and women, interactions which are highly forbidden in rural areas

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Why are women victims of such violence?

Symbolic of raping or assaulting the community of which she is a member

In communities that value honor, raping a women and destroying her chastity shames not just the individual women but also on the group level, her entire community

Rape becomes another strategy of war that soldiers and armies use to achieve their goals

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Why are women victims of such violence?

Stricter penalties for rape have not curtailed the violence against women particularly in rural northern villages

Women are not safe and men can do as they please without fear of prosecution

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How do cultural attitudes shape rape, the way victims are treated and who is to blame?

Murthi

(2009) investigated violence committed against women in India

Growing resentment and tension between Hindus and Muslims helps justify the raping of Muslim women living in India and connects to the view that rape shames not only the woman but her entire community

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Why is shame so heavily connected to violence against women particularly rape?

The cultural importance placed upon chastity shapes responses to and explanations for rape

Premarital sex is one of the most forbidden activities in Indian culture

Unexpected pregnancies out of wedlock bring great shame to a family and the unmarried woman is likely to experience ostracism and other types of punishment

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Why is shame so heavily connected to violence against women particularly rape?

The shame for all Indian women who are rape victims – who will marry her now?

Publicly admitting that one is a victim of rape leaves girls and women with physical and social scars

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Modernization and Rape in India

Clash between the impact of modernization on urban India cultural practices and those still highly regarded in traditional villages

In a majority of cases the girls or women are untouchables – the lowest caste in Indian society and their attackers in some cases are from higher castes that have political power

Rape cases of low income and poor women receive far less attention in the media than those involving middle income or affluent Indian women

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Violence against Groups

Part of the human experience and most likely a universal phenomenon

Involves a struggle or competition between groups

An armed conflict that can either occur between different territories or within the same territory between different groups

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Why do we go to war?

Lack of resources necessary to sustain life

Environmental pressures

The need to defend one’s nation against others

Oppression

A cultural construction - mistrust, fear of the other, and enculturation and socialization processes shape our intentions for war

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Why do we go to war?

Potts and Hayden (2008) suggest that our tendency to commit violent acts connects to societal attitudes

They argue that violence appears more in regions where women experience oppression and strong sexual divisions of labor which restrict women’s duties to child rearing

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Ethnic Genocide

Perpetrators are groups or collectives and so are the targets

Genocide

- the deliberate destruction, in whole or in part, of a people

Appear across historical periods, countries, cultural worldviews, socioeconomic levels, political ideologies, and types of governments

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Past Genocides by Country and Approximate Lives Lost

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What are the causes of genocide or ethnic cleansing?

Political, economic, historical, social, and cultural forces and some of the motivating factors for war all shape genocide

One is nation building and the desire for territory

Envy and feelings of inferiority – e.g., many Germans became extremely jealous over the Jews’ success in their land

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What are the causes of genocide or ethnic cleansing?

The desire for power and control over other societal segments intersects with cultural explanations and ethnic identity – e.g., the Rwandan civil war, the Guatemalan civil war

Government corruption and religious superiority – e.g., in the Sudan and the violence against non-Arab, African Sudanese

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Child Soldiers

In the 21

st

century there are over 300,000 minor children participating globally in armed conflicts in world regions

The use of children as soldiers is not new and crosses historical periods

Military forces exploit, recruit, and indoctrinate children to become soldiers

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What are the lived experiences of child soldiers?

The future is bleak and horrible for boys and girls

Girls often enter the military through recruitment, abduction, volunteerism, or are gang raped into submission

Many reports on child soldiers often refer exclusively to boys

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Why do children become soldiers?

Some children do so voluntarily because they are living in impoverished and oppressive conditions

Children believe that army life will provide a better alternative than their lived reality

Ecological, political, and cultural factors are equally important in shaping children’s decisions to engage in war

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Why do children become soldiers?

Being present when a relative is killed, destruction of property, displacement, political oppression and corruption, poverty, harassment, and cultural relevancy of the conflict

Oppression, corruption, unemployment, a population that is not literate, social ills, and the government’s need for more soldiers were all factors that drew children into the Sierra Leone conflict

Slide140

Why use Children?

Children make good soldiers

Children are easier than adults to indoctrinate and manipulate

Once indoctrinated, children’s social identities are forever altered - the child’s individuality becomes a group identity