SOCIOCULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY
WHAT IS SOCIOCULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY?
In psychology, perspectives are ways to understand human behavior. Social Cultural is one of those perspectives and it's a way of understanding humans by how their actions are influenced by the people and situations around them. It is the belief that social and cultural factors impact a child's behavior and higher order functions. Things like social class, race, age, ethnicity, gender, religion, family and friends affect an individual’s development. Psychologists believe, for example, when a child is growing up, their personalities and behavior are heavily affected by their surroundings. If the child grows up with a certain ethnicity, they will learn family traditions and what family says is good and bad according to their culture and beliefs.
Key People
Lev Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist who developed the theory on socio-cultural psychology. He believed that social factors such as parents, peers, and culture influences the development of a child. He stated: "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the so cial level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people and then inside the child. This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals." Lev Vygotsky died at the age of 38 but his work went on to become influential, especially in the fields of educational and cognitive psychology.
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who focused on cognitive development in children. He believed there are a series of four stages children go through to understand the world around them. Unlike Vygotsky, Piaget believed that a child's development was greater influenced by interactions and exploration rather than social or outside factors.
B.F.Skinner
B.F.Skinner was an American psychologist who is best known for his influence in behavioral psychology. Several of his theories and concepts have been used in understanding sociocultural psychology.
Vocabulary Words
Sociocultural Psychologists-look at how social situations, a person's culture, and the environment a person's in affects their behavior and thoughts
External Factors-things around you that influence your thoughts and decisions
Fundamental Attribution Error-this occurs when people focus only on the internal factors of a situation and not the external factors
Individualistic Culture-focuses on individual accomplishments
Collectivist Culture-focuses on your relationships with groups of people such as your friends, family, etc.
Ethnocultural Empathy-understanding other cultures ideas
Intercultural Empathy-understanding views different than yours
Informational Social Influence-this happens when you follow a social norm because you feel pressure to do so not because you think it's right
Situationism-a theory that says your actions and behaviors are influenced by your situation not your traits
Interpsychological-social level; between people
Intrapyschological- individual level; inside the child/individual
Zone of Proximal Development-the distance between the actual development as determined through problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance
cognitive development- the development of a persons thought process & how those thoughts influence our understanding of the world around.
For AP Psychology Course (Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology (also known as AP Psych)).
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