The Influence of Globalisation on Behaviour 🌍

Introduction: Why does globalisation matter in psychology?

Imagine students waking up, checking a phone made in one country, wearing clothes designed in another, and listening to music from across the world. That is globalisation in everyday life. Globalisation means the increasing connection of people, businesses, technologies, and cultures around the world. In psychology, this matters because people do not develop in isolation. Their beliefs, identity, communication styles, and behaviour are shaped by contact with other cultures through travel, media, migration, trade, and the internet.

In the IB Psychology SL sociocultural approach, globalisation is important because it helps explain how behaviour is influenced by social and cultural contact. It also connects to enculturation, acculturation, social identity, and social influence. By the end of this lesson, students should be able to explain what globalisation is, describe how it affects behaviour, and use real examples to support psychological reasoning.

Learning objectives

• Explain the main ideas and terminology behind the influence of globalisation on behaviour.
• Apply IB Psychology SL reasoning to examples of globalisation.
• Connect globalisation to the broader sociocultural approach.
• Summarize how globalisation fits into identity, social cognition, stereotyping, culture, enculturation, and acculturation.
• Use evidence and examples related to globalisation and behaviour.

What is globalisation?

Globalisation refers to the growing interconnectedness of societies across the world. It happens through technology, international trade, migration, tourism, global media, and communication networks. People can now interact with others from very different backgrounds much more easily than in the past.

In psychology, the key question is not just how globalisation changes the world economy, but how it changes people’s behaviour and thinking. For example, a teenager in one country may adopt fashion styles, slang, or music preferences from another country because those influences are shared through social media. A family that migrates may also adjust its habits after arriving in a new cultural environment.

Globalisation is not the same as culture itself. Culture includes the values, customs, norms, and traditions shared by a group. Globalisation changes culture by increasing contact between groups, which can lead to both cultural exchange and cultural change.

How globalisation influences behaviour

Globalisation affects behaviour in many ways. One major effect is the spread of ideas, products, and lifestyles. When people repeatedly see certain behaviours represented in media, they may begin to copy them. This can affect language, dress, eating habits, music, relationships, and even attitudes about success or beauty.

For example, fast-food chains, global advertising, and streaming platforms can influence dietary choices and leisure activities. Social media can also shape self-image by exposing people to global beauty standards. These standards may encourage some people to compare themselves with idealised images, which can affect self-esteem and behaviour.

Globalisation can also create pressure to adapt. If students moves to a new country or regularly interacts with global media, there may be a stronger need to understand different social norms. This can lead to behavioural changes that help a person fit in, avoid conflict, or gain acceptance.

At the same time, globalisation can support diversity and cultural exchange. People may learn about new traditions, languages, and viewpoints. This can broaden social understanding and reduce prejudice when contact is positive and respectful.

Globalisation, enculturation, and acculturation

To understand the influence of globalisation on behaviour, it helps to connect it with two key terms: enculturation and acculturation.

Enculturation is the process of learning the norms and values of one’s own culture from family, school, peers, and media. Globalisation changes enculturation because children and adolescents are now exposed to both local culture and global culture at the same time. For example, a child may learn traditional family values at home while also absorbing international trends from online videos.

Acculturation is the process of adapting to a new culture after contact with it. This often happens through migration or long-term exposure to another society. Globalisation can increase acculturation because people encounter other cultures more often, even without moving countries. A person may begin to use different greetings, foods, or communication styles after interacting with a global community.

Psychologist John Berry described several acculturation strategies:

• Integration: keeping aspects of the original culture while also adopting parts of the new culture.
• Assimilation: giving up the original culture and fully adopting the new culture.
• Separation: maintaining the original culture and avoiding the new one.
• Marginalisation: losing connection with both cultures.

Globalisation can support integration because people may mix local and global influences. For example, students might celebrate a family tradition at home while also enjoying international music and online gaming communities.

Identity and social cognition in a global world

The sociocultural approach explains behaviour by looking at how people think about themselves and others in social contexts. Globalisation influences identity because individuals increasingly compare themselves to people from many cultures, not just those nearby.

Identity is the sense of who a person is. Globalisation can make identity more flexible, because people may combine local identity with global influences. Some psychologists call this a “hybrid identity,” meaning a person’s identity blends elements from different cultures.

Social cognition also changes in a global environment. Social cognition refers to how people process information about others and social situations. Through global media, people are exposed to new roles, beliefs, and lifestyles. This can change expectations about what is “normal.” It can also reduce stereotypes if people gain more realistic knowledge about other groups.

However, globalisation can also strengthen stereotypes if media presents oversimplified or biased images of cultures. For example, if a film repeatedly shows one group in only one type of role, viewers may begin to assume that the stereotype is true for everyone in that group. This shows that globalisation can both challenge and reinforce social bias.

Real-world examples of globalisation and behaviour

A clear example of globalisation is the worldwide spread of social media platforms. These platforms allow people to copy trends almost instantly. A dance, phrase, or fashion style can appear in one country and become popular around the world within days. This affects behaviour because people often imitate what seems socially rewarded.

Another example is international migration. A student who grows up in one country but moves to another may experience changes in speech, food preferences, and friendship patterns. Their behaviour may shift as they navigate different cultural expectations. This is a strong example of acculturation.

A third example is global advertising. Brands often use similar images and slogans across many countries to create shared consumer desires. This can influence behaviour by shaping preferences and purchase decisions. It may also affect self-concept if advertisements suggest that success, popularity, or attractiveness look a certain way.

students can think of globalisation like a network of repeated social messages. The more often a behaviour is seen, rewarded, and shared, the more likely people are to adopt it.

Using IB Psychology reasoning in answers

When answering IB Psychology questions, it is important to do more than define a term. Strong responses explain behaviour using psychological concepts and link them to evidence or examples.

A good structure is:

1. Define the key term.
2. Explain the psychological process.
3. Apply it to a real example.
4. Link it to the sociocultural approach.

For example, if asked how globalisation influences behaviour, students could explain that globalisation increases exposure to foreign cultural models through media and migration. This exposure can affect behaviour through observation, imitation, and adaptation. Then the answer could give an example such as language mixing, fashion adoption, or changing family roles. Finally, the answer should connect this to the sociocultural approach by showing that behaviour is shaped by the interaction between the person and social environment.

This kind of reasoning is important because it shows understanding rather than memorisation.

Why globalisation is important in the sociocultural approach

The sociocultural approach argues that behaviour is influenced by the social and cultural context in which people live. Globalisation fits this approach perfectly because it changes the context itself. People are no longer influenced only by local family and community. They are also influenced by international media, online communities, global brands, and cross-cultural contact.

This means behaviour should not be seen as fixed or isolated. It is dynamic and shaped by social learning, group membership, cultural values, and contact with other cultures. Globalisation helps psychologists understand why behaviours may become more similar across countries in some areas, while still remaining different in others.

In IB Psychology, this topic is useful because it shows that culture is not static. It changes over time, and people change with it. Globalisation is one of the strongest forces driving that change.

Conclusion

Globalisation is the growing connection between people and cultures around the world, and it has a powerful influence on behaviour. It affects identity, social cognition, stereotyping, communication, lifestyle, and self-image. It also changes enculturation and acculturation by increasing exposure to new cultural models. Within the sociocultural approach, globalisation shows that behaviour is shaped by social context, cultural contact, and shared systems of meaning.

For IB Psychology SL, students should remember that globalisation is not just about the world economy. It is also about how people think, learn, adapt, and behave in a connected world 🌎.

Study Notes

• Globalisation is the increasing interconnectedness of societies through media, trade, migration, travel, and technology.
• In psychology, globalisation matters because it influences behaviour, identity, and social thinking.
• Globalisation can spread ideas, products, values, and lifestyles across cultures.
• It can affect self-esteem, fashion, language, eating habits, relationships, and consumer behaviour.
• Enculturation is learning one’s own culture; globalisation changes enculturation by exposing people to both local and global influences.
• Acculturation is adapting to a new culture after contact with it.
• Berry’s acculturation strategies are integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalisation.
• Globalisation can create hybrid identities, where people combine local and global cultural influences.
• It can reduce prejudice through positive contact, but it can also reinforce stereotypes through biased media.
• The sociocultural approach explains behaviour through social and cultural context, so globalisation is an important part of this approach.
• For IB exam answers, define the term, explain the process, apply it to an example, and link it to sociocultural psychology.