Moreover, we expect that this black sheep effect is mediated by high caste identity and not mediated by regional, religious or national identity. In this study, we used vignettes describing a social conflict situation which comprised norms of violence and morality, as reflecting common norms in the Indian context. The social conflict situation always entailed an intentional aggressive interaction between a victim and a perpetrator.
Participants read two stories that depicted two protagonists as either a victim or perpetrator. The protagonists were either of high or low caste which was depicted using implicit stimuli of names and faces pre-tested.
They then had to choose and pick, as a response, one out of nine pictorial depictions that represented the protagonists in the story on a vertical line with varying degrees of status distance. At the end of each story participants also had to rate the moral acceptability of the behavior that took place between the protagonist and the victim. This procedure was chosen based on the general idea that status judgments are supported by an automatic simulation of vertical location von Hecker et al.
We assume that abstract concepts such as status can be mentally represented in an embodied way Niedenthal et al. The paradigm used here involves such status representations via the vertical dimension. In this study, we interpret black sheep effect in the form of status evaluations wherein the in-group member is not necessarily excluded but devalued in status instead. That is, when the perpetrator is portrayed as someone from their in-group high caste , they would then derogate that individual by representing him as having lower status.
Low caste individuals on the other hand would not differ in the way they represent status regardless of the condition, that is, they would generally show the trend of depicting a perpetrator as having greater status than a victim regardless of whether the perpetrator is of high or low caste 3. Finally, we also predict that high caste identity will also mediate the relationship between caste affiliation and social outcomes of caste like endorsement of affirmative action.
One hundred and two South Indians from various parts of Chennai, India, were recruited in person by choosing a convenience sampling technique. The participants were approached from various parts of the city and explained the study with examples and in the local language — Tamil. As a cover story, they were informed that the survey was part of a large research project that would help in understanding the Indian society better. The test materials were administered using paper and pencil.
The researcher stayed in the area until the participants had completed the survey and they answered questions if necessary. All participants completed the demographic questions and were then instructed that they would be reading a few stories and were required to answer a few questions based on them.
Participants were then randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. Participants then read the stories pertaining to each condition and answered questions on status representation and moral acceptability for each story. This was then followed by answering questions on attitudes toward affirmative action, about their national, regional, caste and religious identities and, finally, the manipulation check.
At the end of the questionnaire all participants were debriefed. Names and faces were pre-tested, from which four names and faces emerged; two belonging to low caste and two belonging to high caste from South India. The names contained the first name and a surname, indicative of a certain caste. The length of the name was not controlled since certain surnames are more indicative of the caste than others. The low caste names included Selvaraj Mani and Kannan Pandian. The high caste names included Murali Raman and Ravi Krishnamurthy.
The characteristic features used to distinguish faces belonging to different caste included i Skin color, wherein a high caste face typically had lighter skin color and a low caste face had a darker skin color ii Facial hair, wherein a higher caste face would have less to no facial hair while a lower caste face would have more facial hair, and iii General grooming, wherein a high caste face looked more groomed than a low caste face.
Participants were never explicitly informed that the people in stories were either of high or low caste. Participants read two stories that described a social threat situation wherein two protagonists in a story were either a victim or a perpetrator.
The particular conflict situations, involving issues of violence and morality, were chosen because of their commonness in the Indian society and because such issues are heavily rooted in distinguishing high and low caste characteristics.
In the caste norm-consistent condition all participants read two stories in a South Indian context, wherein the victim was portrayed as a high caste member and the perpetrator was portrayed as a low caste member, based on the caste associations which names and faces would elicit.
While nobody got hurt, the drivers jumped out of their cars and started hurling verbal abuses at each other. That quarrel soon turned into a proper fight when Selvaraj Mani jumped out from his car and attacked Murali Raman.
Murali Raman was pulled out of his car and was punched hard by Selvaraj Mani. Murali Raman finally fell to the ground and shouted apologies, but Selvaraj Mani did not stop kicking him until the police came and pulled the two drivers apart. That quarrel soon turned into a proper fight when Murali Raman jumped out from his car and attacked Selvaraj Mani.
Selvaraj Mani was pulled out of his car and was punched hard by Murali Raman. Selvaraj Mani finally fell to the ground and shouted apologies, but Murali Raman did not stop kicking him until the police came and pulled the two drivers apart. Thus, the low caste name was presented below the low caste photo and the high caste name was presented below the high caste photo. Two different conflict situations were chosen.
One was about a traffic jam situation and the second was about a situation in the office where two colleagues get into a dispute see Appendix 1 for all stories. The stories were counterbalanced within the South Indian context and also between conditions. All stories were in Tamil 4. Participants were asked to indicate their caste by choosing one of the categories.
After reading the stories participants had to choose one out of nine pictorial representations which, according to them, best depicted the social status between the two protagonists in the story. Each picture comprised a vertical line with two circles representing each of the protagonists with varying degrees of status. The first and the ninth picture represented greatest status distance but in different directions, for instance, the victim on the lower part of the vertical line and the perpetrator on the upper part of the vertical line, or the positions of victim and perpetrator reversed.
Picture 5 had two circles merged into one on a vertical line, indicating equal status. These meanings were explained to participants. Distance was scored based on the picture whereby the picture representing the greatest distance got a score of 4 and the picture representing least distance got a score of 1.
The picture representing equal status got a score of 0. Positive distance values were scored for congruent representation of status and stories, that is, victim at lower position and perpetrator at higher position. Negative distance values were assigned for incongruent representation of status and stories, that is, victim at higher position and perpetrator at lower position.
Each participant received a score for each of the stories. All chosen distances pertaining to the South Indian stories were combined together, to yield a distance score. All items were answered in Tamil. At the end of the study participants were presented with all eight names of the protagonists and were asked to indicate which caste they belonged to by choosing high caste, low caste, or an unsure option.
In general, the majority of participants categorized both South Indian high caste protagonists as belonging to the high caste and South Indian low caste protagonists as belonging to the low caste. Thus, we can assume that the names and faces of the protagonists were sufficient to identify the caste. All participants read the stories and made individual status depiction for each story.
To test our predictions, we checked whether caste-norm consistency coded 0 as cast norm-inconsistent, 1 as caste norm-consistent was associated with high-caste identity mediator. That is, we predicted a caste norm inconsistent condition would lead to incongruent status representations victim seen as of higher status and perpetrator seen as of lower status , as mediated by high-caste identity, but that this effect might be seen only amongst high caste individuals.
Similarly, we predicted that a caste-norm inconsistent condition would lead to less moral acceptability of the high-caste perpetrator, as mediated by greater high caste identity, and again only amongst high-caste individuals. Religion, education, gender, perceived socioeconomic class, national, regional, and religious identities were all controlled for.
Furthermore, since we wanted to examine the role of one identity in particular, it was essential to control for these other identities. Intercorrelations, means, and standard deviations for all identity variables and actual caste.
Theoretical model of the relationship between condition norm consistent vs. Status representation as a function of caste high vs. Thus, we see that caste norm inconsistency leads to higher caste identity which in turn results in incongruent status distances, however, only amongst high caste individuals. The analyses were repeated for each of the other identities religious, national, regional, and low caste that were used as mediators while controlling for the other.
Thus, we see that caste norm inconsistency leads to more high-caste identity which in turn results in lesser moral acceptability, however, only amongst high-caste individuals. Moral acceptability as a function of caste high vs. Thus, high caste leads to opposition of affirmative action partially due to heightened upper caste identity.
The analyses were repeated for each of the other identities while controlling for the other. Theoretical model of the relationship between caste high vs. In this research, we apply a well-established theoretical framework incorporating social identity theory Tajfel and Turner, , the black sheep effect Marques et al. It is important to state that we are not claiming that this study answered all the nuances seen in exploring the caste system but has paved the way toward a better understanding of this concept.
Overall, we found support for our argument that group membership to a particular caste has consequences in the way one perceives status amongst fellow members in the society. More specifically, we validated that when high-caste individuals learn that their fellow in-group member engaged in norm-violating behavior then they devalue the status of that in-group member.
Thus, for instance, when a high-caste member marries a low caste member, this high caste member will be devalued by his fellow in-groupers owing to norm-violation. Authors: Donald Johnson, Jean Johnson.
Additional Background Reading on Asia. Student Jerry Tian gives us his perspective. North Korea: Looking Beyond the Stereotypes. We've compiled resources to help you cut through the stereotypes surrounding North Korea and more deeply examine the country, its people, and the complexities of its politics and nuclear program. China Learning Initiatives. The World's Most Incredible Alphabet. Hint: It was invented to fit a language that previously used a borrowed writing system. Visualize the World.
Museum resources and educational resources that help students develop visual literacy and a better understanding of the world. Revelations from the Brush. A case for practicing calligraphy from one learner's perspective. The Three Teachings. How Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism complement one another. Read on to learn about the "fourth teaching. Math, Science, and Technology in India. The third slot went to the Vaishyas, or the traders, who were created from his thighs.
At the bottom of the heap were the Shudras, who came from Brahma's feet and did all the menial jobs. The main castes were further divided into about 3, castes and 25, sub-castes, each based on their specific occupation. Outside of this Hindu caste system were the achhoots - the Dalits or the untouchables. For centuries, caste has dictated almost every aspect of Hindu religious and social life, with each group occupying a specific place in this complex hierarchy.
Rural communities have long been arranged on the basis of castes - the upper and lower castes almost always lived in segregated colonies, the water wells were not shared, Brahmins would not accept food or drink from the Shudras, and one could marry only within one's caste. The system bestowed many privileges on the upper castes while sanctioning repression of the lower castes by privileged groups. Often criticised for being unjust and regressive, it remained virtually unchanged for centuries, trapping people into fixed social orders from which it was impossible to escape.
Despite the obstacles, however, some Dalits and other low-caste Indians, such as BR Ambedkar who authored the Indian constitution, and KR Narayanan who became the nation's first Dalit president, have risen to hold prestigious positions in the country.
Historians, though, say that until the 18th Century, the formal distinctions of caste were of limited importance to Indians, social identities were much more flexible and people could move easily from one caste to another. Ancient India in the Vedic Period c. Each Varna propounds specific life principles to follow; newborns are required to follow the customs, rules, conduct, and beliefs fundamental to their respective Varnas.
The lowest caste was the Dalits, the untouchables, who handled meat and waste, though there is some debate over whether this class existed in antiquity. This understanding was a reflection of the belief in an eternal order to human life dictated by a supreme deity. The caste system in ancient India had been executed and acknowledged during, and ever since, the Vedic period that thrived around — BCE. The underlying reason for adhering to Varna duties is the belief in the attainment of moksha on being dutiful.
Belief in the concept of Karma reinforces the belief in the Varna life principles. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras form the fourfold nature of society, each assigned appropriate life duties and ideal disposition. Men of the first three hierarchical castes are called the twice-born; first, born of their parents, and second, of their guru after the sacred thread initiation they wear over their shoulders. The Varna system is seemingly embryonic in the Vedas, later elaborated and amended in the Upanishads and Dharma Shastras.
Brahmins were revered as an incarnation of knowledge itself, endowed with the precepts and sermons to be discharged to all Varnas of society. They were not just revered because of their Brahmin birth but also their renunciation of worldly life and cultivation of divine qualities, assumed to be always engrossed in the contemplation of Brahman, hence called Brahmins. Priests, gurus, rishis, teachers, and scholars constituted the Brahmin community.
They would always live through the Brahmacharya celibacy vow ordained for them. Even married Brahmins were called Brahmachari celibate by virtue of having intercourse only for reproducing and remaining mentally detached from the act.
Brahmins were the foremost choice as tutors for the newborn because they represent the link between sublime knowledge of the gods and the four Varnas. This way, since the ancestral wisdom is sustained through guru-disciple practice, all citizens born in each Varna would remain rooted to the requirements of their lives.
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