Bias In The Movie Pelada
Pelada is a self-documented sports film about a young couple who go off on a journey around the world in search of pick-up games. The main characters are Luke and his girlfriend Gwendolyn and the movie is their trip around the world playing in soccer pick-up games. Luke and Gwen met and started dating in college where they both played soccer. The couple had started playing the sport when they were young and continued to play throughout high school and college, but when it came time to go to the next level the pro teams did not want them. Crushed from being rejected to continue their lifelong dream of playing in a stadium filled with thousands of people the couple started looking into other future plans. Luke decided to go to law school and Gwen started writing a book. They both still played soccer together when and wherever they could but it was not enough for the pair who were used to playing the game at a completive level.
The couple then decided to put their new life …show more content…
goals on hold and travel the world to play their favorite sport with others who like them did not make it. They traveled first to South America, then Europe, Africa, and ended their trip in Asia. The couple goes to Brazil, Argentina, Buenos Ares, Bolivia, Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Hungary, England, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, China, Japan, Israel, and Iran. In China Luke discovers that the Chinese are really good at juggling the ball and have excellent control. Luke had thought the Chinese would not be good at soccer because their pro team had only made it into the World Cup once and had lost in the beginning. His mistake illustrates the social psychological term In-group bias. While in Iran the Gwendolyn faces a problem of not being legally allowed to participate in the pick-up games because she is a woman and in Iran there are strict laws for women. Gwen must conform to the laws of Iran and sit on the side lines watching as Luke gets to play.
In-Group Bias In-group bias is [definition]
In the movie, Pelada, there are few examples of in-group bias that Luke and Gwen find themselves in the middle of including when they travel to China and Israel.
Before arriving in China, Luke says he does not expect the Chinese to be good at soccer because the country’s pro soccer team only made it into the World Cup once and lost near the beginning. Luke expects to be able to out play and out maneuver the Chinese but when the couple arrives in China Luke gets a surprise. The men they meet up with play soccer in little parks and in small public areas which require them to have lots of ball control. Luke discovers quickly that the Chinese that he thought would not be any good at soccer are actually better than him in terms of control and foot skills. Luke says he has never been more uncomfortable around a soccer ball as he was while in China. Luke is experiencing in-group bias when he identifies himself with the U.S. pro soccer players and sees all the Chinese as being equal to their pro soccer
team.
When the couple heads off to Israel they soon discover the religious differences of the country carry on to the soccer field. When Luke is playing in a game a goal is made that is called into question by the opposing team and both teams get into an argument on whether or not the goal counts. Each side believes their religion is correct and the other is not which causes them to fight more on the field. Both examples show in-group bias because in both situations one group believes they are superior to the other which as both examples illustrates can cause problems.
Research studies have been done to highlight how in-group bias can cause problems in society. One experiment done by Claudia Toma, Clémentine Bry, and Fabrizio Butera looked at the differences in tension when groups were asked to cooperate with each other versus when asked to compete against one another (Toma, Bry & Butera, 2013). Researchers Toma, Bry, and Butera (2013) split participants into groups of three and gave 3 out of 9 clues about an accident to each participant. The groups were told by the researchers to act as police investigators and determine who out of the four suspects is guilty. The groups were also told that they needed the information from the other people’s clues in their group to solve the case (Toma et al., 2013). Researchers told the cooperation groups that if they solved the case as a team then there would be a reward for everyone as a group. In the competition groups, researchers told participants that the group would also get a reward but if one of them solved the case before the others then that individual would get a separate reward also. The study found that in cooperation groups more people found the guilty suspect versus the competitive group and also rated the competitive group as having more tension than the cooperation group (Toma et al., 2013).
The research study and the movie both illustrate how in-group bias can lead people to make inaccurate decisions in life. In the movie when the couple is in Israel they see the religious differences between the two teams and how they let their own bias for each other ruin a soccer game. When competing against one another it is easy for people to let biases and the need to be superior over rule their judgement which causes problems to arise. In the study that is shown when researchers pin group members against one another. The results were groups often came to the wrong conclusions because they did not look at other’s thoughts and opinions (Toma et al., 2013).
Conformity
Throughout the film the couple has to conform to the countries rules and social norms. Conformity is [definition].
One of the most prevalent examples in the film of conformity is while the couple is in Iran. Iran has strict laws for women defining what they can and cannot do. One of the rules is a woman must wear a hijab to cover her hair at all times she is outside of her home. Gwen must conform to this law and while in Iran she wears a hijab even when she and a few other women get together to play soccer. Gwen must also confirm to the rule that she is not supposed to play soccer with the men but she breaks this rule and as a result the government requests that before the couple leaves the country their tapes must be reviewed.
A research study done by Gregory J. Pool and Andria F. Schwegler looked at the reasoning behind why people conform to social norms such as Luke and Gwen did in the film. Their research shows that when pondering why people conform to social norms looking at accuracy, self-related, and other-related motives should be assessed to determine the answer (Pool & Schwegler, 2007). The researchers conducted two studies, one study looked at the relationship between drinking and recycling and the other looked at how many students would attend their Introduction to Psychology class if told attendance counted towards their grade versus if they were told it had no effect on their grade. For both studies participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire asking how likely they were to meet the target behavior the researchers wanted (Pool & Schwegler, 2007). Participants then filled out another questionnaire after the experiment was over asking how well they met the target behaviors. The results of this study show that when looking at reasons behind conformity just looking at one of the three reasons (accuracy, self-related, or other-related) is not enough to understand conformity (Pool & Schwegler, 2007). When looking at why students conformed and came to class, each class section had about the same numbers of students attending even though one class was told it was not counting towards their grade (Pool & Schwegler, 2007). To understand why class two came to class every day researchers had to look at the different reasons each student had to understand why they conformed to the norm of attending class.
In the film both Gwen and Luke conform to norms of the country they are in and their reasoning behind conforming has to do with their respect towards the country and its social norms. When Gwen decides not to conform to Iran’s law of how women should act and decides to play soccer with the men, she is looking at the situation and not the social norms. The men tell Gwen that she is allowed to play and that they do not have a problem with women joining the men in activities the government does allow. Gwen does conform in Iran and wears the hijab that all women wear showing that she respects the cultures rules. The couple’s time in Iran and how and when Gwen chooses to conform to social norms is what the study done by Pool and Schwegler looked at.
The film Pelada puts social psychology concepts such as in-group bias and conformity into real life situations. In the film Luke comes to terms with the fact that the Chinese are in fact better than him in some areas of soccer even though he thought he would best them at the game. While in Iran Gwen must conform to the country’s rules for women or risk losing their documented journey and being kicked out of the country. Both in-group bias and conformity are popular topics in social psychology research. In a research study that looked at in-group bias, cooperation and competition were looked at to see which would provide more accurate results in terms of finishing a task (Toma, Bry & Butera, 2013). Also a study on conformity showed that people have different reasons for comforting and that only looking at one of the three reasons behind conformity, accuracy, self-related, or other-related, is not enough to determine why an individual would conform (Pool & Schwegler, 2007).
The couple then decided to put their new life …show more content…
goals on hold and travel the world to play their favorite sport with others who like them did not make it. They traveled first to South America, then Europe, Africa, and ended their trip in Asia. The couple goes to Brazil, Argentina, Buenos Ares, Bolivia, Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Hungary, England, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, China, Japan, Israel, and Iran. In China Luke discovers that the Chinese are really good at juggling the ball and have excellent control. Luke had thought the Chinese would not be good at soccer because their pro team had only made it into the World Cup once and had lost in the beginning. His mistake illustrates the social psychological term In-group bias. While in Iran the Gwendolyn faces a problem of not being legally allowed to participate in the pick-up games because she is a woman and in Iran there are strict laws for women. Gwen must conform to the laws of Iran and sit on the side lines watching as Luke gets to play.
In-Group Bias In-group bias is [definition]
In the movie, Pelada, there are few examples of in-group bias that Luke and Gwen find themselves in the middle of including when they travel to China and Israel.
Before arriving in China, Luke says he does not expect the Chinese to be good at soccer because the country’s pro soccer team only made it into the World Cup once and lost near the beginning. Luke expects to be able to out play and out maneuver the Chinese but when the couple arrives in China Luke gets a surprise. The men they meet up with play soccer in little parks and in small public areas which require them to have lots of ball control. Luke discovers quickly that the Chinese that he thought would not be any good at soccer are actually better than him in terms of control and foot skills. Luke says he has never been more uncomfortable around a soccer ball as he was while in China. Luke is experiencing in-group bias when he identifies himself with the U.S. pro soccer players and sees all the Chinese as being equal to their pro soccer
team.
When the couple heads off to Israel they soon discover the religious differences of the country carry on to the soccer field. When Luke is playing in a game a goal is made that is called into question by the opposing team and both teams get into an argument on whether or not the goal counts. Each side believes their religion is correct and the other is not which causes them to fight more on the field. Both examples show in-group bias because in both situations one group believes they are superior to the other which as both examples illustrates can cause problems.
Research studies have been done to highlight how in-group bias can cause problems in society. One experiment done by Claudia Toma, Clémentine Bry, and Fabrizio Butera looked at the differences in tension when groups were asked to cooperate with each other versus when asked to compete against one another (Toma, Bry & Butera, 2013). Researchers Toma, Bry, and Butera (2013) split participants into groups of three and gave 3 out of 9 clues about an accident to each participant. The groups were told by the researchers to act as police investigators and determine who out of the four suspects is guilty. The groups were also told that they needed the information from the other people’s clues in their group to solve the case (Toma et al., 2013). Researchers told the cooperation groups that if they solved the case as a team then there would be a reward for everyone as a group. In the competition groups, researchers told participants that the group would also get a reward but if one of them solved the case before the others then that individual would get a separate reward also. The study found that in cooperation groups more people found the guilty suspect versus the competitive group and also rated the competitive group as having more tension than the cooperation group (Toma et al., 2013).
The research study and the movie both illustrate how in-group bias can lead people to make inaccurate decisions in life. In the movie when the couple is in Israel they see the religious differences between the two teams and how they let their own bias for each other ruin a soccer game. When competing against one another it is easy for people to let biases and the need to be superior over rule their judgement which causes problems to arise. In the study that is shown when researchers pin group members against one another. The results were groups often came to the wrong conclusions because they did not look at other’s thoughts and opinions (Toma et al., 2013).
Conformity
Throughout the film the couple has to conform to the countries rules and social norms. Conformity is [definition].
One of the most prevalent examples in the film of conformity is while the couple is in Iran. Iran has strict laws for women defining what they can and cannot do. One of the rules is a woman must wear a hijab to cover her hair at all times she is outside of her home. Gwen must conform to this law and while in Iran she wears a hijab even when she and a few other women get together to play soccer. Gwen must also confirm to the rule that she is not supposed to play soccer with the men but she breaks this rule and as a result the government requests that before the couple leaves the country their tapes must be reviewed.
A research study done by Gregory J. Pool and Andria F. Schwegler looked at the reasoning behind why people conform to social norms such as Luke and Gwen did in the film. Their research shows that when pondering why people conform to social norms looking at accuracy, self-related, and other-related motives should be assessed to determine the answer (Pool & Schwegler, 2007). The researchers conducted two studies, one study looked at the relationship between drinking and recycling and the other looked at how many students would attend their Introduction to Psychology class if told attendance counted towards their grade versus if they were told it had no effect on their grade. For both studies participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire asking how likely they were to meet the target behavior the researchers wanted (Pool & Schwegler, 2007). Participants then filled out another questionnaire after the experiment was over asking how well they met the target behaviors. The results of this study show that when looking at reasons behind conformity just looking at one of the three reasons (accuracy, self-related, or other-related) is not enough to understand conformity (Pool & Schwegler, 2007). When looking at why students conformed and came to class, each class section had about the same numbers of students attending even though one class was told it was not counting towards their grade (Pool & Schwegler, 2007). To understand why class two came to class every day researchers had to look at the different reasons each student had to understand why they conformed to the norm of attending class.
In the film both Gwen and Luke conform to norms of the country they are in and their reasoning behind conforming has to do with their respect towards the country and its social norms. When Gwen decides not to conform to Iran’s law of how women should act and decides to play soccer with the men, she is looking at the situation and not the social norms. The men tell Gwen that she is allowed to play and that they do not have a problem with women joining the men in activities the government does allow. Gwen does conform in Iran and wears the hijab that all women wear showing that she respects the cultures rules. The couple’s time in Iran and how and when Gwen chooses to conform to social norms is what the study done by Pool and Schwegler looked at.
The film Pelada puts social psychology concepts such as in-group bias and conformity into real life situations. In the film Luke comes to terms with the fact that the Chinese are in fact better than him in some areas of soccer even though he thought he would best them at the game. While in Iran Gwen must conform to the country’s rules for women or risk losing their documented journey and being kicked out of the country. Both in-group bias and conformity are popular topics in social psychology research. In a research study that looked at in-group bias, cooperation and competition were looked at to see which would provide more accurate results in terms of finishing a task (Toma, Bry & Butera, 2013). Also a study on conformity showed that people have different reasons for comforting and that only looking at one of the three reasons behind conformity, accuracy, self-related, or other-related, is not enough to determine why an individual would conform (Pool & Schwegler, 2007).