Intergroup Behaviour Flashcards
what are stereotypes (cognitive)?
shared and simplified evaluative image beliefs of a social group, which can be exaggerated and generalised
what is prejudice (affective)?
unfavourable attitudes towards a social group and its members, originating from perceiving them as a threat to own group
what is discrimination (behavioural)?
behavioural expression of prejudice, where people are treated differently based on their group membership
old-fashioned racism
blatant, negative, and unfair
aversive racism
holds both egalitarian attitudes and negative emotions towards outgroups
hostile sexism
women are irrational and inferior
benevolent sexism
positive attitudes towards traditional idealised female roles
how can prejudice be measured?
using self-reports (blatant or subtle) or behavioural measures to assess attitude discrimination and stereotyping
measuring prejudice involves
implicit cognition and implicit association test
individual differences in prejudice: authoritarianism
authoritarian personalities can predispose people to prejudice as a consequence of overstrict parenting, which displaces aggression towards minority or low-status groups
individual differences in prejudice: social dominance
shows a preference for group-based hierarchy and inequality from those holding more power in society
individual level approaches
stereotype suppression
cues
implicit bias
stereotype suppression
actively inhibits stereotypic thoughts
- has an unintended rebound effect leading to greater stereotype use
- not inevitable for individuals already low in prejudice
cues
developed to control prejudice, as being aware of contradicting stereotypes can lead to guilt. this develops control cues and inhibits prejudice responses, which become automatic with practice
implicit bias
teaching self-regulation of prejudice habit breaking
intrapersonal self-regulation and interpersonal anti-prejudice social norms influence expression of prejudice
intergroup approaches
allport’s contact hypothesis
allport’s contact hypothesis (1954)
requires direct contact to reduce IG hostility under appropriate optimal conditions:
- equal status
- cooperation
- acquaintance potential
- institutional support
equal status
contact-prejudice relationship is weaker for groups of lower vs higher status
cooperation
team sports are more likely to have higher IG attitudes for all contact frequencies
acquaintance potential
importance of intra- and inter- personal friendships for encouraging positive attitudes without intergroup anxiety
institutional support
organisations can establish communication of non-prejudiced norms, and encourage IG cooperation and reduced bias
what does contact lead to?
increased outgroup knowledge, empathy, and reduced IG anxiety
this reduces stereotyping and perceptions of IG threat
weaknesses of contact hypothesis
- limited effect size shows only works in reducing prejudice in some people
- can be negative or positive
- pre-existing attitudes might lead to avoiding IG contact
- unfalsifiable
- direct contact unlikely to occur naturally
indirect contact strategies
extended contact
vicarious contact
media contact
imagined contact
e-contact
extended contact
can be active/passive, and occurs through another person
friend-of-a-friend phenomenon reduces IG anxiety by knowing positive relationships are possible
avoids cognitive dissonance of disliking a friend’s friend, and fear of outgroup rejection
consequences of extended contact
reduces explicit IG prejudice and threat perceptions
strongest effect when there is little chance of direct IG contact
vicarious contact
observing interactions between ingroup and outgroup members, however negative examples seen in the media can affect attitudes
fail to persist over time
imagined contact
help to facilitate future interactions with outgroups by reducing IG anxiety and perceptions of threat, through developing scripts for possible interactions
direct contact still more effective
imagined contact consequences
reduces explicit and implicit prejudice
may also have inadvertent effects
e-contact
synchronous online communication between group members who have never met, has long-term effects on IG attitudes
