explain broadly what Social Psychology is. In addition, provide Gordon Allport’s definition thereof. (6 marks)
1.2 Keeping in mind the definition above, investigate how a social scientist will define the field of inquiry in the article above. (8 marks)
Read the fictitious scenario below and answer the following questions. Janet, from an affluent area – Constantia, Cape town – reads the Mkentane (2022) article mentioned above and agrees with the sentiments shared. Janet tells a friend of hers that the city does so much for ‘these people’ and nothing for her area. Janet also states that ‘these people want everything for free, where is their money going? We all work hard; why do they get things for free, and I don’t?’ Whereas Derek from the Cape Flats disagrees with the statement made by Zille. Derek states that he too lives close to the city, but lives in constant danger due to the continuous unrest in his area. He also states that the quality of life in his community is not adequate as they do not have access to quality healthcare or enough policeman.
1.3 Discuss contesting stories and explain why individuals may have a difference of opinion on the topic highlighted in the above extract. Make use of the scenario to provide examples of contesting stories. (10 marks)
1.4 In the article above, Helen Zille is referred to as “an unrepentant racist”, provide the definition for racism. (4 marks)
1.5 Define racial prejudice and discuss how it is presented in the above scenario. (5 marks)
1.6 Identify the definition of direct racism and point out an example from the Mkentane (2022) article that relates to this form of discrimination. (2 marks)
1.7 Point out the ways indirect racial discrimination is displayed in the Mkentane (2022) article. (2 marks)
1.8 Identify and discuss the impact of media racism. (10 marks)
1.9 Using your discussion for Question 1.8, search for TWO articles in which the media has negatively represented the ‘Other’. In answering this question, you need to provide us with two screenshots of the article title as well as the full reference for the image/article. (8 marks)
Read the following case study and answer the questions to follow:
Thandi was classified as black during the Apartheid era in South Africa. Her mother was a black woman, and her father was a White man. Thandi was raised with her mother in a black community however, her skin colour was lighter than anyone in her community and she had hazel brown eyes – different to anyone around her. Growing up, she was never allowed to be seen with her father; they always needed to sneak around. Often, her mother needed to pretend to be the cleaner at his home so he could spend time with his daughter. Thandi’s mother had to explain to people in the community that she was looking after the child for a family member, so that people did not become suspicious about her mothering a daughter with a white man. Thandi attended a school in a black community until the end of the Apartheid regime. Thereafter, she moved to a racially integrated school. She struggled to make friends at the school as she looked coloured, but only spoke Xhosa. The Xhosa-speaking individuals at her school also thought this was odd, as she didn’t look like them. Thandi expressed that she does not know where she belongs.
Question 2
2.1 Explain how the Apartheid body, based on three central beliefs, had made an impact on Thandi’s identity. Provide examples from the case study. (7 marks)
After a year of attending the racially integrated school, Thandi became friends with her white classmates. They were the only group of students who befriended her and accepted her socially to some degree. They found her to be intriguing as she was light-skinned, has curly hair, and had the ‘funniest’ accent. Thandi changed her accent to fit in with the crowd and quietened her voice to not seem like the ‘other people of colour at the school’
2.2 Explain the stage of marginal identity development, according to Bulhan, that Thandi is experiencing. (5 marks)
2.3 Explain the reasoning for your answer in Question 2.2 by drawing on the above case studies. (3 marks)
The home Thandi was raised in was struggling financially. Thandi’s mother was able to obtain a job as a receptionist that was hours away from their home to make ends meet. Thandi and her cousins were raised by their grandmother, who had a vegetable garden and chickens that she would sell to feed the family. Thandi was the only one in her family who went to a school outside of their community. Her cousin, Litha, attended school in the community and, after graduating, was not able to find a job. Litha and the other family members called Thandi “a fake mlungu’ (fake white person) and treated her different to the other cousins.
2.4 The socio-historical context had detrimental consequences on Black South Africans. Discuss whether Black adolescents are characterised as damaged or as resilient. Draw on the case study/studies to support your answer. (14 marks)
Question 3: (16 marks)
3.1 There are various ways in which individuals frame their understanding of themselves. Explain the ways the processes of representation and self-representation work. (12 marks)
3.2 Identity dynamics can be conceptualised as a complex system created through the dynamic tension between separate yet inter-related dimensions of self. Apply these dimensions to your ‘self’: How you define yourself; how you feel your identity ought to be; how it should be shaped according to the groups in which you belong. (4 marks)