Lecture 11: Social Categorization & Stereotypes l

Question 1

social category

Answer 1

a mental representation of a group of people based on features that characterize that class of people

Question 2

how are social categories created?

Answer 2

effortlessly and automatically

Question 3

can people have many social categories

Answer 3

yes, but they’re not all active in any given moment

Question 4

social categorization leads to

Answer 4

Social categorization -> stereotype activation -> stereotype application

Question 5

social categorization

Answer 5

classifying a person based on features you can infer

Question 6

stereotype activation

Answer 6

the extent to which a stereotype becomes accessible in one’s mind

Question 7

stereotype application

Answer 7

the extent to which a stereotype is used in judging/acting toward members of a target group

Question 8

what are the main social categories in North America?

Answer 8

gender, race, age

Question 9

Ito & Urland, 2003

Answer 9

white participants passively viewed images of male and female Black and white people/ Some categorized the images based on gender, others categorized based on race
ERPs (event-related potentials) were also tracked during the judgment process
ERPs revealed differences in processing of race within 100 ms and based on gender within 200 ms

Question 10

how quickly can we encode race & gender

Answer 10

within 300 ms

Question 11

do we encode race or gender first?

Answer 11

race

Question 12

how do we socially categorize people?

Answer 12

by deciding whether a new stimulus resembles known exemplars from a category

Question 13

what do people who are difficult to categorize cause

Answer 13

• A motivation to socially categorize
• Discomfort for the perceiver

Question 14

what two groups do we divide people into?

Answer 14

ingroups & outgroups

Question 15

ingroups

Answer 15

groups we identify with and belong to

Question 16

outgroups

Answer 16

groups we don’t identify with and don’t belong to

Question 17

prototypicality

Answer 17

The extent to which a person fits the observer’s concept of the essential characteristics of a social category

Question 18

higher prototypicality leads to

Answer 18

easier, faster, more frequent social categorization, and increased stereotyping

Question 19

Prototypicality & Death Penalty

Answer 19

archival analysis of cases involving white victims & Black defendants and whether they received the death penalty or life in prison. Found that people who were more prototypical got the death penalty 56% of the time vs. 24%, controlling for murder severity, attractiveness, etc. because they were more likely to experience prejudice & discriminatory behaviour

Question 20

Prototypicality & Shooter Bias

Answer 20

targets who are higher in racial prototypicality were more likely to receive racial bias in the treatment of whether they were holding a gun or a harmless object

Question 21

what identities are we more likely to be categorized based on?

Answer 21

Identities that are more visible

Question 22

why are people more likely to categorize based on visible identities?

Answer 22

they’re more likely to be accurate at determining these identities by looking at someone

Question 23

visible identities

Answer 23

identities based on cues in the situation & based on our senses

Question 24

situation and social categorization

Answer 24

The situation determines what social categories are more salient

Question 25

goals and social categorization

Answer 25

Our goals determine what we’re looking for

Question 26

subtyping

Answer 26

Sub-categories within a social category

Question 27

what happens when counter-stereotypical information is received?

Answer 27

the person may be perceived to be an isolated exception, or a subtype might be created

Question 28

susan fiske’s stereotype content model

Answer 28

• All stereotypes form along two dimensions: warmth & competence
• These dimensions are fundamental to person perception with evolutionarily adaptive benefits

Question 29

warmth

Answer 29

will they harm or help me?

Question 30

competence

Answer 30

can they act on their intentions?

Question 31

how do we respond to high warmth, high competence

Answer 31

admiration

Question 32

how do we respond to high warmth, low competence?

Answer 32

pity

Question 33

how do we respond to low warmth, high competence

Answer 33

envy

Question 34

how do we respond to low warmth, low competence?

Answer 34

contempt

Question 35

Alex Koch’s updated stereotype content model

Answer 35

there is a third dimension, ideology (conservative vs. progressive)

Question 36

relationship between competence and ideology

Answer 36

Competence is largely independent of ideology

Question 37

relationship between ideology and warmth

Answer 37

Groups more similar to your ideology are perceived to be warmer

Question 38

Linda Zhou’s Racial position model

Answer 38

Racial/ethnic minority groups within the U.S. are perceived along two dimensions: inferiority & cultural foreigness

Question 39

superior, American people

Answer 39

white

Question 40

superior, foreign people

Answer 40

asian

Question 41

inferior, American people

Answer 41

black

Question 42

inferior, foreign people

Answer 42

latinx

Question 43

racial position model is important for understanding

Answer 43

• perceived discrimination
• perception of group threats
• strategic use of stereotypes

Question 44

perceived discrimination

Answer 44

minority groups may be more likely to experience discrimination on one basis but not the other

Question 45

double jeopardy hypothesis

Answer 45

racial and ethnic minority women experience lower status than men