intergroup relations Flashcards
what are stereotypes?
simplified but widely shared beliefs about the characteristics of groups and their members
what is prejudice
negative affective reaction to a group and its individual members
what is discrimination
negative treatment of a group member because of their group membership
cognitive misers (Fiske and Taylor)
people are seen as cognitive misers
not enough space in working memory to process everyone as an individual
therefore, people rely on shortcuts or heuristics
what is the evidence for the cognitive misers explanation of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination
people draw on stereotypes to gain knowledge about people they barely know
people sometimes use stereotypes and sometimes they do not
what are the limitations to the cognitive misers explanation of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination (study)
- people told they would be working with elderly person to earn a prize, or working independently
- outcome dependent people ascribed less stereotypical traits
- but only when not cognitively busy
what is illusory correlation bias
stereotypes assume correlation between group membership and individual characteristics
we are sensitive to distinctive events, so when two distinctive events occur together it is especially noticeable
e.g., hooligan behaviour in football club with less fans seen as more common, even if proportionally the same in club with more fans
what is category accentuation
mere act of categorisation can distort perceptions of groups
differences between categories are maximised and differences within categories are minimised
what is the outgroup homogeneity effect
tendency to see people within same group as being more similar than they really are
because we like people who share characteristics with ourselves, the net result of the effect can be ingroup bias
how people want to think - motivations/dogmatism
epistemic needs have been linked to intergroup perceptions
dogmatism = tendency to tolerate mutually inconsistent beliefs by isolating them in memory (related to prejudice)
motivations - personal need for structure
- preference for structure in most situations
- high levels of PNS = PPs assigned more stereotypically female traits to a woman
motivations - need for cognitive closure
desire to seek an answer over ambiguity
- desire for predictability
- preference for order and structure
- discomfort with ambiguity
- decisiveness
- closedmindedness
how is the marxist ideology liked to prejudice
- classes have different, conflicting interests
- class conflict stems from ruling class exploitation of the working class
- unequal class system is preserved by false conscious
- class consciousness emerges when people become aware
how does authoritarianism link to prejudice?
- hostility towards jewish people often co-exists with hostility towards other minorities
- people exhibiting seem to share authoritarian tendencies
what is social dominance orientation
hierarchical social order maintained through individual and institutional discrimination
individual difference in preferences for group based dominance and hierarchical group relations in society
what is the dual process model of ideology and prejudice
- RWA and SDO were introduced as personality constructs but research suggests that both constructs are influenced by:
1) contextual factors
2) predicted by core personality traits
what is ethnocentrism and the struggle for superiority
people want their own group to be superior to others
collaboration within groups and competition between groups
what is realistic group conflict theory
struggle for material welfare
what is social identity theory
seeing ones own group in positive terms relative to others
robber’s cave study
PPs separated into two camps, to compete
groups hostile to each other, but when collaboration was required conflict reduced
intergroup bias in different intergroup contexts: gender
- women generally at the wrong end of the battle of the sexes
- but, they are more liked and seen as nicer
- “women are wonderful” stereotype
- prejudice and discrimination do not always go hand in hand
what are hostile sexism and benevolent sexism
hostile: women pose a threat to men’s position
benevolent: wonder are wonderful, and necessary for men’s happiness
what are the pitfalls of benevolent sexism
- women exposed to this believe that society is fairer
- benevolent resists more likely to want to restrict pregnant women’s freedoms
- more likely to blame date rape victims
objectification theory
- changes the way women are treated by others, but also how they see themselves and how they feel they should behave
race and ethnicity - dehumanisation
people of different races/ethnicities are in less contact than gender groups, so relations are different
when people look different/have different customs, they may be seen as less human
this tends to legitimate even the worst actions against them
what are subtle forms of racism?
credentialing
- people show more prejudice after having the opportunity to demonstrate that they are not prejudiced
morder racism
- old fashioned racism has been driven away
- replaced by more subtle, qualified racism
- may lead to aversive racism (avoiding ethnic minorities)
what is ageism
- older people may face many forms of prejudice
- this is also bad for yourself (study found 25% off people who endorsed ageist stereotypes had a cardiovascular event within 30 years)
homophobia
- as of 1973, homosexuality was considered a psychiatric disorder
- associated with traditional religious views and endorsement of traditional gender roles
prejudice in human-animal relations: speciesism - what is this
discrimination against or exploitation of animal species by human beings, based on the assumption of human superiority
