9: stereotypes and discrimination Flashcards
what is intergroup bias
tendency to see ones own group more favorably that another group (outgroup)
what are stereotypes
general beliefs that link a group of people with certain characteristics/behavioral traits
what is prejudice
negative attitudes towards a certain group and its members
what is discrimination
behavior that is in favor or against an individual based on their group membership
explain blatant and subtle intergroup bias
blatant is more obvious intergroup bias
- subtle is less obvious and more prominent in society due to increasing social norms.
- subtle intergroup bias becomes more blatant in situations that are deemed appropriate
what is aversive racism
avoidance of interaction with other racial/ethnic groups perceived as negative
- form of subtle racism
what is implicit bias
unconscious stereotyping and prejudice–> performed without awareness
what are tools used to measure implicit bias
- implicit association task (IAT)
- evaluative priming
- Go/No go association test (GNAT)
what is go/no go association test
task to measure implicit bias
measures the extent with a person can suppress and implicit thought.
what is implicit association task
task to measure implicit biases
measures subconscious associations with objects or ideas.
i.e.) black with bad, white with good
implicit attitudes and stereotypes can predict ___
behaviors
what are neuroscientific measures of implicit biases
ERP and fMRI
- measures sense of threat an individual feels from and outgroup
ERP–> measures brain activity in response to stimuli of senses
fMRI–> measures blood volume/flow in brain to give idea of brain activity
describe the stereotype content model
stereotypes compressed in definitions of warmth and competence
- low competence; high warmth = pity
- low competence; low warmth = disgust
- high competence; low warmth = envy
- high competence; high warmth = pride
what is sexism
a gender stereotype that is descriptive but also prescriptive (tell people how they should act/what they should do)
a prescriptive and descriptive gender stereotype
- tells people how they should act and look
what are the gender stereotypes of men and women using the stereotype content model
men: high competence; low warmth = envy
women: low competence; high warmth = pity
note: these vary across cultures
what is social role theory
stereotypes arise from roles and behaviors established by societal pressures on a particular group
- relies on culture and society
what are the influences that support social role theory
- biological and social influences divide labour of social roles
- people behave in ways that fit the roles they play which continuously establish and reinforce social roles
what does violation of gender stereotypes lead to
social and economic backlash
explain the biases towards homosexuals
attitudes towards homosexuality differ across cultures
- Christian attitudes show strong prejudice towards homosexuality
- individuals 40% less likely to be interviewed for work if associated with homosexuality’s
when was homosexuality removed from the list of mental disorders
1973
explain biases towards handicapped people
afflicted individuals are a target for harm and are often subject to harmful labels
note: attitudes towards disability differ across cultures
explain bias towards obese people
more negative attitudes towards obese, particularly obese women
social norms have made such attitudes internalized
how do economic perspectives affect intergroup bias
intergroup bias increases as a result of competition for limited resources.
cause of scapegoating (displacement of aggression to visibly unliked groups)
example: low employment blamed on immigrants taking jobs
what is the realistic conflict theory
phenomenon that competition for scarce resources between groups breed prejudice, stereotypes, and hostility
how do motivational perspectives affect intergroup bias
minimal group paradigm:
researchers create groups based on arbitrary criteria and then examine how members of these minimal groups behave towards each other
what is social identity theory
self concept and self esteem comes from our personal achievements and the achievements of our ingroup
what is system justification
attempts to explain why members of disadvantaged groups may become accepting of their disadvantaged position
what is uncertainty reduction theory
theory that individual must gain information on an individual through communication to later better predict their intentions and behaviors
how do cognitive perspectives affect intergroup bias
intergroup biases forming as a result of how our brains process information on people
- may differ across people
what is social categorization
process of categorizing oneself and others into groups to simplify perception and apply structure to society
biologists and anthropologists find more genetic variation ____ a race than ____ a race.
how does this contrast socially
within; between
socially, race is seen as a biological distinction
what increases the usage of stereotypes
cognitive loads or low mental energy (ego depletion)
- stereotypes play a role like heuristics
what is outgroup homogeneity effect
tendency to assume that there is a greater similarity among members of outgroups than among members of ingroups
what causes outgroup homogeneity effect
- high use of social categorization
- more contact with ingroup than outgroup so lack of understanding of divergent opinions etc.
- ingroup members aren’t treated as members of a whole
what is biased information processing
stereotypes influence how we communicate, process information, and interpret events
how do stereotypes influence self fulfilling prophecies
stereotypes may lead us to act towards outgroup members in way that encourage the very behavior we expect
what is subtyping
members of a group who don’t wholly fit the stereotype are seen as exceptions and placed in a sub category
- subject to more scrutiny
what is social dominance orientation
trait that measures ones support for social hierarchy and the extent to which they want their ingroup to be superior to outgroups
what is right wing authoritarianism (RWA)
extent to which one values authoritarian aggression and submission
- favor those who obey, prejudice to those who are deviant
what are the motivations that control prejudice
1) external motivations: motivations to prevent from one appearing prejudiced to others
2) internal motivations: motivations in which people truly think prejudice is wrong
what explains individual differences in personality and behavior (discrimination)
neuroanatomy
- differences in brain structure/function explain individual differences in personality and behavior
what is intergroup discrimination associated with
- temporal parietal junction (TPJ)
- dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC)
mediated by mentalizing and empathy (governs neuroanatomical differences)
more white matter integrity and connections with TPJ and DMPFC predicts
reduced intergroup bias
how does culture influence effect intergroup bias
socialization (the process by which people learn the norms, rules, and information of a culture or group)
- influenced by media and socialization
what do members of stigmitised groups experience
suffer setbacks in health, wealth, employment, and more
- more aware of the biases that others hold against them than those who are setting those biases
why do stigmatized groups suffer negative health outcomes
1) perceived discrimination can influence mental and physical health (can be subtle or blatant)
2) exclusion and marginalization can influence mental and physical health (can be subtle or blatant)
what is attributional ambiguity, how does it impact stigmatized groups
groups often struggle to attribute the experiences they have
- individuals don’t know if they are treated due to biases or due to their own being
- attribution to bias protects self esteem, but can backfire
groups may miss opportunities to better themselves or may feel like they have less control to their lives
what is stereotype threat
fear of being evaluated or confirming negative stereotypes of ones group
- can wrongly impact performance and can cause disidentification with the domain
what causes susceptibility to stereotype threat
when stereotype is made evident before experience
ie) women did worse on tests when stereotypical gender differences were revealed. but did just as well as men when gender differences were not revealed
ie) white students did worse on math when asian student proficiency at math was made evident vs when not
why does stereotype threat influence performance
1) triggering physiological arousal (anxious)
2) getting individuals to suppress thoughts of stereotype which drain cognitive resources (cognitively tired)
3) impairs working memory
4) can facilitate negative thoughts and avoidance of failure as opposed to achieving success
how can stereotype threat be alleviated
1) engaging in self affirmation may reduce race/gender gap
2) when individuals are informed that their stereotypes do not apply to the particular context that they are in
3) exposing target individuals to positive role models in heir ingroup
4) reminding individuals of other categories to which one belongs so that they associate themselves with positive stereotypes
why is it challenging to reduce prejudice
most peoples prejudice is implicit, so to reduce it it would challenge values and beliefs that are established
how do dual processes view of prejudice control it
system 1 (experiential): stereotypes/biased attitudes are brought to mind automatically through a reflexive process
system 2 (rational): people employ reflexive processes to regulate/control degree to which these thoughts and behavior influence behavior and judgement
what are limitations to people controlling their biases
- impaired when judgement of others are made when a person is aroused or upset
- difficult when judgement occurs under pressed time or distracted
- ego depletion: exerting control in ones context makes it more difficult to do so in another
what is the contact hypothesis
suggests that contact with intergroups in a positive environment can reduce prejudice between majority and minority groups
