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If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. The socio-cultural psychology examines the influences of social and cultural environments on behavior. Socioculturalists argue that understanding a person’s behavior requires knowing about the cultural context in which the behavior occurs (Matsumoto & Juang, 2013). (Culture refers to the shared knowledge, practices, and attitudes of groups of people and can include language, customs, and beliefs about what behavior is appropriate and inappropriate.) The sociocultural approach often includes cross-cultural research, meaning research that compares individuals in various cultures to see how they differ on important psychological attributes. Cross-cultural research is important for testing the assumption that findings for one culture also generalize to other cultural contexts, and as such it allows psychologists to test for the possibility that some characteristics are universal (Hofmann & Hinton, 2014). The sociocultural approach provides researchers and psychologists with a more informed view and understanding of the motivations which cause a person to behave in a particular way. Instead of relying on biological factors alone, the approach promises to paint a more vivid picture of the human mind through a wider understanding of how we acquire cognitive abilities at an early age. A pioneer of the sociocultural approach was the Soviet psychologist Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky (1896-1934), who became interested in developmental psychology and helped to change the face of the field.One key element of Vygotsky’s sociocultural approach is his idea of a Zone of Proximal Development. Politics, cultural ethics, gender,values, beliefs, ethnicity, socioeconomic status influence our behavior in society and interactions in social groups. It also includes interpersonal and intrapersonal theory which we will see in a short video below: Assumptions of Socio- Cultural Psychology
Impacts on Science and Society:
What approach specifically examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior?The sociocultural approach examines the influences of social and cultural environments on behavior. A major influence on people's behavior, thought processes and emotions are other people and the society they have created.
Which is the psychological perspective that uses concepts such as adaptation reproduction and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors?Evolutionary approach uses evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.
Which psychological perspective emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavior responses and their determinants?The behavioral approach emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants. In other words its the study of the connection between our minds and behavioral.
Which of the following categories are considered perspective or approaches to psychology?The five major perspectives in psychology are biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and humanistic.
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