SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Social Psychology



Social Psychology

"Social Psychology." Over the years certain patterns of interactions between men and women (Latin-American culture)have evolved.

The interaction between men and women in the Latin-American culture is based on women's beliefs about men and how are they supposed to behave in relationships with them. The concepts of social psychology can be useful to comprehend why women believe and behave in certain ways. The Male chauvinist of this culture make the men seem to be superior to women and therefore their beliefs are that man has to be the head of the household, go out and work to provide financial support to the family, and as a household he is in charge of making the final decision concerning of things in the house.

Also, it is acceptable for a man to be polygamous, which in women has many reprisals, (women are supposed to be faithful). Another belief is that men are the only ones that can be in top job positions (manager, director). In the emotional level, men cannot show their emotions or share their problem with others, doing so would show weakness. Those beliefs influence the way in which women act toward men. Women are supposed to run the household, accept men's authority and their decisions without argument, and show submission to them.

A concept that will help us understand some of the women's behavior in Latin America is norm; set of unwritten rules on behavior that every person is supposed to follow and is part of our everyday life, we follow them either consciously or unconsciously. Following the norms is the best way to behave and anything else outside them is wrong. The breaking of norms makes people feel uncomfortable or other people will make them feel discomfort. Women in this culture are in charge of running the household while the men are out working, which means that it's a norm for women to maintain the house. It is not a law that women should stay home while men are out working to provide the financial support that the family needs to live, but is a rule that they have to follow within the culture.

Why do women in Latin America follow these norms? The answer has to do with a concept in social psychology, which is social identity, part in a person related with who the person is, and which group (nation, culture, religious, gender) that person belongs to. This identification has a strong and a very important influence in the person's life. It gives her a place and position in society. In the case of those women, they have already identified themselves with their culture and gender, which their behavior is just a part of their role, like to maintain the house, take care of the kids (upbringing, education), go shopping (food, things for the house, clothes, etc), or if at work follow the boss's instructions. As we can see social identity plays an important role on those women's ways of ...