1.1.4 explanations & research into prejudice

Question 1

what is prejudice

Answer 1

The pre-judgement towards the member of another group, solely on their membership in that group

Question 2

what is discrimination

Answer 2

acting on prejudice

Question 3

what is social identity theory

Answer 3

tajfel and turner 1979

The view that your behaviour is motivated by your social identity, which is determined by the various groups of people to which you belong to, your “in groups”

for example Northern Ireland Catholics and Protestants

Question 4

What is social categorisation

Answer 4

we categorise objects and people in order to understand them. We all automatically categorise ourselves and others as members of social groups. Groups we belong to are our in groups and the groups that we don’t belong to are our out groups

Question 5

What is social identification

Answer 5

we identify with groups that we perceive ourselves to belong to. A membership can be a part of social identification for example we may adopt the groups opinions or wear the same clothes

Question 6

What is social comparison

Answer 6

we are motivated to see our own group as better than inferior groups: out groups. Putting out groups down to make ourselves feel better and this often leads to discrimination

Question 7

what did tajfel in 1970 find in the minimal group experiment

Answer 7

in this experiment he created in and out groups and asked to allocate points to other boys which would be exchanged to money. He found that more points were awarded to the in group

Question 8

strengths of tajfel 1970

Answer 8

social categorisation is sufficient to trigger in group favouritism and discrimination against outgroup

Question 9

competing argument for tajfel 1970

Answer 9

lacks mundane realism and lacks ecological validity

Question 10

strengths of social identity theory

Answer 10

social identity theory provides testable suggestions about how prejudice can be reduced through efforts to increase self-esteem.

fein and spencer 1977 gave students a sense of high or low self-esteem using false feedback on an intelligence test. Students who had low self-esteem later rated Jewish applicants for a job less favourably than an Italian applicant. And this wasn’t the same for those with high self-esteem

Question 11

weaknesses of SIT

Answer 11

ethnocentrism: research evidence suggests that it may only explain inter group behaviours in western societies.

wetherrell 1982 conducted a replication of tajfel he found that indigenous Polynesian kids significantly were more generous in the points than the white New Zealand classmates

Question 12

conclude SIT

Answer 12

it explains group processes such as in and out group behaviour and offers useful implications for reducing prejudice for example by increasing self-esteem. But support is undermined by minimal group experiments that have low mundane realism

Question 13

what is realistic conflict theory

Answer 13

it is a situational theory of prejudice proposed by sherif 1966, developed as an explanation of his famous robbers cave study

Question 14

what is inter group competition

Answer 14

sherif suggested the key to prejudice is competition. He suggested that when two or more groups are striving for the same goal, prejudice and hostility will intensify

Question 15

what is negative interdependence

Answer 15

it occurs in situations where two groups of people are both seeking to achieve a goal that is important for both, yet only one group can reach that goal. This means there is a real conflict of interests. The negative aspect is that each group will act to obstruct the other group. And will mean one groups win is contingent upon the others loss and so intergroup relations will deteriorate

Question 16

what is limited resources

Answer 16

struggle and competition between groups for scarce material for example food/territory or it could be symbolic like political power and this would create high levels of prejudice and discrimination

Question 17

what is positive interdependence and superordinate goals

Answer 17

prejudice that has arisen through Intergroup conflict can be reduced through groups working co-operatively to accomplish a common goal

Question 18

evaluate realistic conflict theory

strengths

Answer 18

Application to reducing prejudice: it has been successfully applied

and proposes that intergroup relations can be enhanced through introducing subordinate goals

the robbers cave experiment : it created inter group competition, as a sporting tournament where only one group could win was occurring. The situation of negative interdependence and the outcome was an escalated amount of violence and increased prejudice. This demonstrates that competition does lead into group hostility and prejudice

Question 19

evaluate realistic conflict theory

weaknesses

Answer 19

competing argument to robbers cave: boys need serious provocation in order to trigger any explicit amount of prejudice or discrimination and it did not lead to hostility

competition may not be necessary: externally imposed competition between groups isn’t necessary to create prejudice, prejudice may be less about competition and more about own knowledge