10. Prejudice and Discrimination

Question 1

Define prejudice.

Answer 1

Attitudes towards members of a Group that is based on only the Group Membership, usually negative

Question 2

List aspects for which one can be discriminated against.

Answer 2

Diseases
Hair Colour
Profession
Religion
Sexual orientation
Gender
Ethnicity
Weight
Appearance
Gender
Physical State

Question 3

Consequences of Prejudice

Answer 3

MILD - avoiding victims (e.g. fat, disabled People)
STRONG - keeping victims away from Jobs, educational institutions or neighbourhoods
EXTREME - Apartheid, open agression and violence, genocide

Question 4

What are the components of prejudice?

Answer 4

an AFFECTIVE component
a COGNITIVE component
a BEHAVIOURAL component

Question 5

Describe what is meant by the affective component of prejudice?

Answer 5

• type of Emotion linked with attitude (Anger, warmth)

- the extremity of the attitude (mild uneasiness, outright hostility)

Question 6

Describe what is meant by the cognitive component of prejudice.

Answer 6

STEREOTYPE
- identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the Group, regardless of actual Variation among the members

Question 7

Describe what is meant by the behavioural component of prejudice.

Answer 7

DISCRIMINATION

• the beoliefs/thoughts that make up the attitude
• unjustified negative/harmful Action towards the members of a Group simply because of their Membership of that group

Question 8

Explain how discrimination is linked to prejudice.

Answer 8

Discrimination is the BEHAVIOUR that is consistent with the attitude prejudice

Question 9

What study provides evidence for the weakness of the attitude-behaviour link?

Answer 9

LaPiere 1934

• Chinese couple visit more than 200 Restaurants, Hotels and Motels
• served at every single Business
• months later, a questionnaire is sent out to these businesses
• of the 128 replies he obtained 92% said they would NOT accept chinese guests at their establishments

Question 10

The number of blatant acts of discrimination has decreased sharply. Why is discrimination often avoided?

Answer 10

Situational factors

• laws against it
• norms, social pressure
• fear of retaliation

Question 11

Rothbart & Hallmark (1988)

Answer 11

• participants played the role of secretary of defense of one of two fictional countries (Takonia or Navalia)
• These two countries engaged in an arms race - their Task was to vote Policy Options with regard to effectiveness of Winning that arms race:
  -Policy Options varied from:
  MILD: one-sided stop of race plus 20% disarmament
  HIGH: build up defense and threaten first strike if other Country does not reduce armament

RESULTS
- subjects viewed coercion as more effective in changing the behaviour of their OPPONENT than in chnaging the behaviour of their own Nation

• People perceive harsh Actions more justified when used on Outgroups than when used on their own in-group

Question 12

Why is subtle discrimination exercised?

Answer 12

to avoid the Costs of overt discrimination

Question 13

Name two types of subtle discrimination.

Answer 13

Tokenism, reverse discrimination

Question 14

Explain Tokenism

Answer 14

— trivial positive Action in favor of the victim of prejudice
— provides an excuse for later negative actions

Question 15

Reversed discrimination:

Definition and costs?

Answer 15

— behavior is too positive

Costs:
— inflated hopes —> unrealistic expectations —> later disappointment
— subtle strategy to avoid close contact
— envy of competitions

Question 16

How to measure racial attitudes?

Answer 16

Explicit measures:
— lie detector test (bogus, convinces participants to respond honestly)

Implicit measures:
— stereotype priming (e.g. Payne 2001)
— Implicit Association Test

Question 17

Theories for the existence of stereotypes/racism

Answer 17

— prejudice als personality trait
— scape-goat theory
— realistic conflict
— social categorization —> the minimal group paradigm
— social learning
— sociobiological approaches

Question 18

Prejudice as a personality trait:

The Freudian Perspective

Answer 18

— socialization of children involves a balance between discipline and self-affirmation

— if too much discipline (coerced conformity)

• natural aggression against parents is displaced towards alternative victims
• due to feared consequences of direct aggression to parents

— this leads to the authoritarian personality:

• obedience to authorities
• aggression to those further down the ladder

— rated using F-Scale

Question 19

Prejudice as a personality trait:

Counterevidence

Answer 19

PETTIGREW 1958
— OPEN RACISM in south africa, yet normal values on F-Scale
— Uniformity of prejudice in some cultures and subgroups of societies
— change is often too fast for the cause of childhood experiences

Question 20

Scapegoat Theory

Hovland & Sears, 1940

Answer 20

• frustration causes aggression against vulnerable targets

- aggression is driven by emotions, not group goals

Question 21

The theory of realistic conflict as a cause of prejudice and discrimination

Answer 21

frequently, there is competition for scarce resources
e.g. jobs, status, houses

Consequences:
• negative attitudes towards opponent
• view of one’s own group as morally superior (more deserving)
• tendency to view the other group as a homogenous hostile group
• strong prejudice

Question 22

Social Categorization as a cause of prejudice

Answer 22

• distinction between ingroup and our group “us” and “them”
• based on race, gender, religion
• affective component -> ingroup favouritism
• outgroup is seen as more homogenous
• the ultimate attribution error

Question 23

higher entitativity of a group can lead to prejudice. Why?

Answer 23

• norms
• categorical differentiation
• self-interest
• social identity