Social - Sci 076257 File7of8

Social Science and Us
Anthropology and Us
Research and Inquiry Skill Focus: Section 7.1: Understanding Cultures

• Evaluating Sources Section 7.2: Canadian Cultures, Past and Present
Chapter 7 Review
Psychology and Us
Research and Inquiry Skill Focus: Section 8.1: Influence of Others on Self
• Presenting Research in Psychology Section 8.2: Personality and Environment
Chapter 8 Review
Sociology and Us
Research and Inquiry Skill Focus: Section 9.1: Identity in Different Contexts
• Writing Reports Section 9.2: Canadian Social Structures
and Institutions
Chapter 9 Review
ow does social science help us understand society? Using social science
skills to understand ourselves and people who are different than us allows
us to better understand our own experiences and relationships. Understanding
the complex relationships and forces that connect people makes it possible to
respond to the world around us.
Each of the three social sciences takes different approaches to understanding
society. Using the lenses of anthropology, psychology, and sociology we can
refine our critical thinking skills to better understand the issues that surround
and affect us , and to challenge the status quo and common assumptions about
each issue. Rather than being a passive observer of the world, we can find ways
to get involved-to affect change-whether it be in our own family, community,
or further afield.
What issues are i mportant to you? What influences you to take action or
to affect change on an issue? How do you know what factors influence your decisions?
Anthropology and Us
n the past, cu ltural a nthropologists l ooked to s m a l l , rura l , and cohesive
com m u nities in other cou ntries to u nderstand how cultures function.
Anthropologists have si nce turned to com m u nities i n their own a rea to
u n derstand socia l practices a n d customs. In Canada, anthropologists
study how Canada's many cultures define themselves and interact with one
a nother. They use anthropological methods and theories to understa n d how
legal and re l igious practices are changing. They try to u n derstand how i deas
of race and discrimi nation affect how people interact with one another.
Anthropologists also study digital culture a n d how it is reshaping the
m u lticultural l a ndscape in Canada.
By the e n d of this cha pter, you wi l l :

• expl a i n ways i n which cu lture is a n a gent o f soc i a l ization
• exp l a i n how studying cu ltura l system s of different times, p l aces, and
g ro u ps helps a nthro p o l o gists u n dersta n d h u m a n behaviou r a n d culture
i n the present
• describe the effects that assimi lation and m ulticu lturalism have on cu lture
• u se an a nthropological perspective to assess how d i verse factors
i nfl uence a n d shape h u m a n behavio u r a n d culture
• u se terms re lating to a nthropology, psycho l ogy, a n d soc i o l ogy correctly
• assess various aspects of i nformation gathered from p r i m a ry a n d
secondary sources
What is Canadian
I
accu lturation institutional completeness social customs
intercu ltura l ism social shield culture? How is it changing? What
bicultural identity
do you think each of the people
cargo beliefs m u lticu ltu ral ism supernatural
in these photos would say a bout
frame of reference pl acemakers symbo l ic eth n icity
Canadian culture?
hypodescent restorative justice transnational ism
i nformal justice system sapienization true mobi les
James G ibbs: The Kpelle Moot Mehrunnisa Ahmad Ali James G i bbs M ikel J. Koven
Michele Byers Neeti Gupta Stephen Leavitt
Slavenka Drakulic Keith N. Hampton Pavna Sodh i
E.E. Evans-Pritchard Peruvemba Jaya Evangelia Tastsoglou
Ruth Freed Katrina J u rva Tricia Wang
Stanley Freed
Canada's Residential Schools
As these facts became public, the government faced

Before You Read increasing pressure to close the residential schools.
How does racism affect culture? The last school closed in 1996. The residential school
system had long-term effects within the Aboriginal
community. In addition to coming to terms with the
C
anada's residential schools are a tragic example
individual effects of physical and sexual abuse, former
of the effects of racism on culture and have left
students felt that they lost key elements of their
Canada with a devastating legacy. Between 1892 and
cultures and identities with the loss of traditional
1969, the Canadian government carried out an official
languages and traditional ways of life. Consider the
policy of assimilating Aboriginal children through
perspectives expressed in Figure 7-2 on the cultural
educational institutions known as residential schools.
effects of residential schools.
The government forcibly separated Aboriginal children
from their families and forbid contact for months at a QUESTIONS
time. Children were required to live at the schools, far
1. What was the function of the residential schools?
away from where their families lived, and forbidden to
speak their language, allowed to speak only English or
What was the impact on Aboriginal peoples?
French. They were also prevented from participating 2. Do the perspectives expressed here give a fair
in their traditional spiritual practices. At the schools representation of this issue? Give reasons to
living conditions were poor and the mortality rate as V: support your answer.
high due to outbreaks of tuberculosis. Some Aboriginal 3. Why are the children who attended residential
children were also abused, physically, sexually, and schools called the "lost generation?"
emotionally, by those in charge at the schools.
-t- FIGURE 7-2

if We beli eve firmly
that the time
ble m.
I w ant to
.
get nd of the
Indian pro
act that After a lifetime of beatings, going ,Z has come to resolve
a fundamental
tter of heart of
nk as a ma 'f•ij contradiction at the
I do not thi uou sly prote ct hungry, standing in a corridor on one •
ntin assume the
ought to co Canada: that while we
the country stan d leg, and walking in the snow wilh no
are able to . human rights
pe ople who role of defender of
a cLass of contm ue un
nl shoes for speaking Inuvialuktun, and
ective is to aL community,
aLone.. .. O ur obj
nada that having a heavy, stinging paste rubbed in the internation
. dian in Ca eption of
a sm gle i ;,.:. we retain, in our conc
the re is n ot th e b ody poLitic on my face, which they did to stop us
into makeup,
t be en ab sor be Canada's origi ns and
;: : ; :
h as no f• from expressing our Eskimo custom
a ti colonial attitudes
o nan ts of
and there is t e ject of raising our eyebrows for "yes" and the rem
' riority that do
Ind tan D ep
a wrinkling our noses for "no," I soon lost of cultural supe
ginaL peoples
of the
Abori
'f'"! violence to the
of this BiLL 1920 hea d
the ability to speak my mother tongue.
e Sc ott, ff :
Duncan Campb fll \ they are direc ted.
s 932 to whom
n d ran A ai
1 913 -1 W hen a language dies, the world it was
n on
Department o Royal Commissio
generated from is broken down too.
Repo rt, 1996
Cl
Aboriginal Peop les
Mary Carpenter, 1995 '7:1
We don't have the closeness
more. A lot of the grandpar
of family any / ,. ·.
ents and a lot of of the Indian

nizes that the consequences
the parents who went to resid The government now recog
ential school lost
profo und ly nega tive and that this
were
that familial sense of belon .d residential schools policy
ging· In the course riginaL culture,
damaging impact on Abo
of havzn·
g grown up like that, you policy has had a Lasting and
always try to an resid entiaL schools
... ] The Legacy of Indi
emulate the peop le that raise heritage, and Language. (
d you· If you were cont inue to exist in many
problems that
rarsed m coldness and detachment' . has contributed to social
· ·
you're gozng lf of the gove rnment of

communities today. [.. . ] Ther
efore , on beha
to carry those same ways . . · '
of razsz ng your chamber so

. . own s, I stand before you, in this
chzldren m that atmosphe Canada and alL Canadian
re. Abo rigin aL peoples for
try, to apologize to
Grant Severight, survivor, centraL to our Life as a coun
St. Philip's Indian l scho ols syste m.
Resrdentral Scho residentia
, 1M ol, Kamsack • Saskatchewan Canada's role in the Indian
er's apology
'
-; Prime Minister Stephen Harp
ols, J u ne 11, 2008
for resi d ential scho
,j .<·,.)t<J '."!:
31 8 MHR Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

Evaluating Sources With a primary source, a researcher needs to
consider the personal bias of the speaker, but how do
Do you believe everything you read or hear? Why are
you know whether a secondary source is reliable? As
some sources more reliable than others? As an anthro
you learned in Chapter 4, there are simple ways to
pologist or any other kind of researcher, you always need
check. Who is the author? When was it written? Are
to evaluate your sources. When evaluating a source, a
there citations? What is the author's bias or purpose
social scientist asks: Who wrote this? When? Why? Can
in writing? All sources, whether print or online, need
I trust the person? What is his or her perspective, bias,
to be evaluated for reliability.
worldview, and goals? Whether it is a village midwife
in a remote community, an online gamer blogging about
his experiences, a Wikipedia entry, or the textbook you FIGURE 7-3 Before and
are currently reading, every source has a purpose and after photos of a student at a
perspective. As a researcher, you need to understand residential school , publish ed
who the source is and determine if the information in a governm ent report on the
provided is going to help you draw conclusions. success of residentia l schools.
These photos a re seen quite
Evaluating Primary and Secondary Sources differently today. If you only
As you've learned in previous chapters, bias is a had the after photo as you r
particular viewpoint or way of seeing an event, evidence, h o w would this
person, or thing. In the primary sources about i m pact your research?
residential schools (see page 31 8 ) , it is clear that the
Canadian government's bias against Aboriginal peoples Relevance
led to the racist policy of residential schools. Bias can When conducting research, you need to have your
change, as seen in Prime Minister Harper's 2008 apology. central research question in mind so that you can
select the information that is most relevant and helpful
Frame of Reference or Worldview in answering your question. Since there might be a
Your perspective is shaped by your frame of reference
great deal of information available on a topic, a guiding
or worldview. This is your total life experience that question is essential to determine whether the source is
includes all of your cultural beliefs and learning. When
relevant. Your task as a researcher is to understand the
evaluating sources, it's important to determine how
whole story as accurately as possible. To do so involves
the authors' experiences might have shaped their carefully evaluating as many points of view as possible
perspective, as well as your own frame of reference. before coming to your conclusions.
I
frame of reference:
Activities
a person's total life experience, including cultural beliefs
and learning
Read the primary source accounts about residential
schools in Canada on page 318, and evaluate each source.
Accuracy and Reliability 1. How do you think the residential school experience
A person's bias affects how accurately he or she changed the frame of reference or worldview of
reports events or views of other people. People select its survivors?
information, highlighting some facts and ignoring 2. Do you think the schools have an effect on the
others, to support their own bias. When evaluating frame of reference of the survivors' children and
sources, you should consider the following: their families? Why or why not?
• How accurate is the source when compared to other 3. How does Campbell Scott's perspective affect his
sources on the same event? accuracy in his view of Aboriginal peoples?
• What information is the source leaving out or 4. What other sources (both primary or secondary)
including? would you need to answer the question, What
• How can a researcher overcome this problem? effects can racist policies have on culture?
• Whose voices are present? Whose voices are missing?
Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 31 9

Understanding Cultures
ockey and maple syrup are often given as exa mples of Canadian culture,
H but do these exa mp les help us understand Canadian cultu re? U n dersta nding
the cu ltu re of any cou ntry or group of people is not simply a matter of knowi ng
the symbols or foods, a lthough those things a re part of culture. Cultu re is who a
people are, a n d there are d istinct differences within a country as we l l as among
countries. I n this section, you will lea rn about different elements of cu ltu res,
social customs: including social customs, tech nology, legal systems, a n d re ligions, and how
expected and ideal
they help anthropo logists u n derstand cultures.
behaviours of a society
Social Customs, Manners, and Values

Social customs are one of the most obvious differences among cultures. When
Before You Read you go to another country, how will you greet people? How do people dress,
How do cultural
and are there any formal rules for clothing? What are appropriate topics for
practices, such as
small talk? Anthropologists doing field research must first learn the expected
holidays or meals,
shape your behaviour? behaviours to fit in as much as possible with the culture, and then they must
try to understand what these behaviours mean to the participants and how
they reflect that culture's values. In the next few pages, you will look at how
! !
,------------------------------------------,
customs become apparent when cultures meet and how digital technology is
Connecting
interacting with Canadian social customs to change Canadian culture.
!,__ Anthropology ! As you grow up, you learn social customs from your parents and peers
to Sociology .l through the process of socialization. How to eat, body language, and values
Sociologists look at such as " use a fork and knife" and " treat all people equally" are examples
socialization as the process of social customs that many Canadians learn, but social customs are not
by which the i ndividual
the same in all cultures. While all people have customs around eating, the
learns the behavioural
patterns, skills, and values customs vary by culture. Which hand you use to eat, what utensils you use,
of her or his social world. how you sit, and what you say before, during, and after a meal are all ways
Socialization begins at birth that eating customs vary in every culture. Anthropologists call the learning of
and continues throughout social customs sapienization, the process of learning "a uniquely human way
an individual's l ife. What is
of life centred on marriage, the family and the household" (Bodley, 2000).
the i mpact if you change
Sapienization helps to create permanent human societies that provide for
cultures? Does this mean
that socialization is fixed their members.
and cannot change? When anthropologists go into a culture to study it, they, like children,
must learn the basic social customs and manners of that society. They often
sapienization: notice that certain objects, ideas, or practices are valued more highly or are
the process of learning more central in some cultures than in others.
uniquely human social
customs centred on What do you think are the central ideas, beliefs, and objects in Canadian
marriage, the family, and
the household
society?
320 MHR Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

Social Customs in Conflict: Teeth
There is no better way to understand how culture is learned and what beliefs
your own culture has than by travelling. When she first travelled to the United
States, Slavenka Drakulic, a Croatian writer, was amazed by toothpaste:
When I fi rst visited the U nited States i n 1 983, I loved to watch TV commercials.
This is when I noticed that Americans were obsessed by their teeth. Every
second commercial seemed to be for toothpaste. Where I come from,
tooth paste is toothpaste. I cou ldn't bel ieve there were so many different kinds.
What were they all for? After all the purpose of it is j ust to clean your teeth . I n
my childhood there were two ki nds, m int flavour and strawberry flavour . . .
Needless to say, i n every commercial for toothpaste at least one brig ht,
impressively beautiful set of teeth flashes across the screen , but this image
i s not confined to sel l ing toothpaste. As we all know, bea utifu l teeth a re used
to advertise beer, h a i r sham poo, cars, anyth i n g . . .. The foreigner soon learns
that they stand not only as a symbol for both good looks and good health,
but for someth i n g else as wel l. (1996)
As Drakulic started observing the connection between Americans and

their teeth, she discovered the connection between good teeth and money.
Her friend's son had just had braces put on his teeth, and instead of feeling
pity, as she did, the boy's mother was proud that she could afford the " torture
device " and felt that the pain would be worthwhile for the status and social
acceptance the straightened teeth would provide the boy as an adult.
r FIGURE 7-4
When she returned to Eastern Europe, Drakulic started noticing the state
of the teeth of her friends and acquaintances: "On the bus from the airport I
met one of my acquaintances, a young television reporter. For the first time What does
I noticed that half of his teeth were missing and that those which remained this photo tell you about
Canadian culture?
looked like the ruins of a medieval town . I had known this guy for years, but
I had never thought about the state of the inside of his mouth before, or if
I had, I ' d considered it totally unimportant (1996)."
As Drakulic continued observing, she discovered that nobody in Croatia
was particularly concerned with the state of his or her teeth, from television
reporters to national politicians. Under the old Communist regimes, dentistry
was free and of low quality, but in the post-Communist Croatia of the late 1990s,
there were both state and private dentists available. Even so, many people who
could afford private dentistry did not consider it important. Drakulic sees this as
the result of a "specific culture of thinking" that was fostered by Communism.
She states : " Individual responsibility, including the responsibility for oneself,
is an entirely new concept here [in Croatia] . As absurd as it may sound, in the
old days one could blame the Communist Party even for one's bad teeth . Now
there is no one to blame, but it takes time to understand that (1996) . "
What do the social customs around teeth and dentistry reveal about
North American culture? What did Drakulic learn about her own culture
by examining another? What can we learn about our own culture by looking
at the perspective of an outsider?
Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 321

Open for Debate
Technology and Canadian Culture
Ontario Premier Dalton As digital technology becomes more widespread in Canada, it has an
McGuinty says school increasingly greater effect on culture and social relationships. Not only is our
boards should be open experience of culture and language changing, but our culture also influences
to the idea of a llowing
how we use technology, what technologies we adopt or choose to avoid, and
students to use cell
how we interact with one another both online and face to face. The shift is
phones in the class
room. Teachers could reflected in school policies on cell phones from the late 1 990s and early 2000s
use cell phones to show compared to the policies in place today. Many schools have banned the use of
students how to access cell phones and even installed cell phone j ammers to prevent students from
information online, for using their phones at school . While there are certainly negative effects of
example. Do you think
digital technology in schools, including distracting students in class, giving
cell phones should
be used as a tool in students a means of cheating on tests, and allowing cyberbullying, there
classrooms? are also positive effects. Students and teachers can use their phones to do
research and collaborate with other students and teachers online. As this
technology becomes inescapable, many schools are re-examining their policies.
Do you think cell phones should be j ammed in schools? Why or why not?
When is it rude or wrong to answer your cell phone or check your email?
Wi-Fi and Social Interactions

A 2008 study of Wi-Fi users in coffee shops in two American cities by
researchers Keith N. Hampton and Neeti Gupta revealed some surprising
results about how public access to Wi-Fi is changing North American culture.
FIGURE 7-5
"I can never remember. Does the cell phone
The researchers were interested in finding out how I nternet access affected
go on the left or the right?
social interactions within a public space. They wanted to examin if Wi-Fi
What users were interacting digitally only with the people they knew already or
I customs have developed

a round cell phone use?
whether people were accessing the Internet in public in order to interact with
more people outside of their pre-established relationships. The study observed
and interviewed customers in coffee shops over four months. Observers spent
1 20 hours in four cafes in Boston and Seattle. A total of 30 hours were spent
directly observing in two-hour time blocks systematically distributed across
the hours of operation-one-third on the weekends and the rest on weekdays.
The researchers also conducted 20 unstructured exit interviews.
Hampton and Gupta observed and labelled two distinct groups of Wi-Fi
true mobiles: u sers: true mobiles and placemakers. Both groups were in public places
people who access the using Wi-Fi, but for different reasons. The true mobiles would normally be
Internet in public to
working in public for the whole day one or two days a week, instead of in their
specifically avoid social
interactions home office or their regular office. They made serious efforts to avoid social
interaction with other customers by using their phones or laptops as social
placemakers: shields to avoid interacting with other people. Many reported going to the
people who access the
coffee shops in order to be able to focus on their work and to avoid the
Internet in public to create
social interactions distractions of their regular work space. The true mobiles are examples of how
public spaces are no longer used for social purposes but to ensure privacy.
social shield: The placemakers used the coffee shops for social interaction and potential
a device or object used
to avoid interactions with
social encounters on a daily basis. They would talk about what was on their
other people laptop, engage in conversation with patrons and staff, make eye contact with
other people, and were not observed to use their laptops as shields. They were

using the Internet to create local, place-based interactions,
in fact, reclaiming public space to make more connections
with their local community.
The results from this study show that public Internet
access is creating places where people have face-to-face
encounters and places where people are cut off from others
in their separate private world (Hampton and Gupta, 2008).
Are students using their digital devices as true mobiles or

as placemakers (or neither) in the classroom? What social
shields do you notice people using in your school or
community? Examine the validity of this research. Explain.
T
FIGURE 7-6 Is this g roup more l i kely to
be true mobiles or placemakers?
Twitter Dialects
The idea that technology makes our language less diverse was studied by a
computer scientist, Jacob Eisenstein, at Carnegie Mellon University. In fact,
he found that regional differences may even evolve and expand due to
technology. Eisenstein collected one week's worth of messages that were marked
with their location on Twitter in March 2010 for a total of 380 000 tweets
from 9500 users. The assumption had been that mass media would reduce
regional differences since we all watch the same movies and TV programs,
but Eisenstein found that well-known regional phrases thrived on Twitter.
University of Toronto sociolinguistics professor Sali Tagliamonte noted,
" What the Internet offers is variation in the way words are spelled, and that
shows us another dimension of language and how people use language to
differentiate themselves from another. " New York City tweeters use suttin instead
of the more commonly used sumthin, and there are various spellings of for
sure, including fa sho, fsho, and fasho depending on the region (Khan, 2011).
Technology in the Doctor's Office

When anthropologist Tricia Wang took her grandmother to a doctor's
appointment, she noticed the doctor's frustration when using new netbooks
issued by the office. In a brief discussion with the doctor, she drew the
following conclusions about the integration of the technology:
• Spatial layout of material objects matters.

The doctor had to work on the netbook at a counter with her back to the
patient and was frustrated with the lack of face-to-face interaction. She
had to keep switching back and forth between computer and patient.
• Extent of digitization of information matters.
The reason why the doctor had to work at the counter and not on a cart
or hold the netbook on her lap was because the old paper files were not
yet digitized. The doctor had to use paper files and the netbook, and
interact with the patient at the same time.
• Human connection matters.
The doctor felt that the netbook was not an improvement because it
seriously decreased her face-to-face time with her patients.
Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M HR 323

• Mobility is neutral.
Having the netbook did not significantly reduce the doctor's workload
or things to carry around, since the paper files were still needed and the
room's layout compromised the doctor-patient interaction.
Mobile devices are always introduced into existing social experience,

which must be considered. The interaction between the existing social space
and the new device is where culture happens (Wang, 2009).
FIGURE 7-7
H ow
As discussed in Section 4.2, to be adopted by a society, a technology must
become known, be accepted by most people, and fit into existing systems
I
of knowledge. Which of these is the problem in the adoption of r;tetbooks in
might technology
impact this doctor? this doctor's office?
I
POl NT/COUNTERPOINT
Digital Technology and Culture

Dig ita l tech n o l ogy can have a profou nd affect on how people do their job, who they i nteract with
a n d how they interact with them, and the d ifferent issues a n d events they a re exposed to.
Is Digital Technology Substantial l y Changing Culture?
Yes No
• Tech n o l ogy is used in the medical field to • Technology i s only a mea ns o f com m u n ication
stre a m l ine medical resources to i mprove health and ca n be i ntrusive.
ca re a n d efficiency. • Technology is useful o n ly a s far a s it ca n be
• New tablet computers a re much less i ntrusive integ rated i nto existing cu ltu re and meets a rea l
than paper or l aptops. need . For exa mple, o l de r doctors m a y be left
• Recent l a rge-scale or i mpromptu protests have beh i n d , further challenging people's access to
been l a rgely facil itated by soci a l networking. medical services.
• M i l l ions of people join activist g roups onl ine, • Protests i n the past spread q uickly without the
sig n i n g petitions, sending Tweets, texts, or a id of socia l networkin g .
e m a i l s, which a re m uch faster than writing a letter • Few people who join o n l ine activist g ro J ps take
a n d easier tha n attending a protest or ra l ly. d i rect action or g ive much m oney to a cause.
QUESTIONS
1. Develop a resea rch q uestion a round the integration of new technology in the classroom, the
workplace, or at home. What methods would you use to i nvestigate it?
R E F LE C T A N D R ES P O N D
1. What are some negative effects of digital technology in the classroom?

What are some positive effects?
2. Which types of Internet users do you think are at your local coffee shop?
What results do you think you would find if you repeated Hampton and
Gupta's study of Wi-Fi users in your community?

Legal Systems and Cultural Values
All societies need a way to create social control and to deal with aggression
and violence. Societies have developed many different ways of resolving
Before You Read
What do you know
conflicts, from social pressure to complex legal systems.
about the Canadian
Justice takes many forms in different cultures and changes over time. legal system? What do
Informal justice systems are used in many nomadic or semi-nomadic you know about another
societies, or in remote areas where access to a central j ustice system is legal system? Why are
difficult. Social pressure and avoidance are enough to prevent and deal there differences in
with most cases of aggression. As you've learned, among the Juj' hoansi legal systems?
of Southern Africa, if two individuals are having a dispute, one of the most
likely outcomes is that one person will move away for a while to a different
informal justice system:
camp. With no formal leader to adjudicate disputes, all members of the a system of social pressure
community put social pressure on those who become arrogant or think they to control behaviour, used
most often in nomadic or
are better than others.
nonhierarchical societies
More to Know...
You learned about the
J u/' hoansi in Chapter 1 .
FIGURE 7-8 Gacaca are vil lage cou rts i n Rwanda,

used to resolve disputes. Gacaca means "on the
grass" in the Kinyarwanda language because Gacaca
were origina l ly met on the grass. Gacaca have been
modified and adapted in order to deli berate on
Rwandan genocide cases. Why would this approach
be adopted in response to this serious cri me?
When everyone knows everyone else, social pressure is often enough to

prevent aggression or deal with it effectively if it does occur. If social pressure
is not enough, a community may take collective action. Franz Boas recorded
an example of community action among the Inuit in the nineteenth century.
A man murdered three people in an argument over a woman. The headman
asked every man in the community if the murderer should be killed. They all
agreed, so the headman went deer hunting with him and shot him in the back
(Boas, 1888) . This is an example of capital punishment, which is a method of
punishment used by many cultures at different points in history.
As societies increase in size and complexity, they often develop more
complex and formal justice systems involving codified laws; courts; specialized
occupations, such as judges, lawyers, and police; as well as formal punishments,
such as fines and j ail. These impersonal systems usually develop because
societies grow so large that people don't know one another any more. These
systems are more likely to occur in hierarchical societies with social classes
and centralized power (Ember and Ember, 1 999) .
What is the difference between formal and informal j ustice systems? What
are some possible advantages and disadvantages of each?

Restorative Justice Systems
restorative justice: Many societies have practised and continue to practise restorative justice as
an approach to justice part of their informal systems of law. Restorative justice is an approach that
that focuses on restoring
harmony and balance to
restores harmony and balance to the community by focusing on the needs of
the community by focusing both the victim and the offender instead of punishing offenders based on legal
on the needs of both the principles. With restorative justice, the offender publicly acknowledges the
victim and the offender
wrongs committed and repairs the harm caused by his or her crime before
instead of punishment
being reintegrated into the community. The community has input into the
punishment because the offender's actions harmed the community as a whole.
James Gibbs: The Kpelle Moot

Anthropologist James Gibbs studied the Kpelle people
of central Liberia. He observed the proceedings in a FIGURE 7-9 A m oot
moot or informal court. The Kpelle also have a formal or i nformal court would
court system that is coercive and arbitrary in its use of often take place in a
justice. The formal system is useful for dealing with home such as this one.
assaults, possession of illegal materials, and thefts by What features seem
unrelated individuals. It is not helpful in dealing with sim i lar to or different
domestic issues such as marriage, inheritance, and from courts with which
divorce, where the relationship must continue after you ' re familiar?
the case and there are issues of power and control that
might influence the outcome. The coercive and arbitrary
nature of the court generally drives disputants apart.
The moot, by contrast, has the goal of airing disputes
and restoring harmony. It is usually composed of
related kin from the same village and presided over by Yokpo countered by denying the allegations
an elder chosen by the complainant. The moot is much about having lovers, saying that she was accused
more effective than the formal system at dealing with falsely, although she had in the past confessed the
domestic disputes, such as spousal mistreatment or name of one lover. She further complained that
inheritance of wives. The following excerpt is a transcript Wama Nya had assaulted her and, in the act, had
of a moot in the late 1950s: committed the indignity of removing her headtie,
and had expelled her from the house after the ritual
Wama Nya, the complainant, had one wife, Y ua. hand-washing. Finally she alleged that she had been
His older brother died and he inherited the widow, thus cast out of the house at the instigation of the
Yokpo, who moved into his house. The two women other wife who, she asserted, had great influence
were considered legally sisters since they were over their husband.
married to the same man. After Yokpo moved in, Kola Wa, the Town Chief and quarter elder,
there was strife in the household. The husband and the brother of Yokpo, was the mediator of the
accused her of staying out late at night, of harvesting moot, which decided that the husband was mainly
rice without his knowledge, and of denying him at fault, although Yua and Yokpo's children were
food. He also accused Yokpo of having lovers and also in the wrong. Those at fault had to apologize
admitted having had a physical struggle with her, to Yokpo and bring gifts of apology as wJll as local
after which he took a basin of water and "washed rum for the disputants and participants in the moot.
his hands of her." (Gibbs, 1963, p. 3)

Aboriginal Sentencing Circles
VOICES
The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples began investigating alternative
Recognizing the
approaches to Aboriginal justice in 1 991 , after Judge Barry Stuart called in uniqueness of each
the community elders in the case of Philip Moses. This system has similarities community, and the
to the Kpelle moot. Many commissions and studies have found that Aboriginal uniqueness of each
dispute, warrants
peoples in Canada were j ailed at up to eight times the rate of non-Aboriginals
departing from the
(Lilies, 2002) . Aboriginal peoples make up 3 percent of the Canadian audacious presumption
population but make up almost 20 percent of the total federal prison population. of the formal justice
system that "one process
Jail time did not seem to be solving the many problems within the community,
fits all forms of disputes"
so the j udges started turning to the community to help solve the problems. -Judge Barry Stuart
Why is a moot successful in resolving domestic • Ritual apology and token restitution
disputes? According to Gibbs, the key features of a moot At the end, there is a ritual apology by the one
that make it more successful than the formal court sys most in the wrong, but all parties share blame and
tem in handling domestic disputes are as follows: some may even voluntarily accept blame in the
• Informal setting matter. All make a small gift of restitution that is
of some value but not enough to cause further
The moot is generally held in the home of an elder
resentment and grievances.
or key community leader. The participants are
all crowded together, sometimes spilling onto the • Consensus
porch: complainants, mediators, witnesses, and All parties agree to the final resolution; it is not
spectators are all side by side. There is no special imposed by the outside. The moot is a process for
clothing for or separation between participants as all to come to agreement to restore social harmony
there would be in a formal courtroom, which helps and deal with anti-social behaviours in a positive
people to be less inhibited and to speak freely. manner, not a punitive one.
• Supportiveness of assembled group QUESTIONS
The group is assembled by an elder and joined
1 . Compare a moot court and a traditional court.
in a prayer with chanting. The participants are
supported by all those present, and there is an 2. Moots are not always successful in achieving
acknowledgement that the problem is real and resolution and social harmony. U nder what
requires support. All participants are encouraged to ci rcumstances do you thi n k a moot would be
speak freely without social sanction in the moot. unsuccessful?
• Full airing of grievances 3. How does the legal system of the Kpelle act as
All participants are encouraged to speak, including an agent of socialization?
witnesses and other community members who may 4. Are there similar i nstitutions or procedures i n
be only indirectly affected by the issue. All issues Canadian society? H o w would you investigate
are deemed relevant, and all problems are aired.
them?
Anyone present may question the complainants, and
the complainants may question anyone else. This
exchange frequently results in a type of catharsis
for the participants and a more acceptable solution
since all parts of the problem are discussed.

1- -
Not only have many Aboriginal offenders and communities benefited
from sentencing circles, but the idea has spread through Canadian society.
In 1 999, the S upreme Court ruled that j udges had a duty to consider an
Aboriginal offender's background in sentencing. The Youth Criminal
Justice Act of 2003 has restorative practices, such as sentencing circles and
community j ustice forums, at its heart. Restorative circles are an option now
for many adults and youth alike, regardless of culture.
There are three fundamental principles of the sentencing circle
(Lilies, 2002}:
1 . An offence is a breach of the relationship between the offender and the
community.
2. The stability of the community is dependent on healing that breach.
3. The community is better positioned to heal the breach than the formal
justice system.
The circle can include anywhere from 15 to 50 individuals
including the judge, prosecutors, the offender, the victim, the
families, elders, and any community member who feels affected
by the offence (see Figure 7-10}. It is generally run by a respected
community leader, and the discussion can go for hours with a
full airing of grievances and perspectives. There is usually
a " talking piece," often an eagle's feather that symbolizes
leadership and vision for many Aboriginal peoples. When
one person is holding the talking piece, the rest are silent and
attentive. Unlike the arrangement of a courtroom within a formal
j ustice system, the circle emphasizes the equality among all the
parties. This equality can lead to a more appropriate sentence
T
FIGURE 7-1 0 What do you think is the
goa l of a sentencing circle? that genuinely heals the offender and the community.
Read the following account of a sentencing circle:
The victim was a middle-aged man whose parked car had been badly damaged
when the offender, a 1 6-year-old, crashed into it while joyriding i n another
vehicle. The offender had a lso d amaged a pol ice veh icle. In the circle, the
victim ta l ked a bout the emotional shock of seeing what had happened to h is
car and his costs to repa ir it (he was uninsured). Then, an elder leader of the
Fi rst N ations commun ity where the circle sentencing session was bei ng held
(a nd a n uncle of the offender) expressed his d isappointment and anger with the
boy. The elder observed that this incident, a long with several prior offences by
the boy, had brought shame to his family. The elder a lso noted that in the old
days, the boy wou ld have been requ i red to pay the victim 's fam i ly su bsta ntial
compensation as a result of such behaviour. After the elder finished, a feathe r
(the "talking piece ") was passed t o t h e next person i n the circle, a young m a n
w h o spoke a bout t h e contributions the offender h a d made to the com munity,
the kindness he had shown toward elders, and his willing ness to help others
with home repa i rs.
328 M H R Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

Having heard a l l th is, the judge asked the Crown Council a n d the public
defender, who were a lso sitting in the circle, to m a ke statements a n d then
asked if a nyone else i n the circle wanted to speak. The Roya l Ca nadian
M ounted Police officer, whose vehicle had a lso been damaged, then took
the feather and spoke on the offender's beha lf. The officer proposed to the
judge that i n lieu of statutorily req u i red j a i l time for the offence, the offender
be a l l owed to meet with him on a reg u l a r basis for counse l l ing and commun ity
service. After asking the victim a n d the prosecutor if either had any objections,
the judge accepted this proposa l . The j udge a lso ordered restitution to the
victim and asked the young adult who had spoken on the offender's behalf to
serve as a mentor for the offender.
After a prayer in which the enti re group held hands, the circle d isbanded
a n d everyone retreated to the kitchen a rea of the commun ity centre for
refreshments. (Bazemore and Umbreit, 2001 )
While the sentencing circle comes from Aboriginal traditions, it is not

a universally traditional process. Communities are encouraged to develop Open for Debate
meaningful processes within their own communities that achieve the goal Critics of sentencing
circles feel they are too
of healing the breach between offender and community. Community Justice
soft on criminals, that
Forums (CJF) are a form of sentencing circle. They give everyone a chance to equal treatment under
hear and to be heard and give those involved a deeper understanding of the the law is not being up
incident and why the harm occurred. In a CJF, those who committed the act held because sentences
own up to it, and the outcome is decided by those who were most affected can vary widely for the
by the offender's actions. The benefits of a CJF are that victims and offenders same crime, that the
evidence is m ixed
receive closure and healing and bonds between people can be restored and
about their actual effect
created faster and often at less of a cost than a traditional court system. The on crime rates, and
RCMP has the following guidelines for those who wish to qualify for a CJF: that circles are used
inappropriately for more
• The offender must take responsibility for his or her actions and be willing serious crimes.
to participate voluntarily.
• Victim involvement is essential to the process.
• Criminal cases are referred to the process by the police or Crown.
• The facilitator must feel that the case is suitable for a CJF. (RCMP, 2010)
R E FLE C T AND R E S P OND
1 . How i s the sentencing circle similar t o and different from the Kpelle moot?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of sentencing circles?
3. What would you need to find out to be able to assess the effectiveness
of restorative justice practices in Canada today?
4. How are sentencing circles changing Canadian culture? Can you think of
examples of restorative j ustice that you have encountered in your school,
community, or family?
5. Would sentencing circles be helpful in your school? Why or why not?

Religion and Ritual
Religion is a human universal. People have been practising religion for
Before You Read
at least 60 000 years. One definition of religion is cultural beliefs of the
How do religion and/or
supernatural that people use to cope with the problems of existence
ritual shape you r culture
and beliefs? Share with (McCurdy and Spradley, 2008) . The supernatural is all of the things that
a partner examples of are beyond the known laws of nature. What is considered supernatural
your experience. varies a lot from one society to another. For example, floods, earthquakes,
and volcanoes are natural occurrences, but all have been seen as at least
partly supernatural in most cultures.
supernatural:
all of the things that are Purposes of Religion
outside known laws of
nature Anthropologists agree that religious beliefs serve at least three functions for
human societies:
• Religious beliefs help people to understand ultimate questions such as:

More to Know... Why are we here? What is death? Why does evil happen to some and
For an example o f how not others?
a belief in the super
natural helps with • Religion satisfies psychological needs common to all people in the face
uncertainty, see of uncertainty.
" Baseball Magic" in
• Religion provides community and affirms a person's place in society,
Chapter 4.
making its believers feel part of a community and giving them confidence.
Stanley and Ruth Freed: Taraka's Ghost

Ghost possession is a common occurrence in North Indian villages. It is a
serious condition that can cause illness or death. In Hindu belief, ghosts stay
for 1 3 days in the cemetery, and then they are judged by Yama in the land
of the dead according to karma, the sum of their good and bad deeds. Some
ghosts linger longer, and these are often the tortured spirits who died due to
disease, accident, suicide, or murder.
! Con n ecti ng
This is the case of Sita, a 1 5-year-old bride, who was possessed by the
ghost of her cousin, Taraka, who committed suicide by drowning. Stanley
!... Anthropology and Ruth Freed first met Sita in the 1 9 50s, but ghost possessions have
to Psychology been observed since then among both men and women. The Freeds also
Psychologists look at documented several cases of young men being possessed by ghosts when
stress as wel l . How would under the stresses of school examinations and finding employment. Read
they assess this situation
the following description of Sita's possession. As you read Sita's story, think
d ifferently? What would
Freud suggest about Sita? about how ghost possession as described here fulfils the three purposes of
religion: ultimate understanding, psychological needs, and providing a place
in community.
Despite the heat, she [Sita] com plained of feel ing cold, so some women
covered her with quilts. She moaned, breathed with difficulty, and then
col lapsed in a semiconscious state.

The spectators accepted that a g host had possessed her a n d tried a variety
of sta ndard curing tech n iq u es. These ra nged from engaging the g h ost i n
conversation, identifying it, and trying t o satisfy its wishes or demands s o that i t
wou ld leave volunta rily, t o attem pting t o d rive it away with verbal a buse a n d , i f
necessary, physica l l y pai nfu l o r u n pleasant measures (applied t o t h e victim but
a i med at the ghost). First the women propped S ita up in a sitting position a n d
wafted smoke from s o m e m o l dering cow dung u n d e r her nose. She j e rked
violently, so they had to restra in her. Then they shouted at the g host: "Who
a re you? Are you going?" The ghost, spea king through Sita, prom ised to
leave, and the women released the girl. (Freed and Freed , 1985, p. 84)
However, the ghost possessions kept occurring. Sita would

fall, moaning, into a semiconscious state. The ghost would then
announce itself and talk to Sita's in-laws. Eventually, the ghost
identified itself as Taraka, Sita 's cousin who had recently died.
Taraka had become pregnant due to an affair with a village
boy. Her parents married her quickly to her fiance, but she was
returned when the pregnancy was discovered. Her father was
angry with her and told her to commit suicide. While Sita was
with a group of friends, Taraka approached her and asked Sita
to leave with her. When Sita refused, Taraka threw herself into
a well and drowned. Sita blamed herself for Taraka's death . At
1 7-1 1
about the same time, one of Sita's schoolmates was raped by
a schoolteacher. The girl's father became enraged, blamed her,
and raped and murdered his own daughter. Because of the FIGURE Women at Udaipur
untrustworthy schoolteacher, Sita was taken out of school, market. H ow does cu lture shape these
which ended her dream of becoming a teacher. Another of Sita's women's perspective?
friends died of typhoid and malaria j ust after she had begun
sexual relations with her husband. Sita, as the eldest daughter,
had also lived through the death of nine infant siblings. Skills Focus
Taraka 's ghost refused to leave Sita, and her in-laws were unable to drive Assess the reliability
out the ghost on their own. Sita 's father-in-law called in different exorcists to of the Freed's account
cure her. The exorcists would come in, examine Sita, and call on various gods of Taraka's ghost,
to assist them with the exorcism. However, Sita's possession went on for three considering frame of
reference, accu racy,
years. For Sita, sex, marriage, childbirth, and lack of education became
and relevance. With this
associated with death and tragedy. And it was j ust shortly after marriage analysis, what else would
that Sita's ghost possessions began. At best, for a North Indian girl of her you need to know to
caste, marriage would mean moving to a new village, more supervision by make a final assessment
in-laws, and caring for an unknown husband and family. For Sita, the prospect of this sou rce? What can
of marriage had become something much more frightening, resulting in her anthropologists learn
about the social science
ghost possession.
inquiry model through
assessing the rel iability
How does ghost possession fulfil the three purposes of religion described
of other sources?
on page 330?

The Freeds revisited Sita in 1 978. As a 35 year old, she was managing
her family well. Her ghost possessions had continued until her first child was
born, and thereafter she suffered occasional fits. She continued to use amulets
and exorcisms to ward off her fits, and these seemed to relieve her anxiety.
She was allowed to visit her father in the summers, free from her maternal
and marital obligations. The ghost of Taraka had helped her to manage the
stresses of her life and given her extra support from both her natal and
marital families.
How should anthropologists deal with gender inequality in other cultures?

Where is the line between researchers' cultural bias and human rights issues?
TH E LA N G UAG E O F S O CI A L S CI E N C ES
·
Anth ro p olog ica l Religious Conce pts
Religion is an important part of culture, so understanding General Religious Terms in Anthropology
religions within cultures is critical for anthropologists.
Term Definition
Since all the different cultures and religions of the world
use different words to describe their religious beliefs, fetish a specific object with magical powers
anthropologists have agreed on some terms to describe magic strategies that people use to control the
some of the more common belief systems and practices. supernatural
Anthropologists first examine the supernatural beliefs
pilgri mage a journey to a shrine or spiritual place
of a culture. Religious beliefs often relate to personified
capable of accommodating diverse
supernatural or impersonal supernatural. Personified meanings and practices
supe rnatural forces are supernatural forces that are in
ritua l a prescribed behaviour in which there is
human form, such as gods, deities, ghosts, or ancestors.
no real connection between the action
Impersonal supernatural forces are supernatural forces
and the desired outcome
that are in many things. Mana refers to the idea that
there is a force that lives in people or objects, which is sorcery the use of magic to cause harm to others
an impersonal supernatural force. taboo a restriction on behaviour thkt ensures a
Communication with the supernatural can take the good outtome I
form of prayers, sacrifices, offerings, spirit possession ,
witchcraft projected evil to h u rt others; often
or divination. Sometimes facilitators are needed. people using witchcraft can be u naware
Shamans generally can control the supernatural while of the harm they have projected
priests mediate between the supernatural and human
worlds (McCurdy and Spradley, 2008) . The chart on QUESTIONS
this page outlines some terms that are common to
1. Select three of the terms in the chart, and list an
anthropologists as they study cultures.
example of each in your culture.
2. Why is it important for anthropologists to have
common words to describe different eligious
beliefs?
1 ' I
332 M H R U n it 3 • Social Science a n d U s

The Hijab
FIGURE 7-1 2 H ow is the hijab a
The hij a b is a headscarf symbol of both religion and cu ltu re?
traditionally worn by Muslim women.
The Our'an requ i res that women
d ress m oderately a n d scholars who wea r a h ij a b not because
have i nterpreted that to mean that of thei r religion, but because
cl oth ing must cover a wom a n 's wearing one is a social practice.
body, with the exception of her Many M us l i m women wear the
face a n d ha nds. M uslim women h ijab a s a politica l statement of
have the choice whether to wear a their fem i n ism o r their re l ig ious
h ijab; the Isla m ic rel igion doesn't compel women to devotion or both . For these reasons, Muslim women
wear the garment i n order to be M usl i m . However, can a lso choose not to wear the h ijab. Religion is
cultu res where M us l i m women l ive do have rules often deeply em bedded i n the socia l and pol itical
a bout what women m ust or must not wear. beliefs of a society. The fol lowi ng quotes a re from
Under the Ta liban in Afghan istan , women were Canadian adolescent g i rls a bout thei r feelings on
not only requ i red to wear the h ijab, but a l so the the h ijab.
burqa when out in public. The burqa is a garment
The Islamic veil, m y h ijab, means m u ch to me.
that covers a woman from head to toe except for a
It represents my piety and modesty. It elevates
smal l a rea a round the eyes, which is covered by
my status, for people no longer judge me for
netti ng so the woman can see. Those who didn't
my appearance, but rather for my character.
wear the burqa were subject to violent punishments.
Therefore I do not see how it is a symbol of
The restrictions on clothing under the Ta l iban were
oppression, especia lly because I myself, and
a lso accompan ied by laws forbidding women to be
myself alone, choose to wear it.
educated, to work, or to go out in public on their
J i nan Zeito u n , age 1 7
own . To most outside of Afghan ista n , wearing
rel igious cloth ing l ike the h ijab was connected to To many who don't practise Islam, the veil may
the oppression of wome n . Other Muslim cou ntries, seem oppressive to women. On the contrary,
such as I ran, sti l l require that women wea r a hijab many women see it as empowering. They feel
in public. like they are seen for whom they actually are.
While some cou ntries require women to wear They are not objectified. They choose how they
a h ijab o r a burq a , others ban re l igious clothing want to be seen. The main aspect of the h ijab
i n publ ic, such a s Tunisia, Turkey, and M o rocco . is modesty, which first comes with manners. It
France has received a g reat deal of media attention is true that I 've not veiled, but I do consider
for its laws banning religious cloth ing. Some countries myself to be modest in manner; which is the
forbid the h ijab based on reasons of secula rism, essential thing. Regardless, I do hope to take
c l a i m i n g that rel igious cloth i n g has no place within the veil one day. In Islam, women are encour
a secu l a r society. Others a rgue that the h ijab is a aged to represent their religion in this way.
tool used to oppress women. Sti l l othe r bel ieve When I do wear the h ijab, it will be for myself.
that religious cloth ing presents a safety or secu rity It will not be forced upon me by culture.
threat. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms H aj a r Tohme, age 1 8
gua rantees ful l relig ious freedom.
QUESTIONS
Separatin g rel i g i ous, pol itica l , and social beliefs
is a lso tricky. Wea ring a h ijab identifies a woman 1 . To what extent is the h ijab a reflection of
as a Muslim a n d is genera l l y considered a rel ig ious culture?
practice. However, there a re many M us l i m women 2. Is wea ring the h ijab empowering or oppressive?
Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us MHR 333

Cargo Beliefs in New Guinea
In New Guinea, cargo cults developed in the 1 940s and the 1 950s. People
abandoned their gardens and built imitation airstrips and control towers
so that cargo planes from their ancestors could arrive. Since they believed
Europeans were allied with the dead ancestors, they attempted to imitate
European behaviours to gain approval and "cargo , " or wealth, from them.
The Bumbita Arapesh of East Sepik province in Papua New Guinea
believe that ancestral spirits help to take care of the farmers. According to
their beliefs, crops grow only with magical assistance from the ancestors. This
belief is part of the reciprocal economic system, where the more you give
away, the more important you are. If your crops are good, it is because your
ancestor was very important and gave you magical help in producing those
crops. When Europeans arrived in New Guinea with vast quantities of trade
goods, the logical explanation for the amount of wealth they had was that
they were allied with the ancestral spirits.
FIGURE 7-1 3 New
These cargo beliefs provide a ready explanation for Western wealth and
Guineans dressed as imagined good fortune in terms that maintain the New Guineans' traditional
ancestra l spi rits. How beliefs. Cargo beliefs provide a way for the Bumbita to understand the social
does the worship of forces beyond their control. They help people deal with the personal grief of
ancestors help to affirm losing a parent. The Europeans are seen as ghosts of their own dead parents,
these people's place with whom they can resolve their feelings of guilt or from whom they can
i n society? How can it expect valuable gifts. H owever, when the cargo fails to arrive, many people
help them deal with start to feel a sense of moral failure when it is clear to them that their own
economic uncertainty?
parents or other ancestors have failed to bestow cargo (Leavitt, 2000) .
Cargo cults were outlawed in 1 975, and New Guineans today know where
cargo beliefs: goods come from and have had direct experience with jobs, cash cropping, and
religious convictions in schooling. Papua New Guinea also has an independent government, and people
Papua New Guinea that
buy many goods themselves, but cargo beliefs persist. While no active cults
ancestors will reward the
living with goods as a token exist, the ideology continues today. Stephen Leavitt explains why that might be:
of their love and approval
The powerfu l a ppeal of cargo ideology can be seen when set against the
backdrop of its a lternative . . . . M uch of one's life is determined by world events
completely outside one's own contro l . Each Bumbita household's yearly income
is determined largely on the basis of coffee prices on the world market.
Contrast th i s scenario with the one offered by the insistence on E u ropeans
a s intim ately a ssociated with spi rits of the dead. The u lti mate source of g l oba l
wealth is the local spiritual worl d , wh ich h a s a l ways p resided over the success
or fa i l u re of wea lth in prod uce. Differences in access to the spi rit world can be
exp l a i n ed by req uisite access to secret knowledge, someth i n g that has a lways
been relegated to partic u l a r people at partic u l a r stages of l ife . It offers, in
essence, the key i n g redient to any religious orientation-the prom ise that
one's world holds moral sign ificance. (Leavitt, 2000)
Today, many historians and anthropologists argue that the term cargo
cult describes too wide a variety of phenomena to be of any practical value.
Further, some theorists believe that the very notion of a cargo cult implies an
explicit transfer of Western prejudices upon supposedly "primitive" people.
334 M H R U nit 3 • Social Science and Us

How do cargo beliefs fulfil the three purposes of religion described on
page 330? What terms from the chart on page 332 do you think apply to this
study? Explain how. What can we learn about our research practices from
this study?
Witchcraft Among the Azande

E.E. Evans-Pritchard was one of the first British anthropologists to study
other cultures as a complete system without assuming their inferiority to
Western culture. To study the Azande people of Sudan, he undertook a
journey of seven weeks by train, boat, and steamer and three weeks on foot.
He recorded the Azande people's own words and wrote about the things they
were interested in. He discovered that witchcraft, or mangu, was of principal
interest to the Azande. At the time, use of witchcraft and magic were often used
by Europeans to j ustify the inferiority and exploitation of African peoples.
Pritchard set about to see how the ideology of witchcraft shaped people's
behaviour and beliefs as a cohesive and rational system.
The Azande people of Sudan explain misfortune by witchcraft. When
misfortune strikes, it is believed that someone used witchcraft to do it. If, for
example, a grain warehouse falls on someone, killing him or her, people know
that it is probably the termites that ate the wood that caused it to collapse.
They understand that since people often sit under the grain warehouse in the
shade to socialize and pass the time, and since termites frequently weaken
the wood that holds the granary up, it is likely that one might be killed while
sitting under it. H owever, why a particular person was sitting under it on the
particular day that it collapsed would be explained by witchcraft. Where some
people in our own society might explain such an event as bad luck or the will
of God, in Azande society, it is clearly a case of witchcraft since misfortune
FIGURE 7-1 4 Azande
witch doctor from Sudan.
resulting in death is most particularly the result of witchcraft. Why d i d wh ite coloni a l s
The Azande believe that all people have some witchcraft in them. The name t h e person
key to dealing with witchcraft is to consult an oracle who can rub a board who control led and
or poison a chicken to determine whether witchcraft is involved. If it is, then moderated witchcraft
one must consult the witch doctor (a name given by the white colonials) a "witch doctor?" What
who can prescribe various spells or procedures to protect against it, destroy does this term i mply
it, or use medicine to send it back to the sender. The powers of witch doctors a bout how the colon ials
allow them to see the evil intentions of others. In Azande society, there are no perceived the person
in that role?
actual witches. Witchcraft is considered a psychic act; anyone with negative
or jealous thoughts can create it and send it out into the world . It is the witch
doctor's job to control it and moderate its effects.
In Evans-Pritchard's revolutionary work, he discovered how African
religious beliefs are anchored in social structures and help people to manage
the darker side of human nature. Hatred, jealousy, and spite are expressed
and managed by the ideas and practices of witchcraft.
How does the belief in witchcraft fulfil the three purposes of religion
described on page 3 30? What terms from the chart on page 3 3 2 do you think
apply to Azande beliefs? Explain how. What are some examples you know
people use today to ward off back luck (such as knocking on wood) ?

The Toronto Jewish Film Festival
Can a film festival constitute religion and/or culture? One ethnologist, Mikel
J. Koven, studied the Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) to find the answer.
The TJFF is held every year in May for one week at several locations in
Toronto, including the Bloor Street Cinema in the heart of the old Jewish area
of Toronto. The location is nostalgic for the older filmgoers who can revisit
the old neighbourhood and old friends. It is located in the heart of Toronto's
Jewish culture: even if few Jewish people live there any more, the location is
the physical manifestation of the community feeling.
Koven concludes that the festival is a liminal experience for the
community. It involves a separation from regular life for the one week of
r
the festival. Especially for nonreligious Jews, it is a way to connect with their
community. Attending the TJFF is neither completely religious, as going to
FIGURE 7-1 5 Is the Bloor synagogue is, nor completely cultural, as going to a movie is, so it is outside
Street Cinema a sacred of regular experience.
site of pi lgri mage? Like other liminal experiences, the festival is transformative. The films
are part of a community learning experience. Cultural myths are confirmed
and discussed at the TJFF. What does the Holocaust or Israel mean to the
modern Canadian Jew? In the coffee houses after the films, in the car on the
More to Know... way home, or any time during the week, it's a safe time to discuss, question,
You learned about and debate what it means to be Jewish. People are constructing their culture
l i minal stages i n
with the film festival as a catalyst. In Canada, being Jewish includes many
Chapter 4 .
voices from immigrants. Executive director Helen Zukerman explains: "When
we previewed the film Bene Israel ( 1 996) about the East Indian Jews, it blew
me away ! Well then we find out that there's a congregation, in Toronto, of East
Indian Jews. So we contacted them, and they came to the film. I mean here are
Jews . . . wearing saris and they're praying in Hebrew" (Koven, 1 999) .
For Koven, the festival is a location of religion and culture that is created
each year by the participants. It, in turn, transforms them by reaffirming their
Judaism and by asking them to question what it means to be Jewish in Canada
in the twenty-first century.
Does the Toronto Jewish Film Festival fulfil the three purpose of religion
described on page 330? What terms from the chart on page 3 3 2 do you think
apply to this topic? Explain how.
R E F L E C T AND R E S POND
1 . Compare and contrast any two o f the studies o n pages 330-336. What terms
or concepts are important to each one?
2. Are there practices in your life that meet some of the purposes of religion?
Brainstorm some cultural or social events, locations, or philosophies that
take the place of religion in your community.
3 . How would you investigate the location or event from question 2? What
sources would be important to consult? What theories and terms would
be most important to investigate?
336 MHR U n it 3 • Social Science and Us

Canadian Cultures, Past and Present
C
anada is a mu lticultural cou ntry. Ca nadi ans va lue multiculturalism and
consider it a key part of Canadian identity. I n a n Angus Reid poll, 66 percent multiculturalism:
an ideology that states
of Canadi ans responded that mu lticu lturalism was a source of national pride (Angus
that all cultures are of
Reid, 201 0) . But if Canada is made up of m a ny cu ltu res, does that mean that there equal value and should be
promoted equally within
is no centra l Canadian culture? When people think about m u lticultura l ism, they the same nation. In Canada,
multiculturalism is a policy
think about cultura l products, such as movies, books, a n d food, or cultural events,
that protects ethnic, racial,
such as parades a n d festivals. From an anthropology perspective, culture is the linguistic, and religious
diversity.
everyday, l ived experiences of Canadians. To determ ine what Canadian culture is,
anth ropologists exa m i n e local com m u n ities and the everyday experi ences of the
people who l ive in them. An anthropologist stu dying Ca nadian culture m i ght ask:
What does mu lticultura l ism mean to people i n the i r everyday l ives? H ow do the
different cultures l ive and work together? H ow is our culture as a n ation changing?
An anthropologist might start with data about the Canadian population, l ike the data
in the chart below from Statistics Canada, before begi n n i n g his or her research.
This ch art compares the data from 2001 to what statisticians estimate for 201 7 .
2001 201 7
Canadians who a re mem bers of a visi ble minority 1 3% 20%
I m m i g rants as a proportion of the Canadian popu lation 1 8% 22.2%
N u m ber of black people in Canada 6 7 1 000 948 000 to 1 . 1 7 m i l l ion
N u m ber of people whose first language is not English 5 . 3 m i l lion 6.8 m i l l ion to 9 m i l l ion
(Source: Statistics Canada, 2006)
Race: Myths and Reality

As you have learned in previous chapters, our concept of race is based on
Before You Read
physical traits caused by biological variation and is culturally constructed
Explain the difference
by the society in which we live. Race is generally understood as physical
between race and
differences that are assigned to a person by an outside group, although, as ethnicity to a partner,
we saw in Chapter 1, according to the American Anthropological Association and determine why they
(AAA) , race has no biological validity. Ethnicity is your understanding of are not the same.
who you are based on your ancestry or a feeling of belonging to a group.
Your race is not usually something you can change about yourself, especially
since it is determined by an outside group, but you have a choice in how you
define your ethnicity. The same person could identify his or her ethnicity
as Canadian, African, African-Canadian, Jamaican, or Jamaican-Canadian
depending on the context.

Cultural Anthropology Perspective
Cultural ideas about race and ethnicity can and do change, and they are
frequently based on political or economic ideologies that help to keep some
groups in power and exclude others. Many racial ideas start out as folk beliefs
or myths that help to explain human variation, but they can quickly turn into
justifications for controlling or even eliminating a specific population, as in
the cases of slavery in the United States and the Nazis' attempt to eliminate
the Jewish people and other races they deemed undesirable. Different cultures
have different ways of constructing race; how North American cultures
determine race is not the same as how other cultures define race.
What are some of the problems with racial classifications?
Race in Brazil and the United States

Sometimes to understand an issue at home, it's useful to look at constructions
of race and ethnicity elsewhere. The United States and Brazil are both countries
that were originally populated by Aboriginal peoples and colonized by
European immigrants who brought people forcibly from Africa to become slaves.
Today, both Brazil and the United States have had a degree of intermarriage
between populations. Both countries are struggling with issues of racial
intolerance and inequality. Both systems of race labelling serve to perpetuate
the systems of inequality and make people think that race has something to
do with personal abilities. Despite their similar histories, the two countries
construct race in different ways.
One system of racial classification in the United States is called
hypodescent: hypodescent. I n this system, children of mixed-race couples are
a system of racial classification where
identified as members of the ethnic group that is less privileged in
children of mixed-race couples are
identified as members of the ethnic
society. Hypodescent is based on power imbalances within society.
group that is less privileged in society In the United States, this classification system has generally applied
to the children of black and white mixed-race couples. This means
that one black ancestor is enough for someone to be classified as
black, even if the rest of the family tree is white. For example, if one
of your grandparents is black and the other three are white, you
are still classified as black. When someone is said to be passing,
it means that a person has some African heritage but looks more
European and is treated as white by others in society. The term
implies that the individual is not white; he or she just looks white
but is in fact black. This term shows how much this American
system of classification relies on knowledge of ancestry and has
little to do with actual appearance.
T
FIGURE 7-1 6 How is race a c ultu ral Why did this classification system develop? Are the1e economic
construction? or social explanations that played a role?
Brazil has a system of tipos, or types. These types are not based on ancestry
but on physical appearance. In Brazil, there are many more gradations of black
and white than in the United States, which include hair colour and type and
facial features such as nose, lips, and skin colour. In Brazil's classification

system, it is possible that members of the same family could all belong to
different racial categories. Look at the following chart to understand the
differences in the cultural construction of race in Brazil and the United States.
Brazilian Tipos
(male/female) Physical Characteristics Brazil United States
louro/loura straight blond hair, blue/green wh ite wh ite

eyes, l ight skin, narrow nose,
thin l ips
branco/branca l ight ski n , any colour hair that is white wh ite or

not tight curly, not a broad nose H ispanic
or thick l ips, any colour eyes
moreno/morena brown or black hair that is wavy or wh ite black

curly but not tight curly, tan skin,
not a narrow nose or thin lips FIGURE 7-1 7 How
wou ld you racially
mulato/m ulata tight curly hair, sl ightly darker black black
classify these students
skin than a morena
at a Brazilian college?
preto/preta dark brown ski n , broad nose, black black You r answer would
thick l i ps
depend on you r cultural
sa ra ro/ sara ra tight curly blond or red h a i r, l ight n either wh ite white heritage.
skin , blue/green eyes, broad nor black
nose, thick l ips
cabo verde stra ight black hair, dark skin, n either wh ite black
brown eyes, narrow nose, thin lips nor black
(Source: Fish, 1 995)
What aspects of U . S . or Brazilian race classifications surprised you? Why?

How do you think racial classifications are made in Canada?
Race in Canada
Canada's construction of race is similar to that in the United States, although
not quite as strictly defined. Black people are not the only people who
experience racism in Canada. Racism is not always between white people
and minorities; it can exist between people belonging to different minority
groups as well. However, the theory of hypodescent applies especially to
blacks in Canada. Many new Canadians of African descent find their sense of
self rewritten by Canadian cultural ideas of race. Awad Ibrahim, a professor
at the University of Ottawa, explains, "I was not considered 'black' in Africa,
though I had other adjectives that patched together my identity, such as 'tall,'
'Sudanese,' ' academic,' 'basketball player,' and so on. In other words, except
in South Africa, race is not the defining social identity in Africa (2003) .
According to Ibrahim, when youth come to Canada from Africa, they
"become black" through culture, such as rap and hip-hop music, television,
and movies. They would not necessarily have worn the same clothes or
listened to the same music in Africa, but to integrate into Canadian culture
means learning "black culture, " which is often narrowly defined as rap, hip
hop, and the associated culture (Ibrahim, 2003 ) .

People who consider themselves Jamaican or Somalian, Catholic or
Muslim, or any number of other descriptors find themselves all called "black"
when they arrive in Canada. They are also usually associated with negative
stereotypes of black people in North America, such as being school drop outs,
belonging to low-income families, and participating in criminal activities
(Ali, 2008) . These stereotypes are untrue and unfair, but they are a common
perception. In contrast, if a Canadian who is black goes to Haiti, he or she
would be called a "noir blanc " or a " white black. " White refers in this case
to the ethnicity as Canadian, not the physical appearance (Fish, 1 995).
History of Black People in Canada

The first black person to arrive in Canada was Mathieu Da Costa, a free man
who was a translator for Samuel de Champlain in the early 1 600s. As people
settled in New France, French colonists brought black people with them as
slaves. The largest group of black immigrants came from the United States
after the American Revolution (1 775-1 783) because they were promised
freedom, rights, and land in Nova Scotia after they fought for the British
during the war. Following the War of 1 81 2 , Canada became the destination of
choice for tens of thousands of escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad.
Although slavery was still permitted in the British colonies, Canada was
seen as a safe haven for black people fleeing slavery. Slavery was abolished
in Canada in 1834. Although slavery was not as widespread in Canada as it
was in the United States (the Canadian climate and agriculture made owning
slaves less desirable) , black people were still subject to racism, discrimination,
and violence here.
Many of the former soldiers of the American Revolution
had helped build the town of Shelburne in Nova Scotia. But in
July 1 784, unemployed white soldiers turned violent against
the black community in Shelburne, destroying property and
homes and beating men and women. This was Canada's first
race riot . In 1 991 , there was a race riot at Cole Harbour High
School involving 50 students of both races, mobilizing the black
community to demand reforms, which came in 1 995 when the
Nova Scotia government established a fund for anti-racism
education. While conditions have improved at the school
(Ottawa Citizen, 2007) , there was a brawl involving 1 4 students
and the police in May 2009 (CBC, 2009) . The idea that Canada
was a safe haven for black people has not always been historically
FIGURE 7-1 8 Painting of accurate. From discrimination in the past, such as Viola Desmond's
a black fam i ly in Bedford arrest for sitting in the white section of a movie theatre in 1 946 and the
Basi n , Nova Scotia ci rca immigration policy that favoured white immigrants, to discrimination in the
1 83 5 . H ow does this present, such as the harassment in 2010 of a mixed-race couple from Nova
image compare to the
Scotia by the Klu Klux Klan, it is clear that discrimination still exists.
experience of black
people i n Canada at How do you define yourself in terms of race and ethnicity? How would
that time? your definition of yourself be different if you moved to another country?
Since black people have been in Canada since the 1 600s, why is it common
practice to ask people who are non-white where they are from?
340 M H R U n it 3 • Social Science and Us

Physical Anthropology Perspective
Physical anthropologists who study human variation look at physical
differences in human populations and how those differences help people to
survive. As you learned in Chapter 1, some features, such as skin colour, are
adaptive; that is, they help the population to survive in a given environment.
Others, such as eye colour or shape or hair curl, don't really serve any purpose
but are a result of geographic isolation.
Body Build and Climate

Physical anthropologists have found that average
body types are linked to climate (see Figure 7- 1 9).
In areas with a warmer climate, more members
of a population are tall, with long limbs and low
body weight. In colder areas, people tend to be
shorter and heavier. A tall person with long arms
and legs can keep cool more effectively than
other body types in a hot climate while a short,
stocky build is good for conserving energy in a
r FIGURE 7-1 9 The jumping Samburu dancers of Kenya
and the I nuit of the Canadian Arctic both exempl ify the
cold climate. relationship between body build and cli mate.
Fingerprints
If you were to classify the populations of the world according to
fingerprints, you would see quite a different picture from traditional
skin colour classifications. Fingerprints are made up of arches, loops,
and whorls. Most Europeans and Africans have the same type of
fingerprints: their fingerprints have many loops (Diamond, 1 994).
7-20
Another group includes Jewish people and some Indonesians, while
Australian Aborigines, whose fingerprints are made up predominately
of whorls, would be in a third group by themselves. Much like blood FIGURE Fingerprint with
I
type, fingerprints serve no particular adaptive function and are a result loops (left) and one with whorls
of geographic isolation (Diamond, 1994). (right). Which one is more l i kely
to be European? Australian
Sickle Cell Anemia Aboriginal?
Sickle cell anemia is a rare genetic disease affecting less than 1 percent
of the world's population. In people who have the condition, some of the blood
cells are sickle- or crescent-shaped rather than round. This shape makes it
difficult for the cells to process oxygen, making it difficult for people with
these cells to run and leaving them weaker and with a shortened lifespan.
One of the reasons why sickle cell anemia is so rare in most human
populations is because, like many genetic diseases, it's not very adaptive for
survival under most environmental conditions. H owever, it is more common
in areas where there is a lot of malaria. In these areas, nearly 20 percent of
the population have sickle cell anemia. The sickle shape of the blood cell
makes it more difficult for the malaria parasite to infect the cell, making it
less likely that the infected person will die from malaria. In regions with a
higher chance of contracting malaria, people with sickle cell anemia are more
likely to survive, reach puberty, and pass the anemia on to their offspring.

Lactose Intolerance
All mammals produce lactase in infancy. It is an enzyme that helps digest
milk sugars or lactose, but mammals usually stop being able to produce
lactase as soon as they stop drinking their mother's milk. Most human adult
populations are lactose-intolerant, as is normal for mammals. In some human
populations, such as northern Europeans, most people produce lactase in
adulthood. These populations tend to come from cooler climates farther from
the equator, where there is less sunlight. Like vitamin D, lactose helps your
body absorb calcium. Other cultures, typically those closer to the equator,
developed cultural ways of making lactose digestible, such as adding bacteria
to yogurt, cheese, sour cream, or other low-lactose dairy products.
Theoretical Perspectives of Ethnicity

Social scientists have developed many theories of how people form their
ethnic identity, particularly in the case of bicultural ethnicity. Are there
similarities between how Indo-Canadians, Chinese Canadians, and Finnish
Canadians develop their identities? What effect does racism have on identity
formation? Of course, everyone has a sense of ethnicity, but there is a fiction
in Canada that if you are white and English-speaking that you are not "ethnic."
Everyone in Canada has an ethnicity, whether it be Quebecois, Ojibway, or
Ukrainian Canadian, and many people have multiple identities. As mixed
marriages continue to increase-up to 40 percent of all marriages in Toronto
and Vancouver involve partners from different ethnic backgrounds (Dib et a!.,
2008) -multiple ethnic identities are far more likely to increase than decrease.
Stage-model theories and acculturation theories have been proposed as a result
of research with a variety of ethnic communities in Canada and elsewhere.
Stage-Model Theories
! Many different stage-model theories have Unexamined ethnic identity

Connecting
been proposed to explain how individuals
!___ Anthropology develop a sense of ethnic identity. J.S
to Psychology Phinney (1993) describes the following
Many stage-model theories three stages:
of eth nic identity arose ethnic identity search
from Erikson's stage-model Unexamined Ethnic Identity

theories of development.
Anthropologists use these An individual does not see a difference
frameworks, or models, to between himself or herself and the dominant
analyze the cultures they society. The individual believes that she or ethnic identity achievement
are studying. he is part of the dominant group. This stage
is illustrated by the Clark Doll experiment of
1939, in which black children were given a
More to Know ...
black-skinned doll and a white-skinned doll
You learned about the and asked to choose which they liked best and
I
Clark Dol l experiment FIGURE 7-21
which looked like them. Almost all the children
i n Chapter 6. J . S Phinney's stage
picked the white doll as the best one and were
model theory
reluctant to choose the black doll when asked
to pick the doll that looked like them.

Ethnic Identity Search
This stage usually begins with an event in a person's life that causes that
person to question whether he or she fits into the dominant society. The
catalyst could be an act of racism that a person experiences or an individual's
growing sense of exploration and desire for knowledge. This catalyst could
lead an individual to become more involved in his or her ethnic community,
take a course, or reject the dominant society and its values.
Ethnic Identity Achievement

In the final stage, an individual resolves all previous conflicts
and forms an identity that includes elements of both (or all) of
his or her cultures.
Criticisms of stage-model theories argue that they are too
rigid, are based on particular groups, and may not apply to all
situations. Critics point out that many people may never go
through all the stages, or they may stay in one stage their
whole lives.
Acculturation Theory
FIG U R E 7-22 Which
I
In contrast to the stage-model theories, the acculturation theory does not try stage of ethnic identity
to demonstrate that all minorities go through the stages. It tries to understand formation do you think
how people view themselves in terms of their ethnic identity at the time this family is at? Justify
of the study. John Berry's ( 1989) acculturation model describes people as your answer.
belonging to one of four categories:
• assimilation (associating with the dominant culture) acculturation:

the meeting of two or more
• integration (accommodating both cultures) cultural groups and the
resulting cultural changes
• separation (rejecting the dominant culture)
to each group
• marginalization (relating to the culture of origin) (Sodhi, 2008)
While the two theories seem similar, there is a fundamental difference.

The stage-model theory assumes that people must progress through all of the More to Know...
stages with ethnic identity achievement as the desired goal, but acculturation You wil l learn more
about John Berry's
seeks only to identify which category an individual is in at the time of the
work from a psycho
study. In acculturation theory, an individual does not move through the
logical perspective in
categories, and there is no " progression." Chapter 8.
R E F L E C T AND R ES P OND
1 . How d o physical and cultural anthropologists differ i n their views on

human variation?
2. Why is human variation important to the survival of the human species?
What do you think would happen if all humans were identical?
3. What is the essential difference between Phinney's stage-model theory
and Berry's acculturation theory?
4. Which theory do you think best describes individuals who have two
cultural identities?

Canadian Multiculturalism
A policy introducing multiculturalism was announced by the Canadian
Before You Read
government in 1 971 in order to recognize the reality of Canada's diversity but
Is m ulticultura l ism
also to reverse earlier attempts to assimilate immigrants. It was introduced in
successful in Canada?
How would you prove it? response partly to the troubled English-French relations of the time, as well
as to different ethnic spokespersons who argued that assimilation was both
unfair and a failure. Immigrants had survived the Depression and fought for
Canada and should still be Canadian even if they were neither English nor
French. Some Canadians were opposed to multiculturalism because they
thought it would divide Canadians rather than unite them . Others worried
that the British heritage of English Canada would be reduced, and some
people in Quebec feared multiculturalism would spoil Quebec's efforts
toward separatism.
In October 2010, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that Germany's
attempt to create a multicultural society had " utterly failed" (Siebold, 2010).
Her statement sent shock waves around the world and stirred up more
controversy in Canada. Does Canada's multiculturalism policy promote
diversity and tolerance and give youth an enhanced sense of self-esteem, or
does it impose an ethnic subculture on groups to keep them out of positions
of power and privilege? This question is a topic of much debate among social
scientists and politicians in Canada.
Urban Youth and Multiculturalism in Toronto

In 2008, Mehrunnissa Ahmad Ali conducted a study with youth in two
Toronto high schools. The schools she studied had no white students, and
all the subjects were children of at least one immigrant parent. The average
income of the neighbourhood where the schools were located was below
the low-income cutoff point. The low-income cutoff is a number that defines
where poverty ends. This number is based on the percentage of income that
individuals and families spend on the basic needs or necessities. Students
lived in high-rise apartments around the school and shopped at nearby
low-budget stores. The study followed 39 students for 3 years, from Grade 10
to Grade 12.
Ali found that the students firmly believed in the ideology of multiculturalism
because that was their experience of the world. Multiculturalism defined their
school and neighbourhood, provided a vision of Canada, offered opportunities
for intercultural engagement, and fit with their ideology of equity and justice.
One student, Didi, explains:
For example, in school we a l l get along with one another. We hang out with
various types of people, and it is very m u lticultura l . We accept many cu ltu res,
relig i ons, food, and many other tra its from cultures. I have eaten foods from
many cultures. In school , I a m n ot racist. I hang out with many other cultures.
(Al i , 2008)
I
Another student, Mina, feels that this will likely continue into the
labour market: Open for Debate
In 201 1 , a Toronto
If I look at my school, no one looks to what skin colour you are or what rel igion school board considered
opening an alternative
you are. They don't care about that. Like, when I met my friends, that's not the
school for Portuguese
q uestion I asked them or they asked me . . . . I think if you are going for a job, students i n an effort to
then I don't think people look at skin colour here 'cause everyone's from a reduce drop-out rates.
d ifferent cu lture, a different country. No one's Canadian here, original Canadian, Portuguese students
so real ly, very few people . . . . (Al i , 2008) have the highest
drop-out rates of any
single ethnic group.
H owever, as students moved in circles outside their neighbourhood, For some, separate
they often encountered discrimination and racism from the wider Canadian schools are a way to
society. They started to notice that their parents and friends' parents had only tailor education to
low-level jobs; they encountered suspicion from security guards and police specific needs. For
others, separate schools
discrimination as well. They started to become aware of stereotyping of their
stigmatize students.
neighbourhood. One student, Blue Flag Baron, explains: Will a separate school
address a persistent
I 've talked to people that are, l ike, my friends, l iving in [a suburb in the Greater student achievement
problem? Or will it lead
Toronto Area], and they j ust give me this awkward look, when they're l ike, yeah,
to segregation? Should
where do you l ive again? I 'm [from the neighbo u rhood], and they're just, l ike,
students have the
their jaw d rops completely, and they're, l ike, "You come from that area?" And opportunity to attend
then they totally get a different perspective of you, they th i n k that you're this an alternative school?
gangster perso n , and you're going to shoot everybody. (Ali , 2008)
Ali concludes that the equality among all of the

cultural groups in the school and neighbourhood
has led the students to believe that there is no
racial hierarchy in Canadian society. The reality
around them, reinforced by official endorsement
of multiculturalism, has led them to believe that
their own situation applies to Canada as a whole.
They are self-assured and aspire to higher education
and higher status j obs than their parents have. Ali
speculates that these students could be deeply
disappointed with some Canadians' racist attitudes
when they start to compete with the dominant
white majority for education and jobs.
Do you agree with Ali 's conclusion? Why or
T
why not? Apply the stage-model theory or the FIGURE 7-23 Do all of these youth have the same
acculturation theory to these students. What opportu nities in Canadian society?
stage(s) or category (categories) do you think
best describes them?

English Canada: Diverse, Imperial, or Invisible?
There have not been many studies of the ethnicity of English-Canadians because
English-Canadians are considered the dominant group. They have historically
been the ones in power and historically been the majority in Canada. However,
whom we call English-Canadians are often not actually English at all. The vast
majority of settlers before the twentieth century were Irish, Scottish, Welsh, or
American, not people from England proper. With the exception of American
Loyalists, who were affiliated with Britain, many of these immigrants were
fleeing English imperial oppression in their own homelands, and many would
have been insulted to have been called English or even British (Encyclopedia of
Canada's Peoples, 2008) .
Today, a person calling himself or herself an English-Canadian is just as
likely to have more non-English-speaking ancestors than English ones. The
idea that English-Canadian culture is a stable majority culture is proven false by
how easily other cultures' products and ideas, such as pasta, reggae, and yoga,
are adopted in Canada. Many immigrants don't assimilate into an English
Canadian culture; they prefer to identify as Canadian, not English-Canadian.
The darkest period of Canadian racism was during the height of British
imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Prior to this
period, Canadian policies had been relatively inclusive and anti-racist for the
time, abolishing slavery, accommodating French language and religious rights,
and establishing treaties with the First Nations as relatively sovereign and
powerful groups (Saul, 2008) . It was during the period of imperial superiority
that the Canadian government introduced the Chinese head tax, interned
many cultural groups including Ukrainians, Germans, and Japanese in camps,
and established residential schools, among other racist policies. Most of these
policies have been reversed, and apologies and compensation have been
offered after years of negotiations.
1
With the establishment of multiculturalism as policy in 1 971 and the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1 982, Canadians are legally guaranteed
freedom from discrimination. But many of the old power structures and
attitudes remain, perpetuating the myth that " white" people are a stable
FIGURE 7-24 Which of majority, invisible, and without ethnicity. English-Canadians are changing
these i mages do you as well and are increasingly influenced by American culture.
think best captu res
the culture of English Do English-Canadians have an ethnicity? If so, how would you describe
Canada, and why? it? Can the stage-model theory or acculturation theory be applied to English
Canadians? Why or why not?
French-Canadian Culture
French-Canadians have the distinction of being the oldest European settlers
in North America, and, until recently, French-Canadian culture has been
relatively homogenous. Since the 1 960s, immigration from French-speaking
countries such as Haiti, Vietnam, Morocco, and Tunisia has forced the Quebec
government to look at how it defines itself and what it means to be French
Canadian. This change is happening not only in Quebec, but also in the many
francophone communities across Canada.

Intercultural or Multicultural?
The Quebec government, in response to public concerns over accommodation
of religious minorities, set up the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, which
released its report in 2008: Building the Future: A Time for Reconciliation,
advocating that the government adopt a specific policy of interculturalism, interculturalism:
not multiculturalism . Since Canada became a British colony, the French a proposed policy in
Quebec emphasizing
population has struggled to retain its cultural identity. Particularly in Quebec,
cultural and economic
the importance of preserving and protecting French culture, such as language integration of immigrants
and religion, has become a political issue. The Bouchard-Taylor Commission and French-language
learning
was created in response to insecurity stirred up by distortions in media reports
on individual cases of accommodation. Public hearings were held across the
province over many months and exposed many anxieties felt by Quebecers
of French-Canadian descent about the apparent threat of accommodation to
their identity. The chart below compares the Quebec policy of interculturalism
to excerpts from the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, 1 988.
l nterculturalism Multiculturalism
Often m entioned in academic papers, intercultura l ism It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Government
a s a n integration pol i cy has never been ful ly, officially of Canada to
defined by the Quebec government a lthough its key
(a) recog nize and promote the understanding that
components were formulated long ago. This shortcoming
m u lticultura lism reflects the cu ltural and racial diversity
should be overcome, all the more so as the Canadian
of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of
m ulticultura lism model does not appear to be well suited
a l l members of Canadian society to preserve, enhance
to conditions in Quebec, for four reasons:
and share thei r cu ltu ra l heritage;
(a) anxiety over language is not an important factor in (c) promote the ful l and equitable partici pation of
English Canada; individuals and communities of a l l origins in the
(b) minority insecu rity is not fou n d there; conti n u i ng evolution and shaping of all aspects of
(c) there i s no longer a majority eth nic g roup i n Canada Canadian society and assist them in the elimination
(citizens of British origin account for 34 percent of of any barrier to that partici pation;
the population, while citizens of French-Ca nadian (d) recog nize the existence of commu nities whose
origin m a ke u p a strong majority of the population in mem bers share a common origin and their h istoric
Quebec, i.e., rou g h ly 7 7 percent); contribution to Canadian society, and enhance their
(d) it fol l ows that in English Canada, there is l ess concern development;
for the preservation of a founding cu ltu ra l tradition (e) ensure that a l l individuals receive equa l treatment
than for nationa l cohesion. and equal protection under the law, while respecting
To summarize, we could say that Quebec intercultura l ism and valuing their d iversity;
institutes French as the common language of intercultural (g) promote the understanding and creativity that
relations; cultivates a pluralistic orientation that is highly a rise from the interaction between individuals and
sensitive to the protection of rights; preserves the creative commun ities of d ifferent origins;
tension between diversity and the contin uity of the French (i) preserve and enha nce the use of languages other than
speaking core and the social link; places special emphasis English and French, wh ile strengthening the status and
on integration; and advocates i nteraction. use of the official languages of Canada; and
(Bouchard-Taylor Report, 2008) (j) advance m u lticu lturalism throughout Canada in
h a rmony with the nationa l com m itment to the official
languages of Ca nada.
(Canadian Multiculturalism Act, 1 988)
What are the major differences between the two policies? Do you agree
with Bouchard and Taylor that an interculturalism policy is needed? Explain
why or why not using specific examples to support your position.

Religious Accommodation in Quebec: Myths and Reality
The Bouchard-Taylor Report set out to dispel the myths inflated by the
media and public perception surrounding some of the specific incidents
of accommodation that prompted the commission in the first place. In a
sampling of 21 of these stories, only 6 incidents were reported accurately.
Bouchard and Taylor detailed the other 15 in the report. The Mont-Saint
Gregoire sugarhouse was one of the incidents discussed in the report.
T he Mont-Saint-Gregoire Sugarhouse
A sugarhouse is a small house where sap is collected and turned into maple
syrup. Often sugarhouses are tourist destinations, with tours, outdoor activities,
and a restaurant on site. The following is the widespread perception of what
happened at the Mont-Saint-Gregoire sugarhouse in March 2007.
A group of Muslim customers arrived one morning at the sugarhouse and
demanded that the menu be altered to conform to their religious standards.
All of the other customers were therefore obliged to consume pea soup
without ham and pork-free baked beans. In the afternoon, the same Muslims
entered the crowded dance hall and interrupted the festivities to recite their
prayers. The customers in the dance hall were expelled from the sugarhouse.
The story described in the previous paragraph was the one that was
presented in the media. H owever, this is what actually happened. One
week before the outing, a representative of Astrolabe, a Muslim association,
I
FIGURE 7-25 How did
met with the sugarhouse's owners to discuss certain changes to the menu,
bias influence public
which would apply solely to the members of the group. The modified menu
perception of the
excluded pork but included halal sausage and salami provided and paid for by
sugarhouse incident?
Astrolabe. This arrangement having been made, the association reserved one of
the four dining rooms in the sugarhouse for its exclusive use. On the appointed
day, after the meal, about 40 members of the group moved several tables and
chairs in the room reserved for them for a short prayer. The management of
the sugarhouse wanted to free up the room as quickly as possible (business
was brisk and nearly 300 customers were waiting to be seated) and proposed
to those individuals who wished to pray that they use instead the dance
hall , which was almost empty at that time. The dance hall can accommodate
roughly 650 people, and 30 customers were then in the room, some of whom
were waiting to be seated in the dining room. Several young girls were dancing
to popular music. The management of the sugarhouse interrupted the music
so that the Muslim customers could say their prayers, which took less than
10 minutes. The music then resumed. According to the management, no one
was expelled from or asked to leave the dance hall (Bouchard-Taylor, 2008).
What role did the media have in perpetuating the misunderstanding, and
what impact would this have on the Muslim community?
Francophone Communities Outside Quebec

Of course, if Quebec does adopt an official policy of interculturalism, it would
not apply to the 980 300 francophones (or 1 4.5 percent of all francophones)
living in Canada outside of Quebec (Dallaire and Denis, 2005). Several studies
have been conducted on the integration of francophone immigrants within these

communities. While the percentage of immigrants within these populations has
increased from 6.2 percent in 1 991 to 10 percent in 2006, it is uncertain how
well these immigrants are becoming integrated into the existing francophone
communities. Immigrants tend to settle in the core of Canada's cities,
while the existing French-speaking populations tend to be in the suburban
areas (Corbeil and Houle, 2010) . Other studies have looked at how black
francophones are in a double minority position in Ontario: they struggle to
be accepted in francophone communities and often resort to black English
(such as rap) as a resistance tool (Ibrahim, 2003; Madibbo, 2006) .
As demonstrated in an ethnology of francophone youth in Alberta, Ontario,
and New Brunswick, the development of a strong francophone identity is
strongly related to the degree of immersion and geographic density in youths'
home communities. Youth from New Brunswick, where there are strong and
densely populated Acadian areas, were found to have the strongest sense of
francophone identity. Alberta has more widely distributed francophone
communities, and its youth had the weakest sense of a French identity. Ontario,
mixed in geographic distribution, is in the middle in terms of youths' sense
of francophone identity, even though Ontario currently is home to the largest
number of francophones outside Quebec (Dallaire and Denis, 2005) .
What are some of the challenges for francophones outside Quebec? Does
the information presented in this section provide evidence for or against
multiculturalism? Explain.
First Nations Communities in Canada: Kitchenuhmaykoosib

lnninuwug
In her film Third World Canada, filmmaker Andree Cazabon examines the
conditions of First Nations children in Ontario. Cazabon spent one and a half V O I C ES
We extend to all
years in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI ) , a First Nations community
Canadians the invitation
in Northern Ontario. In one of the most difficult scenes in the documentary, to support us as we bring
a five-year-old boy named Tyler graphically describes his father's suicide. our community up to the
Tyler and his brother Kyler watched their father hang himself in their home. standards enjoyed in the
rest of the country. We
Cazabon almost cut the scene, "but Chief Donny (Morris) told me I had taken ask for the recognition
a lot out already," she said in an interview. " He said : 'If it makes people and the fulfillment of
uncomfortable to watch this film, they should try living it"' (Toronto Star, 2010) . commitments made to
our forefathers so we
In Cazabon's film, we learn that the people of KI rally together to help
can build a brighter
the eight orphaned children. Tikanagan, the family services agency of the future for our children
30 most northern communities in Ontario, works with the community to and our culture.
find appropriate placements within the community and with family when Kitchenuhmaykoosib
lnninuwug Assessment
possible. As the film unfolds, it becomes clear that caring for eight more Report 2009
children is going to be tough for a community that has already suffered a lot
of suicides and can't even accommodate all the children who have parents
within the community. Some of the orphaned children need professional
mental health services and must leave the community to access them, further
separating them from their family and familiar environment. Even in these
circumstances, children can be on a waiting list to see a counsellor for up
to two years.

Suicide is the most common cause of death in K I , and children such as
Kyler and Tyler grow up thinking that it is the normal way to die and that it
is the way that adults deal with their problems. This problem is made worse
by the fact that suicide is a taboo subject for the community elders. They will
not talk about it, and few in the community have the experience or expertise
to deal with the magnitude of the problem. Not only is suicide emotionally
devastating, but the funeral costs can be economically devastating. Indian
and Northern Affairs Canada pays $ 1 400 for a funeral, but the actual cost
can be over $20 000.
There is a shortage of housing in KI, as in most First Nations communities
across Canada. Aboriginal communities are currently experiencing a baby
boom, and the largest proportion of the Aboriginal population is under
25 years old. The band can afford to build only three to five houses each
year, but there are over 200 people on a waiting list for housing in KI alone.
Housing materials must be imported from the south, and residents often can't
afford to build on their own. Residents are not allowed to log on the Crown
land adjacent to the reserve, but some community members have gone ahead
anyway and built their own houses, risking arrest.
The land in KI is rich in minerals, but the residents are not
SrtJp . benefiting from any potential resource development. The Ontario
JfR government in 2006 gave a mining licence to a platinum mining

company without consulting the KI residents, as it is required to do
R\JST
under a Supreme Court ruling. The chief, four council members,
and one resident stopped the mining company from entering KI
traditional lands but were arrested and sentenced to six months in
j ail . They were released after two months following a decision by
the Court of Appeal for Ontario (Cazabon, 2010) .
One result of the trial and incarceration of the band council was
that a drum group started again in the community. Some people
were opposed to this group because they felt that it conflicted with
their Christian beliefs. The drum group, Awakening Spirits, is small,
but those involved feel that getting back to traditional practices will
help the community to heal and provide hope for the youth.
FIGURE 7-26 People
from Kitchenuhmaykoosib
l n n inuwug protesting R E F L E C T AND R E S P ON D
i n support of their land
rights. Why i s land such 1 . Do you think, based o n the evidence presented, that Canada's
a n important issue for multiculturalism policy is successful? What information would you need
people in Kl? to determine whether or not multiculturalism is successful in Canada?
2. Choose two sources in this section, and explain how the bias of each
source influences his or her statements.
3 . Which theory of ethnic identity formation do you think is most valid?
Explain with reference to the case studies presented.
4. How might the tragedies in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug relate to
the legacy of residential schools?
350 M H R U n it 3 • Socia l Science and Us

Constructing Identity in a Multicultural Society
As you learned, culture is the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours of a society.
These are all learned from infancy, taught to us by our parents, and reinforced
Before You Read
How might growing up
by our experience in our society through school, the workplace, and other
in two cultures affect
social institutions. In a multicultural society, sometimes a family's attitudes,
your sense of identity?
beliefs, and behaviours are not the same as those in the wider society. First
generation parents often have different beliefs and behaviours than their
second-generation children are exposed to in schools and other institutions.
When parental values are not reinforced in the general culture, conflict can
arise between parents and children.
Much research has been done in anthropology to try to understand the
individual and cultural process and effects of growing up with two (or more)
identities. A lot of the research focuses on case studies, some of which will be
examined here. By looking at individuals' specific case studies, you can get
some idea of the challenges and benefits of growing up in two cultures.
Indo-Canadian Youth Create Bicultural Identities

A recent study of second-generation Indo-Canadian youth by Pavna Sodhi
found that young people needed a zone of proximal development (ZPD) or
safe third space between cultures in which to explore and create a bicultural
identity, ethnic identity achievement (Phinney, 1 99 3 ) , or integration (Berry
FIGURE 7-27 Comedian
1 990, 1 997) . For Sodhi, the third space is "a safe, mutually respectful, Russe l l Peters. H is
genuine, and comfortable environment, which encourages an individual to performances revolve
be proud of his or her ethnic heritage and, in turn, integrate it into individual around ethn i c identity
identity" (2008) . and h i s experience
Figure 7-28 illustrates how bicultural identity development is a lifelong growing u p as an
process, occurring at all stages of life (represented by the ovals) and developed I ndo-Canadi a n .
or hindered by events and situations in the family, dominant culture, ethnic
community, and peer groups (represented by the rectangles) (Sodhi, 2008) . bicultural identity:
The Southern Ontario Indo-Canadian youth in Sodhi's study found the a sense of oneself as
being strongly rooted in
following events and situations to be most prominent in developing their two cultures
bicultural identities:
• Parents and the extended community often pressured youth

birth
to become doctors, dentists, or lawyers because it "attests
to their success as immigrants " (Sodhi, 2008) . Parents were
often uneducated about different but equally lucrative and
prestigious careers, and youth felt embarrassed or ashamed
when they did not meet their parents' educational and
adulthood childhood
career goals.
• Parents' expectations around dating and arranged marriage
were another site of negotiation for youth, particularly the
parents' and community's expectations of an elaborate
wedding to show off parental status. adolescence
• Youth who had the support of the ethnic community, and
particularly a peer group, were often better able to negotiate t FIGURE 7-28 Bicu ltural identity formation
a more stable bicultural identity.

• Youth with mental health issues were less likely than the general population
to seek help outside of the family because of stigma and cultural values.
If it became known in the community that a child had mental health
issues, it was a source of dishonour to families.
In all of these situations, youth have the opportunity to create a third

More to Know. . . space or ZPD in which to develop their bicultural identity. I ntergenerational
See Chapter 4 for communication is vital to this process. Parents value many aspects of
an analysis of I ndo
Canadian culture, but they may not transfer this appreciation to the young
Canadian youths'
negotiations of datin g person if their communication is too often negative. Generally, both children
and arranged marriage. and parents wish to continue their culture and adopt the best of both cultures.
How is Sodhi's concept of the ZPD or third space different from the
stage-model and acculturation theories? How can her theory apply to other
cultural groups in Canada?
Perceptions of Physical Discipline

Is the endorsement of physical discipline among recent immigrants to Canada
Skills Focus an imported cultural value or a result of the stresses of immigration? It has
There is a belief that the been well documented that immigration creates many additional challenges
expression rule of thumb
for parents, including adapting to a new culture, low socio-economic status,
origi nated i n a British
law that stated that a
and dealing with the conflicting values of two cultures. A recent study (Hassan
man could beat his wife et a!., 2008) assessed and compared Afro-Caribbean and Filipino parents' and
with a stick no bigger children's approval of physical discipline in Montreal. It's important to note
than his thumb, dem that children are more likely to approve of physical discipline if they have
onstrating a historical experienced it in some form.
defi n ition of reasonable
The study found that immigrant parents and children, especially among
force. However, there is
no evidence that such a Afro-Caribbean families, were more likely to approve of physical discipline,
law ever actually existed. while second-generation (born in Canada) children were more likely to
The myth of the law disapprove of physical discipline. This study and many others suggest that
probably began with parental use of physical discipline is a cultural norm, since children brought
the rise of fem i n ism in
up in Canada who had longer exposure to Canadian culture were more likely
the n ineteenth centu ry,
and most references to to disapprove.
it are found i n the 1 970s When we look at cultures around the world, ideas of appropriate
(Qu inion, 1 999). What discipline of children vary widely from no physical discipline and minimal
m ight be the biased supervision among the Blackfoot of Hawaii to Kuwaiti parents' approval of
origin of this myth? beatings and Palau parents' approval of caning but not hitting a child with an
What evidence woul d
open hand (Hassan et a! . , 2008) . In Canadian society, our definitions of what
you need t o consider?
is considered reasonable force to correct a child have changed considerably
over the last 100 years.
The findings of this study have important implications. While native-born
Canadians might perceive the actions of immigrant parents who physically
discipline their children as abusive or overly harsh, if physical punishment of
children is a cultural norm, then education would be more appropriate than
punitive or legal measures. It is important to consider each case individually
and not jump to conclusions about any particular group or incident. Considering
the facts and the context of a particular case is always more useful than
generalizations.
352 MHR U nit 3 • Social Science and Us

Corporal Punishment Laws in Canada
In Canada, Section 43 of the Cri m i n a l Code

regarding corpora l punishment states that a parent,
teacher, or person in place of a parent may use
" reasonable force" a s a form of disci pline. Over
the last 50 years, the defin ition of reasonable force
has changed considera bly i n Canadian society.
M ost notably with the Supreme Court decision of
2004, which held that " Section 43 ensures that the
1 FIGURE 7-29 Until recently, corporal punishment
was permiSSible 1n Canad1an schools. Why did
cri m i n a / law a pp l ies to any use of force that h a rms this change?
a child, but does not apply where the use of force
is part of a genuine effort to educate the child, a form of a uthority was eventu a l ly outlawed in
poses no reasonable risk of h a rm that is more than B rita i n but was experienced by many children in
tra nsitory and trifl ing, and is reasonable u nder the former B ritish colonies that adopted these practices
circumsta nces" (Department of Justice Canada, (Benthall, 1 99 1 ) The adoption of corporal punishment
.
2004). The Supreme Court a lso stated that i s a form of cu ltural tra nsmission that has had long
corporal p u n ishment is not a ppropriate for very lasting impact a n d negative consequences for the
young children or teenagers. In an attempt to children of these countries.
add ress the issue of corpora l punishment, the Spanking children is rare among hunter-gatherers
U nited Nations Committee on the Rig hts of the (Konner, 2005). Yet many American states, as wel l as
Child (the comm ittee responsible for mon itoring Austra l i a , J a m a ica, and M a l aysia , continue to permit
complia nce with the Convention on the Rig hts of corpora l punishment i n schools and homes. I n 2001 ,
the Ch i l d) had u rged Canada to ban the use of it, a n in itiative was begun, ca lled the G lobal I n itiative to
which led to the Su preme Court decision . End All Corpora l P u n ishment of C h i l d ren, that aims
There is n o provincia/ legislation on t h e use of to speed the end of corporal punishment of children
corpora l pu nish ment in schools, but most school across the world. In Thailand, where corporal punish
boards have banned its use, and it is not genera l ly ment is banned, a teacher at a Catholic boarding
used in Canadian schools. The Toronto District school was secretly videotaped h itti ng dozens of
School Board banned corpora l pun ishment i n 1 97 1 , students on the buttocks with a cane wrapped with
a n d most boa rds i n Onta rio ban ned it b y t h e end electrical wire beca use the students did not clea n
of the 1 980s. The Edmonton public school board their l iving quarters in 201 0. The teacher was fired.
ban ned the use of corpora l punish ment in 2004 QU ESTIONS
(Reil ly, 2008) .
1. Do you agree with the Supreme Court's
Anthropologica l evidence suggests that physical
decision regarding Section 43 of the Crim i n a l
pun ishment tra i ns people to accept h i g her levels of
Code? W h y or w h y not? What experiences and
societa l aggression . In a cross-cultura l study of 186
values hel ped shaped your opinion?
different societies, Jenn ifer Lansford and Kenneth
Dodge found that corporal punishment was more 2. H ow does the i nformation i n this feature
common in societies that support violence and support the idea that corporal punishment is
engage i n frequent wa rfare (2008). a cultural practice?
Different research looked at the corpora l 3. N ow look at this issue from a psychological
punish ment in the B ritish u pper class through point of view. According to theories of
exten sive forms of beating at wel l-known English reinforcement, what is the most effective
private boarding schools i n the 1 950s and other method to reinforce behaviour? Apply this
forms of ritu a l . This ritual corpora l punishment as knowledge to the issue of corpora l punishment.

Greek and Jewish Youth in Halifax
While much research has been done on ethnic communities in large urban
centres, not as much has been written about smaller cities or beyond the
second generation of immigrants. For second-generation Sri Lankan Tamils in
Toronto, it is possible to be Tamil while still participating in the mainstream
culture because there is a large and active Tamil community with many
cultural products and activities available on a daily basis (Amarasingam,
2008) . In smaller, less diverse communities, there may be fewer opportunities
to connect to people from the same culture, making it more difficult to
maintain a bicultural identity.
A study by Michele Byers and Evangelia Tastsoglou examined this issue
by examining the Greek and Jewish communities in Halifax. Both communities
are relatively small. Each community is made up of around 2000 people,
within a mostly white Anglo-Saxon society. Both communities are tightly knit
and have their religion and culture intertwined. Both the Greek and Jewish
communities are also " invisible" or "optional" minorities within the dominant
culture. One young man commented on his tightly knit community:
More or less because we a re a sma l l com m u n ity we a re holding on to it. So in

New York, l ike I said before, you run i nto a G reek, they're just li ke, hey, you 're
G reek, okay, see you l ater. But if I ran into a G reek I 've never seen before here
in H a l ifax, I'd be l i ke, hey, what's your n u m ber, let's get together, you know,
come down to the h a l l , the church, come dance with us, you know. (Byers and
FIGURE 7-30 Teenagers Tastsoglou, 2008)
participating in a G reek
festiva l . To what extent The study found that both communities placed a heavy emphasis on
does participating in marrying within the culture and/or religion, but since the communities were
these events ma intain
small, many young people were faced with the decision whether or not to
a sense of identity?
move away from H alifax to find a suitable mate. One youth commented on
the pressure to find a mate within the community:
I do notice, though, that when it comes to dating a Jewish girl , my pa rents a re

a lot more accepting, sure, stay out late, here, take the car, here's some extra
cash , take the Jewish g i rl out, whereas if it's a normal girl, it's, l ike, have a good
time, get out of here, don't do anyth ing stupid, and come home a l ive. (Byers
and Tastsoglou, 2008)
Most of the participants felt a responsibility to maintain the culture but also
felt that there weren't as many options as in the larger centres, particularly if
they wanted a more secular ethnic identity. All of the Greek culture in Halifax
revolved around the church, and much of the Jewish community's activities
took place in the synagogues. It was difficult to have a nonreligious sense of
ethnic identity.
The authors concluded that these Jewish and Greek youth were able to
preserve their ethnic identity in the smaller Canadian city partly because their
community was smaller and more tightly knit. However, they were generally
uncertain about being able to continue their culture, especially if they stayed
in Halifax and/or did not marry another member of the same culture.

Are these youth able to achieve a bicultural identity? Why or why not?
How does this study help to answer the question of whether multiculturalism
is working?
Second-Generation Finnish Canadians: A Disappearing

Ethnicity?
What happens to a person's sense of ethnicity when there are no obvious
racial or religious differences from the dominant culture? Katrina Jurva and
Peruvemba Jaya investigated this question in their study of Finnish Canadian
young adults, aged 20 to 30, and living in Ottawa, using semi-structured
interviews and came to the following conclusions.
Symbolic Ethnicity
Symbolic ethnicity is ethnic identity based on a feeling of being connected to symbolic ethnicity:
a real or imagined past rather than on daily experience. Symbolic ethnicity does ethnic identity based on an
emotional connection to a
not involve very much risk or change in behaviour. Most of the participants
real or imagined past rather
of this study expressed their ethnicity in a symbolic way, by preparing specific than daily experience
foods for special occasions, seeing a Finnish film, or decorating their house
with Finnish styles. One participant in the study described her love of Finnish
textiles, noting it was a way to acknowledge and show pride in her Finnish
heritage. "I j ust find it's a way to identify myself too. People always ask [what
it is] , 'Oh, it's the Marimekko poppies,' [I say] . It's that pattern, it's really
distinct. So I walk around [with something that has that pattern] , instead of
walking around with a flag " (Jurva and Jaya, 2008) .
FIGURE 7-31 The Vancouver Olympics

(20 1 0) opening ceremony had every possible
Canadian icon they could include (singers,
dancers, actors, moose, beavers, Mounties,
and hockey). I s this rea lly what Canadian
identity m ea ns?
Canadian Identity
Symbolic ethnicity is also selective. The participants in the study self-selected as
Finnish to participate in the study, but most identified as more Canadian than
Finnish. They felt that being Finnish was an intrinsic part of being Canadian
because they saw Canadian culture as predominantly multicultural. It was
hard for participants to separate what was Canadian and what was Finnish,
but they did not see this lack of distinction as a problem since it was easy to

be both Finnish and Canadian. Canada's diversity was perceived positively,
especially in relation to the more homogenous Finnish culture. A participant
concluded that "Canada is very, very diverse and it's better to consider that
diversity sort of a strength because everybody sort of brings their weaknesses
and strengths to the table, and the more diversity that you have, the sort of
more balance of view you have in the overall" (Jurva and Jaya, 2008) .
The respondents' ability to feel Canadian was probably also related to their
physical appearance. It was easier for them to integrate into a dominantly
white society because they also were white. Their ethnicity for them was a
personal issue; they were not defined by others because of their racial features.
They did not feel any contradiction between being Finnish and being Canadian.
Institutional Completeness and Transnationalism

Jurva and Jaya investigated the issue of institutional completeness.
institutional Institutional completeness is the ability of individuals to live a full life
completeness: within their cultural community. Can they shop at cultural stores, converse
the ability of a person to
in their language, make friends, find a mate, find employment, and get
live a full life within his or
her own cultural enclave
assistance within the cultural community? Studies have found that ethnic
identity is stronger when there is more institutional completeness.
Ottawa has a low level of institutional completeness. With only two
Finnish cultural institutions (a language school for children and an adult
leisure group) , it is impossible to live in a Finnish enclave. The young adults
in the study felt that they did not belong in the adult group since it was
composed mostly of older adults of their parents' generation. One girl
commented, "I feel like I ' m not, in a sense, worthy of going to any of
those meetings because I'm not Finnish enough. I feel like I'm not a good
representation of a Finn" (Jurva and Jaya, 2008) .
Most of the young adults had, however, travelled to Finland as children
or adults, and much of their sense of being Finnish came from these
visits. Travelling to connect with one's roots is part of the newer trend of
transnationalism: transnationalism. Prior to globalization, the formation of ethnic enclaves
the maintenance of an through institutional completeness was the best way to preserve a culture in
ethnic identity by staying
Canadian society, but today the Internet and increased travel make it possible
connected with relatives in
other countries and staying for people to participate in their culture through global ties. The researchers
informed of political and found that the young Finns were more connected to current Finnjsh culture
other developments in the
than the older generation, who relied more on their peer group in Canada to
country of origin, often
through digital technology provide a connection to their ethnicity.
When it is possible to communicate with relatives via video and other
digital technologies in remote locations, buy any desired cultural item online,
or stay current about " home" events through online news, videos, and other
forums, the site of culture becomes online as well as at community centre.
Transnational identities, which do not rely on cultural enclaves to create a
sense of ethnicity, are changing the face of Canadian multiculturalism.
Are these youth able to achieve a bicultural identity? Why or .Why not?
How does this study help to answer the question of whether multiculturalism
is working?

Migration Revisited: Canadians in the Interconnected Age
Online communication has changed our methods of communicating both locally
and globally, but is it an adequate substitute for local cultural communities?
The research is not yet clear, but we have some indications of where we might
be headed.
Caribbean migrants have well-established routes of migration
through the United States and Canada and often see their travels
as temporary aspects to gain education or employment or to earn
money to send back home. With relatives established in many
urban centres across North America, these people view migration
as a way to get ahead, though not necessarily as a permanent move.
Other groups with long-established migration patterns are
diplomats, academics, and international government workers.
These groups often feel a contradiction between their elite status
and their personal sense of loss and dislocation. Ayla, a permanent
resident of Canada, born in Turkey but living in Europe because
she is pursuing an academic career, prefers to call herself a global
citizen or nomad rather than a migrant. She finds a sense of
I
FIGURE 7-32 Does
identity through the use of her first language, even though she lived in
Toronto's Caribana
Turkey for only a few years as a child. "Turkish [is my mother tongue] .
parade demonstrate
Because when I want to swear, express my love, my anger, in a nutshell all m u lticultura l ism or
my feelings, I still switch to Turkish. I still dream in Turkish. " Ayla's home transnation lism?
page is a Turkish newspaper, she cooks Turkish food at home, and she is more
informed of Turkish politics than Canadian, even though she is nominally a
resident of Canada (Fay, 2005) .
Yet another type of migrant is the First World transient service worker in
the booming south. Canadian , American, and European workers have been
moving to Grand Cayman as it has become a banking centre and as they find
themselves unemployed or unfulfilled in their home countries. Grand Cayman
is seen as a temporary residence, and, indeed, the island actively discourages
permanent residency for foreign workers.
Both those who wish to stay and those who are prepared to leave their
home country are faced with the uncertainty of employment. Globalization
has freed up labour to move across borders to fill specific needs but at a cost
to local communities (Vered, 2001 ) .
R E F L E C T AND R E S P OND
1 . Is multiculturalism working i n Canada? Use evidence from this section to

support your point of view.
2. How has global migration and connectedness changed the lives of
Canadians?
3. Generate a research question on the topic of digital communication and
ethnicity that you could investigate. What method would you use? What
sources would you need to consult?
Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us MHR 357

Knowledge and Understanding/Thinking
1. Explain how social customs in Canada are changing because of digital

technologies. How are customs different in different social contexts?
2. Explain how restorative justice works in the Kpelle moot in Liberia and in
the sentencing circles of Canada.
3. What are the purposes of religion? Explain how one of the examples given
in this chapter fulfils the purposes of religion.
4. What are the dangers of racial ideas? Why are humans physically different
from one another?
5. What is the difference between race and ethnicity? Give an example to

illustrate your answer.
6. Describe the effects that assimilation and multiculturalism have on culture.
7. How is culture an agent of socialization? Give examples.
Thinking/Communicating
8. Are sentencing circles and other restorative practices working? Research

recent cases in Canada where sentencing circles have been used, and
formulate a thesis.
9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using sentencing circles

and community j ustice forums? When do you think they would be most
useful? Explain.
10. Recent studies have shown that Canadians are less and less religious.
Explain how other institutions are or are not fulfilling the purposes of
religion.
11. Does race exist? Create a T-chart to list the evidence for both sides.
12. Which theory of ethnic identity formation do you think is most valid?
Explain with reference to the case studies presented in this chapter.
13. Choose two statements made by individuals in this chapter, and explain
how each speaker's bias influences her or his statements.

Communication/Application 1
14. Research a First Nations community in your area. What problems do the
people face, and what solutions are being generated? How are traditional
cultural practices being used to solve problems? Prepare a report based on
your research.
15. In Ali's study of teens in Toronto, she asked the teens to create collages
and diagrams to express their culture.
a) What would your cultural collage look like? Draw a diagram or
create a collage of your culturejethnicity, and compare it to those
of your classmates. What trends do you see? Are there similarities
and differences?
b) How do the collages and diagrams address ideas of multiculturalism
and ethnicity? How is this exercise different from what was done in
the study?
16. Is digital technology bringing Canadians closer together or driving us

further apart? Devise an observation or interview study to try to answer
this question. Write a report of your findings.
1 7. Choose someone in your community to interview about his or her ethnicity

or race. Before your interview, write a research question based on one or
more of the theories and studies presented in this chapter.
18. Based on the evidence provided in this section and your own research
findings, do you agree with the following statement: Canadian
multiculturalism is working. Provide evidence for your argument in
a debate, essay, or paragraph response.
19. What connections can be made between assimilation, socialization,

residential schools, and the challenges First Nations peoples face today?
Organize your response in an organizer or as a visual.
20. Select one of the case studies in this chapter, and explain in a journal
entry or using a graphic organizer how the study can help anthropologists
understand human behaviour and culture in the present.

·-
•
Psychology and Us
umans a re natura lly social beings. We often seek to be with other
people, whether they are our fam i lies a n d friends or others we
meet at school, i n clubs, or at work. What happens in our bra ins or to our
personalities as we i nteract with others? I n this chapter, you wi l l learn
psychological exp l anations for why we conform to gro u p pressures, how
we feel prejudice, and how the groups to which we belong contribute to our
sense of identity. You wi l l a lso learn how environment and the various agents
of social ization i nteract with o u r personal ities, as wel l as how to prepare oral
presentations to share your research.
By the end of this chapter, you w i l l :

• u se a psychological perspective t o a n alyze patterns o f social izatio n
• i d entify a n d describe the role o f socia l ization i n the psychological
deve l o p ment of the i nd i v i d u a l
• exp l a i n the ways i n which context a n d the i nfl uence of othe r i ndividuals
can affect people's emoti o n a l a n d behavioural responses
• com m u n i cate the results of research and i n q u i ry effectively u s i n g a
format a p p ropri ate to the p u rpose a n d a u d ience
• demonstrate a n u n dersta n d i n g of the general research process by
reflect i n g on a n d eva l uating your own research p rocess a n d res u lts
abstract cu ltural/ethnic identity outgroup

a mygda la
behavioural shift
bystander effect
deindividuation
ego identity
ingroup
psychological
acculturation
serotonin
r We interact with
people regularly. How does this
chameleon effect longitudinal study social identity shape our behaviour
cross-cultural psychology national identity stigma
Jane Elliot: Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes

Gordon Allport Erik Erikson Daniel Levitin
Solomon Asch David H utchison Linda S. Pagani
John Bargh I rving Janis Lee Ross
John Berry A. Jenness Mark Snyder
Tanya Chartrand Lawrence Kohlberg Philip Zimbardo
Jane Elliot
Conformity
At first, everyone in the group gave the correct

Before You Read answer to ensure that the test subject did not become
Do you know someone who followed along with suspicious of the study's true intentions and to increase
others in a group even though they knew the group group unity. Then members of the group all started
was wrong? In what situations are teens l i kely to
to give the same wrong answer. For example, if the
encounter this type of situation?
answer was obviously line 1 , the others would each
say line 2 was the correct answer. Did the subject go
against the group and give the answer he or she knew
P
eople's attitudes, beliefs, and actions are shaped
to be correct?
by a number of factors. One such factor is social
Asch discovered that people are often influenced
influence. As demonstrated by Stanley Milgram's
by the responses of others. Only 29 percent of the
Obedience experiment in Chapter 5, people who never
subjects would not give the same answer as the others
thought they would seriously hurt someone chose to
in the group. The remaining 71 percent gave the same
shock a person in another room to what they believed
answer even when they knew the group's answer was
to be near death when told to do so by a figure in
incorrect. A control group, in which subjects looked at
authority. Similarly, people have a tendency to con
the lines on their own, yielded incorrect answers less
form-to adjust their behaviour to match that of a
than 1 percent of the time, indicating that the wrong
group standard-when it seems as if they may be the
answers given by subjects were due to conforming to
odd one out.
others' answers. In later versions of the experiment,
Psychologist Solomon Asch wanted to understand
Asch found that the number of people giving the
the nature of conformity on healthy, intelligent people
wrong answer changed the results-if there was
and conducted a series of experiments in the 1 950s on
another person who agreed with the subject, it was
this topic.
easier for him or her to resist the pressure to conform.
In the first of Asch's experiments, groups of six
So why did intelligent people who knew the answer
people sat around a table and answered seemingly easy
to a simple question give a response they knew to be
questions. However, only one of them was the actual
incorrect? How does this apply to other situations?
subject of the experiment. The other five had been
Most people want to have the approval of those around
carefully trained in how to respond without raising the
them. While we all have unique personalities, with our
real subject's suspicions. The group had to make judg
own specific likes and dislikes, it is not unusual to say
ments about which line from a set of three matched the
you like a particular band or movie star if he or she is
standard line shown (see Figure 8-2 ) . The subject of
popular among your friends.
the experiment was always the last to give a response.
QUESTIONS
A B c
1. Why did Asch use clearly defined lines as the
stimuli in his experiments?
I I
2. Review Milgram's Obedience experiment
on page 1 98 and Zimbardo's Stanford Prison
I experiment on page 238. How are these
Standard line Comparison line
experiments related to the Asch experiment
in terms of their message about the nature of
FIGURE 8-2 Sets of l i nes l i ke these were used in
I
social influence?
Asch's experiment. The correct answer was meant to
be obvious so Asch could study the reaction of the
subject when others gave an i n correct answer.

Presenting Research in Psychology abstract appears at the top left next to the title so
that others can find out information about the study
Once their research is completed, psychologists then
quickly. Below the abstract is an introduction to the
share their results with their colleagues. This may
area under study, which includes an explanation of
include writing a report, publishing an article in an
why the research was undertaken. The method and
academic journal, creating a Web site or Web page,
results fit into the second column, with the discussion
and/or creating a poster presentation. It is important
next to them. In the final column, any tables or graphs
to note that, whatever the format, there are certain
appear, with the references at the very bottom.
elements that remain constant. The research plan
elements that you learned about in Chapter S must
be included: an introduction that contains the purpose I abstract:
a brief summary of the study 's methods and findings
and hypothesis, a method that shows how the research Use the following checklist when you want to create
was conducted, the results of the research, and a an effective poster presentation:
discussion that analyzes the results.
Poster Presentations 0 Have an attention-grabbing title: use a font that

is large and easy to read from a distance.
A poster presentation is a specific method used to
convey results to colleagues whereby the research is 0 Plan your layout carefully, ensuring that all
presented on a poster and described verbally by the important elements have been included.
study's authors. Often these presentations are delivered 0 Use powerful visuals, such as charts, diagrams,
as part of a larger conference, where participants have and images (e.g., art, symbols) , to reinforce
the opportunity to visit the various displays and learn your written words.
more about the research. 0 Edit all written elements of your poster to
The poster should show all of the important ensure there are no errors.
elements of the study as noted above. This can be 0 When you present your poster, try to involve your
done in a variety of ways, but we will discuss one audience by giving them opportunities to react to,
popular approach used by psychologists. think about, and discuss what you are saying.
Activities
Abstract Titles & Authors
1 . Create a poster presentation for the topic you and

Tab le
0 your partner researched in Chapter S . Discuss
Method
i
s
:::EE how you would use visuals to display your results.
r
c
0 a graph Consider which of the following would best convey
d u
s
s your information:
Results i c) a line graph
0
a) a pie chart
References
n b) a bar graph d) a photo
2. If you do not have access to a computer, what
alternative approaches can you use to create an
I
FIGURE 8-3 This is an exam ple of one way to create
an effective poster presentation . What do you notice effective poster?
a bout the l ayout of the poster and the way the 3 . Reflect on your poster presentation. Answer the
different sections are organized? following questions honestly:
a) Does your poster contain all of the necessary
The sections of the poster flow from the top down, sections and information?
rather than across, and are broken down into four b) Is your poster clear and visually appealing?
invisible columns (see Figure 8-3 ) . The title and list c) Do your visuals support what you say in your
of authors are centred at the top of the poster. The presentation?
Chapter 8 • Psychology and Us M H R

Influence of Others on Self
s you learned i n Chapter 3, soci a l ization is t h e process o f learning how t o act
A and i nteract in groups and situations. From a psychological point of vi ew,
socia l i zation is an i mportant aspect of development. Read on to learn more about
how social factors affect our behavio urs and attitudes.
Psychology and Socialization

Socialization begins as soon as a newborn baby bonds with his or her parents
Before You Read and continues throughout life. According to social leaming theory, children
In what ways have your
learn social behaviours by observing and imitating the behaviours of those
siblings influenced you r
around them . The behaviours are reinforced by rewards or punishment.
behaviour? If you d o
not have a n y siblings, As the primary agents of socialization, parents need to teach their child
predict the influence appropriate social skills at each stage of childhood .
having a sibling might
have had on you.
Socialization and Emotional Development
For many children, effective socialization is linked to fewer problems through
out their school years and beyond. They develop friendships more easily and
have a stronger sense of identity. They also have a greater understanding of
their emotions and how to deal with them. Generally, psychologists believe that
there are specific social skills that children learn as they age (see chart below).
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT N EEDS FROM B I RTH TO 1 2 YEARS
Age Developmental M ilestones
Birth to 6 months Develop trust

•m a ke eye contact and begin to smile at pri m a ry caregiver;
cuddle up to fam i l iar people
6 to 1 8 months Explore self, fee l i ngs, and su rroundings

• crawl away from parents; play with others; com m u n i cate
needs by pointi ng
1 8 to 36 months Begin to develop perspective

• have vocabulary of about 200 words; play with other chi ldren;
understand that others have d ifferent opin ions than them
3 to 5 years Develop a sense of purpose

• continue to have cu riosity a n d imagination; play com petitive
games; develop sense of right and wrong
6 to 1 2 years Develop self-confidence

• expand social envi ronment; pick u p socia l cues from others;
work co-operatively; learn to cope with m i stakes
364 M H R U nit 3 • Social Science and Us

The Importance of Play in Childhood Development
Parents often assume that it is important for their children to spend a lot
of time with others their own age in order to socialize them. While some
social time with peers, or "play dates, " to develop preschool social skills is
More to Know...
healthy, early socialization should primarily come from parents or guardians.
Look to Chapter 4 for
These adults have a wealth of social and emotional resources that children's
more about socialization
peers do not, such as the ability to describe emotions verbally and interpret in different cultures and
others' emotions, predict long-term consequences for actions, and use Chapter 3 to read about
problem-solving skills. Modelling and explaining behaviour is a positive agents of socialization.
way that parents help their children to develop the necessary social skills.
T he Social Skills of Only Children

A child who does not have siblings may develop social skills in a different
manner than those children who do have siblings, at least early in life. Indeed,
parents often observe that their only child seems to have fewer social skills
when he or she enters kindergarten. To investigate whether only children
have a social disadvantage later in life, researchers at Ohio State University
asked 1 3 446 teenagers who had participated in an eight-year longitudinal longitudinal study:
study of adolescent health to name five male and five female friends. They research that follows the
same people over a long
discovered that only children were just as likely to be named as a friend as
period of time
those who had siblings. The researchers concluded that while only children
are more likely to have difficulties with social skills in kindergarten, over time
they learn the appropriate skills and catch up to the others by adolescence.
Social Isolation and Emotional Development

Some children feel socially isolated, or set apart from others to the point
Open for Debate
that they have little social interaction. Social isolation can be due to poor
Does playin g video
social skill development, shyness, or prolonged illness. Isolated children
games isolate garners
can experience some or all of the following problems: or help them con n ect
• academic difficulties: inattentiveness, failure with others? Often
garners spend long
• behavioural difficulties: delinquency, aggression, substance abuse periods in their rooms
• emotional difficulties: peer rejection, isolation, stress or basements, playing
games alone. New
• psychological difficulties: memory loss, anxiety, depression technology al lows
players to connect from
School Shootings all over the world as
In recent years, cases of extreme aggression based on social isolation have they play against one
another. So, what effect
shocked Canadians into seeking answers. The 1 999 shootings at Colorado's
do video games have
Columbine High School and a week later at W. R . Myers High School in Taber, on social skills? What
Alberta, made people stop and take notice of the very real effects of isola role m ight age, gender,
tion. In both cases, the shooters had been teased and bullied relentlessly and ethnicity play?
by their peers. Sadly, school shootings are not new, as demonstrated by the
tragic shooting of female students at Quebec's Ecole Polytechnique in 1 98 9 .
Fortunately, very few isolated individuals respond i n this way. What c a n b e
done t o ensure that incidents like these never occur again?
Chapter 8 • Psychology and Us M H R 365

Changes in the Brain
Social isolation can lead to aggression and anxiety, which are caused by the
I
amygdala: activation of the neurons that lead to the amygdala, the part of the brain
the part of the brain that that regulates emotion. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago
regulates emotion
College of Medicine discovered that the effects of social isolation may be due
to a resulting change to a hormone in the brain. Mice were used to study the
effects of isolation since humans and animals react similarly to the stress of
isolation. Researchers found that one of the two enzymes needed to produce
the hormone that reduces the effects of stress had decreased by SO percent in
the isolated mice. This suggests that aggressive behaviour and anxiety may
occur because the amygdala is missing the hormone needed for its regulation.
The researchers believe that by identifying the roots of anxiety aggression,
drug treatments can be developed for extreme cases of isolation.
Improving Social Skills

Effective programs exist for children identified as having difficulties with
social skills. These programs can include social skills training and exposure
to different social situations, including those with children their own age. A
social skills training program involves weekly sessions in which children learn
specific skills such as how to start and maintain conversations, j oin groups,
co-operate with others, solve problems, and greet others. With practice over
time, children can improve their social skills.
What is the difference between a person who is shy or introve ted and
someone who is socially isolated? Look back to Chapter 5 before you discuss
your answer with a partner.
The Effect of Media on Socialization

Use of electronic media, such as television and cell phones, and digital
media, such as video games and social media, are a part of life for many
Canadian children and adolescents. In 2009, Americans spent $25 . 3 billion on
video games and equipment; in Canada this number was $ 1 . 7 billion. When
children are watching television and playing video games, they are not
socializing in traditional ways. Research has shown a correlation between
watching television and children's attention span: children who watch more
than 2 hours of television per day are 1 . 5 times more likely to develop
attention-span difficulties. But does TV viewing affect social skill development?
And what other factors might affect this correlation?
Young Children and Television

Research has shown that the best way for children to learn language is by
interacting with people. Several studies have shown a correlation between
watching television and language development, such that the more time young
children spent watching television, the longer it took them to learn speech.
Specifically, their speech development suffered if two-way communication
was replaced by watching television. Since verbal communication is a key
social skill, these findings are significant.
366 M H R U n it 3 • Socia l Science and Us

I N T H E F IE L D
Sport Psychologist Shaunna Taylor

FIGURE 8-4 Shaunna Taylor is a Canadian
An Olym pic ath lete faces a l ot of
sport psycholog ist. Why might an athlete
pressure when com peting at such a seek her services?
pro m i nent i nternational event. He or
she has expectations for g reatness
from thousands of people in the home and decision-making abil ities; and
country, not to mention the pressure he learn techn iques that enhance
or she has placed on h i mself or herself. performance. Sport psychologists a re
How do these athletes handle a l l the a lso there when ath letes face difficult
pressure to compete for their cou ntry? times such a s recovering from a n i njury,
How do el ite level ath letes keep thei r and facil itating the process to leave a n
doubts a t bay? el ite sport.
Many athletes turn to sport psychologists To become a sport psychologist, S h a u n n a ea rned
for help. Canadian Shaunna Taylor is one such an MA in Sport Performance Counsel ling and Menta l
psychologist. She is a member of the Canadian Preparation. She is a l so a certified counsellor and is
Sport Psychology Association and runs a private a mental preparation consultant. She is currently a
practice in Ottawa where she works with l ocal and doctoral candidate in the health sciences.
national ath letes. Sports psychologists work with
QUESTIONS
athletes both during thei r tra in i n g and during
thei r competiti o n . 1. What might attract a psychologist to sport
Sport psychology is an a ppl ied psychology psychology? What perso n a l ity characteristics
that h e l ps athletes i mprove their performa nce in would help a sport psychologist do his or her job?
a mu ltitude of ways. These psychologists work 2. In what sport(s) do you t h i n k a sports

with ath letes to reg u l ate their emotions and psychologist would be most benefi c i a l ?
stress; improve their confidence, concentration, Expla i n y o u r answer.
Other studies of young children who watch television have

shed light on other problems. The Quebec Longitudinal Study
of Child Development Main Exposure, run by psychologist
Dr. Linda S. Pagani, studied 1 31 4 children from the age of
29 months to 10 years. Parents noted how much television
their toddlers watched, and the children's body mass index was
recorded at the age of ten. Researchers discovered that when young
children watched too much TV, they were more likely to develop
problems such as obesity and poorer academic skills as assessed
by their teachers. Moreover, they were 10 percent more likely to
be victimized by their peers, including being rej ected, teased,
and assaulted .
FIGURE 8-5 These children are
I
watching television together. Is the
Gaming for Good?
television helping or hi ndering them
According to the 2008 U . S . study, Teens, Video Games, and Civics, socially? Is TV viewing a social behaviour
about 97 percent of teens play video games. This finding means or an independent behaviour?
video games have the potential to affect the vast majority of youth.

Recent studies that focus on violence and social skills development show
short-term aggression following the playing of violent video games; however,
there hasn't been a lot of research in this area. But researchers did discover
that teens are far more social while playing video games than was previously
thought. There are many popular multiplayer games that allow adolescents to
play with their friends present in the room or with others via the Internet.
In terms of younger children, significant research hasn't been done since
the 1 980s-and video games have come a long way since the days of " Pac
Man" -so the specific effects on young children are not as clear. Still, a 2008
study determined that 82 percent of two- to five-year-olds play video games,
so greater psychological investigation is now necessary. For now, experts
such as Dr. David Hutchison, a professor at Brock University who studies
video gaming and learning, say parents need to vary their children's activities
I
FIGURE 8-6 Pac Man
between video games and other social activities, such as playing sports and
was a popu lar game in
playing with their friends. Balance is the key.
the 1 980s. How have
video games changed Make a prediction about the impact of electronics use in the future on
since then?
social skills. What are some possible research questions?
Socialization and Immigration

When a family immigrates to a new country, each member goes through a
cross-cultural psychology: process of socialization. Cross-cultural psychology , a field of psychological
an area of study that looks research rooted in anthropology, focuses on aspects of culture, such as the
at the effect of culture on
human behaviour
psychological differences between the dominant culture and subcultures,
cultural ideas about intelligence, and the effect of culture and environment
on perception. Research on the socialization process for immigrants is starting
!
·-----------------------------------------
Con necti ng to emerge from this field.

!___ Psychology
Identity
to Anthropology
The concept of identity, and identity crisis, was developed by Erik Erikson
Cross-cultural psychologists
based on his own immigrant experience. While he discussed the notion
look at both universal
behaviours and unique in terms of adolescent development, the concept of identity is important
behaviours to identify the to understanding how newcomers establish their sense of self in a new
ways in which culture environment. Actually, an individual can have many identities, some of
impacts our behaviour, which overlap, including:
fam ily life, education, and
social experiences, among • ego identity: a conscious sense of self developed through social interactions,
other things. Ethnic identity which is constantly changing
is one area of interest to
• social identity: a sense of belonging based on membership in different
both anthropologists and
cross-cultural psychologists. groups (family, ethnic, occupational, etc . ) , which changes over one's life
• national identity: sense of belonging to a specific country and having
shared feelings, regardless of country of origin
More to Know... • cultural/ethnic identity: a connection to a cultural group that helps
Look back t o Chapter 2 define who a person is
to learn more about
Erikson's concept of How do you define yourself? Do any of your self-definitions overlap
identity crisis. or influence each other? You can use a mind map or software program to
demonstrate this visually.

Psychological Acculturation
John Berry, a psychology professor at Queen's University, has researched
acculturation, the meeting of two or more cultural groups and the More to Know...
resulting cultural changes to each group. Psychological acculturation You were introduced t o John
Berry's acculturation theory
describes the psychological effects that an individual experiences, such
in Chapter 7 .
as changes in attitude and behaviour, that result from acculturation.
Berry believes that the attitudes of individuals within a dominant and
nondominant (or immigrant) cultural group shape how they interact psychological acculturation:
and change one another as a result. change in the cultural behaviour
and thinking of a person or
The chart below describes the psychological preconditions of the group of people through contact
dominant group that influence the range of possible interactions with the with another culture
nondominant group . It also describes the attitudes of the nondominant
group. Finally, the arrows show that the behaviours of each group are
behavioural shift:
altered due to their interaction. Any behaviour is subject to change. This a change in behaviour resulting
change is called behavioural shift . from contact with another culture
POTENTIAL ACCULTU RATION STRATEG I E S
N ondominant Group (Immigrant) Strategies Dominant Group Strategies
• Integration: Some aspects of the original culture • M ulticultural: Most individuals accept cultural
are m a i nta ined, but there is participation in the diversity.
larger culture . Example: society accepts people from a l l cu ltures
Example: wearing the h ijab (Muslim head sca rf) with l iving in the com mun ity.
jeans and a T-sh i rt .
• Separation: Individuals choose t o keep their • Segregation: Most individuals demand the
cu ltural heritage and avoid contact with other separation of newcomers from the dominant g roup.
cu ltural g roups. Exam ple: the belief that newcomers from China
Example: l iving, worki ng, shopping, com m u n i cati ng, m u st l ive in Chinatown.
and spending spare time solely with in Little Ita ly.
• Assimilation: I ndividuals want to have daily • Melting pot: Most individuals expect newcomers to
interaction with other cultural g roups and leave adapt to the dominant culture .
behind their own cu ltural heritage. Example: the belief that everyone who lives i n Canada
Exam ple: wea ring jeans and a T-shirt and no should have the same attitudes and practices.
longer wea ring the hijab.
• Marginalization: I ndividuals may not m a i ntain • Exclusion: Marginalization is imposed by m ost of the
their cultural heritage and do not have relationships dominant g roup.
with others. Example: forcing others to act as "Canadians. "
Example: feeling pressured to forego your G reek
heritage but sti l l feeling i solated from others.
R E FLE C T AN D R ES P O N D
1 . How does psychological acculturation relate to anthropology and

sociology?
2 . Compare the chart entitled "Social Development Needs from Birth to
1 2 Years" on page 3 64 to Piaget's and Erikson's stages of development.
How are they similar? What accounts for their differences?
3. In pairs, list foods from various ethnic groups that you can find in your
local grocery store. How can acculturation explain how Canadians
connect with immigrants through food?

Conformity
One topic of interest to social psychologists is when and why people
Before You Read
choose to conform to groups. As you learned in Chapter 6, conformity is the
List the situations in
inclination to align your attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours with those around
your l ife when you were
expected to do what the you . Examples include what you wear and the music you listen to. What are
group was doing. the pressures that people encounter? Consider the following scenario: You are
with a group of friends who are teasing another student. What do you do?
Join in? Walk away? Speak up?
While there have been many experiments to understand the nature of
conformity, a few stand out as being more influential. Psychologist A. Jenness
was the first social psychologist to study conformity. In 1 93 2 , he used the
ambiguous situation of having participants guess the number of beans in a
glass j ar. He found that participants' answers changed once they heard what
others in the group thought. Jenness's work was expanded on by Muzafer
Sherif in 1 93 5 with his Autokinetic Effect experiment, in which participants
guessed how far a small speck of light projected onto a screen in a dark room
had moved. When put in groups, participants' estimates tended to conform to
those of others in the group. Finally, Solomon Asch's series of experiments,
which you learned about at the beginning of this chapter, demonstrated the
FIGURE 8-7 H ow many
beans do you th i n k there impact that group social pressure can have on individual decision making.
a re in this jar? Do you
think your a n swer would Factors That Affect Conformity
change if you learned
Social psychologists have learned that there are various factors that affect
others had radica lly
whether an individual will conform. The chart below provides a summary
different guesses?
of these factors and how they have been demonstrated through research.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT CONFORMITY
Factor Source I nfluence on Conformity I

G roup size Solomon Asch I Large g roups tend to have higher rates of conform ity; however, that rate
doesn't change much after g roups reach fou r or five members.
G roup unanim ity M uzafer Sherif When everyone in a g roup a ppears to agree, participant conformity is
Solomon Asch h i g h . Even one person voicing disagreement decreases the conformity of
Philip Zimbardo participants.
Public vs. private M uzafer Sherif When participants a re able to g ive a n swers privately (for example, written
response Solomon Asch rather than spoken), conform ity decreases.
Self-esteem Solomon Asch Those with lower self-esteem a re more l i kely to conform beca use they want
Philip Zimbardo to belong. Conversely, participants a re less li kely to conform when they a re
confident in themselves or their abil ities.
Ambiguous M uzafer Sherif When a task is difficult or ambiguous, participants look to others in the g roup
situation or Solomon Asch for cues as to how to react, assu ming the others wi l l know what to do. The
difficult task more difficult the task, the greater the conform ity.
Status of Solomon Asch If a g roup member is knowledgeable, such as a teacher, or has a high status,
mem bers Stan ley M i l g ra m s u c h as a workplace superior, other participants a re l ikely t o conform t o that
or g roup person's views. There is also higher conformity to a g roup that has high status.
Which of the factors that affect conformity have you experienced?

Provide examples.

The Effects of Conformity
It turns out that conforming isn't necessarily a bad thing. Rather it's a natural
aspect of social interaction. Have you ever noticed that you might act, dress,
or speak in a similar manner as your friends do? The chameleon effect, chameleon effect:
which is the mimicking of others' body language, actually happens quite the mimicking of the body
language of a person with
often and helps others like us. For example, in the past, boys emulated
whom we are interacting
Justin Bieber's haircut. In their 1 999 study, Tanya Chartrand and John Bargh
conducted a series of experiments to test the theory. One experiment included
78 participants who interacted with confederates-people who were part of
the research team but acted as subjects in front of the real participants. When V O I C ES
When people are free
the confederates altered their body language to mimic that of the participants,
to do as they please,
they scored higher in a survey that measured likeability. In other words, we are they usually imitate
more apt to like others who act the way we do. each other.
As you learned in Chapter 6, social psychologist Irving Janis first defined Eric Hoffer, writer
groupthink in 1 9 7 2 . In psychology, this concept can be used to explain faulty

decisions, largely made by policy makers in groups. Groupthink results
in ignoring reasonable alternatives in favour of taking irrational actions.
Conditions that allow groupthink to exist include an isolated, cohesive
group that has a strong or authoritarian leader. For example, engineers of
the 1 986 Space Shuttle Challenger raised concerns about faulty parts prior
to its launch, but a group at NASA decided to have the launch as planned to
avoid negative press. The space shuttle exploded, and all aboard died.
Janis defined eight symptoms of groupthink:
EIGHT SYMPTOM S OF GROUPTHI N K
1 . an illusion of invul nerability, shared by m ost or a l l the members, which creates excessive optimism and
encourages taking extrem e risks;
2. collective efforts to rationalize in order to discount warn ings which m ig ht lead the m em bers to reconsider their
assumptions . . . ;
3. an unquestioned belief in the group's inherent morality, inclining the m e mbers to ignore the eth ical or m oral
consequences of their decisions;
4. stereotyped views of enemy leaders as too evil to warrant genuine attempts to negotiate, or as too weak and
stupid to counter whatever risky attempts a re made to defeat their purposes;
5. direct pressure on any membe r who expresses strong arg u m ents against a ny of the g rou p's stereotypes, i l lusions,
or comm itments . . . ;
6. self-censorship of deviations from the apparent g roup consensus, reflecting each mem ber's inclination to m i n i m ize
to h imself [or herself] the i mportance of his [or her] doubts and countera rg u ments;
7. a shared illusion of unanimity concern ing judgments conforming to the majority view (partly resulting from
self-censorsh i p of deviations, a u g mented by the false assum ption that silence means consent);
8. the e mergence of self-appointed mindguards-members who protect the g roup from adverse information that
m i g ht shatter their shared complacency about the effectiveness and m ora l ity of thei r decisions.
There are ways to limit the effect of groupthink. For example, inviting
experts from outside the group or a " devil's advocate, " someone whose job
is constructive criticism, can help. Also, the leader of the group should avoid
giving his or her opinion so others do what they believe is right, not what
they think is expected.
Think back to the earlier scenario where a group of your friends are teasing
another student. How are the factors of conformity playing a role there?

The Bystander Effect
If you saw someone i n need of help, wou ld you help On the other hand, once other people a re
that person? What if you were i n a large crowd? The present, the fol l owing fou r mecha n isms may come
bystan d e r effect is a concept i n socia l psychology i nto play, leading to the bystander effect:
used to explain why the l a rger the n umber of people • self-awareness: When an individual fee ls there is
in a g roup, the less l i kely it is that individuals will an a ud ience, his or her actions may be i nh ibited
stop to h e l p someone i n a n emergency. Sometimes beca use of the fea r of making a fool of hi mself o r
this concept is ca l l ed Genovese syndrome because herself in front of others.
it is l i n ked to the terrible murder of Kitty Genovese • social cues: People l ook to others for cues of
(see Figure 8-8). how to behave. So, if no one acts, it reinforces
On a New York City night in 1 964, Kitty was the notion that no one should act.
attacked severa l times by a stranger wh i l e wa lking • blocking mechanisms: In an emergency situation
to her a pa rtment. The fi rst sta bbing was i n a where there a re a l ot of people a round, someone
sta i rwel l that was clea rly visible by neighbouring stepping in to act (for exa mple, to help a victim)
a pa rtments. A neighbour shouted at the attacker can actu a l l y block othe rs from doing so.
and he fled. She survived the first attack, but her • diffusion of resp o nsibility: People assume that
attacker retu rned ten m i n utes later, stabbed her someone e l se will help so they don't have to.
repeatedly, and sexua l ly assau lted her. While she
screamed for help, 38 of her neighbours opened Using Virtual Reality to Understand the
their wi ndows and turned on thei r lights, yet did Bystander Effect
noth ing to stop the attack. However, once the Although n u merous experiments have studied
attacker left, someone did ca l l the pol ice. Why the bysta nder effect in a contro l led environment,
did no one h e l p Kitty? it would be u nethical to test the theory in a rea l
emergen cy. H owever, researchers will soon have
FIGURE 8-8 Kitty an opportun ity to study how real people react to
Genovese's screams for extreme situations th a n ks to "virtual h u mans" that
help were heard by her a re being created by Professor Jian Zhang at the
neighbo u rs, yet nobody National Centre for Com puter Ani mation (N CCA)
cam e to help her as she in England. These virtual h u m a n s w i l l be used to
was being stabbed and measure behaviou ra l , physiologica l , emotional,
sexua l ly assaulted. and cogn itive responses to situations i n a virtua l
worl d . I ncreasing ly, psychologists a re l i n king u p with
computer a n i mation specia l i sts to create contro l l ed
environments for social psychology expe riments.
QUESTIONS
If an individual sees another person who needs 1 . Should there be a law stating that bystanders
help, he or she is l i kely to do so. However, certai n m ust i ntervene? Explain why or why not.
criteria must b e met. Psychologists J o h n Da rley 2 . O n Ch ristmas Day, 201 0, a U . K . woman
and Bibb Latane ( 1 968) determined that in order announced on her Facebook page that she
to help someone in an emergency, an i ndividual had taken many pills and would soon be dead.
must first notice the incident, then inte rp ret it a s Some of her 1 082 "friends" commented on
a n emergency, and fin a l ly assume responsibil ity her status, yet none cal led for help or went to
for helping. An individual is a lso more l i kely to h e l p check on her. Her l ifeless body was d iscovered
if h e o r s h e is t h e o n ly person who has witnessed the next day. What does this suggest about the
an incident. bysta nder effect i n the digital age?
372 MHR U nit 3 • Socia l Science and Us

Issues in Youth Conformity
In 2006, the alleged terrorist plot of the "Toronto 1 8 " was discovered. Eighteen serotonin:
people had allegedly been recruited by AI Qaeda to commit acts of terrorism in a chemical messenger in the
brain that is associated with
Canada. There were plots to blow up prominent buildings and to create a large
feelings of well-being
AI Qaeda type cell in Toronto, with the aim to create disorder that would scare
Canadians into withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. What's interesting is that
the group was composed entirely of young males, most under the age of 2 5 .
Based o n research o n young men, there i s some evidence that shows that young
men are more likely to join a terrorist group. Why is this so?
University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson believes the
link between serotonin and social status is one key. He has discovered in his
studies with rhesus monkeys-which tend to travel in all-male groups after
puberty-that if their social status decreases, so does the serotonin levels in
their brains. This suggests that our need to have status within a group, and
thus belong to a group, is biological. Added to this, developmental psychology
professor Marc Lewis points out that the brains of teenage males are not fully
developed, especially the prefrontal cortex that controls decision making and FIGURE 8-9 Teenage
planning ahead . Finally, psychologist William Pollack believes boys are still boys tend to hang out
socialized according to old values of being brave, strong, and macho. Of course, together i n g roups.
What does the boys'
the percentage of boys who engage in extreme behaviour is low, but the
body language tel l you
pressure to j oin a group and conform to its philosophy can sometimes lead
about their social status
young people to make decisions they would otherwise never contemplate.
in this g roup?
Nonconformity
There are always those who do not conform to the group or obey authority.
For example, not everyone in Asch's experiment conformed to the group.
What is different about these people or the way they think?
One reason could be a sense of morality. According to Lawrence
Kohl berg's theory of moral development, some people will not conform
VO I C E S
because of their moral beliefs. His stages of development are loosely based on Never doubt that a small
Piaget's stages but move beyond them in scope. In early childhood , morality group of thoughtful,
is related to avoiding punishment or gaining rewards. If they reach the sixth committed citizens
can change the world;
and final stage, individuals no longer base their morality on what is socially
indeed, it's the only thing
acceptable, but on what is moral in principle. These individuals are not likely that ever has.
to conform to a group that is doing something wrong because they are guided Margaret Mead
by their own ethical principles and are not seeking approval by the group.
R E FLECT A N D R ES PO N D
1 . Which factors of conformity are confirmed by Asch's experiment?

2. How might conformity be experienced in the workplace? How could you
research this topic?
3. In 2002 , there was speculation that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction
and the administration of President George W. Bush created a policy of
"pre-emptive use of military force against terrorists and rogue nations. "
How does the U . S . attack on Iraq fall under the category of groupthink?

Prejudice: A Psychological Perspective
Think back to Chapter 6. Prej udice is prejudgment or judgement of someone
Before You Read
based on stereotypes and biases. How can psychology help us understand the
Make a l ist of the groups
roots of prej udice and how to overcome it?
to which you belong.
How do you define
yourself in those groups? Prejudice
Does your self-defi n ition
As you learned in Chapter 6, in 1 9 54 social psychologist Muzafer Sherif and
change when you are in
d ifferent groups? his colleagues conducted the Robbers Cave experiment that studied the roots
of prejudice between two groups. They divided twenty-two 1 1 -year-old boys
into two groups at a camp. While each group bonded doing regular camp
activities and created group names and flags, they were unaware of the
More to Know...
other's existence. Then the groups were allowed to find each other and
You learned about
intergroup conflict soon emerged in the form of name calling and singing
Sherif's study in
Chapter 6. How do mean-spirited songs about the group. This simple experiment demonstrated
his ideas apply to the how quickly and easily individuals identify with a group and create conflict
psychology of group with those outside that group.
thinking?
lngroups and Outgroups
We can understand the boys' behaviour in Sherif's experiment in terms of
ingroup:
a social group formed when ingroups (any social group to which an individual feels he or she belongs)
its members identify with and outgroups (any individuals who don't belong to the social group in which
one another
an individual feels he or she belongs) . An ingroup is formed when members
outgroup: identify with one another. For example, when your school competes with
a social group toward another, ingroups and outgroups are clearly defined and obvious on the field
which an individual feels
or arena. Members of an ingroup do not necessarily behave in a hostile way
disrespect or opposition;
sometimes treated badly
toward outgroups. It is a sense of belonging that bonds them. In fact, most
by the ingroup of us belong to many ingroups. H owever, sometimes-as in the case of
Sherif's campers-hostile behaviour does help reinforce a group's
"I-t's si(V) p\ e - 'fe>v ca "·+ h<>.ve identity and sense of belonging. Understanding the interplay
0<. >'1 i"'- c-<o w d v n l e s s 'fO'-'
between ingroups and outgroups can help us understand why
1 ea. v e <;o rnebod 'l o_0" of i-1- some groups become hostile toward others.
""ifh o'-'+ u Y"1C.. ool , f \.-oec-e i s r""l o
'1 ° u ' l e According to psychologist Gordon Allport, " Hostility toward
c_oo l . So 'o o.s"• c.. a..\ 1 /
•
(\Of h"• " ':J vv.•+h ov-t fYi e . HA I outgroups helps strengthen our sense of belonging, but it is not
required . . . . The familiar is preferred. What is alien is regarded as
somehow inferior, less 'good,' but there is not necessarily hostility
against it. . . " ( 1 954, p. 42) . Allport recognized that attachment to one
group does not necessarily mean hostility toward another. H owever,
he realized that ingroups require something that differentiates them
from other groups that indicates who is "in" and who is "out. "
This differentiation, by definition, involves defining who is part of
" u s " and who is not, and ingroups therefore imply outgroups. For
Sv1-i e wovld la..t er w i n o.. example, members of your school's basketball team are an ingroup.
r FIGURE 8-1 0
N ob e.l Pri -z.. e- .fo ..- h er \he<:>c-y of
SpeC.:• «.\ Soc.ia..l R el cd i v ·o ty. By definition, if you're not on the team you're part of the outgroup.
This does not mean that the team members view others as inferior;
Explain Suzie s
'
it j ust means that there are people who are not on the team.
reasons for speaking to the g roup
i n terms of i n g roups and outgroups.

Hate Crimes in Canada
More to Know...
Figure 8-11 shows the prevalence of hate crimes in Canada. Compared to other
Look back t o Chapter 2
violent crimes, hate crimes have a greater impact on victims and communities
to read more about the
because they target people for core features of their identity. Effects of hate defence mechanism of
crimes on victims often include psychological distress, such as depression, projection.
stress, anger, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The effects on communities
are equally significant. The offender sends a message that members of the
group are not welcome in a particular neighbourhood, school, or workplace.
Open for Debate
Thus hate crimes victimize the individual as well as entire communities.
On October 7, 1 998,
Who commits hate crimes? Researchers have found that aggression and Matthew Shepard
anti-social behaviour is common and perpetrators seem " normal. " Many was brutally assaulted
have a family history of violence and abuse. Some researchers suggest that and murdered because
perpetrators of hate crimes use the defence mechanism of projection, whereby he was gay. While
homosexuals and trans
they unconsciously direct feelings about themselves onto another person to
gendered i ndividuals
help cope with their own abuse.
have equal rights under
What can be done about hate crimes? Aside from the need for strong the law, they continue
legislation to respond to crimes, it is also important to challenge stereotypes, to be the target of
reduce intergroup conflicts, and encourage understanding and appreciation of hate crimes. Does the
others' diversities. Individuals have to take a stand . psychology of ingroups
and outgroups provide
a viable explanation for
80
"'
this behaviour? Explain.
"' 70 • Police-reported hate crime, 2006 FIGURE 8-1 1 Look for trends
E
• Victim-reported hate crime, 2004 in the graph, and use you r
60
"'
'l;j understanding of psychological
::1: 50
19 theories to propose reasons for VO I C ES
{:. 40 those trends. Also, why m ight The social psychology
'S
"' 30 there be a d isparity between of this century reveals a
C)
.B police-reported and victim major lesson: often it is
c:
"'
20
not so much the kind
"' reported hate crimes?
a.. 10 of person a man [sic] is
as the kind of situation
0
Race/ Gender Other in which he finds himself
ethnicity Orientation that determines how he
Reasons for Crime will act.
Stanley Milgram
(Obedience to Authority:
Prejudice and the Brain An Experimental View,
1 9 74)
Even when we consciously try not to j udge people based on their appearance,
our brains do so anyway, to a certain extent. Psychology professor Stephen
Porter, at the University of British Columbia, says that, according to his 2010
study, our brains take as little as 38 milliseconds to j udge trustworthiness in
the faces of those we've just met . Our brains are looking for three indications :
signs of dominance (associated with violence) , strong facial features (associated
with anger) , and symmetry (associated with attractiveness) . H owever, our
unconscious biases are not always trustworthy. In other studies, participants
could accurately tell the difference between whether or not someone was
lying only about 50 percent of the time. What does this suggest about our
first impressions of people?
What implications do Stephen Porter's findings on prej udice have for

judges and j uries in our legal system?

Jane Elliot: Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes
In 1 968, elementary school teacher Jane Elliot conducted Results
an experiment in her classroom that would lead her The results were astounding. Elliot remarked,
students and others to change the way they thought "I watched what had been marvellous, co-operative,
about racism and prejudice. In response to the assas wonderful, thoughtful children turn into nasty, vicious,
sination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , she devised a discriminating little third-graders in a space of 15 minutes
scenario that taught her all-white Grade 3 students (Frontline- "A Class Divided "). " She also discovered
about the roots of discrimination and racism by having that the children who had been told they were smarter
each student experience it firsthand. Her exercise and the actually performed better in testing. Likewise, the
student reunion 14 years later have been documented children who were wearing the collars performed
in the film A Class Divided. worse in testing and their behaviour changed. Some
Elliot had 28 students in her class. She began her became sullen while others behaved wor e than ever
lesson by discussing news of the assassination and before. She had not told the students to behave in any
then moved on to discuss racism and discrimination in particular manner, yet they subconsciously demonstrated
general. While her students were familiar with the topics discriminatory behaviour.
and understood that racism was wrong, she couldn't
stop there because of their "sympathetic indifference. " I nfluence
None of them, in their all-white community of 898, Today, Elliot still gets invited to conduct this experiment,
had experienced racism. Nor did they know very much albeit in adult workplaces. Her findings with adult workers
about people of other races. What they did know tended are no different than with the Grade 3 ch\]dren over
to be negative, which Elliot presumed was learned from 40 years ago: people still treat those who are seen as
their parents, television, and inferior in a nega ve manner.
radio. She asked the children if Elliot is now trying to change
they thought they knew what it attitudes toward race, sex, and
was like to be Black in America homosexuality.
and if they 'd like to find out. What about the children
They answered yes. from her class? N(i)t only did
they go home and tell their
The Experiment
parents how bad racism was,
Elliot began by randomly they never forgot their lesson.
dividing the class into "blue In follow-up reunions and
eyed" and "brown-eyed" groups. interviews, they continue to
I
FIGURE 8-1 2 Jane Elliot's G rade 3 class
Immediately she established that show the positive effects of the
during the experiment. What does the
the "blue-eyed " children were experiment, saying that they
body language suggest about this g roup
smarter and better than the believe they are more empathic
of students?
others. She praised them and and sensitive peof1le as a result.
gave them privileges such
as a longer recess and being first in the lunch line. QUESTIONS
Meanwhile, the "brown-eyed" children were given 1 . Why did Jane El liot feel this exercise was the
collars to wear and were disciplined and ridiculed for
best way to teach her students about prejudice?
the smallest of errors (see Figure 8-12 ) . A few days later,
Elliot made the brown-eyed group the superior group 2. Do you think E l l iot's experiment would meet
and made the blue-eyed group wear the collars. today's ethical guidelines for psychologists?
Explain why or why not.
3. What changes might E l l iot use in her adult
workplace experiments?

Scapegoating
Open for Debate
Have you ever been blamed for something you didn't do? As you learned Is there such thing as an
in Chapter 6, scapegoating refers to pushing the blame and responsibility " altruism i nstinct"? I n a
away from oneself and onto others. For example, in experiments where recent study of three
students were made to experience failure, they subsequently put down month-olds, the babies
often selected puppets that
another person or a rival school in order to restore their own self-esteem. A
were shown helping other
person's anger and hostility are projected outward at the scapegoat target, puppets over those that
leading to an "us versus them" mentality, which can then lead to serious didn't. If we prefer those
negative consequences. Individuals, such as those in an outgroup, can be who help others, then why
targeted individually or as a whole. This can happen anywhere in society is the bystander effect
so strong?
-at school , on a sports team, at home, or at work. For example, when a
group of students who dress very differently from most of the others at
school are automatically blamed for vandalism, they are scapegoats. Even
nations and ethnic groups can be scapegoats as you read in Chapter 6 . ! Connecting
Psychologists believe there are several elements at play that explain !.__ Psychology
why scapegoating occurs. Targeting a scapegoat could be a psychological
to Sociology --·
defence mechanism that protects the perpetrator from feeling unacceptable

Scapegoating can be an
emotions, such as hostility and guilt. Also self-deception could be involved
outcome of frustration
because the accuser denies her or his own feelings of shame and guilt. Since aggression theory. I m migrants
this denial is often done unconsciously, it is difficult for the accuser to stop are often scapegoated during
himself or herself from scapegoating. Make sure when you accuse someone harsh economic times as others
of an offence that you have concrete proof to avoid creating a scapegoat. blame them for their lack of
financial stability. As people
become increasingly frustrated
Promoting Heroism at their lack of job opportunities,
they blame newcomers for
Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist whose work has shown how easily evil
taking their jobs.
acts can be encouraged, is now researching heroism. He and his fellow
researchers in the Heroic Imagination Project believe that each of us
has the potential to be a hero. They hope to demystify how people WAYS TO PROMOTE H E ROIC
choose to be heroes-instead of succumbing to issues such as the I MAGINATION I N CHILDREN
bystander effect-so that every one of us can feel as if we can make 1 . Encourage awareness. Heroes
a positive difference in the lives of those around us. have a good sense of when
Already Zimbardo has tips for how to encourage what he calls people a re in trouble. If we
sense that thi ngs a re a l ittle
" heroes in waiting" in children. Essentially, we need to foster " heroic bit out of place or don't fit, we
imaginations " in children by using the guidelines in the chart at the right. can avert the danger before
it happens, l i ke stopping a
bul lying classmate.
R E F L E C T AND R ES P OND 2. Show kids they have the
power to resolve confl i cts.
Teach kids that it's more heroic
1 . How could the Heroic Imagination Project b e used t o foster positive to resolve conflicts th rough
behaviour/citizenship in younger students? dialogue than by fighting.
2 . How can psychologists be employed to reduce hate crimes? 3. Foster action instead of
i naction. It's easy to be a
3 . Zimbardo's Heroic Imagination Project is an example of which bystander when we see
psychological school of thought? someone being b u l l ied, but
research shows that kids are
4. Prepare an oral presentation about ingroups and outgroups in
more l ikely to do something
your community. Be sure to have a hypothesis. if their parents and friends
expect them to.

Issues in Mental Illness
Our social attitudes about mental illness have changed dramatically throughout
Before You Read
the last century. No longer are relatives with mental illness locked up in
How is mental i l lness
"insane asylums " and forgotten . However, problems still exist that affect the
portrayed in the media
and by society? lives of Canadians with mental health concerns.
The Stigma of Mental Illness

As we have seen with outgroups, those who are different from us are
stigma: sometimes seen in a negative manner. This can lead to prej udice and stigmas.
a belief that leads to social A stigma is a belief that leads to social disgrace. Many people with mental
disgrace
illness are stigmatized.
The consequences of a stigma can be devastating for the recipient. People
who are stigmatized can feel fear and face rejection in various areas of their
VO I C ES lives. They might have difficulties getting or maintaining a job and a loss of
A nation's greatness self-esteem. Sometimes they avoid getting the help they need because they
is measured by how
it treats its weakest
feel embarrassed.
members. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health , one in five
Mahatma Ghandi Canadians will experience mental illness in his or her lifetime. Yet the stigma
associated with mental illness does not appear to be going away, according
to the Canadian Medical Association. Its 2008 survey measured people's
experiences with and attitudes toward the health care system, including
mental health. The survey uncovered the following attitudes:
Skills Focus
The Canadian Medical • Almost half of Canadians, 46 percent, think people use the term mental
Association used a illness as an excuse for bad behaviour.
survey to uncover the
attitudes of Canadians • One in four Canadians are fearful of being around those who suffer from
toward mental i l l ness. serious mental illness.
Suggest relevant topics • Half of Canadians would tell friends or co-workers that they have a family
related to mental i llness
member with a mental illness, compared to 72 percent for a diagnosis of
within you r school for
which a survey woul d cancer or 68 percent for diabetes.
be appropriate. • Most Canadians, 61 percent, would be unlikely to go to a family doctor
with a mental illness, and 58 percent would shy away from hiring a lawyer,
child care worker, or financial adviser with the illness.
With mental illness affecting so many of us, why is there still

a stigma? For one thing, stereotypes of mental illness are shown as
negative in popular culture. Horror movies are filled with "psychos"
killing innocent people. People also casually throw around terms
such as crazy in everyday conversation. Finally, mental illness has
not been discussed openly and honestly in society. Frank discussions
would allow for a more positive viewpoint of mental illness.
Six-time Olympic medallist Clara Hughes is hoping to eliminate
the stigma of mental illness (see Figure 8- 1 3) . She has j oined a
I
FIGURE 8-1 3 Clara Hughes, who
once suffered from depression, national campaign to get people talking about mental illness in an
smiles as she announces her i nvolve open and honest manner. After her first Olympic games, Hughes
ment in a campaign to e l i m inate the suffered from depression and now wants to ensure that others have an
stigma of m ental i l lness. opportunity to get the help they need if they face a similar situation.

Facing Stigma
Each of us deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. The Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health has seven suggestions to change the prejudice
and discrimination faced by those experiencing mental illness :
1 . Know the facts: educate yourself about the facts, not the myths.
2. Be aware of your attitudes and behaviour: everyone grows up with some negative attitudes from
family, friends, and society, but we can change the way we think and see people as unique human
beings and not stereotypes.
3 . Choose your words carefully: speak with accurate and sensitive words; for example, say "a person
with schizophrenia" instead of saying "a schizophrenic. "
4. Educate others: challenge myths and negative attitudes with positive, real information.
5 . Focus on the positive: focus on the positive contribution that everyone, including those with
mental illness, can make to society.
6. Support people: treat all individuals with dignity and respect, and support their efforts to get well.
7 . Include everyone: ensure that everyone has the opportunity to take an equal part in society.
Diagnoses and Medication

Another issue in the area of mental health, sometimes related to stigma, is
the overdiagnosis and overuse of medication. Medication is often used to help
children diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
or Asperger syndrome (an autism spectrum disorder) far too often and at times
incorrectly. The increase in these diagnoses can be attributed to a number of
factors, such as increased knowledge of symptoms. H owever, some psychia
trists argue that these diagnoses are being used as a quick fix for a child who
misbehaves. How can we ensure that people are not being wrongly diagnosed?
Seniors often face the opposite problem: they are often underdiagnosed. In
one study, only about half of seniors with symptoms of major depression were
being treated for it by their doctors. This happens because their symptoms
are misread as signs of aging or as part of physical conditions. As well,
mental illness symptoms often look different in seniors than in young people,
and there are often access issues due to the poor mobility of many seniors.
Finally, the stigma of mental illness can stop seniors from seeking the help
they need. Conversely, seniors are easily overmedicated. To help them deal
with difficult feelings that come with aging, such as sadness, grief, and
anxiety, they are prescribed drugs as a quick fix.
R E F L E C T AND R E S P OND
1 . In your own words, explain why there is still a stigma around mental
illness in Canada.
2. Suggest concrete measures that your school could take to improve
attitudes toward mental illness.
3. Research with a partner the mental health supports available in your
community. Communicate to your peers orally and/or visually.

Personality and Environment
rom our home to the workp l ace, i nfl uences on our person a l ity abound. So far
Before You Read

F we've seen how our sense of self can be i nfl uenced by socia l ization. In this
How would you describe section, you will explore the va rious i nfl uences on your perso n a l ity, i n c l u d i n g fam i l y
your fam ily's values to e nvironment, t h e media, and t h e workplace.
someone you just met?
Make a l ist of the words
you would use. Then ask
I nfluence of Family Environment
a friend to describe your
personality. Write down Have you ever visited a friend and noticed that his or her family members
the words your friend
speak or behave in a similar way to that of your friend? That 's because the
uses in a column beside
family influences many aspects of your personality and behaviour. The way
your first list. Is there a
connection between you interact with your parents and siblings can have a great influence on the
your personality and way you conduct yourself in other situations.
your fami ly?
Parental Influence
l
While there is some debate about exactly how much influence the family
Skills Focus
has on an individual's personality, most psychologists believe family is
As social scientists,
instrumental, especially in the early years of development. Generally, there
psychologists try to
gather empi rical data are at least three ways in which parents can influence the emotional and
to support explanations. behavioural responses of their children:
Of the three mechanisms
1 . Direct interaction: This involves direct communication between the parent
of parental i nfluence
and child. It includes the transfer of knowledge, such as naming an
direct interaction,
emotional identification, unfamiliar object in a book. Parents ' rewarding of desired behaviours and
and family stories-which punishment of behaviours that are undesired are also part of this influence.
one do you think is the
2. Emotional identification: By the age of four or five, children unconsciously
easiest for psychologists
to measure? Why?
believe that some of their parents' attributes, including personality and
character, are their own. For example, a child whose father is shy may
believe that he or she is also timid . This tendency is stronger among
children who have unique physical features that are similar to those of
More to Know...
a parent. Children also identify with the family's class and ethnic or
Look back t o Chapter 5
to learn more about religious group. These identifications have a greater influence if parents
how your birth order act on what they say. A child is more likely to value the arts if his or her
m ight influence your parents both encourage a love for the arts in their child and demonstrate
personality. an interest in them, which often reflects the class of the family.
3 . Family stories: A more symbolic form of identification occurs through the
telling of stories or myths of particularly accomplished family members.
For example, a parent may tell the story of Grandma who started her own
business or of cousin Johnny who competed in the Olympics. On hearing
the recounting of a story, a child feels a sense of pride due to the biological
relation he or she has to these successful family members.
FIGURE 8-1 4 How d o our parents shape our personal ities?

Our parents' influence also extends beyond childhood. For example,
a child whose parental interactions focused on vocabulary development
early on is more likely to master elementary school tasks and, as a result,
j FIGURE 8-1 5 Parenting styles
a re a complex combi nation of
factors. Thi n k of a parent you
feel more confident as he or she progresses through school. know, and consider where he or
she would fit in this model.
How Can Parenting Styles Influence Personality? RESPONSIVENESS

High Low
How did your parents or guardians react the last time you did
Cl Authoritative Authoritarian
something you knew was wrong? The answer might indicate :i: • set and enforce rules • impose rules and
the type of parenting style they use. Developmental psycholo consistently, and expect obedience
gists often turn to the parenting style categories developed in the explain the reasons
en
1 960s: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, or neglectful. en
w
Figure 8- 1 5 describes each of the parenting styles. z
t:l
z
Responsiveness refers to how much parents try to foster their i5
z
child 's individuality and self-regulation by understanding and oct
:E
w
supporting his or her needs. Demandingness indicates the c
way parents try to get their children involved in the family as
Permissive Neglectful
a whole, their maturity expectations, and their willingness to
== • have few rules and • are uninvolved
confront and discipline a disobedient child. 0
..... use little punishment and expect little
Parenting Style and Personality

Studies have shown that each parenting style is correlated to particular
behavioural outcomes (see chart on the upper right) . Keep in mind that
psychologists can speak only in terms of generalities because there are
other genetic and environmental influences on personality.
It is important to note that although there is a correlation between the
parents' style of parenting and their child's behaviour, it does not mean that
the parenting style is the cause of the child's behaviour. It's possible that the
child's behaviour is, in fact, influencing the way in which his or her parents
respond. Other factors, such as common genes, may also influence both the
parent and the child.
In addition, most parents do not neatly fit into one category. Some
FIGURE 8-1 6 Which
researchers argue that these categories should really be viewed as a continuum parenting style is
since most parents tend to show some overlap between two categories. represented i n this
While most child-rearing experts agree that an authoritative parenting style photo? How m ight this
is the most effective, this may not hold true across cultures. In cultures where style affect the child in
obedience is highly valued, an authoritarian style may be viewed as most desired. psycholog ical terms?
PARENTING STYLES
Parenting Style Children's Behaviour
Authoritative Chi ldren a re well behaved and do wel l at school, are emotionally hea lthy, and are socially adept.
Auth o rita ria n Chi ldren a re relatively well behaved , their socia l ski l l s a re not as strong, and they are more l ikely to
suffer from a nxiety, depression, and poor self-esteem.
Permissive Ch i ldren a re not as h i g h achievers at school and have good social skills, higher self-esteem, and
lower a nxiety and depression rates, but they a re more l ikely to show p roblematic behaviour such
as drug use.
Neglectfu l Ch i ldren a re l ikely to have low acade m i c achievement and low self-estee m .

Issues Related to Family Environment
While issues such as eating disorders and criminal behaviour have root
causes in both biology and environment, the role of the family environment
is of particular interest to researchers.
Eating Disorders
In Canada, 1 to 8 percent of people have an eating disorder called bulimia
nervosa, in which they binge on high-calorie foods and then make themselves
vomit to reduce the guilt for having overeaten. Anorexia nervosa, an eating
disorder in which a normal-weight person diets and becomes significantly
underweight, affects fewer than 1 percent of Canadians. Eating disorders such
as anorexia, bulimia, and overeating are illnesses for which there is no one
single cause. However, much research has been done to investigate some of
the possible causes.
A negative family environment can be a contributing factor, as can social
and cultural pressures, hormonal abnormalities, and even genetic factors.
Parental views of weight are also a factor. In one American study, 40 percent
of 9- and 10-year-old girls who were worried about their weight were urged
to lose weight by their mothers. Also, studies show that people suffering
from bulimia are more likely to have a family history of emotional disorders,
obesity, and addiction. Those with anorexia are more likely to come from a
family that is competitive and high achieving.
According to the Canadian Psychological Association, family therapy is
an effective approach to treating these disorders, especially for young people.
However, it is important for parents to model healthy eating habits for their
children from a young age, since this can positively influence their eating
habits, which can help prevent eating disorders before they start.
Criminal Behaviour
Problems that exist in the family environment can have negative effects on
children. For example, psychologists Nadia Garnefski and Sjoukje Okma's
study of nearly three thousand 1 5-and 1 6-year-old students found a correlation
between growing up in a home that has a weak family bond with poor
communication skills and developing anti-social, aggressive, or criminal
behaviour. Home life is, of course, not the only factor, and because this is j ust
a correlation, we cannot conclude that a negative home life causes criminal
behaviour. Other studies indicate that the children of parents who are violent
and have been arrested are more likely to be violent and have encounters
with the law, and those who grow up in an abusive home or are neglected
I
FIGURE 8-1 7 This teen are 50 percent more likely to commit crimes.
is being a rrested . What
factors in his home l ife Runaway Teens
m ight have i nfluenced
Have you ever wondered how people come to live on the streets? While there
his behaviour?
is no single path to homelessness, perhaps by understanding some of the
causes, we can eliminate, or at least reduce, this situation in our cities and
towns. Unfortunately for young people, family life is one strong factor related
to homelessness.

In 2002 in Canada, 52 390 children ran away from home, 96 percent of
whom were between the ages of 12 and 1 7. While 75 percent of runaways VOICES
Nowhere here
usually return home within a week, that still leaves a lot of children on the
To call my home
streets. Why do teens run away? According to police, 56 percent of teens said No one near
they were "thrown out" by their parents, while 47 percent said leaving home To call my own
was their own decision. Not surprisingly, most children who run away are All that's left
Is for me to roam
leaving unhappy homes. One Toronto study indicated that 40 percent of Somebody please
girls and 1 9 percent of boys leave home because of sexual abuse. Also, Help me hang on
physical abuse at home was reported by 59 percent of girls and 39 percent Lyrics from " Homeless
Child" by Ben Harper
of boys. Other factors for leaving home include parental violence, drug and
alcohol abuse, negligence, and poor relationships with parents. Some children
feel that their home is not a safe place and believe the only option they have
is to leave.
Understanding Family Influence

Psychologists who study the influence of family on personality have a tough
Open for Debate
job. Regardless of how much time children spend with their parents early in
Where do parents
life, there are still other influences. There are genetic influences that come
learn how to parent?
into play, as you learned in Chapter 5. Also, other extended family members Given the various
can have an influence depending on how much time they spend with a child. consequences that can
When we start going to religious institutions, daycare settings, and school, result from poor parent
our peers have increasing influence, and the widespread reach of the media ing , should there be
some sort of compulsory
is influential as well. Exactly how much influence do parents have, given
government-sponsored
the other possible influences, and how can psychologists scientifically study
parenting course? If so,
that influence? at what age should this
Although there are significant research challenges inherent in studying course be offered?
family influences, psychologists have been able to develop some strategies:
1 . Study observable behavioural characteristics that link to personality traits,
including talkativeness, aggression, activity, and rule keeping.
2. Use factor analysis, a statistical technique that lets researchers categorize
information, to understand the relationship between personality traits, More to Know...
such as extroversion, and family environment. Look back to page 208
to learn more about
factor analysis and how
REFLECT A N D R ESPOND it is used to understand
the influences on
1 . Review the parenting styles diagram on page 381 , and describe what each personality.
parenting style might look like.

2 . What type of parent do you hope to be for your children? Explain your
choice using research from this section.
3 . Explain why studying family influence is a difficult task for psychologists.
4. Read the lyrics to Ben Harper's song about a homeless child. What does
the song suggest about the child's self-esteem level? How might the
child's home life have contributed to the belief that he or she is a burden?
List the ways the child is being socialized.

Influence of Friends and Group Environments
Why do you choose to hang out with your friends? Do you have the same
Before You Read interests and attitudes or play on the same sports teams? No matter how we
Make a list of the
choose our friends and the various groups to which we belong, social scientists
d ifferent groups (for
example, friends, clubs,
have no doubt that our personality and behaviours are influenced by them.
sports) to which you
belong. Now make a list Friends
of what you value most
(for example, honesty, At different stages of a person's development, friends have varying levels
competition, teamwork, of influence on him or her. Most significantly, friends become increasingly
fun). Can you link you r important from school age into adolescence, while the influence of family
values t o t h e groups to decreases but is still strong. During adolescence, friendships are safe spaces
which you belong?
for adolescents to explore their identities and develop a sense of belonging and
acceptance. So how much influence do our friends have on our personalities?
Studying the influence of peers in adolescence is complex. One reason is
that friends tend to gather because they have similar interests and academic
More to Know... standing and enjoy doing activities together. So it is difficult to j udge where
Look ahead to similarity ends and the influence starts. That is, do your friends influence
Chapter 9 to learn
your behaviour or were you similar in these ways to begin with, leading you
more about friends
to become friends? Also, unlike in childhood, teens often have multiple levels
and groups from a
sociological perspective. of friends (such as best friends and good friends) and belong to groups (such
as cliques and crowds) . While close friendships are intimate and usually long
lasting, teens tend to move between other cliques and crowds that are largely
based on demographics (for example, age, gender) and interests. Finally,
research shows that even though parents' influence decreases throughout
adolescence, it is still greater than that of the peer group.
How Important Are Friendships in Adolescent Development?

University of Western Ontario psychologist Lynne Zarbatany is researching
the role of friendship in early adolescent adjustment. The research is ongoing,
but she has found that two basic human motivational forces, communion (the
need for connection and closeness) and agency (the need for prominence} ,
account for variation in friendship needs of pre-adolescents and adolescents.
They can also predict the emotional consequences of failure to meet friendship
needs, such as loneliness. These findings suggest that friendship is not
experienced the same way by everyone but rather is shaped by the personalities
of the individuals within the friendship . Work relating personality traits to
various types of social behaviour (competition and social support) among
r
pre-adolescents, adolescents, and adult friends is ongoing.
FIGURE 8-1 8 What

brought these teens Conforming to Expectations
together? Why do TV sitcoms play laugh tracks at the funny parts? Do we change our
behaviour because we think we are supposed to? Social psychologist Mark
Snyder studied this question in 1 97 7 when he discovered that we instinctually
pick up cues from others and conform to their expectations. In his study, men
and women met for the first time by having a conversation using microphones
and headsets, with no face-to-face interaction. Beforehand, each of the men

was given a biography of the woman he would speak to as well as a photo.
The men didn't know the women they would meet were not the people in the
photos. Half the men were given a picture of a woman who had been j udged
to be very good-looking, while the other half believed the woman with whom
they would be speaking was not very physically attractive.
Snyder found that during the conversation the women instinctively
conformed to what the men expected from them. For example, in situations
where the men expected to speak with an attractive woman, the women
behaved in a way stereotypical of attractive people: they spoke more animatedly
and seemed to enjoy the conversation more. So it can be concluded that people
I
FIGURE 8-1 9 Suggest
instinctively change their behaviour to conform to what is expected by others.
some reasons why th is
woman could be smiling
Self-Monitoring while on the phone.
We don't all conform to the same degree. Through his continuing research,
Snyder believes there are "high self-monitors " and " low self-monitors. " High
self-monitors are people who change their behaviour to suit the situation and
use cues to decide how to act. They also like to show off their skills and choose
friends who will help them improve these skills. For example, if being good at
hockey is important to some self-monitors, they will seek out a top player to
teach them how to improve their play. Similarly, if they want others to believe
they are upper class, they will choose friends who demonstrate wealth.
On the other hand, low self-monitors are people who act according to
their " true self" and do not behave in ways that go against this. They choose
their friends based on common interests rather than what their friends can do
for them.
While high self-monitors might seem shallow by comparison, this is not
necessarily the case. They are far more aware of subtle body-language messages
and social nuances and can express their feelings more easily (depending on
the situation) than low self-monitors.
Think about your interactions with your friends and in groups. Do you
think you are a high self-monitor or a low self-monitor? How has your
method of self-monitoring influenced your behaviour?
False Consensus
Another concept that makes influences of groups difficult to j udge is the false Open for Debate
consensus effect. Most people believe that others have the same viewpoints Some people believe
as them. For example, if you like a particular band, you are more likely to that there is no such
believe that others do as well. In 1 9 77, social psychologist Lee Ross first thing as "altruism,"
while a 20 1 0 series of
studied this concept using a series of experiments. He asked participants to
studies indicates that
decide which of two ways a conflict could be resolved. Participants also had people don't l ike it
to predict what others would decide and then describe the type of person when others are too
who would make the opposite decision to theirs. The results indicated that selfless. Are people
we tend to think others make decisions in the same way we do, and when truly altruistic or does
they don't, then we think they are unacceptable or defective in some way. the person gain some
form of social benefit
We often take the attitude of "how could they think that way?" or that the
as a result?
obvious solution is based on how we think about the situation. For example,

new parents may believe that giving their baby a soother when she's crying
is standard protocol, but may be surprised to find out that other parents don't
believe in this practice.
Crowds
Soccer fans in Europe are famous for their boisterous, sometimes violent,
More to Know... behaviour, acting in ways many of them wouldn't dream of outside the crowd
Look back to Chapter 2 environment. Why does being in a crowd change a person's behaviour?
to learn more about the Among the first social scientists to study crowd behaviour was Gustave
psychology of crowds in
Le Bon in the late 1 9th century. He believed that in crowds, people's normal
terms of flash mobs.
psychological faculties are overridden by instincts and that behaviour is
driven by instinct rather than intellect. He suggested that within a crowd,
people come to think as one, in a manner that is different from what each
person believes individually. He also argued that a crowd is susceptible to
suggestibility and a high level of emotionality.
Some of Le Bon's ideas were used by the media to create propaganda
and in the Holocaust by Adolf Hitler to get masses of Germans to act on their
emotions and fears of people of Jewish descent. Thus we have known for quite
some time that people in crowds can be influenced to alter their behaviour.
An Elaborated Social Identity Model of Crowds

Does being part of a crowd affect our personality? The simple answer is no,
personality is hardly altered by crowds. We are in crowds only for a specific
reason and for a relatively short amount of time. Yet, according to social
psychologist Stephen Reicher, crowds do have different identities and
intentions, and the individuals who create those crowds therefore take those
on as well. Consider the difference between the crowd at a popular hockey
FIGURE 8-20 How do game versus the crowd of protestors at a G20 summit. Their reasons for
I
the people i n this gathering are entirely different and therefore so are their identities. Crowds
crowd demonstrate can influence individual decisions and behaviour. How they influence us
their crowd identity? depends on the type of crowd and our reasons for being in it.
R E F L ECT A N D R E S P O N D
1 . What makes studying the influence of adolescent peer groups so complex?

Identify the factors and explain what makes them complex.
2. Describe a situation in which you altered your behaviour to suit what you
thought others expected of you .
3 . Look back to the list you made at the beginning of this section on
page 384 about your values . Create a collage of images that represent
the values you know are from or reinforced by the groups to which
you belong.
4. Is an online community a group that can influence someone's personality?
Explain your answer.
386 MHR U nit 3 • Social Science and Us

Influence of Media on Personality
The music we listen to, the books we read, the movies we see-all of these
are ways to demonstrate aspects of our personality. According to Cambridge Before You Read
In pairs, make a l ist of
University psychologist Peter Jason Rentfrow, even though our media choices
all the types of media
look different, they usually share certain characteristics. He believes there
that you encounter in a
are five "entertainment-preference dimensions " : typical week. Next, rank
the media based on
• aesthetic (which includes classical music, art films, and poetry)
how much you believe
• cerebral (which includes current events and documentaries) each one affects your
thoughts and behaviour.
• communal (which includes romantic comedies, pop music, and daytime
talk shows)
• dark (which includes heavy-metal music and horror movies)
r ::;:: . tr
• thrilling (which includes action-adventure films, thrillers, and
science-fiction) .
Keep these dimensions in mind as you read through this section.
The Power of Music

. I'
=
Dr. Daniel Levitin, professor of psychology and neuroscience at McGill

University, studies how music relates to cognition. He works with
experts in a variety of fields, including anthropologists, to understand
how the brain and music co-evolved, as well as music's effects on the
brain. For example, listening to music increases important aspects of our "Your son pays attention in class, but only to
his iPod and cell phone:'
biology such as the production of oxytocin, antibodies, serotonin, and
key neurotransmitters. As well , there are aspects to how the brain works FIGURE 8-21 Is your use
that go hand in hand with music. For instance, the brain automatically of technology influencing
does a "template match, " such that if rock music is played using different your i nteractions with those
instruments than usual, such as steel drums, we still recognize it as rock around you? List the positive
music. Levitin is still working on a question that has eluded psychologists: and negative i mpacts that
why do we love some music and dislike other types? socia l media have had in you r
l ife. What a re the i m plications
of these i m pacts? What role
What Is the Link Between Music, Personality, and Behaviour? does l i m ited time have on
You already learned about the relationship of music to the brain, but how your l ife?
does it influence personality and behaviour? On the surface, the relationship
between music choice and personality can be quite circular-while your
personality probably influences the types of music you choose, the music Skills Focus
to which you listen can also influence your behaviour. The difficulty for In the 2003 study in
psychologists is teasing out how much influence music has on behaviour. Iowa and Texas, which
Many people, for instance, use music to modify their mood. They select students were the
experiment group and
songs or bands depending on how they want to feel. Sometimes the effect
which ones were the
can be quite dramatic. In 2003 , researchers at universities in Iowa and Texas control group? Look
conducted a series of experiments on 500 university students that explored back to page 57 to
the relationship between violent music and violent thought and feelings. rem ind yourself of
In the experiments, some students listened to violent songs while others their defin itions.
listened to nonviolent songs by the same artists. Also, student personality
differences in terms of aggression were controlled in the experiments. Then

the participants classified words that could be aggressive and nonaggres
More to Know... sive, such as rock and stick. The researchers found that students who
M usic therapy is a n e w form listened to violent music-even when the lyrics were humorous-were
of treatment for a variety of
more likely to interpret words as aggressive. The songs increased their
ailments and is actually showing
promise in the fight agai nst
feelings of hostility even in situations that posed no real threat. In the
Alzheimer's disease. real world, these findings suggest that people's music choices may
influence their perceptions of others, their social interactions, and even
whether they develop an aggressive personality.
Do you ever listen to specific songs or bands when you need a pick
me-up or are feeling down? Why do you select that particu,lar music?
Skills Focus
Internet Communication
Design an experiment to study How often do you check your Facebook, Twitter, and/or email accounts?
how students react when they Would you rather look up information in a book or on the Web? The
must function without the Internet is now a part of daily life for most Canadians. Because the
I nternet or other electronic Internet is still relatively new-it was popularized in the 1 990s-it's
communication for three days.
hard to identify any of its long-term effects on personality. However, a
How will you monitor behaviour
and observe reactions? How will number of psychological studies have been conducted to understand
you collect answers and what how individuals behave because of the Internet.
will you do with them? What do North Americans are addicted to email . According to a 2010 survey
the results indicate? by America Online (AOL) , 47 percent of people claim to be hooked,
25 percent can't go three days without checking email, 60 percent
check their email while on vacation, and 59 percent check email in the
bathroom! Email can also cause stress. According to multiple studies,
not only do we check email more often than we think we do, but also
don't communicate as effectively over email, which causes stress for the
sender and receiver, since lack of body language cues makes it difficult
to convey emotions such as anger and humour. Sarcasm also doesn't
translate well. Finally, businesses now buy smartphones or other
communication devices for their employees, which makes people feel
they have to answer text messages and calls even during off-work hours.
Why are people addicted to their email? Between unwanted
1
advertisements (spam) and forwards asking us to send the email to
VALERIE IHRIVED Ill All IIIIERIIEI COMMUII11Y
IHAI HAD 110 IDEA IHAI SHE WAS A CHICI<EII • • . 10 others or risk eternal bad luck, legitimate emails from our friends
FIGURE 8-22 What happens looking to chat are not as common. But these are the emails we hope
when someone enJoys his or we'll find when we log in to our inbox, and this type of interval-based
her I nternet 1dentity more than reinforcement is what keeps us coming back.
h1s or her offl 1ne self?
Cyber Identity
Do you know someone who has misrepresented himself or herself on
V O I CES the Internet? There are many ways to express identity, and we all have
Make i t thy business t o know different aspects of our identities that we show depending on the
thyself, which is the most
difficult lesson in the world.
situation. The Internet is another space that allows for such exploration.
Miguel de Cervantes, novelist The Internet has changed the way we behave in that it reduces our
inhibitions. The anonymity and invisibility we have online gives us a
sense of disconnect from our " real-world" personality. Psychologists

refer to this loss of individuality when immersed in a group environment as
deindividuation. Because people (incorrectly) assume that they can't be deindividuation:
easily identified when they're online, they are more likely to post intimate the loss of a person's
sense of individuality and
details of themselves to social networks. This assumption also allows them
personal responsibility
the freedom to express themselves to others in ways they might not be willing when immersed in a group
or able to do in face-to-face situations. environment
POl NT/COUNTERPOINT
Adolescents' Online Identities

Since socia l networking o n l i n e is n ow an i mportant aspect of commun ication for adolescents, it is
becoming an influence on person a l ity development. Psychologists a g ree that it is normal behaviour
for teens to explore different a spects of their identity during their adolescent years. N ow that most
Canadian fam i lies have Internet access at home, teens have a new venue for such exploration. As you read
th rough the a rg u ments below, consider the risks and benefits to having an a lternate o n l i n e person a l ity.
Different Online Identities Can

Trying Out New Identities Online Is Healthy Lead to Loss of Reai Se
• The looking-glass self is what soci a l scientists • Today's teens a re the first generation born with
ca l l the process of im itating others and getting the I nternet, and it may be too soon to tel l the
feedback on that imitation; this process is a effects it w i l l have on person a l ity.
normal part of adolescence that helps to create • Gossip, public sham i n g , bullying, and h a rassment
a sense of self. may be taken to extremes o n l i n e beca use of
• There is less emotional risk to trying out new ways presumed anonymity by the person engaging
of behaving, looking, or sounding online because i n these behaviours. H owever, because these
the lack of face-to-face contact provides non behaviours can be performed on a l a rger public
threatening opportunities to practise social skil ls. scale, with many teens h aving a n average of 1 00
• The various o n l i ne activities and gro u ps that to 1 50 socia l networking "friends" l ooking on,
teens belong to, which can reach a ro u nd the this type of h a rassment can cause a major blow
g l obe, offer a special chance to focus on specific to self-esteem for the person being b u llied.
aspects of thei r person a l ity that they might not • Problems occur when the teen's online self
otherwise be able to develop. sepa rates further and further from h i s or her
• Those who feel isolated or have l ow self-esteem core self-concept; the teen feels like a n i mposter,
in their real l ives can fil l a need for friendship which red uces self-esteem and self-confidence.
o n l ine, perh a ps with others they would never • Some I nternet users become so spel lbound by
otherwise have been able to meet. their online l ife that they spend less and less time in
their real l ife. This online obsession can lead to an
addiction that can be damaging to their real l ife.
QUESTIONS
1. Using the evidence above, make a hypothesis about online identities.

Suggest some possible survey or i nterview questions to test your hypothesis.
2. P redict the impact on a n individual of using different o n l i n e identities i n five years.
Explain the reasons behind your prediction.

Psychology of Cyberbullying
Bullying behaviour is unfortunately not a new behaviour. As you learned in
Chapter 6, thanks to the popularity of the Internet, bullying has expanded
into cyberspace. Bullying online can happen at any time and is more difficult
to see than traditional forms of bullying that often happen at school. It includes
sending or posting threatening, hurtful, or embarrassing messages, getting
other people to do so, and excluding someone from an online group. Posting
personal or false information and spreading rumours is also a type of
cyberbullying. The speedy transmission of these messages to a large number
of people and the anonymity of the bullies mean that cyberbullying can be
extremely traumatic for victims. A research study of youth released in 2009
FIGURE 8-23 Rachel indicated that 40 percent were victims of cyberbullying and 1 6 percent
Wade of Tam pa, Florida, admitted to bullying others.
is cu rrently servin g a Psychologists believe that adolescent bullies tend to be highly emotional
27-yea r prison sentence
and have low self-control. They establish dominance and leadership in peer
for stabbing Sarah
groups by proactively using aggression, and they tend to perceive negative
Lu ndmann to death .
intent where there was none. They are also more likely to come from homes
The inci dent occu rred
with little parental warmth and involvement. Finally, they don't have much
after the girls exchanged
th reats in texts, socia l empathy for their peers. Research is now looking into the profile of a cyber
networking sites, a n d bully. A study by Bulent Dilmac in 2009 showed that cyberbullies tend to be
voi ce m a i l . What insight aggressive and show a need for attention and superiority. Previous engagement
can psychologists offer in cyberbullying was also a predictor of future cyberbullying.
to teens, parents, and
educators to stop this Psychological Impact
aggression, especially Cyberbullying is still a relatively new phenomenon, and, as such, a lot of
before it gets to such an
empirical research is still needed to fully understand its psychological impact .
extreme level of violence?
Adolescent victims are likely to report depression and lower self-esteem.
There is often a decrease in academic achievement, sometimes to the point
that students drop out of school. Most tragically, cyberbullying can sometimes
lead to suicide. For example, in 2006 Megan Meier, a 1 3 -year-old girl, hanged
herself after she received nasty messages via social media.
Solutions?
Tanya Beran, a psychologist at the University of Calgary, studies school
Open for Debate
bullying and cyberharassment. According to her research, avoiding the Internet
School boards can take
is not suggested as an appropriate measure against bullying because this will
action against a student
for engaging in acts of only cut children off from their peer group. As well, the bullying probably
cyberbullying at home takes place face to face, and thus will not stop just because the victim stops
on h is or her personal going online. Instead, schools should promote responsible online behaviours
com puter. Is this an for students from an early age and make sure to follow up immediately on
i nvasion of privacy or
any reported bullying. These steps are especially important as computers
a necessary method to
deal with cyberbullying?
become more frequently used in the classroom. Other options include application
software (apps) that reports breaches of terms of use (such as on Facebook)
and that can link children to help lines.
What efforts do you see in your school to combat cyberbullying?

Influence of Social Media
In September, 2010, a 1 6-year-old girl was gang-raped at a party near
Vancouver. The horrors of that evening continued as onlookers took photos V O I C ES
and videos and then posted them on the Internet. Two teens were charged Thank you to everyone
who has been there to
with distributing and producing child pornography after the photos appeared help me through this
on Facebook and one person was charged with sexual assault. Police believe terrible ordeal. But to
there are more offenders in this case who have yet to be caught. Eventually, the people who did not
support me, who called
the girl quit school because of the abuse she endured. This incident goes
me names, who spread
beyond cyberbullying to encompass serious legal and social issues. Of course, lies about me-thank
most of what we post online on social networking sites involves nonhurtful you because you made
me much stronger than
activities and interesting events in our lives . Moreover, social media provide
I ' ve ever been before.
unique opportunities to quickly connect with our friends and family, and for Statement from gang-rape
others to connect with us. Social media have become such important means victim, 2011
of communication that, as of 2009, four out of five Canadians used them.
Therefore, psychologists ask, How are social media affecting us?
Can You Live Without Facebook? More to Know...

Think back to the experiment you created earlier for the Skills Focus on Look back t o the
concept of the
page 388: what would students do without being able to access the Internet
bystander effect. Why
or other electronic communication for three days? In September 2010, students did the teens use their
and faculty at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania cell phone to record
did something similar: they participated in an experiment where they could not the event, but no one
go on any social media for a week. The purpose was to see how important called 91 1 ?
social media are in their lives. Both during and after the ban, participants
were surveyed and questioned in focus groups. The researchers discovered
that 40 percent of students spent 1 1 to 20 hours per day using social media, O pen for Debate
and some faculty admitted to spending over 20 hours per day. I s social media addictive,
On the other hand, there were many benefits of the " media blackout . " or are addictive
Participants spent the time they usually spent o n Facebook doing other things: personalities more l i kely
to enjoy social media?
21 percent did homework, 10 percent read online news, and 6 percent did more
exercise. Also, 25 percent of students said they had better concentration in
classes, 33 percent felt less stressed since there was no expectation to update their
status or check that of others, and 10 percent reported enjoying more face-to-face
conversations. One student said that the week-long ban felt like a " vacation. "
F I G U R E 8-24 Thanks to the I nternet

and Facebook, virtual connections are
made between m i l l ions of people a l l
over the world. Why m ight this b e of
interest to psychologists, sociologists,
and anthropologists?
What are the ways media are a part of your life? Make a list with a friend,
and then rank the items in the list in terms of impact. What is making the
greatest impact on you?

The Psychology of Rumours and Gossip
Social media is an excellent way to stay in touch with friends. It can
also be used to spread rumours and gossip . Gossip is social talk
meant to evaluate, provide group solidarity, and give social network
information. The gossip around the lunch table about who's dating
whom is often accompanied by j udgment and decisions about whether
the pairing is appropriate, for instance. Rumours, on the other hand,
involve the spread of usually inaccurate information to others. For
r FIGURE 8-25
example, after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, there
was a rumour that the U . S . government blew up the levees. People
What is gained couldn't believe the devastation caused by the hurricane and needed
by sharing gossip a nd spreading an explanation for why the levees failed, even if it sounded improbable.
rumou rs? Both rumours and gossip fulfil psychological needs.
Why Do We Believe Rumours?

Rumours have been around for centuries, and even though they often sound
strange, people tend to believe them anyway. Why? One reason is a person's
psychological motivation to make sense of an uncertain situation. According
to psychologists Nicholas DiFonzo and Prashant Bordia, this motivation
includes " fact-finding, relationship-enhancement, and self-enhancement"
(2006) . We believe rumours much of the time because we don't have the time
or interest to research everything we hear, and rumours are often passed off
Skills Focus as truth. Since we are, fundamentally, social beings, rumours are a way that
Research an issue we can work together to make sense of our world.
related to rumours and/
or gossip in your school.
Why Do We Gossip?
Create a psychology
poster presentation to Psychologists point to our need to be social to help explain why gossiping
deliver your findings. is so common, even though it's often hurtful. Sharing stories about mutual
acquaintances is also one way to build relationships with others. However, if
you're the subject of negative gossip, you're unlikely to see the positive side.
Nigel Nicholson, an evolutionary psychologist, explains that there are three
functions of gossip, which are used simultaneously: networking, influence,
and social alliances. Because we are status conscious, we use networking,
including gossip, to keep up to date with what is fashionable and who is at
the top of the social hierarchy. Gossip can also influence others to think of us
in a certain light, which either improves our status or retains it. We use the
information gained from gossip to form social alliances with those we hope
can provide us with a suitable place in the social hierarchy.
Interestingly, men and women both gossip, but the content differs. Since
men tend to have a competitive drive, they are interested in others' status
(thus the common interest in sports statistics) . Women tend to tell moralistic
tales about social inclusion (who's worthy of praise or criticism) .

Consumer Psychology: The Psychology of Persuasion
North Americans are inundated with advertising, so we are often on guard
against marketing when we watch television or go shopping. Marketing
experts know they have only a moment to convince us to keep watching
their commercial. Consumer psychology uses psychological theories and
approaches to understand consumer behaviour. While there are many
techniques used to get you to buy products, we'll discuss a few ways
psychology has contributed to getting you to open your wallet.
How Persuasion Works

According to psychologist Kevin Dutton, there is an artful psychology to how
persuasion works. Its elements can be summed up by the acronym SPICE: Skil ls Focus
Select a marketing
• Simplicity: The brain prefers simplicity and equates it with truth, so campaign or commercial
messages should be simple. that you find particularly
convincing. Analyze it
• Perceived self-interest: People are interested in things that are beneficial
according to the
to them, so show them how the thing will benefit them. SPICE elements.
• Incongruity: A lack of harmony or appropriateness is the basis of most
humour, and making people feel good via humour helps persuade
them. Incongruity also acts as a distraction, which disables the brain's
neurological security system, so messages should be humorous or
distracting in some way.
• Confidence: People must feel sure they are making a good decision, but
not pushed into it, so make them believe they are making the decision
on their own.
• Empathy: Communicating with someone on his or her wavelength helps
the person accept a suggestion, so messages should consider a person's
unique characteristics.
Of course, these techniques are not unique to marketing; they can be

used by anyone who wishes to persuade someone.
Did You See That?

Ryerson University's Melanie Dempsey and University of Toronto's Andrew
Mitchell are psychologists who came together to see if they could get
participants to choose the obviously inferior of two brands of pens by using
positive and negative subconscious messages. The participants viewed hundreds
of product advertisements; there were 20 negative images connected to the
superior pen ads and 20 positive images connected to the inferior pen ads.
In a follow-up experiment, participants were presented with information
showing that the superior pens were better. However, when given the choice
of which pen was the best, participants tended to choose the inferior pens.
Dempsey and Mitchell suggested that these choices were made because
participants had been conditioned to think positively about the inferior pen
in the first part of the experiment. They suggest that we make consumer
decisions based on not only what we know about a product's attributes,
but also subconscious information.

Duke University psychologist Gavin Fitzsimons and his team study " short
brand exposures," which can include brand logos seen in passing and product
placements in TV shows and video games (see Figure 8-26) . The typical
American sees 3000 to 10 000 brand logos a day. Since many American TV
shows are shown here, it is likely that Canadians see a large number of brand
logos each day as well. This technique is effective because viewers' defences
are down and they aren't looking at the brand logos with a critical eye, since
their brains don 't even really register that they've been exposed to them. With
all that exposure, do we really have any choice in the products we buy?
FIGURE 8-26 New York

City's Times Square is
surrounded by advertising.
Do you thi n k these ads
i nfluence passersby to buy
a particu lar product?
R E F L E CT A N D R ES P O N D
1 . How would you know if a friend who enj oys spending time on the
Internet was experiencing deindividuation? What would you do if you
thought this were the case?
2. How do you determine whether the information you are being told
is factual or a rumour? With a partner, create a list of criteria to help
you decide.
3 . Develop a questionnaire to help you understand the nature of
cyberbullying at your school. Present your results with your class
and/or the student body at school in a psychology poster presentation.

Influence of Workplace Environments
On average, Canadian adults spend one-third of their waking lives at work,
Before You Read
so it's no wonder that psychologists are now studying ways to improve the
Using a Venn diagram,
workplace environment. Using theories and empirical research, psychologists
compare how you
can help improve a variety of workplace issues. behave at work or in
volunteer placements
Industrial/Organizational Psychology with how you behave
with your friends. What
Industrial/organizational (I/0) psychology is a branch of applied psychology accounts for the d iffer
that is interested in how workers think, feel, and behave at work. Its goals are ences and similarities?
to help people feel satisfied in their work and to help organizations maximize
their human resources. To accomplish these goals, I/0 psychologists examine
issues such as positive and negative co-worker interactions, prej udice, stress
and burnout, and work-life balance. In terms of the work itself, they examine
task variety, repetition, and difficulty. These psychologists can work with
managers and employees to improve life at work by providing services such
as conflict management workshops and leadership development programs, as
well as using results of employee surveys to manage change initiatives.
Research has identified factors that contribute to positive and negative
work interactions. For example, co-worker support and empowerment lead to
positive feelings at the workplace, while hostility and a sense of injustice can
lead to a negative perception.
FIGURE 8-27 In 201 0, the

Toronto Police Service (TPS)
won the American Psychological
Association's Psychologically H ea lthy
Workplace Award in Onta rio. The
TPS had improved its hea lth and
well ness services for its employees
and thei r fam i l ies to address physical
and psychological hea lth issues.
Engineering Psychology
One specific area of applied psychology in the workplace is engineering
psychology. Psychologists working in this field-sometimes called applied
experimental or human factors psychologists-study and improve interactions
between humans and machines. The study of these interactions includes
examining communication and decision making, computer-information
systems, and even energy and transportation systems. In other words, it
includes most of our workplace interactions in our increasingly technological
world. For example, researchers in this field might look at improving the design
of medical equipment to reduce medical errors or improving traffic systems to
reduce accidents. These psychologists aim to create safer, more effective, and
more reliable systems in our workplaces. To do so, they need to understand
the limits to human performance and the j ob requirements.

Open for Debate
The Right Person for the Job
A Facebook page is a Part of making a workplace run smoothly is hiring the right people. Potential
personal expression of employees not only need to have the appropriate skills, but also need to fit
oneself. Many people into the specific culture of the workplace. When employers are hiring, they
use it to post photos, don't always get the full picture from an interview or resume, so they are
ideas, and their relation
increasingly turning to pre-employment tests . There are a range of tests that
ship status, and to
communicate with examine characteristics such as ethics, motives, personality traits, intelligence,
friends. It can also be a specific aptitudes and skills, ability to work as part of a team, and reliability.
quick way for others to Used properly, these assessments can help employers make predictions about
get to know a person. who is the best person for the j ob and who will stay with the company.
Should employers be
While these pre-employment tests are currently not used as widely in
allowed to check social
networking sites such as Canada as they are in the United States, their use is on the rise. The results
Facebook or MySpace of personality tests illustrate their usefulness. In workplaces that use them,
to learn about potential employees tend to stay with the company longer, customer satisfaction is
or current employees? increased, and absenteeism is down-all of which are results of a happier
Why or why not? workforce.
Social Media in the Workplace

Social media have already changed the Canadian workplace. Today many
workplaces accept and expect employees to use social media. Whether for
communicating socially and providing some mental downtime or for getting
in touch with clients, social media are being used more often because of the
ease and instantaneous nature of the communication. Workplaces even
educate their employees on how to use the technology and in what ways.
However, managing social media is still a challenge. For example, as of
March 2010, there were 10 million Facebook users in Canada, and Linkedln,
a social media site for professionals, was adding 75 000 users each month.
These social media are not only popular, but also take up a lot of our time.
Email is just as time consuming. According to a 2004 study, email takes up
23 percent of the employees' day because they often use email to communicate
and to track tasks . As well, typical office workers open 70 percent of their
emails within 6 seconds of arrival at work, and 85 percent view their emails
within 2 minutes of arrival. That's a lot of checking!
FIGURE 8-28 Email is

considered a necessity i n
many working environments.
How do you think businesses
\)to\\s conducted their work before
email beca m e popu lar?
S9o111 \3\b\
1tosh \\3\
Why is it important that interviews be held if a pre-employme*t test

reveals a candidate's qualities?

Workplace Motivation
What would make you want to go to work every day and enjoy what you were
doing? Employees work better when they are happy in their j obs. However, More to Know...
workers need different types of motivation depending on their age, according Look back to Chapter 2
to learn more about
to an empirical study published in 2005 . The 100 respondents of the study were
Maslow's H ierarchy of
followed for 5 years and each year were asked to answer a questionnaire based Needs.
on motivational theories, such as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Interestingly, the
results showed that younger people tended to adjust to their workplace's social
climate and rely on that socialization as motivation to excel. Then as workers
aged, they looked to achieve self-actualization, the highest stage of Maslow's
hierarchy. To do so, they sought higher positions within their profession.
Mental Health in the Workplace

When people think of mental health issues, they often forget how these can
affect the workplace. As of 2002, mental health claims (mostly depression)
were the fastest growing category of disability in Canada. In addition, mental
health issues can lead to other health problems, and also cost the employer
lost business and revenue. For example, high levels of j ob stress can double a
person's chance of a heart attack. As employers pay more attention to mental
health issues, psychologists are helping them improve workplace conditions.
Stress in the Workplace

I n Canada, many researchers are examining aspects of workplace psychology.
Workplace stress is one of the key problems in organizations that is being FIGURE 8-29 What
studied by Canadian researchers. According to a 2007 survey by the American motivation strategy is
Psychological Association, 74 percent of employees list work as a cause of being used in this
stress. It is estimated that stress costs Canadian companies anywhere from workplace? Based on the
$ 1 2 billion to $33 billion annually in lost productivity. Stress can not only reading above, a re these
decrease job performance, but also cause health problems, such as high blood workers being socialized
pressure and cardiovascular and infectious diseases, and affect relationships or a re they at the self
with family and friends. Recent Canadian studies indicate that 25 percent actual ization stage?
of workers have high levels of work-family conflict, which increases stress.
Healthy workplaces not only reduce stress, but also have better morale and
atmosphere, fewer injuries, and lower absenteeism rates.
R EF L E C T A N D R ES P O N D
1 . Use a Venn diagram to explain the similarities and differences between

industrial/organizational psychology and engineering psychology.
2 . Employers are increasingly using personality tests to select future
employees. Using a T-chart, list the advantages and disadvantages of
this approach.
3. Why should employers worry about stress in their workplace?
4. Research an employee-friendly workplace. Consider choosing one that has
recently won an award for its employee programs. How does it address
issues such as motivation and mental health?

Chilean Miners
On August 5, 20 1 0, a copper a n d gold m i n e i n It's Not Over Yet

C h i l e col l a psed, trapping 33 Chilean m i ners i n a The m i n e rs were rescued after being trapped
compartment more than 600 metres u nderg round. for 69 days u nderground (see Figure 8-30). Yet
Rescuers assumed that no one had survived the psycho l og ists' work continued. As men were
col l a pse, so for the first 1 7 days, the men were brought to the su rface one by one, psychologists
completely cut off from the world a n d faced and psych iatrists monitored them for signs of panic
dwi n d l i n g food and water suppl ies, a n d had to but also u nderlined the i mportance for them to spend
dea l with the psychologica l effects that come with time with fam i ly. Psycholog ists also warned the men
that type of isolation. Some had considered suicide th at they might experience inso m n i a , n ig htma res,
and ca n n ibal ism before the dri l l reached them on and a nxiety in the weeks o r months fo l lowin g their
day 1 7 . rescue. H owever, beca use they survived a n ordea l
Commu n i cation was establ ished through a that few others ever have, psychologists a lso
bore hole a bout the size of a gra pefru it. This was expected them to experience self-confidence as
the o n ly means of passing the men fresh oxygen wel l as a greater a ppreciation of fa m i ly and friends.
and suppl ies such as hydration gels, water a n d The m i ners a lso were faced with a new rea l ity:
food , letters from fa m i l y, b i bles, a n d even soccer they were fa mous. While they were tra pped,
videos that were sent down to them u nti l they were journal ists researched and broadcast the m i n ers'
rescued . Meanwh i l e the m i n ers were confined to l ives to the worl d . Psychologists ta ught them how
a rescue chambe r a bout 46 square metres big to handle thei r fame but expressed concern a bout
a round the size of an average home's l iving roo m . the possible jealousy and competition for book deals
What h a ppened w h e n they a rgued ? H ow did they and TV i nterviews. Although the 33 m in e rs made
deal with the fear and frustration of being tra pped? a pact of silence, some have d i sclosed they a re
How would they survive and not suffer psychological now suffering from PTSD. All but one experienced
consequences? psychological problems such as n ightmares, difficulty
focusing, sadness, and depression after their rescue.
Close Quarters
It is important to note that the m i ners were used to
FIG U R E 8-30 The
working in these conditions, so the psychological
rescue capsule, the
effects were not as severe as they wou ld have been if
" Phoenix," was just big
the average person had been trapped. I nterestingly,
enough for one person.
the conditions i n the chamber were s i m i l a r to those
Each miner was in the
experienced by astronauts when they l ive on the capsule for 1 5-20 min
I nternational Space Statio n . So the Chilean govern utes as he was pul led to
ment quickly cal led NASA psychologists and doctors the su rface.
for advice. They i m m ed iately hel ped the m iners
QUESTIONS
esta blish daytime/n ighttime routines that incl uded
1. H ow might the m i n ers' fam i l ies help their l oved
specific exercises and team-bu ilding activities. It
ones as they adjust to normal l ife?
was important for the men to keep their spirits up
to deal with the psychological o rdea l . They a lso 2. Research the psychological effects of the
needed to esta b l ish roles and ways of dea l i n g with m iners being trapped and their experiences
confl ict that would m a i nta in the ca maraderie they after rescue.
needed to survive . One of the m i ners took on the 3 . What m i g ht the o utcome have been had the
ro le of leader. Although we don't know the whole m i ners not a l l worked together to stay a l ive?
story, it seems that the men were brought together What does this outcome suggest about
by thei r need to survive, rather tha n torn apart by it. teamwork i n other work environments?

•Y OUT H PERS P.ECTI V E S ,
' •
Ginny Elliot
The primary goal of school is to have a positive
i m pact on students' l ives. For G i nny E l l iot of Fergus,
Onta rio, that i m pact came i n the form of inspiration
to enter the C h i ld and Youth Worker program at the
col l ege level (see Fig u re 8-31 ).
Q: What did you like about the Introduction to

Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology course?
A: I fou n d it rea l ly i nterestin g . I enjoyed the projects
r
l i ke researching mental i l l ness a n d the i nterview
assignment. I got to i nterview a guy from Afghan istan
FIGURE 8-31 When she's not hon i ng her ski l l s in a
to fin d out how he was adjusti ng to l ife in Canada.
classroom envi ronment G i n ny learns to work with
,
I a lso l iked being introduced to the theories; now children from the CYC office.
that I ' m in college I a ppreciate knowing that I 've
a l ready been i ntrod uced to theorists l i ke Freud and
Q: What do you hope to do when you graduate?
Piaget. Plus we saw rea l ly cool videos that showed
what we were learn i n g .
A: I wou ld l i ke to be a ch i l d a n d youth counse l lor
(CYC) at a high school beca use I enjoy working
Q: Wh at do you like about the Child a n d Youth more with teens than with younger kids.
Worker progra m ?
Q: What made you choose that career?
A: I l ike that you get a lot of placement time to
practise what you ' re learn i n g . It's a three-year A: I enjoyed the related cou rses I took in h ig h
program . Every yea r in the fi rst semester, you take school and w a s interested in psychology, plus I
six or seven classes, and i n the second semester, it's l i ked the p lacements ava i lable in college. They're
a l l placement. In the year one placement, you work i nteresti ng and I l i ke working with kids. It a l so h e l ps
i n a public school, i n year two, you work i n a g ro u p that I know someone who is a CYC, so I ta l ked to
h o m e , and then y o u g e t t o pick y o u r placement i n her a bout it.
t h e th i rd yea r.
Q: What advice do you have for students who a re
Q: Could you describe what placement is like?

trying to figure out what they want to pursue ?
A: I ' m assigned to 15 different students to work A : Don't j u st settle for someth ing. Research a l l the
with one-on-one, but I also h e l p in a classroom . I programs ava i l a b l e i n both col l eg e and u n iversity to
a lso job-shadow the child a n d youth cou n se l l o r i n fig u re out the best option for you.
the school. S o fa r, I 've m a i n ly worked with students

QUESTIONS
with behavioural issues l i ke ADH D and ADD, but I ' m
a lso trained t o work with depression or if they revea l 1 . What su rprised you the most about G i n ny's
abuse I know what t o d o . I get t o see the othe r side experiences?

of school-1 can go i n the staff room and chat a n d 2. How does this course prepare you for other
work with t h e teachers. possible careers besides being a CYC?

•
Knowledge and Understanding/Thinking
1. On page 3 70, you learned about the factors that affect conformity.
Which of those factors apply to the behaviour of individuals in the
following situations:
a) being part of a crowd at a hockey game
b) being at a school pep rally
c) visiting elderly relatives
d) watching a fight outside school
e) being members in a cult
0 being a cyberbully on Facebook
2. Describe the ingroups and outgroups at your school or in your
community. Suggest ways to help these groups interact and get to
know one another better.
3. Create a graphic organizer that illustrates the psychological influence

of family, friends, groups, school, social media, and the workplace on
an individual you know.
4. How might the branches of behavioural, developmental, and applied

psychology be used to improve the workplace for employees?
5. What is the difference between being a leaders in a group and controlling

a group?
Thinking/Communicating
6. What type of social science research method would be best to find out
the effects of bullying in your school? Create a research plan, conduct
your research, and present your findings to your peers in a psychology
poster presentation. Once you complete your research, answer the
following questions:
a) What are the strengths of your research method? What were areas of
concern or problems that you encountered?
b) What do your findings signify?
c) What further research could you suggest be done on this topic?
d) What are the strengths and weaknesses of your research?
7. Plan an approach to deal with bullying in your school or community that

includes a plan for bystanders, the bully, and the bullied.
400 MHR U n it 3 • Socia l Science and Us

8. Where does your personality end and behaviour begin? In other words, how
do you know if something is affecting your behaviour or your personality?
9. Using a Venn diagram, compare how a developmental psychologist and a

behavioural psychologist might account for parental influence on personality.
10. Should the Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes classroom experiment be conducted in

schools today? Explain your reasoning. Refer to the concepts of bias and
unconscious bias in your response.
Communication/Application
11 . How do you think people who belong to your various socialization

groups would describe you? Make a word web containing each agent
of socialization (family, friends, school, media, work, religion and/or
other groups) . Are you the same or different when you are with each
group? Why?
12. For one of the following topics, draft out a poster presentation using ideas
from this chapter or other research you have completed:
a) acculturation
b) bystander effect
c) conformity
d) groupthink
e) social isolation
13. Select four agents of socialization that have influenced your personality
(you could include family, friends, school, media, work, a team, or a club) .
Plot a graph to show how much you think each agent of socialization
influenced you at different ages of your life. Assign the x-axis a rating
scale of 1 to 10 ( 10 being the most influential) , and plot age 1 to your
current age along the y-axis. Add visuals to represent each stage. Create
a legend that shows each agent of socialization you will plot, along with
its assigned colour.
14. Create a Web page, wiki, or model that would provide useful information
about adolescents exploring identity online. Include information for those
directly affected and for their friends and family. Think of your audience
to help you use appropriate language and tone.
15. Suggest strategies that the government of Ontario could use to reduce or
eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness in our society.
16. Write a persuasive paragraph about social networking so that someone

who has never used it can understand its impact on teens in Canada.

Social - Sci 076257 File7of8

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Social - Sci 076257 File7of8

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Social - Sci 076257 File7of8

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Social Science and Us

Research and Inquiry Skill Focus: Section 7.1: Understanding Cultures

ow does social science help us understand society? Using social science

us to better understand our own experiences and relationships. Understanding

respond to the world around us.

Each of the three social sciences takes different approaches to understanding

society. Using the lenses of anthropology, psychology, and sociology we can

to get involved-to affect change-whether it be in our own family, community,

By the e n d of this cha pter, you wi l l :

As these facts became public, the government faced

-t- FIGURE 7-2

ents and a lot of of the Indian

you're gozng lf of the gove rnment of

of razsz ng your chamber so

31 8 MHR Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 31 9

Social Customs, Manners, and Values

320 MHR Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

As Drakulic started observing the connection between Americans and

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 321

Wi-Fi and Social Interactions

I customs have developed

322 MHR Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

Are students using their digital devices as true mobiles or

Technology in the Doctor's Office

• Spatial layout of material objects matters.

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M HR 323

Mobile devices are always introduced into existing social experience,

Digital Technology and Culture

Is Digital Technology Substantial l y Changing Culture?

1. What are some negative effects of digital technology in the classroom?

324 MHR Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

FIGURE 7-8 Gacaca are vil lage cou rts i n Rwanda,

When everyone knows everyone else, social pressure is often enough to

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 325

James Gibbs: The Kpelle Moot

326 MHR Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 327

328 M H R Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

While the sentencing circle comes from Aboriginal traditions, it is not

R E FLE C T AND R E S P OND

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 329

• Religious beliefs help people to understand ultimate questions such as:

Stanley and Ruth Freed: Taraka's Ghost

330 M H R Unit 3 • Social Science and Us

However, the ghost possessions kept occurring. Sita would

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 331

How should anthropologists deal with gender inequality in other cultures?

332 M H R U n it 3 • Social Science a n d U s

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us MHR 333

334 M H R U nit 3 • Social Science and Us

Witchcraft Among the Azande

Chapter 7 • Anthropology and Us M H R 335

336 MHR U n it 3 • Social Science and Us

Canadians who a re mem bers of a visi ble minority 1 3% 20%

I m m i g rants as a proportion of the Canadian popu lation 1 8% 22.2%

N u m ber of black people in Canada 6 7 1 000 948 000 to 1 . 1 7 m i l l ion

(Source: Statistics Canada, 2006)

Race: Myths and Reality