IB DP Psychology: Sociocultural approach to understanding behaviour – Revision Notes

Course note: these notes follow IB DP Psychology for first assessment 2019, whose last examination session is November 2026. The replacement course is first assessed in May 2027.

The sociocultural approach explains behaviour through the groups people belong to and the cultures they live in. In IB DP Psychology it is one of three core approaches, examined on Paper 1 through a 9-mark short-answer question and a possible 22-mark essay, so you need each theory linked to at least one study that you can describe and evaluate.

Related: Sociocultural approach study guide and practice questions.

Syllabus coverage (first assessment 2019)

Topic	Content	Core studies to know
The individual and the group	Social identity theory; social cognitive theory; formation of stereotypes and their effect on behaviour	Tajfel et al. (1971); Abrams et al. (1990); Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961); Hamilton and Gifford (1976); Steele and Aronson (1995)
Cultural origins of behaviour and cognition	Culture and its influence on behaviour and cognition; cultural dimensions	Berry (1967); Hofstede’s dimensions
Cultural influences on individual attitudes, identity and behaviours	Enculturation; acculturation	Fernald and Morikawa (1993); Berry’s acculturation model; Lueck and Wilson (2011)
HL extension	The influence of globalization on individual attitudes, identities and behaviour	Arnett (2002) on bicultural identity

Key terms

Term	Definition
Social identity	The part of the self-concept that comes from membership of social groups
Social categorisation	Sorting people into groups, including in-groups and out-groups
Social comparison	Comparing the in-group favourably with out-groups to raise self-esteem
Positive distinctiveness	The motivation to see one’s group as better than others
Reciprocal determinism	Bandura’s idea that the person, behaviour and environment influence one another
Stereotype	A generalised belief about members of a group
Illusory correlation	Perceiving a relationship between two variables where none exists or it is weaker than believed
Stereotype threat	Underperformance caused by fear of confirming a negative stereotype
Culture	Shared norms, values, beliefs and practices transmitted across generations
Cultural dimension	A measurable way in which cultures differ, such as individualism-collectivism
Enculturation	Learning the norms of one’s own culture
Acculturation	Psychological and cultural change after contact with a different culture

Key studies in one line each

Study	Aim and finding	Evaluation point
Tajfel et al. (1971)	Bristol schoolboys placed in “minimal groups” (e.g. a preference for Klee or Kandinsky) allocated points to favour their in-group, even at the cost of a larger joint reward	Lab setting and trivial groups: high control but low ecological validity
Abrams et al. (1990)	Conformity in an Asch-style task was higher when confederates were presented as in-group members	Supports SIT’s link between identity and conformity
Bandura, Ross and Ross (1961)	Children who watched an adult model act aggressively towards a Bobo doll imitated the aggression	Demonstrates observational learning; short-term, artificial aggression
Hamilton and Gifford (1976)	Participants over-associated undesirable behaviours with the smaller of two groups	Shows a cognitive origin for stereotypes
Steele and Aronson (1995)	Black American students performed worse when a verbal test was framed as diagnostic of ability	Shows effect of stereotypes on behaviour; mostly student samples
Berry (1967)	Temne people (farming society) conformed more than Inuit people (hunting society) in an Asch-type task	Links economy and culture to conformity; small cultural samples
Hofstede	Survey of IBM employees across many countries identified dimensions such as individualism-collectivism and power distance	Large data set; risk of treating national averages as individual traits
Fernald and Morikawa (1993)	American mothers labelled objects more when talking to infants; Japanese mothers used more social routines	Evidence of enculturation through language
Berry’s model	Four acculturation strategies: integration, assimilation, separation, marginalisation	Integration usually linked to better well-being; a framework, not a test
Lueck and Wilson (2011)	Acculturative stress among Asian Americans related to factors such as language and discrimination	Correlational survey data

Worked example: a 9-mark SAQ outline

Question: Explain the formation of stereotypes, with reference to one study.

1. Define stereotype and state the explanation: illusory correlation, a cognitive bias in which distinctive events (rare behaviours by a minority group) are over-remembered.
2. Describe the study: Hamilton and Gifford (1976) presented statements about two groups, one twice as large as the other, with the same proportion of desirable to undesirable behaviours in each.
3. Results: participants overestimated how many undesirable behaviours belonged to the smaller group.
4. Link back: shows that stereotypes can form from normal information processing, without any real group difference.

SAQs reward explanation linked to research; evaluation is not required for a top-band SAQ.

Common mistakes / exam traps

• Describing SIT without its processes. Name categorisation, identification and comparison.
• Confusing enculturation and acculturation. Enculturation is learning your own culture; acculturation follows contact with another.
• Treating Hofstede’s dimensions as personal traits. They describe national averages.
• Evaluating in an SAQ. “Explain” and “describe” SAQs need explanation, not critique; save evaluation for the 22-mark essay.
• Studies without links. Every study should end with a sentence that answers the question.

Frequently asked questions

How is the sociocultural approach examined? On Paper 1: Section A contains one 9-mark SAQ on each core approach, and Section B offers three 22-mark essays, of which you answer one.

How many studies should I learn per content point? At least one per point, ideally two, so that you can describe one and evaluate with the other.

What is the HL extension for this approach? The influence of globalization on individual attitudes, identities and behaviour.

Self-test

1. Name the three cognitive processes in social identity theory. Social categorisation, social identification, social comparison.
2. What did Bandura et al. (1961) show? Children imitate aggression they observe in an adult model.
3. What is stereotype threat? Underperformance caused by fear of confirming a negative stereotype.
4. Give two of Hofstede’s dimensions. Individualism-collectivism; power distance.
5. Which acculturation strategy combines keeping one’s original culture with joining the new one? Integration.