Factors affecting prejudice Flashcards
What are the 3 factors that affect prejudice?
Gender
Personality
Culture
How does gender affect prejudice? (2 points)
Society has developed a sense of gender identity (masculinity and femininity) through socialisation
Gender stereotypes affect how we perceive ourselves and others eg. men being perceived to be more prejudiced and women more empathetic
How does personality affect prejudice?
Authoritarian personality usually applies to individuals known/viewed as being strict or oppressive towards subordinates - could lead to more prejudice
Define ‘culture’.
The values, ideas, customs, and behavioural norms of a particular group of people in society
Define ‘intergroup prejudice’.
Negative attitudes and beliefs towards a different culture
Define ‘intragroup prejudice’.
Negative views of different subcultural groups within a culture
Define ‘multiculturalism’.
The diversity of all cultures being accepted within society with no group being considered superior
How does culture affect prejudice?
Celebrating multiculturalism can help reduce prejudice
What are the supporting and refuting studies of gender and personality affecting prejudice?
Gender
Supporting: Ekehammar et al (2003)
Refuting: The MAOA gene
Personality
Supporting: Adorno (1950)
Refuting: Realistic Conflict Theory
How does Ekehammar et al (2003) support gender affecting prejudice? (2 points)
43 Swedish university students were shown photographs of Swedish faces and immigrant faces
Results showed a gender difference - women expressed lower explicit prejudice and higher implicit prejudice than men
How does the MAOA gene refute gender affecting prejudice? (3 points)
The gene increases testosterone in men
Women carry 0-2 copies (XX) while men carry 0-1 copies (XY)
Observed gender differences (men being more prejudiced than women) may be due to underlying biological differences rather than social ones
How does Adorno (1950) support personality affecting prejudice? (2 points)
He created the Fascism ‘F’ Scale - the higher your F-scale score, the more prejudiced you are
Fascism - the belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, contempt for democracy, and an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader
How does Realistic Conflict Theory refute personality affecting prejudice? (2 points)
Suggests that individuals are more likely to be prejudiced if there’s competition over limited resources in society (jobs, money)
Observed personality difference (authoritarian personality types being more prejudiced) is perhaps a result of social influence
What are the 3 supporting and 2 refuting pieces of evidence for culture affecting prejudice?
Supporting:
Guimond (2013)
Al Zahrani & Kaplowitz (1993)
Triandis (1995)
Refuting:
Jackson et al (2019)
Current affairs
How does Guimond (2013) support culture affecting prejudice? (3 points)
Looked at cultural norms and government policies within multicultural societies
Found that anti-Muslim attitudes were reduced with pro-diversity campaigns
Shows how prejudice can be reduced with the promotion of multiculturalism and diversity
How does Al Zahrani & Kaplowitz (1993) support culture affecting prejudice? (2 points)
They found that Saudis, a collectivist culture, self- reported more negative out group bias than Americans, an individualistic culture
Suggests that prejudice might develop because of differences in cultural beliefs
How does Triandis (1995) support culture affecting prejudice? (2 points)
Argues that collectivists are more likely to identify with their cultural group - leads to greater in-group solidarity and more prejudice and discrimination
Social distance from out-groups tends to be stronger in collectivist cultures, while it is decreased in individualist societies
Define ‘ecological factors’.
Factors from the social or natural environment that threaten societies’ existence
How does Jackson et al (2019) refute culture affecting prejudice? (3 points)
They argue that tighter cultural norms result in more prejudice
According to their research, ecological threats cause cultures to tighten and more prejudice to occur
Suggests that social factors of influence/competition for ecological threats are also required for prejudice to occur
How do current affairs refute culture affecting prejudice? (3 points)
Prejudice can also be caused by social influence e.g. nationalist political parties and policies in many Western individualistic nations
USA (2016):
As president, Trump drafted laws aimed at more aggressive deportation and the construction of a border wall
Europe (2016):
+ Nationalist leaders were elected in Poland and the Czech Republic
+ The UK decided to leave the EU
